The Hindu : Bhajan Lal, Alva deny charges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 11, 2002

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National

Bhajan Lal, Alva deny charges

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi Aug. 10. At least two senior Congress leaders have disputed the BJP's claim that they were recipients of petrol pumps. The veteran parliamentarian, Margaret Alva, and the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president, Bhajan Lal, refuted the BJP's allegation. Their names figured in the list of petrol pump beneficiaries.

In a statement, Mr. Bhajan Lal said he had bought a petrol pump 40 years ago from Caltex, and that "except this pump, neither me nor my wife nor my son has any other petrol pump throughout India".

The former Haryana Chief Minister has given the BJP spokesman, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, three days "to prove his allegation and within this period he should tender apology otherwise, I will file a defamation suit against him". another statement, Ms. Alva says: "I admit that I, as their MP, had recommended to the Minister two or three deserving cases from my constituency, who had applied in response to newspaper advertisements and had been called for interviews.

Ms. Alva said that "the fact that the Prime Minister has cancelled all these allotments is an admission that something has gone wrong.

The responsibility for this bungling needs to be fixed and corrective measures taken instead of this aimless mud-slinging".

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