Facing Opposition heat over a CAG report, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today asserted in Rajya Sabha that he had done no wrong and was ready to quit as Minister as well as MP if charges of corruption against him are found correct.
"If it is proved in any court of the world that I have done corruption worth even Rs 1, I am ready to quit not only from the ministership but also as an MP," he said responding to questions over the CAG report which has talked about irregularities in loan to Purti group linked to his family.
"No favour was done to us. There is no allegation of corruption against me in the CAG report. CAG report is being distorted and people are being misled for political opportunism," said Gadkari, who made the statement for the second time in as many days over the controversy after Congress members said they could not hear what he said yesterday.
Congress has been stalling Rajya Sabha for the last three days by demanding his resignation over the allegations. The House was adjourned repeatedly today also as Congress insisted on a probe into the findings of the CAG report.
Denying any wrong doing by him or PSKL (Purti Sakhar Karkhana Ltd)," the Road Transport and Highways Minister told the Opposition members that he has "answers to all questions" and will respond as many times as they want.
"I am ready to answer as long as you ask. But if you want to do politics, then it is a different matter," he said.
While defending himself, the senior BJP leader from Maharashtra who has also been the party chief, asserted that he had reached the present position by working at the grassroots level and "not by submitting bio-data".
Insisting that the entire loan was settled through one time settlement process, Gadkari asked "Is taking a loan corruption? Is paying back that loan along with intrest is corruption?
He said there was no mention of a scam in the CAG report.The Minister reminded the Opposition that when loan was granted to Purti Sakkar Karkhana Limited (PSKL), there was a UPA government at the Centre as well as in Maharashtra.
"At that time I was not a minister, BJP President or even an MP...Maximum loan was given by IREDA to our companies. Your party had a government them. CAG report is not against me but IREDA. In a way it is a report against a government of your department.
"There are 29 companies, which took loan from IREDA. 18 did not pay the loan while nine did not pay the interst. PSKL has not done any kind of irregularity. There is no such allegation in the CAG report," Gadkari said.
Gadkari had yesterday broken his silence and made a statement in the Rajya Sabha saying there was no corruption or misappropriation charge against him and the government auditor's report was "deliberately being misinterpreted for political reasons."
Amid slogan-shouting by Congress, he had read out a statement saying the CAG report was "deliberately being misinterpreted for political reasons".
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said today that either he should make the statement again or the copy of his yesterday's statement be distributed among members so that they can ask clarifications.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkiah Naidu as well as Gadkari, however, preferred a reading out of the reply.
As Rajya Sabha was disrupted on the issue for the third consecutive day, Gadkari said that the norms regarding CAG report should be followed in Parliament. "Let the report be examined by the PAC and then let Parliament take a view on it," he said.
Maintaining that all questions raised by the CAG have to be answered by IREDA, Gadkari insisted that this is "no matter of corruption" involving PSKL which has "followed a correct tradition of paying loan along with interest."
"We have taken full permission from the state government and the central government....For 10 years there was a Congress government and there was no probe against me. ...We had taken the Environment Ministry's consent for diversion."
"I have not taken even subsidy of even Rs 1. Purty Sakkar company has not taken a subsidy of Rs 1," he claimed.
Gadkari said the principal loan amount of Rs 46.63 crore was provided by state-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency to Purti Group for a 22-MW bagasse-based power plant in Nagpur and major part of the interest has been repaid.
Seeking clarifications, Pramod Tiwari (Congress) launched a scathing attack on Gadkari and rejected his reply. "We are not telling some story here. This is a CAG report presented in Parliament. This is not a leaked report. We have not bought this from some market," he said.
Tiwari told the minister that while the loan was taken in 2004, Gadkari had resigned from PSKL in 2011 and asked him why he had to resign as BJP President over the issue when there was nothing in it.
He asked how can the company generated electricity from coal when the loan was given to it for bagasse. "At the time of taking loan, you promise to use bagasse and then you make electricity from coal. This cheating was done, whether it is called fraud in English language or not," he said, alleging that subsidy amount was adjusted while settling the loan.
Wondering if this was not "fraud" then what else is, Tiwari also sought to link the issue with the controversy relating to Ideal Road Builders alleging that the company had got maximum road construction contracts in Maharashtra when Gadkari was the PWD minister there in past.
"The same Ideal Road Builders gave loans to PSKL," he said evoking strong reactions from the treasury benches, who said the clarification should be confined to the Minister's speech and the CAG report.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked how can he mention this. "Where is Ideal Road Bulders in the CAG report...every statement Tiwari made is outside the minister's reply or the CAG report," he said.
Tiwari also alleged that 16 promoters of the PSKL have no address and five of them lived in a 'chawl' (a building divided into many separate tenements).
"What a chawl it must have been where five company promoters were living. I also want to greet the driver of Gadkari," he said, drawing sharp reactions from the treasury benches.
He was referring to Gadkari's former driver, who according to the media reports, was a director in 11 companies between 2009 and 2011.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar demanded that whatever spoken out of the context must be expunged.
Claiming that the issue was clarified in the Court, he said that those raising the issue were indulging in forgery with respect to their allegations.
Anil Madhav Dave (BJP) said Congress should raise issues which have significance and accused them of running away from a debate on corruption.
As Congress members kept shouting slogans, he also demanded an enquiry into loan availed by Members of Parliament to know how many among them were defaulters.
He further charged that if such an enquiry would be carried out, several MPs would be in jails, sparking stiff protests from Congress members.
As pandemonium continued, Kurien adjourned the House for the seventh time till 4.00 PM.
Before Gadkari made the statement, the Deputy Chairman wondered whether the minister could again make the same statement that he has already been made and put in the record of the House.
Naresh Agrawal (SP) earlier suggested that instead of a discussion on merely Gadkari, a general discussion on the issue of corruption could be held.
Deputy Leader of Congress Anand Sharma, however, said that the discussion on corruption issue in general can be taken up in the next session.
Published 12 May 2015, 11:13 IST