Headlines
Congress walks out in LS over Purti Group loan
New Delhi, May 12
The Congress members staged a
walk-out from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, demanding the government's
response over the CAG report highlighting irregularities in granting
loan to a company of union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.
The
CAG report said Gadkari was one of the "promoters" of Purti Group that
was sanctioned a loan of Rs.84.12 crore by IREDA in violation of
guidelines.
Raising the issue in the house, Congress member
Deepender Hooda said that Purti Group had taken a loan of Rs.84.12 crore
from the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and used
interest subsidy for a coal plant instead of using it for renewable
energy, causing a loss of Rs.12.7 crore to public exchequer.
He
asked the government to probe the issue. BJP members protested Hooda's
remarks and last part of his speech could not be heard in the din.
The
Congress has been seeking Gadkari's resignation after a Comptroller and
Auditor General report named him as one of the "promoters and/or
directors" of Purti Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. that was sanctioned the loan by
IREDA.
Congress members in the house sought a response from the government and later staged a walk-out.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said that the minister had not committed any wrongdoing.
He
said report of the CAG will be examined by the Public Accounts
Committee. "There is no personal involvement of anybody. What has been
given others, has been given to this (Purti) also. There is no
wrongdoing," he said.