Kejriwal rejects Vadra’s defence
8 Oct 2012 1:25 AM GMT
The Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra broke silence on Sunday on the charges levelled against him and the realty firm DLF , saying, 'I am a private, law-abiding citizen who has been engaged in business over the last 21 years. The allegations levelled against me by [Arvind] Kejriwal and [Prashant] Bhushan are utterly false, entirely baseless and defamatory.' The statement comes after the India Against Corruption [IAC] leaders Kejriwal and Bhushan had alleged illegal gratification to Vadra by DLF.
Vadra said, 'My business transactions are fully reflected in the financial statements filed before appropriate government authorities in compliance with the law. They are available in the public domain to anyone interested in knowing the truth.'
He said, 'I am saddened by the attempt of Shri Kejriwal and Shri Bhushan to deliberately misrepresent numbers contained in my financial statements, manufacture lies against me and malign me and my family in order to gain cheap publicity for themselves and for the launch of their political party.'
Kejriwal responded to these statements by saying that Vadra's reactions did not address the issues he had raised.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] has said those involved in the case should put forward 'concrete clarification' on the charges to put an end to the issue. 'A company which itself has a loan to the tune of Rs 22,000 crore and paying an interest of 15 per cent thereon, was extending interest-free loans worth Rs 65 crore to Vadra,' the BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters in Nagpur while demanding a probe into the matter.
The realty major DLF had earlier issued a clarification, saying that it had given Rs 65 crore to Vadra as 'business advances', out of which Rs 15 crore was fully refunded and Rs 50 crore was used for purchase of land. It had said that its business relationship with Vadra or his companies had been conducted in individual capacity as per the highest standards of ethics and transparency and that it had not received any undue benefit from any state government or any government authorities in any part of India.
Vadra said, 'My business transactions are fully reflected in the financial statements filed before appropriate government authorities in compliance with the law. They are available in the public domain to anyone interested in knowing the truth.'
He said, 'I am saddened by the attempt of Shri Kejriwal and Shri Bhushan to deliberately misrepresent numbers contained in my financial statements, manufacture lies against me and malign me and my family in order to gain cheap publicity for themselves and for the launch of their political party.'
Kejriwal responded to these statements by saying that Vadra's reactions did not address the issues he had raised.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] has said those involved in the case should put forward 'concrete clarification' on the charges to put an end to the issue. 'A company which itself has a loan to the tune of Rs 22,000 crore and paying an interest of 15 per cent thereon, was extending interest-free loans worth Rs 65 crore to Vadra,' the BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters in Nagpur while demanding a probe into the matter.
The realty major DLF had earlier issued a clarification, saying that it had given Rs 65 crore to Vadra as 'business advances', out of which Rs 15 crore was fully refunded and Rs 50 crore was used for purchase of land. It had said that its business relationship with Vadra or his companies had been conducted in individual capacity as per the highest standards of ethics and transparency and that it had not received any undue benefit from any state government or any government authorities in any part of India.
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