By IANS,
New Delhi : Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh Wednesday met Home Minister P. Chidambaram following the former’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over his alleged links with Hasan Ali Khan — reportedly the country’s biggest tax evader and accused of stashing billions of dollars in foreign banks.
Singh, who had recommended expediting Khan’s passport in 1997, met Chidambaram at his North Block office for about 20 minutes.
Singh’s meeting with Chidambaram – his third in 10 days – comes amid opposition demands of his removal.
Singh refused to comment on case saying: “I will not reply to any question. The ED has questioned me. The Supreme Court is monitoring the case.”
He was asked about the need to meet Chidambaram for the third time, Singh replied: “I can meet the home minister any number of times, you cannot question me.”
Singh has been in the centre of the controversy after it was known that when as a Rajya Sabha member he had recommended issue of passport to Khan, a Pune-based stud farm owner and suspected money launderer.
Singh in his defence has said that a Bihar Congress leader, Amalendu Pandey, approached him for issuance of passport on “compassionate grounds” and that he was told that Khan’s brother was ill abroad.
“I didn’t know Khan at all, neither did I ever meet him. I only issued the letter for expeditious issue of passport… on purely humanitarian and compassionate grounds,” he said.