A day after becoming a “free man”, former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday held out a threat to income tax (I-T) authorities, saying nobody would save them when BJP came to power at the Centre. The I-T department is probing dubious funding in the Purti group, with which Gadkari is associated.
“As BJP president, I had to maintain dignity and work within boundaries.... Now, I am a free man. The Congress’ boat is about to sink and when our party comes to power, there would be no Chidambaram or Sonia to save them (I-T officials),” Gadkari said, addressing party workers, a day after demitting office. On home turf for the first time since the on-field inquiries by taxmen on Tuesday doused his hope of getting a second straight term as BJP chief, Gadkari said, “Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation was doing the Congress’ bidding and now the income tax people are following suit. I know how they are hatching conspiracies against me, sitting in Delhi, Nagpur and Pune... I also know their names. Some people in the organisation sympathetic to me and BJP have told me about this,” he said.
I-T’s on-field inquiries at 11 premises in Mumbai belonging to alleged shell companies related to the Purti group on January 22, a day ahead of the election for the post of BJP president, which Gadkari looked set to win with RSS backing, had forced a rethink and he was finally elbowed out of the contest.
Attacking the Congress’ “dynastic politics”, the former BJP president said, “Ek malkin baki sab naukar (There is only one master and the rest are servants.”
