NEW DELHI, June 26: BJP president Amit Shah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight and is understood to have discussed the party’s strategy over a fresh disclosure that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje allegedly benefitted from investments of over Rs 11 crore made by Lalit Modi in her son’s company.
The long meeting between Modi and Shah took place at the Prime Minister’s official residence, BJP sources said.
Earlier in the day, Shah had a meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who also separately met the Prime Minister.
Jaitley and Shah were believed to have deliberated on the party’s strategy to ride out the massive row involving Raje as well as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
An affidavit filed by Raje before the Election Commission showed that she had 3280 shares in Niyant Heritage Hotels, owned by her son Dushyant Singh, an MP. Modi had invested over Rs 11 crore in this company at a huge premium of over Rs 96,000 per share of Rs 10.
This disclosure generated charges that Raje had benefitted from Modi’s controversial investments which Rajasthan BJP president Ashok Parnami rebutted by claiming tonight that these shares had been “gifted” to her by Dushyant and his wife Niharika.
Dushyant and his wife had gifted 1615 and 1665 shares, respectively to Raje on her birthday, according to Parnami who saw nothing wrong with it.
High level BJP sources said tonight that there was “illiteracy” regarding the entire episode concerning Modi’s investments in Dushyant’s company. The company had taken a loan of Rs 4 crore in 2009 by cheque and another loan of Rs 7.5 crore in 2010.
There was no illegality in any of this and the value of shares was not inflated but was actually deflated, they said.
Raje, meanwhile, met some top leaders of the state unit, including party unit chief Ashok Parnami in Jaipur, and dismissed media reports about a signature campaign by 120 party MLAs in her support.
Reacting to this, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said in New Delhi that Raje’s Income Tax returns for the years under question have been scrutinised by the IT department, which found nothing wrong.
BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma told reporters that the party “fully supports Vasundhara Raje who is our tallest leader in Rajasthan. Congress is targeting our popular leaders and we stand by her.” (PTI)
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