On his return from London, the law minister Salman Khurshid was welcomed by a string of allegations about a scam about the misappropriation of Rs 71.5 lakh allocated to the Zakir Hussain Trust, which is headed by him. On the Sunday afternoon, an agitated and angry Khurshid addressed a press conference, rebutting the allegations levied on him and his wife Lousie Khurshid, by activists and a media house.
Defending Khurshid's decision to take the media house to court, the Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that he had been wise to choose the legal course of action. 'There are two things. A defence which you have made because you have been tried and crucified by the media and the other is judicial adjudication. At end of the day, the ultimate analysis, what really matters is the judicial adjudication,' Tewari said.
A high drama unfolded during the press conference, as several reporters from the India Today group created ruckus, while repeatedly questioning Khurshid. The law minister provided proof of his organisation holding the camps at various places in different places in Uttar Pradesh: the media had claimed that these camps were never held. He showed photographs and provided lists of camps his NGO had held for the differently abled, rubbishing the charges of misappropriation of funds by his trust. Hitting out at the media group and its owner and editor-in-chief, Khurshid said, 'If Aroon Purie steps down, I will resign [from the government].'
The law minister also showed copies of the NGO’s account audits. He also furnished purchase orders issued by the hospitals through the NGO for equipment for the disabled. 'Are all of this forged, false?' he asked. Regarding the draft CAG report, which found faults with his NGO, he said that all papers were submitted to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which would hand it over to the auditor for a revised opinion.
Khurshid also produced a recipient of aid from his organisation, who the media house had interviewed to claim that the aid was never distributed. The recipient Rangee Mistri claimed at the venue that he received a hearing aid from Khurshid's trust.
Concentrating on these allegations, Khurshid chose not to speak about the charges levied by the India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal. In an oblique reference to Kejriwal, he said, 'I don't need to respond to questions raised on the streets.'
Defending Khurshid's decision to take the media house to court, the Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that he had been wise to choose the legal course of action. 'There are two things. A defence which you have made because you have been tried and crucified by the media and the other is judicial adjudication. At end of the day, the ultimate analysis, what really matters is the judicial adjudication,' Tewari said.
A high drama unfolded during the press conference, as several reporters from the India Today group created ruckus, while repeatedly questioning Khurshid. The law minister provided proof of his organisation holding the camps at various places in different places in Uttar Pradesh: the media had claimed that these camps were never held. He showed photographs and provided lists of camps his NGO had held for the differently abled, rubbishing the charges of misappropriation of funds by his trust. Hitting out at the media group and its owner and editor-in-chief, Khurshid said, 'If Aroon Purie steps down, I will resign [from the government].'
The law minister also showed copies of the NGO’s account audits. He also furnished purchase orders issued by the hospitals through the NGO for equipment for the disabled. 'Are all of this forged, false?' he asked. Regarding the draft CAG report, which found faults with his NGO, he said that all papers were submitted to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which would hand it over to the auditor for a revised opinion.
Khurshid also produced a recipient of aid from his organisation, who the media house had interviewed to claim that the aid was never distributed. The recipient Rangee Mistri claimed at the venue that he received a hearing aid from Khurshid's trust.
Concentrating on these allegations, Khurshid chose not to speak about the charges levied by the India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal. In an oblique reference to Kejriwal, he said, 'I don't need to respond to questions raised on the streets.'