NEW DELHI, Oct 14:
Law Minister Salman Khurshid today came out with documents to rubbish charges of misappropriation of funds by a trust run by him and his wife and expressed willingness for any probe while making it clear that he has no intention to resign.
Soon after his return from London, he left the decision about his continuance in the government to the Congress High Command but said he will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to “share my experiences” with him.
Addressing a press conference which witnessed high drama and sparring between him and journalists of TV Today group, he displayed documents and photographs to show that camps were held for distribution of equipment to the disabled people.
Khurshid, flanked by his wife Louise who is Project Director of the Zakir Hussain Trust, said the Uttar Pradesh government, at their behest, was already probing whether an affidavit signed by a state government official J B Singh carried forged signatures as has been alleged.
“Nothing on Rs 71 lakh can be proved… Not a word can be proved. They can scream, scream and scream till they turn blue in their face,” said the Law Minister at the one-and-a-half hour long press conference where he lost his temper a number of times and once told a journalist of TV Today group to shut up and leave.
Before the press conference, he wanted journalists from Aaj Tak and Headlines Today to be kept out but relented after other journalists said it would be inappropriate.
“Let there be any inquiry by any authority. It can be CAG… Inquiry should find out who is responsible for this. But the inquiry should cover the role of India Today group as well,” he said.
Asked whether he would resign, Khurshid dubbed it as a “disputed question of journalist ethics and political ethics”.
At the same time, he said he would be ready to take the “extreme decision” in the matter. “I will submit my resignation if Aroon Purie (TV Today Chairman-cum-Managing Director) also steps down,” he said.
On his continuance in the government, Khurshid said, “the party and the government will decide. I will not take a minute to decide what is in the interest of the party. I am a party worker first.”
Highlighting his “hurt”, he said he would meet the Prime Minister. “I will certainly share whatever my experience with the Prime Minister. He is my leader in the government. He has the right to know. He will certainly know,” he said.
“Evidence that the affidavit is wrong is not clear… How would Louise know it is forged? We took it at face value… Therefore we have asked the UP government to include this aspect also in the probe,”
“UP govt is probing into mysterious affidavit that is suspected to have carried forged signatures,” he said, adding “Let the UP government establish who signed” it.
This comes in the backdrop of allegations that a senior state government official whose signature was carried in the document has denied having signed it, saying he had retired three months prior.
To counter the charges levelled against him and wife, the Law Minister released documents to show that 34 camps were held for the disabled people in 2009 and 2010 and produced people associated with these camps.
An intended beneficiary Rangey Mistry, who figured in the sting operation conducted by Aaj Tak channel, was also produced before the press. He said he had received a hearing aid gadget from the Zakir Hussain Trust two years back, amid cheering by the Law Minister and others.
Khurshid said others who figured in the TV programme which he refused to accept as a “sting” operation will also appear before media.
“Somebody, somewhere sitting in some office, which is feeding India Today is also the person who is worried about the inquiry. Too much will come out. And what they have been doing for years, will immediately be exposed,” he said.
Referring to his defamation case against TV Today Group, he said, “We have gone to court in a civilised manner… Let there be an indepth inquiry to find who is responsible for what.”
TV Today Group has already issued a statement, saying it stands by the “veracity” of its report and would “defend” it.
Khurshid, who almost walked out of the press conference following a verbal spat with TV Today reporters, said the probe by the Uttar Pradesh government will cover 12 points.
He rejected suggestions that he should step down for the sake of an impartial probe.
He said when a reference was made to the Law Ministry recently by the Central Information Commission on whether fund details of NGOs getting money from the government come under the ambit of the RTI Act, the Legal Affairs Department opined that such organisations were bound to make the details public.
“The file did not come to me…That Trust referred to was the Zakir Hussain Trust,” he said, indicating that he could have influenced the issue if he wanted to.
To a question on the draft CAG report, he said since the documents were now available with Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, they would be handed over to the auditor.
“Even we can hand them over the fresh batch of documents. They have said that they would be happy to factor in these while writing the final report,” he said.
In a veiled attack on CAG for its claims that the Trust members were not available at their Okhla address, he said had the CAG wanted it could have left a note asking the Trustees to contact them. He said officials must have forgotten to leave a note in a hurry.
He said CAG Vinod Rai was his next door neighbour and CAG officials knew where to find him and his wife Louise.
He said besides the defamation suit filed against the news group in the Delhi High Court, more cases are to follow. Some people associated with the Trust want a case to be filed in London courts as the channel is also shown there. “I cannot stop them from doing so,” he said.
On charges that some camps actually did not take place, he said apparently the officials in the district were asked only to inform if the camp was held on a particular date. “The camp could have been held on September 24 or 25 instead of September 23…They must have been asked only to inform if it was held on a particular date,” he said. (PTI)
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