Gadkaris, Mhaiskars had biz deals
Mhaiskar’s firm got contracts when Gadkari was PWD minister; he invested in BJP chief’s Purti Group later
MUMBAI: The BJP national president, Nitin Gadkari, has downplayed his business dealings with Dattatray Mhaiskar, founder of Ideal Road Builders (IRB), but these dealings appear to be quite extensive.
The IRB had received contracts during Gadkari’s stint as Maharashtra’s minister of public works department from 1995 to 1999 and thus, allegedly, shot to prominence, sources said.
Later, Mhaiskar bailed out Gadkari’s Purti Group and Gadkari’s son Nikhil was a director and shareholder of Ideal Energy Projects Limited (IEPL), where Mhaiskar was the executive director.
Between 2009 and 2011, Nikhil, as a director of IEPL, held around 10,000 shares. As the managing director of the company, Mhaiskar’s son Jayant held around 85 lakh shares. The minor stakeholders were Neeraj Hardikar and Ganesh Gadre, with 5,000 shares each.
When Nikhil resigned as director, he transferred his shares to Gadre, who, incidentally, is also a director of Purti Power and Sugar Limited.
“There is nothing illegal in any of this,” said senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde. “When Mhaiskar got contracts, he got it on merit through competitive bidding. When he invested or gave a loan to Purti, Gadkari was not holding public office."
Also, there was nothing illegal in Gadkari’s son being a director in Mhaiskar’s company, he added.
Back in 2001, IRB had invested in Purti Group. In 2010, Mhaiskar bailed out Purti Power and Sugar Limited through a one-time loan of R164 crore. In 2006, Purti Group sold 55 acres of land to IEPL for a profit. The land was part of the 180 acres it bought from farmers for cooperative programmes. The IEPL’s 540MW coal-based power plant is to be set up in Bela, adjacent to the Purti Group premises, near Nagpur. Neither Mhaiskar nor Jayant was available for comment.