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The Opposition attacked Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in the Rajya Sabha over a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.
The report had named him in connection with violations in terms and conditions for subsidy schemes availed by Purti Sakhar Karkhana Ltd (PSKL), an enterprise promoted by him.
The Opposition, led by the Congress, grilled Gadkari on a statement he made in the House on the CAG report. Congress leader Digvijay Singh asked the Minister whether people who had stood as guarantors for the loan were not connected to him.
He further said the Minister’s statement was misleading, as the CAG report had indicted him for violating the terms and conditions laid down for availing the subsidy scheme.
Countering the tirade, Gadkari said he is ready to face any probe on the matter. “If it is proved in any court of the world that I have done corruption worth even ₹1, I am ready to quit not only from the ministership but also as an MP,” he said.
He said his company had repaid a loan of ₹72 crore with interest and not ₹84 crore, as is being claimed by the Opposition.
“There is no allegation of corruption against me in the CAG report. The report is being distorted and people are being misled for political opportunism,” he said. “Is taking a loan corruption? Is paying back that loan along with interest corruption?”
The Minister said at the time of making investments in the energy sector, he was not even an MP.
“Maximum loan was given by the IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd) to our companies. Your party had a government then. The CAG report is not against me but the IREDA. In a way it is a report against a government of your department.
“There are 29 companies that took loans from the IREDA. Eighteen did not repay the loan while nine did not pay the interest. PSKL has not done any kind of irregularity. There is no such allegation in the report,” he added.
Wrong impression The Congress, however, was not ready to buy his arguments. The party walked out of the House objecting to the reply. “An impression is being created that we are raising the CAG report to stall the passage of other Bills in the House. The impression is wrong. We are unsatisfied with the Minister’s reply and are walking out,” opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said. The House was adjourned repeatedly on Tuesday over the incident.
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