Shimla:
Calling allegations of corruption against him politically motivated, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Sunday said the BJP was free to move the Lokayukta against him.
"I am ready to face any inquiry. The BJP can approach the Lokayukta... he was installed during the BJP regime," the 79-year-old leader said. "My life has been very clean. I haven't broken any law. I have lived my life very simply, within my means," he added.
Mr Singh's retort came after BJP leader and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, earlier in the day, questioned the Congress' silence on the allegations, saying it was time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acts.
Documents show that in May last year, the owner of a private company called Venture Energy allegedly transferred Rs. 1.2 crore into Mr Singh's bank account. A month later, the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet approved an extension to the company's hydel-power project in the state's Chamba district.
Rs. 60 lakh was also allegedly transferred in the chief minister's parliamentarian wife, Pratibha Singh's bank account in February 2013.
The couple has denied the charges. Businessman Vakamullah Chandrasekhar, who owns Venture Energy, has also denied allegations of an under-the-table deal with the Himachal Chief Minister.
The Congress has been defending the Himachal leader with even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh evading a question on allegations against Virbhadra Singh at his press conference on Friday.