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New Delhi, Jan. 28: The BJP today wondered why the income-tax department had not probed the “76-odd ghost and bogus” companies allegedly owned by Mayawati’s relatives and friends.
Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman alluded to the “unfairness” in the purported alacrity with which I-T officials had searched firms associated with Nitin Gadkari’s company, Purti, a day before he was set to be re-elected as BJP chief.
“Will the finance ministry and the I-T (department) serve notice to these companies or is the alliance (with Mayawati) more important?” she asked.
Nirmala demanded action against the companies, most of which, she alleged, were owned by Mayawati’s brother Anand. BJP sources said the issue was brought up on a prod from Gadkari.
Gadkari had issued a statement yesterday claiming he harboured no “ill-will” against the I-T department. Earlier, he had allegedly threatened them with dire consequences if the BJP ever came to power. His threats provoked protests from the officials.
Claiming he had “full faith in the I-T department’s professional integrity”, Gadkari alleged the move to entangle him and his family in the probe were “calculated, mischievous and politically motivated”.
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