Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Congress on Friday targeted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), claiming that it is under the control of “suspicious” people and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come clean on whether he intends to appoint former Prasar Bharati Chairman Navneet Sehgal who is facing corruption allegations in his office.
Party’s Media and Publicity Department Chairperson Pawan Khera told a press conference that Sehgal, who recently quit as Prasar Bharati Chairman, was the alleged kingpin of a Rs 112 crore kickback scam in Uttar Pradesh, citing a media report about a dossier prepared by the Income Tax Department.
He said that speculation is rife that Sehgal’s resignation from Prasar Bharati was linked his “past association” with another official Hiren Joshi, who was handling media affairs in the PMO and facing allegations. Sehgal and Joshi could not be contacted for their comments.
Earlier, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had raised questions about the functioning of the PMO and alleged that a person sitting in the PMO was involved in a multi-crore betting app scam.
He said reports are now coming that Sehgal will replace Joshi in the PMO, with Prime Minister Modi seems to be indulging in “political musical chairs” by “swapping one alleged corrupt official for another”.
Citing the media report, Khera claimed that Sehgal, who was Additional Secretary in UP, was identified as the largest alleged beneficiary of a kickback network that siphoned off around Rs 112 crore from schemes like Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (IED) and UP Industrial Consultants Ltd.
He told a press conference the IT Department had sent the report, which gave details about the scam between 2019-20 and 2021-22, to the state government and Lokayukta but it did not reach the state anti-corruption ombudsman.
“The same IT officer prepared a report on Mukthar Ansari and it was acted upon. But the one on Sehgal did not reach the Lokayukta. The file was bulldozed. A person named is now speculated to be appointed in the PMO. It is a matter of national security,” he said.
“The PMO is full of suspicious people. The PMO is under the control of these people. We will come out with the truth even if there are threats and legal notices,” he said.
Khera said Modi must come out clean on the current status of Joshi and whether he is being replaced by Sehgal. "Has he (Joshi been formally removed, suspended, or placed under investigation? Is PM Modi personally shielding him from scrutiny?" he asked.
"Why has PM Modi become 'Maun (silent) Modi", who was once accusing former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of one who bathes wearing a raincoat?" he said.