Nitin Gadkari claims fabricated campaign against him

Hitting out at his detractors, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said efforts were being made to continue the nefarious and fabricated campaign against him for political mileage.

In a series of tweets, Gadkari said "Today, once again, efforts were being made to continue the nefarious and fabricated campaign against me for political mileage on my behest by some section of mainstream media, social media and some persons in particular by concocting my statements at public programmes without context or correct reference."

Gadkari, who last week was dropped from the BJP parliamentary board, said he would take legal recourse in the larger interest of the government and the party. He tagged his tweet to BJP president J P Nadda and Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

He insisted that he has never been disturbed by “such malicious agendas of fringe elements” but he will not “hesitate to take them to the law in the larger interest of our Government, Party and millions of our hardworking Karyakartas.”

He tweeted a YouTube link of his speech made at a book launch function on Tuesday that was selectively being used on social media.

Gadkari had at the book launch narrated an old incident where he had taken up the cause of building a road to a village in Maharashtra and had told the concerned official that if he stood by him it was fine but even otherwise it was fine with him.

"I am not bothered about the consequences but I will do this job. If possible stand by me else I am not bothered," he had said at the book launch referring to his conversation with the concerned official.

The BJP leader was sharing an anecdote when he was a Public Works Department (PWD) minister in the Shiv Sena's Manohar Joshi-led Maharashtra government around 1996.

This statement triggered social media buzz that the minister was not bothered about losing his position.

Gadkari's tweet also came on a day when a newspaper carried a report quoting multiple senior BJP sources to say the former party president was dropped from the parliamentary board for his propensity to make "out of turn" and colourful remarks.

However, Gadkari said fabricated video was circulated to malign him.

A video shared by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, Gadkari can be heard saying, “mera gaya to gaya pad mujhe chinta nahi…main rajneetik pesha mein nahi hun, jo hoga so dekha jaayega (I am not worried about my post, I am not in a political profession, I'll see whatever happens).”

The video caption reads, “Is Gadkari leaving BJP?”

In particular, Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh had tweeted that truncated video, asking why Gadkari was saying this.

"BJP mein bahut badi gadbad chal rahi hai (there is something amiss in BJP)," he tweeted on Thursday morning.