Mittal: I have been made a ‘political scapegoat’
Denying allegations of involvement in any financial irregularities as a contractor for the Commonwealth Games, BJP national council member Sudhanshu Mittal on Wednesday complained he was being made a “political scapegoat”.
Mr Mittal’s residence was raided by taxmen on Tuesday in connection with CWG corruption charges. Mr Mittal, a close confidant of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, claimed his company, Delhi Tents and Decorators, got a contract of only `29 lakhs for the Games and that he is not associated with his nephew’s company, which is also under the income-tax department’s scanner. He said though he had been an independent director in his nephew’s company, he had quit the post in July this year.
“I am a victim of a political witch-hunt. My company got a contract of only `29 lakhs for which I paid tax also. But if you read today’s (Wednesday’s) newspaper, you will get a feeling that it is Sudanshu Mittal who is the kingpin of the `77,000-crore CWG scam,” said Mr Mittal. He alleged the CWG scam issue has been “trivialised” by not probing the “big fish” involved.
He said he would cooperate with I-T officials but questioned the credibility of the investigations. He also questioned the timing of the I-T raids. “The same day my party chief (Nitin Gadkari) was to disclose crucial evidence against CWG corruption, I-T officials raided my premises. What should I call this? This is simply political persecution,” said Mr Mittal, who claimed some senior BJP leaders contacted him when news of the I-T raids broke. He claimed his party was with him.
However, when BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar was asked if Mr Mittal was a victim of political persecution, he replied, “Our stand has already been stated yesterday. We have nothing more to say.”
When it was pointed out that Mr Mittal was a BJP member, Mr Javadekar said: “Suresh Kalmadi is a Congress MP. What kind of issue is this?”
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Emaar yet to pay dues to DJB, BSES
Prashant Pandey
New Delhi
Oct. 20: Although the Commonwealth Games Village had been praised for its overall ambience, several deficiencies and discrepancies had been noticed and pointed out by various nations through their chefs de mission.
In the DDA’s interim report to the urban development ministry (which was sought by the ministry), it was pointed out that the developer Emaar-MGF not only failed to meet time lines but had also not paid dues to agencies like the DJB and BSES. The report also said the defects detected were related to the basement, lift pits, non-installation of required numbers of hydro-pneumatic pumps, water-proofing of the terrace, fixtures for balconies, inadequate power connections and choking of pipes. DDA sources added that it had itself carried out the work on the developers’ behalf and that this would have to be included in the costs to be recovered.
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