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'Deeply hurt' Chidambaram rejects conflict of interest charges
Friday December 16, 2011 07:08:15 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi: Home
Minister P. Chidambaram Friday said he was "deeply hurt" and
rejected the opposition charge that he had misused his office
while withdrawing prosecution against a businessman he represented
as a lawyer.
"I feel deeply hurt (by the opposition charge)... I strongly
reject completely unfounded allegations of the BJP," Chidambaram
told reporters here, breaking his silence over the controversy.
The home minister said he didn't have any "current subsisting
interest with any case he represented as a lawyer" because "I
can't have life-long interest in over 25,000 cases" he represented
as lawyer in the last four decades.
He said the opposition charges were "most ridiculous".
The home minister said he had "once" seen the file of hotelier S.P.
Gupta to withdraw his prosecution and that he had asked the
ministry not to give any directions in the case.
"The confidential draft was prepared by the director who didn't
show it to anyone and sent it on his own. I was clear that no
directions should be given. Had I had a continuing interest, it
would be conflict of interest," said Chidambaram.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the home minister of
"conflict of interest" and forced parliament to shut for two days
alleging that Chidambaram had favoured Gupta, chairman of Sunair
Hotels Pvt Ltd, by misusing his office for his "former client".
The case dates back to 1999 when owners of the luxury Metropolitan
Hotel, Gupta and his company Sunair Hotels were involved in a
legal battle with private firm VLS Finance Ltd that claims to have
funded the hotel project.
The home minister has been a focused target of the opposition
since the winter session began Nov 22. The BJP-led National
Democratic Alliance had declared on the eve of the session that it
would not allow Chidambaram to speak in parliament till he resigns
over his alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
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