The Prime Minister’s Office and BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday denied reports about alleged misdemeanour by Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s son and said charges against him and some Union Ministers were “baseless, misleading and aimed at tarnishing the party’s image.”
As Opposition parties sharpened their attack on the BJP, Mr. Singh said, “I want to assure the nation that the day allegations, prima facie or even small, are proven against me or my family, I will quit politics and public life and sit at home. The rumours floating around for the last 15-20 days have no basis.”
Mr. Singh said he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Shah and both had expressed surprise and termed the rumours as completely baseless.
A media report had suggested that Mr. Modi had ticked off Mr. Singh’s son, Pankaj, a party office-bearer in Uttar Pradesh, for alleged misconduct.
The report speculated that the rumours were meant to weaken Mr. Rajnath Singh’s position in a turf war for the number two position in the Union Cabinet.
As the government prepares to showcase its 100 days in office next week, the PMO got into damage control mode and swiftly issued a statement that the media report was “plain lies, motivated and constituted a malicious attempt at character assassination and tarnishing the image of the government.”
Expressing “hurt” at the speculative stories, Mr. Shah said he condemned reports against Mr. Rajnath Singh and his son. “Such propaganda will not eclipse Mr. Modi’s agenda of development.”
