Kanpur:
Even though BJP president Nitin Gadkari is facing the heat over his questionable financial dealings, some of his party colleagues seem to be standing by him.
Senior BJP leader and former party president Rajnath Singh has said that Mr Gadkari's case is different as he does not hold a government post.
"He has clearly said that he is ready to get probed, and I think this is a very brave step. Congress leaders cannot dare to say this because they are accused. We openly say that they can give order to all the investigative agencies to probe Nitinji. I am giving all types liberties to the Congress. But please forgive me, he (Nitin Gadkari) is not sitting on any governmental post. There is a difference between governmental and non-governmental post," Mr Singh said in Kanpur.
He also hit out at the Congress government in Haryana, questioning the clean chit given to Robert Vadra in his controversial land dealings with real estate giant DLF.
"Everyone should be taken care of. They (deputy commissioners of Haryana Govt) themselves have allotted this so how can we say it's wrong? I think there's no reason to believe in the clean chit. These cases should be investigated. We had said that a Special Investigating Team , under the supervision of the Supreme Court, should probe the matter," the BJP leader said.
The web of allegations against Mr Gadkari has put his party between a rock and a hard place. The party just handed Mr Gadkari an unprecedented second term as president and that appointment is now under a massive shadow as he is investigated for financial malpractices by two different ministries.
The party is said to be split down the middle on how best to tackle this challenge so close to crucial state elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and in the run-up to the 2014 general elections. While senior party leaders like Sushma Swaraj are on the campaign trail in those states and resolutely continues to employ a series of recent scams that tumbled out from the government to accuse the ruling Congress of unrelenting corruption, similar charges against the BJP's top man leave the party more than winded.
The party and its parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, have backed Mr Gadkari so far, but there is a faction in the BJP that reportedly feels he should quit to save the party any more embarrassment - BJP parliamentarian Ram Jethmalani suggested that Mr Gadkari should surrender the proposed second term. These detractors point out that his presence could weaken the BJP's moral authority to attack the Congress and the UPA government it leads at the Centre on corruption. They reportedly suggest appointing a new president or even an interim one, till Mr Gadkari is cleared of the charges he faces.
But Mr Gadkari's supporters reportedly argue that if he resigns now, the BJP will be easy fodder for political opponents, who will prey on the fact that corruption claimed the party's president.
Party sources say Mr Gadkari, who cancelled a trip to Delhi yesterday amid reports that he will hold meetings with the RSS in Nagpur, has two broad options. Either he can say no to a second term till cleared by the inquiries now initiated into his business dealings by the income tax department and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Or, he can just wait and watch, backed by the sangh. Sources in the RSS say Mr Gadkari has been asked discreetly to explain the charges against him, and that he has sought some time to furnish details.
The compendium of the allegations confronting Mr Gadkari includes ghost investors and tenebrous funding for Purti Power and Sugar Limited, which he helped set up in 2000. He resigned as its Chairman last year. The Income Tax Department is examining the source of funds of 18 different firms that bought equity in Purti; the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is looking at whether those firms misrepresented or concealed financial information.