New Delhi: The Congress today questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on the charges of corruption levelled by it against BJP Vice Presidential nominee Venkaiah Naidu, while terming the replies given by Naidu and the Telangana Government as unsatisfactory.
The party posed four more questions for the PM, BJP president and Mr Naidu on the charges against him of having availed of state largesse for himself and his kin. Talking to reporters here, AICC media incharge Randeep Surjewala said, “on July 24, the Congress party raised important issues of ‘probity in public life’ as also ‘accountability and transparency’, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi as also BJP President Amit Shah to come forward and reply in the context of repeated rhetoric of ‘zero tolerance for corruption and wrongdoing’. 48 hours have passed without reply from either of them. As always, Prime Minister and the BJP president have chosen to keep mum.
Replies given by the BJP’s Vice Presidential nominee Venkaiah Naidu as also in his defence by the TRS Government of Telangana have left more questions than answers.’’ On the response by Mr Naidu to charges of his daughter’s Swarna Bharat trust having been given exemption from paying development charges of over Rs 2-cr to Hyderabad metropolitan development authority, Mr Surjewala, pointing out that the said trust had been issued notice under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, asked if it was affair to grant exemption of payment of ‘public charges’ to a trust facing FCRA proceedings.
On Naidu’s response to charge of his son’s company Hasha Toyota having received an order for supply of vehicles to the Telangana Government without any tender, that the first lot of 350 vehicles were purchased from Harsha Toyota under DGS & D rates while the next lot of vehicles were purchased through tender, Surjewala asked why were both sets of vehicles not purchased through tenders in the first instance.
