Romanian PM Declines To Comment On Transp Min Situation

Romanian Premier Calin Popescu Tariceanu on Wednesday declined to comment on a car accident involving Transportation Minister Ludovic Orban, saying police should handle the case, government spokeswoman Camelia Spataru said.

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Romanian PM Asked Transport Min To Resign – Sources

People close to the matter told reporters that Tariceanu asked Orban Tuesday evening to resign, following the media frenzy stirred around the car accident the minister caused.

Orban told MEDIAFAX on Wednesday that he talked to Tariceanu about the car accident he had Sunday. The minister said his resignation was not called into question and he does not intend to resign anyway.

"I spoke to the prime minister and he did not ask me to resign. I never even considered resigning. Why should I resign?" Orban said.

The media called on the minister to resign after journalists proved he lied to conceal the fact that he was involved in a car accident and apparently injured a young woman. The minister also reported the accident five hours later than the legal 24-hour term. He also denied injuring anyone, although eyewitnesses claimed a young girl had been hurt.

Orban had his driver’s license suspended for one month.

Orban said on Tuesday he reported the accident late because he was very busy coordinating snow removal actions, he was having a family situation and was scheduled for medical tests.

He also said he waited three hours for the police to file a report on the accident and denied any attempt to conceal the incident.

"I am human and to err is human. I was not tempted to intervene to keep my license, I did not speak with the interior minister. I was the sole victim and I resent being lynched by the media over an insignificant event," Orban said.

Premier Tariceanu declined on Tuesday to make any comments on the issue, saying the road police should do its job.

However, media reports indicate the minister’s story does not add up with reports from several eye witnesses or the police.

The police identified the alleged accident victim, a young girl, whose parents said she was not hurt and refused to press charges.

Both the girl and her father were heard by the police Wednesday morning and both claimed the girl slipped on ice and hurt her arm.

The General Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday requested the police case file and the Ministry of Interior has started an investigation to determine whether the police followed procedure after the accident

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