Gadkari says media houses "defaming" him, plans legal battle

Nagpur, Oct 29: Back home after securing endorsement from his party, a combative BJP chief

today threatened to file civil and criminal cases against media houses "defaming" him as part of a "conspiracy" hatched by the Congress.

"Certain media groups are acting as 'dalals' (agents) of Congress party. Two English TV channels and one English national daily are behind the vicious campaign against me and are playing into the hands of Congress," Gadkari said addressing his supporters here on return from Delhi.

Gadkari, who was accorded a warm reception by BJP workers and leaders, claimed innocence and vowed to "teach a lesson" to those engaged in the "slander campaign".

"A big media group had routed black money parked in London via Mauritius and manipulated shares worth Rs 10 each by selling them at Rs 38,000 each," he said without naming the media house and claimed he possessed relevant documents.

Also, in a statement that could lend itself to various interpretations, Gadkari said, "I had neither sought the post of national president of BJP nor would I seek continuation."

Bowing to the wishes of the RSS, BJP had, at its Surajkund convention in Sept, amended its constitution enabling the party president, state and district unit chiefs to get a second term, to pave the way for Gadkari to seek another term after he completes his present tenure in Dec.

Party's Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani had recently asked Gadkari not to seek a second term in office in the wake of allegations of corruption against him.

Attacking the Congress, Gadkari said, "The ruling party is involved in huge corruption of Rs 4.38 lakh crore including the coal blocks allocation scam, CWG and the 2G case. Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, is also facing Rs 400 crore corruption charges in land deals in Haryana."

"The face of Congress party is blackened by a number of corruption allegations," he said.

Gadkari is under attack over dubious funding of Purti Power and Sugar Ltd controlled by him with media reports claiming that major investments and large loans to it were made by a construction firm Ideal Road Builders (IRB) group, which had won contracts between 1995 and 1999, when he was PWD minister in Maharashtra.

PTI