By IANS
New Delhi : Close on the heels of allegations Friday that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential candidate Pratibha Patil's brother was involved in a murder, another report said a sugar factory owned by her in Maharashtra had defaulted on bank loans. The Congress stated that Patil "did not have any connection with the allegations".
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) paraded a woman who claimed that her husband had been murdered by Pratibha Patil's brother.
Meanwhile, a report said the sugar factory owned by her owed dues of Rs.175 million to a bank.
Responding to the allegations against Pratibha Patil's brother, Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said "certain people who were not able to find a proper candidate to match the stature of our candidate are attempting to find allegations against her".
"Pratibha Patil does not have any connection with these allegations," she said adding, "the highest office (of president) should not be demeaned" by such allegations.
On the loan by the sugar factory, Natarajan said "the loan allegations against Pratibha Patil are not true and they are all politically motivated".