V P Singh is lying: Fotedar

Srinagar, June 27 (UNI) Senior Congress leader Makhan Lal Fotedar today termed as ''pathetic falsehood'' on the part of former prime Minister V P Singh to attribute any statement to him about UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Mr V P Singh had reportedly attributed a statement to Mr Fotedar in which he said that the fear of an increased threat to her security was the reason for the Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi declining the Prime Ministership in 2004.

''It is a pathetic falsehood on the part of Mr V P Singh to attribute any such statement to me,'' Mr Fotedar said, at a press conference here.

''I would urge Mr V P Singh to eschew his propensity to indulge in petty drawing room politics and intrigue. It ill-behoves a former Prime Minister to do so even if he fancies a further role for himself in the near future,'' he added.

Mr Fotedar said fearlessness was a singular quality common to members of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

''Mr V P Singh thinks too much about himself. He should be aware of this and so am I since 1952,'' the senior Congress leader added.

Mr Fotedar said former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh was present during their meeting with the ex-Prime Minister, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan.

''I understand that Mr Natwar Singh was present when the former Prime Minister addressed the meeting on his 75th birthday. Mr Natwar Singh should have the honesty and sense of propriety to declare the truth of the matter,'' he said.

However, Mr Fotedar refused to speak on the alleged involvement of a senior Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader and former state Minister Ghulam Ahmed Mir in the sex racket case, saying the matter was sub-judice and he would not like to comment on it.

To a question, he said nobody could ever question his loyalty to Nehru-Gandhi family.

UNI AG VD RS1829