File photo of Nitin Gadkari
The ruling BJP today denied that Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's decision to end a ban on e-rickshaws was aimed at favouring a company allegedly linked to his family.
The party issued a statement on behalf of Mr Gadkari, denying that he had any links with Nagpur-based Purti Green Technologies, which manufactures e-rickshaws.
"Neither Gadkari nor any member of his family is associated with any e-rickshaw manufacturing firm," the statement said, rejecting newspaper reports that raised questions about "conflict of interest" in Mr Gadkari's support for e-rickshaws.
"The Union Minister has no commercial interests whatsoever in the e-rickshaw manufacturing sector," the statement added.
Purti Green Technologies is one of the seven companies granted licenses by the state-run Council for Scientific and Industrial Research or CSIR to produce e-rickshaws. It is part of the larger Purti group that Mr Gadkari founded and was president of till 2011.
Mr Gadkari's brother-in-law Rajesh Totade is allegedly the director of Purti Green Technologies.
A fortnight ago, the minister had declared that the government would move to lift the ban on e-rickshaws in the capital. He also announced a scheme named after Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, an ideologue of BJP's predecessor Bharatiya Jan Sangh, to enable loans at 3 per cent interest to potential buyers of e-rickshaws.
In his statement, Mr Gadkari said that only companies granted licences by the CSIR could produce e-rickshaws. "It is up to the CSIR to grant license to e-rickshaw manufacturers and any firm interested in its production is free to apply for a license to the CSIR and start production,'' he said.
Purti Green Technologies also came out with a strong denial, asserting that "Mr Gadkari and his family members have no commercial interest or stakes in the company."
This is not the first time that Mr Gadkari's links with the Purti Group has generated controversy. In January, 2013, he was denied a second term as BJP president after revelations about dodgy investments by the Purti Group embarrassed the party in the middle of its anti-corruption campaign against the then UPA government.