Nitin Gadkari to send legal notices to Swedish media houses

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has decided to send legal notices to two media houses in Sweden that published news reports about his alleged involvement in a luxury bus deal.

The Minister will send legal notices through his lawyer to two Swedish media houses SVT and ZDF, sources in the government said.

The Swedish media houses in their investigative story alleged that Scania, a Swedish bus maker, had paid bribes to win bus contracts in India between 2013 and 2016.

News agency Reuters quoted a Swedish media report saying Scania delivered a specially equipped bus to a company with connections to Gadkari that was intended for his daughter’s wedding and was not fully paid for.

Interestingly, Gadkari played a pivotal role in introducing Scania’s Ethanol-run bus in Nagpur as a part of his drive to bring in green public transport in India.

Read | Gadkari denies Scania bribery allegations

Dismissing the media reports, the Minister's office in a statement said, "Media reports that in November 2016, Scania delivered a luxury bus to a company that had close ties with Nitin Gadkari's sons are malicious, fabricated and baseless. The minister and his family members have nothing to do with purchase or sale of the bus."

"Since the entire episode of the Scania bus was an internal affair of the Swedish company, the statement of the Scania spokesperson has made it clear that Shri Gadkari and his family members have absolutely nothing to do with the purchase or sale of any Scania bus. Nor do they have anything to do with any firm or individual who might be linked with the purchase or sale of the bus," the statement from the minister's office said.

"In light of the Scania spokesperson’s clarification absolving Gadkari and his family, we request the media, especially the foreign media, to desist from making unsubstantiated allegations against Gadkari and his family," the statement said.

"If the media fails to refrain from indulging in witchhunt of Shri Gadkari and his family, the Union Minister and his family may take all necessary legal measures to protect their reputation and integrity," the statement read.