The Congress on Saturday called upon the former Union Minister, H.N. Ananth Kumar, to clarify his reported association with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in the light of charges that she influenced decisions taken by the Civil Aviation Ministry when he was at the helm of affairs there during the NDA regime.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Media Department chairman and former Education Minister B.K. Chandrashekar said the Bangalore South MP should come clean on all charges levelled against him. “It is strange that the Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, has chosen to defend him rather than Mr. Ananth Kumar speaking out. His association with Ms. Radia has been a subject of discussion and speculation over the last 10 years,” Professor Chandrashekar told The Hindu here.
Mr. Kumar should also clear the doubt whether Ms. Radia had influenced the decisions taken by the Civil Aviation Ministry. Rather than blaming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party should first speak out on what the NDA government and in particular Mr. Kumar did under Ms. Radia's spell.
Professor Chandrashekar has posed some questions to Mr. Kumar and sought his replies in the public interest.
Do you know Ms. Radia?
When did you first meet her?
What was the nature of your relationship with Ms. Radia?
As Civil Aviation Minister, did you know about her decision to start an airline?
Did you leak the Cabinet papers to her?
Did you introduce her to Ratan Tata?
Did you introduce her to L.K. Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Nitin Gadkari and Ranjan Bhattacharya (Mr. Vajpayee's foster son-in-law)?
As Urban Development Minister, did you allot land to a trust in Delhi with which Ms. Radia was associated?
Have you met Rao Dheeraj Singh, along with Ms. Radia, or separately?
