Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday denied a conflict of interest insofar as his and his family's trip to France about two years ago.
Addressing a press conference, Gadkari said of his visit to Nice in France, " I or members of my family have never traveled on Essar's money. I went to their resort with my own money."
He further stated that when he undertook the trip, he went in his personal capacity and was not a minister or member of parliament or an office bearer of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Gadkari said that since becoming a minister in the NDA Government and as a leader of the BJP, he had not dealt with any of the cases related to the Essar Group.
"I have not dealt with their cases in any capacity while in the government or the party. I was not a minister, an MP or a president of the BJP then. I have not extended any favours to them. I was invited to the yacht by them as the owners of the Essar Group are close family friends. I have done nothing wrong," said Gadkari.
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He was reacting to an Indian Express report that claimed that the Essar Group had cultivated individuals in positions of power and influence,including Nitin Gadkari, and showered them with gifts and favours in return for a push of its business interests.
According to the paper, a whistleblower has released such correspondence which includes purported emails and memos which refer to these meetings with government officials and alleged favours to ministers, bureaucrats and journalists.
This correspondence is now the subject matter of a public interest litigation which will be filed in the Supreme Court by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation.
The Indian Express had sent a questionnaire about these records to Essar's spokesperson, and responding to the email, he said in a statement: "It is apparent that some of the material is fabricated and some of the allegations are conclusions and inferences being drawn from email stolen from our computers. Stealing emails constitutes theft and as you would be aware that Delhi Police is taking strong steps against persons stealing information... We have already filed an appropriate complaint with the concerned authorities... We would take appropriate legal steps to ensure that the protection of law available against theft in all its forms is extended to our property, i.e. our servers and data on these servers."
Company communications, which form part of the PIL, show that Gadkari, his wife, two sons and daughter spent two nights on an Essar luxury yacht stationed in the waters of the French Riviera between July 7 and July 9, 2013. They were flown to the yacht Sunrays in a helicopter from Nice airport and returned the same way.
In his defence, Gadkari said: "I was going to Norway with my family and all air tickets and hotel bills for the holiday were paid by me. I did take a ride on the yacht of the Ruia family and that is because I have known the Ruias for over 25 years. When they learnt I was visiting Europe, they invited me. I see no conflict of interest here since at that time I was neither the BJP president nor a minister or MP. I will not do so now since I am a minister but at that time, where was the problem?"
''This trip was a private affair, and I do have individual relations with people independent of my public life. Ruias and I have been neighbours for years in Mumbai and I have not dealt with their cases in any capacity or extended any favours to them. Where is the conflict of interest? Also, it is not as if the Ruias were paying a bill for me. It is their yacht which was lying vacant when we visited it. It is their personal boat, they own it. And the helicopter ride was essential since you can only land on the yacht by helicopter. It was a memorable trip," he added.
