Gadkari faces no pending probe, says IT department

"The timing of this malicious and sinister campaign, mounted through a motivated high-voltage media blitz, was part of a conspiracy to tarnish my image," Gadkari then maintained.

BJP sources said the clean chit raises a question mark over the veracity of the operations reportedly undertaken by the Income Tax department in January 2013, which were described by the media as "raids, searches and inquiries" into Gadkari's affairs.

Gadkari did not take the developments kindly, which resulted in him losing out on a second term as party president.

He openly warned then that after the BJP government came to power in 2014, "I would not spare any of them", referring to the Income Tax sleuths who reportedly investigated him and his businesses.