New Delhi:
It was a press conference that turned into a battleground. Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid met with the media at 3 pm today, as promised earlier, where he presented what he called as proof of no financial wrongdoing at his NGO for the differently abled. But the event soon converted to a slanging match as a 'hurt' and angry Mr Khurshid launched a stinging counter-attack on a private Hindi news channel which had aired a sting on the alleged scam in his trust.
Flanked by his wife Louise, who runs the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust in his home state of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Khurshid today produced documents and pictures to prove that 34 camps were held by the trust in 2009 and 2010 across several districts in the state for people with special needs. "I have shown documents that prove camps did exist...People gave false certificates saying no camps were held," a much-calmer minister later told NDTV.
Mr Khurshid was alluding to contents of a draft report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which has pointed out several irregularities in the utilisation of Central grants given to his trust. The draft report, accessed by NDTV, says that in 2009-10, a Central grant of Rs. 71.5 lakh - meant for distributing aid and appliances to differently abled people in 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh - wasn't fully utilised, with the trust giving out wrong information. The draft also concludes that out of the 17 districts in the state where the trust was supposed to hold camps, none were actually held in Allahabad, Bareilly, Siddhartha Nagar and Shahjahanpur. The draft also suspects fraud in the accounts of Mr Khurshid's trust.
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Presenting a point-by-point rebuttal to the slew of allegations, the Khurshids also said that that Akhilesh Yadav-led UP government was, at their behest, already probing whether an affidavit signed by a state government official JB Singh carried forged signatures as has been alleged. This was in response to revelations in the sting that the NGO allegedly forged signatures of government officials to attest that funds were being used as intended. While holding out a picture of Mr Singh distributing equipment at the camps as evidence of the officer's presence, Mr Khurshid, for good measure, also added that "there were some camps in which he himself was present" and had "personally inaugurated" them.
The high drama at the press conference also saw the minister losing his cool occasionally as he parried a barrage of questions from the media. He said he was "hurt" by the allegations. Justifying his outburst on national television, Mrs Khurshid told NDTV, "I have known Salman for 38 years, never seen him so angry...Salman is a minister later, a human first, bound to get angry."
An agitated Mr Khurshid also said that he was ready for any probe into the incident. "'I have asked for a full disclosure, no question of a cover-up...The charges will not stand up in court, no judge will accept it," he told NDTV. He also said that the private TV channel that aired the sting should also be made part of the probe.
On questions of his continuance in the government, Mr Khurshid said "the party and the government will decide." Both have strongly backed its minister and have rejected demands for his resignation. "It is very encouraging response from party...ministers stood by me," Mr Khurshid told NDTV.
(Read)The Law Minister has been in the line of fire of activist-politician Arvind Kejriwal, who for the third consecutive day, demanded the former's ouster. Scoffing at the 'evidence' produced by the minister, Mr Kejriwal said, "Khurshid refused to answer any question I put to him... the photos he showed today do not come under the time frame...We will bring out more evidence tomorrow."
(Read)The anti-graft activist had, earlier in the day, accused the Akhilesh Yadav government of colluding with the Centre in an attempt to shield the Union Minister. He was speaking at a sit-in protest at Parliament Street in central Delhi. Mr Kejriwal and his supporters are demanding that Mr Khurshid should either step down or be sacked.