Rajya Sabha failed to transact any significant business today as Congress members repeatedly created ruckus by pressing for resignation of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, even as he insisted that there was no corruption or misappropriation charge against him.
Breaking his silence, Gadkari said the auditor's report was "deliberately being misinterpreted for political reasons."
Gadkari, who is at the centre of a row after a CAG report alleged irregularities in loan extended to his family-linked Purti Group, said the auditor had nowhere named him as a wrong-doer.
However his statement failed to satisfy Congress members, who continued to shout slogans and stalled proceedings of the upper house which had to be adjourned repeatedly before the final call at around 4 PM.
Reading out a statement, he said, "My respectful submission before this august House is that let us follow the established procedure in the matter of CAG reports and if any wrong-doing is established by the PAC, which will be discussing the CAG report in due course of time, the law should take its own course."
The Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping maintained that "The CAG has nowhere named me as a wrong-doer nor there is any adverse comment against me. There is neither any indictment nor any charge of corruption or misappropriation against me of the PSKL (Purti Sakhar Karkhana Ltd)."
He said the principal loan amount of Rs 46.63 crore was provided by state-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency to Purti Group for a 22-MW bagasse-based power plant in Nagpur and major part of the interest has been repaid.
Noting that he was Chairman of PSKL from 2000 to 2011, he said he was neither an MP nor held any public office in government when the 13-year loan was extended to the firm in 2008-09.
