Amit Shah summons Pradhan to explain
Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan has emerged unscathed after Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah gave him a clean bill of health following a major corruption charge.
Former minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and colleague Randeep Surjewala on July 16 alleged Pradhan accepted money from Suresh Sharma, a mining baron in Madhya Pradesh, accused in the notorious Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scandal, also known as "Vyapam." Ramesh and Surjewala provided printouts of Excel sheets sourced from a pen drive belonging to Sharma, seized by the income tax department, where Pradhan's name appears against an amount paid. "Pradhan was summoned by Shah to explain," says a senior BJP leader.
"He has given his explanation." Pradhan maintains all his travel tickets were booked by the BJP and he took no money from Sharma. At least 49 people have died in the Vyapam scandal.