Pratibha has no answers: BJP

The BJP ridicules UPA Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil’s rebuttal of the party’s charges against her, reports Shekhar Iyer.

The BJP on Wednesday ridiculed UPA Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil’s rebuttal of the party’s charges against her. “Who has answered them?” asked BJP spokesperson Prakash Javedekar, responding to Patil’s statement on the charges levelled against her by the BJP.

On Tuesday, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had ruled out Patil giving rebuttal to the charges, saying: “why should she answer?”

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Javedekar said questions that need her answers are: if it is true she formed the cooperative bank set up in her name? Whether the Reserve Bank of India cancelled its licence after it ended up with huge non-performing assets because of advances given to her relations?

Was it also true that she signed a resolution passed by the bank’s board of directors on November 19, 1990, calling for disbursal of loans to her relations? Whether on June 22, 2002, long after she quit as the head of the bank, the board of directors passed a resolution that authorised her to appoint a CEO for the bank?

Instead of addressing the specific issues, Patil was accusing the Opposition of trying to demean the presidential election, Javedekar said.

The BJP also distributed a statement issued by Vijay Vilhekar of the Shetkari Sanghatana, saying the organisation has been running a campaign against liquor shops in Maharashtra, including the one run by her brother-in-law, Vijaysingh Shekhawat, at Khallar, Daryapur.