Cong attacks Naidu with graft allegations
NEWDELHI: The Congress on Monday sought to corner National Democratic Alliance (NDA) vicepresidential candidate M Venkaiah Naidu over the allegations of corruption against him and his family members.
The main opposition party accused Naidu, a former BJP president and ex-union minister, of land grab and alleged that his children were favoured by the Telangana government.
Naidu promptly rebutted the charges, saying the allegations are “entirely false and politically motivated” as the issues raised by the Congress have already been responded in the past. “It is evident that these issues have been referred to a few days before the vice-presidential elections, clearly reflecting on the political motives and mischievous intentions,” he said. Posing four questions to Naidu, a former union minister, at a news conference in the Parliament House Complex, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the former BJP chief should come clean since he has been a “great champion of transparency, accountability, integrity and probity” in public life. He said being a senior, experienced and articulate leader he should explain to the country and answer the questions raised by the Congress party.
“Is it not a fact that on June 20, 2017, the Telangana government issued an order that has been kept secret, exempting the Swarna Bharat Trust of Naidu’s daughter from paying various charges amounting to more than Rs 2 crore to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority?” he asked.
But Naidu said the Telangana government had already clarified that the Trust was given exemption to encourage it to do social service. “Is it not a fact that in July 2014, the Telangana government placed an order amounting to about Rs 271 crore for the purchase of vehicles for the police from two companies—Harsha Toyota owned by Naidu’s son and Himanshu Motors owned by the son of the Telangana chief minister? Is it not a fact that such an order was placed in contravention of all rules and without even floating a tender?” asked Ramesh. However, Naidu said Harsha Motors never dealt directly with the state government and that the vehicles were provided by the parent company, Toyota Kirloskar, and the payment was made to it. Maintaining that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often used the “rhetoric” of ‘zero tolerance for corruption and wrongdoing, the Congress leader said those holding the highest public offices must fully disclose their “interests” as also “special treatment” in the form of state largesse for themselves and for their kith and kin. With numbers on the NDA’s side, Naidu is considered a favourite to win the August 5 vice-presidential elections against opposition nominee Gopal Krishna Gandhi.