Congress targets Amit Shah over son Jay's business

The Congress on Saturday mounted a fresh attack on BJP President Amit Shah and said it would soon move the Election Commission over his non-disclosure of liabilities in the affidavit filed at the time of the Rajya Sabha election last year.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed Shah's son Jay Shah got credit lines worth Rs 95 crore from cooperative and private banks after mortgaging properties owned by the BJP president.

“The allegations against him (Shah) are fake,” BJP spokesman Sambit Patra said.

Ramesh claimed that Jay Shah's firm Kusum Finserve had a net worth of Rs 6 crore and yet cooperative and private banks extended credit limit to the tune of Rs 95 crore after he had mortgaged two pieces of land owned by his father Amit Shah and another commercial property.

The Congress leader claimed that Amit Shah had not disclosed in his election affidavit the liability to banks on account of mortgaging two plots of land against which his son got credit limits to the tune of Rs 95 crore.

“Our question is why this liability was not disclosed in the election affidavit of Amit Shah. This concealment is unlawful and we will petition the EC for action,” Ramesh said.

Ramesh also questioned why the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation allotted a plot of land worth Rs 6 crore on lease to Jay Shah, who within a month got a private bank loan of Rs 17 crore against that lease.

“Jay Shah’s company had no assets or inventory but still got a land on lease,” the Congress claimed.

Ramesh also claimed the Indian Renewable Energy Development Authority had extended a loan of Rs 10.5 crore to Kusum Finserve when it cannot sanction loans more than Rs 5 crore to companies such as the one run by Jay Shah.