NDA's vice-presidential nominee Venkaiah Naidu on Monday came out with a point-by-point rebuttal to Congress' allegations against him and his family and said this is a clear evidence of the sense of hopelessness and political bankruptcy of the main Opposition party.
On the tax exemptions given to his daughter's trust, he said, "When this issue was raised by the media, the Government of Telangana clarified that Swarna Bharat Trust was not the first and the last to be given such exemption and in fact gave details of several other organisations given such exemption including those granted such exemption by the Congress Governments in the State. The Telangana Government has also clarified that there was nothing in law that prevented the State Government from giving such
exemption."
On the charges against his son, he said: "Jairam Ramesh has alleged that the said dealer was given the supply order in contravention of rules and without floating a tender. I have scrupulously kept myself away from the business and other pursuits of my children. Further to Ramesh raising this issue, I have ascertained the facts in this regard. The fact of the matter is that Harsha Totoya as a dealer never directly dealt with the state government in the procurement of vehicles referred to and no supply order was placed on Harsha Toyota. The parent company i.e. Toyota, offered to supply vehicles as desired by the state government at DGS&D rates and the supply order was placed on parent company i.e. Toyota Kirloskar and payment was also made to them. As a matter of policy, DGS&D concludes the rate contract with manufacturers."
"This issue was raised by the local Congressmen as early as in 2002 and even moved the courts and the charges of land grabbing were dismissed," said Naidu responding to the allegations that he and his family had grabbed around five acres in Nellore district.
With regard to the allegations of land allotment to Kushabhau Thakre Memorial Trust by Madhya Pradesh Government, Naidu said,"In my capacity as the BJP National President, I was the ex-officio Chairman of this Trust and had no role in the allotment of land. Isn't it a fact that several trusts were similarly allotted land by various governments including the Congress GovernmentsIJ"
"It is evident that these issues have been referred to a few days before the election to the post of Vice President of India clearly reflecting on the political motives and the mischievous intentions. This is a clear evidence of the sense of hopelessness and political bankruptcy of the Congress Party," Naidu said in a written statement.
Naidu earlier told reporters that he felt "really sorry" that the opposition Congress could stoop down to this level.