Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari was today at the centre of a controversy over reports that he and his family spent two nights on a luxury yacht owned by Essar group in the waters of French Riviera in July, 2013 on which a PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court.

Political rivals used the opportunity to attack the minister and his party while Gadkari denied any wrong-doing, saying he has not taken money from any corporate in his life.

He admitted he had taken a chopper ride from the French city of Nice to the Riviera waterfront for the yacht cruise during a trip he had made in 2013 when he said he was not a minister, MP or MLA, and he had paid for the entire trip from his “family account”.

The controversy erupted after a ‘whistleblower’ decided to go public with internal company communications of Essar Group, which he claimed, showed how the corporate cultivated individuals in positions of power and influence and showered gifts and favours to push its interests.

Noted Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, whose NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) filed a PIL in the Supreme Court on the issue today, said it concerns the “well-oiled mechanism” of Essar corporate with which it “compromises” top ministers, bureaucrats, politicians, MLAs and media personnel.

“Big luxury yachts are used by Essar to entertain families of big politicians like Nitin Gadkari,” he said.

Bhushan said they have demanded an independent inquiry into the whole issue as it was a very sensitive because big corporates can compromise the system of the nation through leak of documents and other things.

He alleged that Essar gives smartphones to politicians and maintained their monthly recharge.

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