By IANS,
New Delhi : Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy Friday said Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had not answered his charges of “wrongdoing” in a deal leading to the takeover of Herald House here.
Swamy added that he would wait for a reply from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue before deciding his next course.
Speaking to TV news channel Times Now, Swamy said he had written to both the prime minister and Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath. He said if he does not get a reply from the prime minister in two to three weeks, he “will certainly send a reminder”.
Asked if Rahul Gandhi had replied to his allegations, Swamy said: “Not one.”
To a query about Rahul Gandhi’s office terming the allegations as baseless, Swamy said they should say why the charges were false.
“Ask them why is it baseless,” he said.
Swamy had told a press conference Friday that a company called Young Indian, allegedly floated by the Gandhis, had done a “sham and bogus” deal to “grab the Rs.1,600 crore worth Herald House” and other properties of the group.
Young Indian, he had said, acquired Associated Journals Pvt Ltd and became owner of the National Herald and Qaumi Awaz and all high-value real estate in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh belonging to the group.
In his letter to the prime minister Oct 30, Swamy demanded a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office or the Central Bureau of Investigation into the deal and the culpability of the All India Congress Committee in giving a loan to a private commercial entity.
Swamy had also written to the chief election commissioner Oct 31 alleging misrepresentation of facts by Rahul Gandhi in his declaration of assets and liabilities during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Rahul Gandhi’s office had Friday denied Swamy’s allegations, saying these were “baseless and defamatory” and that legal action would be taken for the “scandalous abuse”.