New Delhi: Anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal today demanded replies from Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid to his five questions which are all related to an NGO run by the minister's wife Louise for the differently-abled.
Salman Khurshid, chairman of the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, was forced on the defensive after Aaj Tak picked holes in the NGO's claim that it had organised camps for the disabled in 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
According to the TV channel, the camps were not held in all the districts. More damning was the charge that many of the beneficaries had never received the promised aid from the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust.
Citing certain affidavits which contain forged signatures of government officials, Aaj Tak pointed out that the Trust had received grants from the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry on the basis of such illegal affidavits.
While Rs 71.5 lakh was released as grant to the Trust in 2010-11 and another grant of Rs 68 lakh was given in 2011-12, the channel said that the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry had stopped further payments after it found that signatures on the affidavits had been forged.
JB Singh who used to serve as Chief Develoment Officer of Mainpuri told Aaj Tak that he had not signed any affidavit even though his signature can be clearly seen in one such document.
Today Kejriwal asked Khurshid whether the affidavit of JB Singh is forged and if so, why the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust had used a forged affidavit.
Kejriwal's second poser was does Khurshid agree that the Trust had used another forged letter of UP government's special secretary Ram Raj Singh to secure grants.
Referring to a report submitted by the UP government against the Trust, the activist asked the minister to clarify if the report is right or wrong?
As for the camps which the Trust claims to have organised but the UP government says have not been held at all, Kejriwal demanded to know from Khurshid whether he agrees with the government's averment.
The fifth question was about the beneficaries who deny receiving any aid for the disabled. Kejriwal asked if these persons state on a public platform that they did not get the aid, will Khurshid resign and quit politics?
Arvind Kejriwal today alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government was colluding with Salman Khurshid to bail the Law Minister out of the allegations of financial irregularities in an NGO run by him and his wife.
"These are not our allegations. These are the allegations of Akhilesh Yadav government. The matter was probed by the state government and a report was submitted on June 12 and send to Central government which issued a show cause notice," Kejriwal said, addressing protesters at Parliament Street who were into their third day of demonstration demanding the resignation of Khurshid and registration of case.
"...Already the issue has been probed. But now Akhilesh Yadav says this will be probed again. We suspect that it will not be a probe but an effort to destroy evidence. It appears that the issue have been settled between both of them (Yadav and Khurshid). It appears they have managed it," Kejriwal alleged.
Khurshid, who was in London for the past few days and returned to Delhi this morning, denied the allegations levelled by a TV news channel and Kejriwal-led India Against Corruption that the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust owned by him and his wife Louise was involved in cases of financial misappropriation and forgery.
"I will fight back the allegations with sufficient proof," Khurshid told reporters here.
Earlier in the day, IAC volunteers staged protests at the IGI airport when Khurshid arrived from London and later another group staged protest outside his residence also. Around 15 people were detained by police in the two protests.
Kejriwal also led a march around Connaught Place along with disabled people. He also challenged Khurshid to have a public discussion at Jantar Mantar over the allegations.
