BJP on Monday wanted to know why Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has been releasing details about his business dealings "bit by bit" only after "expose" by a section of the media and demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh take action in this regard.
"Mr Sharad Pawar, why are you releasing information bit by bit only after media exposes you. You ought to be transparent. You ought to have stated categorically what the facts are," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here. He was reacting to media reports about Pawar owning some stake in United Spirits Limited, the parent company of the Bangalore IPL team.
"If it is a case of gross impropriety, which it is, the Prime Minister must take action," Prasad said. "Let there be a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into these issues," he said and also demanded an investigation by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs into the dealings of City Corporation in which the Pawar family has 16.2 per cent stake.
There are reasons to believe that the March resolution of City Corporation, allowing Managing Director Anirudhha Deshpande to bid for an IPL team in his individual capacity, was "ante-dated", he said.
"How can a company change its stand day by day. This is against corporate norms," Prasad said referring to reports about City Corporation's January Board resolution permitting the company to bid for an IPL team. "We had raised this issue earlier. Sharad Pawar has committed serious impropriety by not telling the nation all the facts. Our allegations have come true," he said.
Prasad also pointed to BCCI chief Shashank Manohar's remarks that had Deshpande place a bid in his individual capacity, it would have been rejected. PTI
