Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal on Thursday rubbished claims that former U.S. senator Hillary Clinton had voted for the nuclear deal between India and the United States in exchange for cash received.
He termed the allegations as a 'smear campaign' to derail Hillary's 2016 presidential bid for the White House.
Reacting to allegations that have appeared in a book titled 'Clinton Cash' that claims that large donations were made by 'powerful interests' in India, and led to Hillary Clinton voting in favour of the 2008 Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation deal, Chatwal said, "The book is complete nonsense. It is a smear campaign to derail Hillary Clinton's presidential candidature since she is one of the strongest candidates."
"In 2006, I had organised a gathering where many democratic senators signed documents in support of the nuclear deal, but Hillary Clinton never came. She was also not present at a subsequent meeting arranged later that year," Chatwal told ANI in an exclusive telephonic interview on Thursday.
"She was never in favour of the agreement, and though, she eventually did vote for it, but, only in her capacity as a senator. This had nothing to do with the personal relationship that I share with her and her husband. As to why Hillary Clinton did vote in favour of the bill, that is something that I cannot say. She might have changed her mind on the agreement," he added.
Also Read
The New York-based hotelier further denied that his 2010 Padma Bhushan was connected to his supposed role in the nuclear deal, stating that no one reason can be given for his being conferred with the honour.
"I feel that I was awarded the Padma Bhushan because of a number of reasons-due to my role during former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit of the US, including arranging a dinner for him at the White House; due to my prominence in the Indian-American community. Yes, I also did have a small hand in the Indo-US nuclear deal, but, since that agreement was signed in 2008, and I was conferred with the Padma Bhushan only in 2010, I feel the two are not related," he said.
Chatwal further pointed out that Bill Clinton was the first U.S. president to visit India since 1978.
"The Clintons are good friends of India and Bill Clinton was the first US president to visit India since Jimmy Carter," he said.
Chatwal also denied a relationship with former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh.
"Amar Singh and I have no relationship. I know of everyone due to my standing in the community, but as to whether he donated the money, I have zero idea," he said.
'Clinton Cash', authored by Peter Schweizer, the president of the U.S.-based investigative research organisation Government Accountability Institute, claims that Amar Singh had donated between USD one to five million to the Clinton Foundation in 2008.
The book further speculates that the money was a conduit for 'powerful interests' in India to push for the Indo-US nuclear deal and was instrumental in Hillary Clinton, who was the then Senate India Caucus Co-Chair, to change her mind.
The book also brings Chatwal under the scanner due to the 'crucial' role he played behind the scenes as well as the Padma Bhushan which was awarded to him by the UPA-II Government in 2010.
Meanwhile, Amar Singh has denied the charges and has claimed that he is a victim of 'assumptions and rumour mongering'.
