Probe misuse of government machinery to malign Gadkari: BJP

MUMBAI: Going on the offensive after the Income Tax department said there was no inquiry pending with it against Nitin Gadkari, BJP today sought a probe into what it claimed was the "misuse of government machinery" to malign the image of its former party president.

"With the department stating that no inquiry was in progress against Gadkari, it is now clear that the news reports against him were false and that the ruling party indulged in politics of vendetta against him," BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said here.

"An inquiry should be held to (ascertain) who misused the government machinery to indulge in this politics of vendetta against Gadkari," Bhandari said.

The BJP leader added that the clarification by the I-T department also proves that no inquiry was conducted against Gadkari in the past.

Bhandari's statement comes in light of the reply by the Directorate of Income Tax (investigation), Nagpur, to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act that, "there is no inquiry/investigation presently pending in this directorate against Nitin Gadkari of Nagpur."

RTI activist Sumit Dalal of Delhi had filed an application under the RTI Act, 2005, seeking details of the Income Tax cases, if any, pending against Gadkari.