(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Opposition parties yesterday sought an inquiry into allegations that the turnover of a company linked to the son of Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah, increased 16,000 times after the party came to power in 2014.
The BJP rubbished the allegations by the news website Wire and Shah's son Jay Shah issued a statement saying the article had made 'false, derogatory and defamatory imputations against him.
Jay Shah said his businesses were fully legitimate and he had decided to 'prosecute the author, editor and owner of the aforesaid news website for criminal defamation and sue them for an amount of Rs100 crore.
He said the article creates an impression 'that my business owes its success to my father Sri Amit Bhai Shah's political position.
Opposition Congress leader Kapil Sibal said at a press conference that information obtained from the Registrar of Companies had revealed that Temple Enterprises Pvt Ltd, a company in which Jay Shah was a director and which had a turnover of just Rs50,000 in 2014-15, suddenly saw a spike of 16,000 times in its turnover in a year.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashutosh also held a press conference and made similar allegations, saying the fortunes of Amit Shah's son rose after the BJP came to power and he became the party chief. The AAP demanded a probe.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury said in a tweet: 'Serious corruption charges against BJP president's son need investigation. BJP presidents eg Advani, Laxman had resigned on lesser charges.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the government. 'We finally found the only beneficiary of demonetisation. It's not the RBI, the poor or the farmers. It's the Shah-in-Shah of Demo. Jai Amit, he said in a tweet.
Sibal said Temple Enterprises had recorded losses in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 of Rs6,230 and Rs1,724, respectively, but showed a profit of about Rs18,000 in 2014-15. The following year (2015-16), its turnover jumped to a whopping Rs800mn, he said.
The change in fortunes of the company came after it received an unsecured loan of Rs157.8mn from KIFS Financial Services owned by a relative of a BJP Rajya Sabha member, Sibal claimed.
The Congress leader also alleged that Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, a company under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, had given a loan of Rs100mn to Kusum Finserv, a limited liability partnership, in which Jay Shah had a 60% stake, even though this company had no prior experience of operating in the power sector.
'We are only saying that pradhan sevak should probe because this is excellent example of crony capitalism.
The BJP fielded Railway Minsiter Piyush Goyal to counter the allegations that he termed as 'malicious and defamatory.
'The article through malicious imputations is trying to damage the reputation of our leader Amit Shah, he said.
He termed Congress' allegations as 'old Congress style.
Clarifying the dealings of Jay Shah's companies, Goyal said Shah carries out 'fully legitimate and lawful business.
On the sudden rise in Temple Enterprise's turnover to Rs800mn, Goyal said the firm was dealing in agri-commodities in which there is 'high volume and high value but low profit margin.
'So even if you do just a few transactions, the volume becomes very high. Rs80 crore is not a large turnover in commodity business, he said.
On loans taken from KIFS Financial Services owned by Rajesh Khandwala, Goyal said normally banks do not extend loans to new and small companies and hence the loan was taken from KIFS, a registered non-banking financial company, on 'commercial rates and commercial considerations and has been repaid with interest.
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