(Eds: Updating with quotes)Ahmedabad, Oct 13 (PTI) BJP chief Amit Shah today saidthere was no question of corruption in his son Jay Amit Shah'scompany and it had not received government land or contractworth even a rupee.
He was referring to a report in the news portal The Wire,which claimed that a company owned by Jay Shah saw a huge risein turnover after the BJP came to power in 2014.
The BJP president also hit out at the Congress, saying itdid not file a defamation suit despite facing severalcorruption charges while his son Jay Shah has moved the courtover the allegations against him.
"The question of corruption does not arise (in Jay'scompany)," Shah said in response to a question on the report.
"I want to raise some questions here. Congress hasfaced many allegations of corruption. Have they ever fileda criminal defamation or a Rs 100 crore civil defamation suit.
Why could they not gather the courage to file such a suit?"Shah asked at a programme organised by Aaj Tak channel here.
Jay, he said, has filed a defamation suit and asked foran inquiry (by approaching the court) as had the BJP.
"As far as the company is concerned, it has not donebusiness worth a rupee with the government. It has not gotgovernment land worth a rupee, it has not got any governmentcontract worth even a rupee.
"The company has not taken commission like in the case ofBofors," Shah said, referring to Bofors gun pay-off scandalthat had rocked the then Congress government in the 1990s.
The company, he added, dealt in commodities like rice andmillets.
"They are saying that the turnover of the company wasRs 80 crore, but they are not showing that it incurred a lossof Rs 1.5 crore. This is a high volume low profit business.
Where is money laundering in it?" Shah asked.
Replying to a query on the loan given to the company,Shah said, "You have to understand first that it was not aloan, but a letter of credit. We were given credit to liftmaterial against cash deposits. Jay's cash was lying inthe bank and we have paid the loan with interest."The Congress has demanded a judicial inquiry into thematter and removal of Amit Shah as BJP president.
The BJP has rejected the charges against its chief's son,who has termed the report "false, derogatory anddefamatory.
On October 9, he filed a criminal defamation suit in ametropolitan court in Ahmedabad against seven respondents,including the author of the article and editor of The Wire.
The Congress raked up the issue during its recentcampaigns in Gujarat, where elections are due in December.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi repeatedly raisedthe issue during his roadshow in the state. PTI PJT PD NP NMMIN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.