Nitin Gadkari, who was forced to give up his bid for a second term as BJP president, has become a textbook case of Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
Three days after his statement in Nagpur threatening Income Tax officials that once the BJP came to power neither UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi nor Finance Minister P. Chidambaram would save them, Mr. Gadkari was on Sunday compelled to clarify that he had absolutely no ill will against the I-T Department and its officials engaged in open inquiries into the affairs of the companies alleged to have invested in the Purti Group.
“The I-T Department and its officials are free to conduct any independent inquiry on complaints received against any company or individuals.” He also took the opportunity to ‘further clarify’ that neither he nor any member of his family had anything to do with the companies against whom these open inquires were being conducted prompting his critics to question why he chose to attack the officials if the firms raided had nothing to do with him.
“But I have reasons to believe that unnecessarily dragging my name in the context of these inquires is part of a conspiracy to defame me and my party. The deliberate move to link me and members of my family in connection with these open inquiries against some companies and the misleading briefings to the media in this regard is calculated, mischievous and politically motivated to damage my reputation,” the former BJP chief said.
He contended that while exposing the sinister game plan of the UPA government to influence these open inquires and mislead the media, he had only urged the IT Department and its officials to remain impartial and not get influenced by the diktats of their political bosses.
“I never threatened the IT Department or its officials. I have full faith in the professional integrity of the department. Unfortunately, my public statements have been distorted and misinterpreted.”
