Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Friday came to the defence of his son Jay Shah, who is at the centre of a political storm following a media expose questioning his business dealings. Amit Shah said that there was no question of any corruption in the business activities conducted by his son, India Today reported.
The BJP president also said that his son has himself asked for a probe into the matter. "The business was of commodity trade which is high value low profit venture. If a company's turnover becomes Rs one crore, its profit does not become Rs one crore," he was quoted as saying.
File image of Amit Shah. Image courtesy: News18
An article in The Wire earlier this week stated that the turnover of the company owned by Jay Shah increased by 16,000 times in the year following the election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India. It also stated that firm received an unsecured loan of Rs 15.78 crore from a financial services owned by a relative of a Rajya Sabha MP.
Jay Shah has subsequently filed a defamation case against The Wire and the author of the article. In his application, Shah sought, "criminal action against the respondents for defaming and tarnishing the reputation of the complainant through an article, which is scandalous, frivolous, misleading, derogatory, libelous and consisting of several defamatory statements."
He is being represented by Additional Solicitor-General of India Tushar Mehta in the case. The ASG cannot hold briefs for any party except government bodies, unless the government allows for it, for reasons to be given in writing. The reasons for allowing the ASG to appear for Jay Shah have not yet been put in the public domain.
Also, soon after the allegations broke out, Union Minister Piyush Goyal addressed a press conference, contending that Jay Shah 'carries out a fully legitimate and lawful business.'
After the news broke, the Congress stepped up its attack over Jay Shah's business demanding resignation of the BJP chief. The Congress also sought a probe into the "sudden spurt" into the turnover of a company belonging to Jay Shah by a two-member commission of Supreme Court judges, questioned the timing of the closure of Jay Shah's company weeks before demonetisation and the move by Mehta, who decided to represent Jay Shah.
The Aam Adam Party (AAP), too, hit out at the BJP and said it will launch a protest across Uttar Pradesh to demand an independent SIT probe into allegations against Jay Shah.
With inputs from IANS
Published Date: Oct 13, 2017 01:12 pm | Updated Date: Oct 13, 2017 01:12 pm
