The Uttar Pradesh Congress reacted strongly to Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma’s threat to file a defamation suit against party chief Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’ if he did not tender unconditional apology for his statement on multi-crore rupee UP Power Corporation employees provident fund investment scam.
“Sharma is free to file a defamation case but we will not relent until he is sacked from the government and arrested for his involvement in the EPF scam,” said UPCC administration in-charge Siddharth Priya Srivastava while reacting to Sharma’s threat.
“A scam of over Rs 2,600 crore is not possible without the Energy Minister’s involvement. The Chief Minister made all efforts to save Sharma from the scam but after AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra exposed it through a tweet, the state again moved in to save Sharma by sending two government officers to jail and ordering a CBI probe in the matter,” he said.
Srivastava even threatened that if Shrikant Sharma was not removed and arrested after the registration of a case against him, the party would take to the streets and launched a massive agitation to press Sharma’s removal from the council of ministers as he would hamper the probe.
A statement by the UPCC also confirmed that Lallu had put up seven questions before Sharma and asked him to reply — when the decision to transfer the money to DHFL took place, who was in touch with the company and communicating the deal, why the company which gave huge donation to BJP was chosen after violating all norms, whether the decision to transfer such a huge amount took place without the knowledge of Energy Minister, why Amit Prakash, who negotiated the deal on behalf of DHFL was yet to be arrested, and whether the agency probing the matter had sealed the visitors book of the Energy Minister.
Lallu said that if Sharma was not involved in the scam, he should make public the answers to these questions.
On Monday, UPCC workers and leaders staged a dharna at GPO Park and expressed solidarity with the protesting employees of UP Power Corporation, who are scared of losing their hard earned money. Later in the evening, the Congressmen burnt the effigy of Sharma in front of Shakti Bhawan.
At a press conference in Lucknow, Shrikant Sharma threatened UPCC chief Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’ to either tender apology or be ready to face a defamation suit for making objectionable comments against him (Sharma) in connection with the EPF scam at UP Power Corporation.