Never took money from any corporate: Gadkari

February 27, 2015 08:52 pm | Updated September 23, 2017 12:51 pm IST - MUMBAI:

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari at a press conference in Mumbai. Photo: Vivek Bendre

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari at a press conference in Mumbai. Photo: Vivek Bendre

Embroiled in the controversy that he allegedly received special privileges from the Essar Group, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said he had “never taken money from any corporate group.”

A report published in an English daily has claimed that the Essar group had favoured Mr. Gadkari, UPA ministers and some journalists, and that it had sponsored a trip on a foreign yatch for Mr. Gadkari and his family in 2013.

Responding to the allegations, which have triggered a political storm, Mr. Gadkari said he was invited to the yatch by Essar just to see the vessel. “The expenses for the trip were borne out of my family account. I have never done a trip with corporate money. I paid for the entire trip, the food and the travel tickets,” Mr. Gadkari told reporters here.

He explained that since the trip was done in personal space with his family, there was no conflict of interest as at the time of the trip he was not an MLA. MP or a Minister. “I am fond of seeing new things, be it sea planes or water bus. Essar asked me to check it out. Since it was privately owned I didn’t have to pay for the ticket,” he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.