Cong targets BJP on loan to media firm

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 26

The Congress today charged the BJP and its affiliates with extending loan to a Mumbai-based “For Profit” firm of Shree Multimedia Vision Ltd that owns and runs a periodical.

Raising questions of “flagrant and willful violation of law and blatant conflict of interest”, Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and party in charge of communication Randeep Surjewala alleged Maharasthra BJP Minister Vinod Tawde was associated with the company as was Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The Congress sought to know from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley whether loan to ‘For Profit’ violates provisions of income-tax. It asked the BJP to make a full disclosure of facts and come clean on the issue. Both leaders said Gadkari should explain the non-disclosure as also complete nature of his relationship with the aforementioned entities. “Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis should forthwith sack Tawde and share full facts in public domain. The BJP leadership should also make a full disclosure statement to people of the country,” the demanded.

Besides extending Rs 25 lakh loan to the company that published ‘Mumbai Tarun Bharat’ and housing it in the party office in Chembur, the BJP reported the company was out of business and couldn’t return the loan, they charged. 

In 2012-13 annual return, the company had showed Rs 20 lakh loan from ‘Keshav Kunj’ which is otherwise the name of RSS headquarter in Delhi, they said, seeking to know whether the amount came from the RSS or another entity and also another Rs 20 lakh loan from Bharatiya Darshan Vichar Trust, also headquartered at BJP Chembur office.