Luxury bus controversy: Gadkari rubbishes 'fabricated' media reports

New Delhi [India], March 10 (ANI): Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday rejected media reports about him being gifted a luxury bus by a Swedish bus manufacturer.
"The media allegations that in November 2016, Scania delivered a luxury bus to a company that had close ties with Gadkari's sons are malicious, fabricated and baseless," read a statement by Gadkari's office.
The statement said the allegations that the bus was not paid for and was used for the wedding of Gadkari's daughter are "nothing but a figment of the media's imagination".
According to the statement, media reports that the bus was financed by a Volkswagen finance company, but Scania stepped in to pay for the part that the above-mentioned company did not, that itself "contradicts" that the bus was a gift to the Union Minister.
"Since the entire episode of the Scania bus is an internal affair of the Swedish company, it will prudent for the media to wait for an official statement by Scania India which handled the matter. Gadkari and his family members have absolutely nothing to do with the purchase or sale of the bus. Nor do they have anything to do with any firm or individual who might be linked with the purchase or sale of the bus," it added.
It further said that Gadkari was a "pioneer" in introducing Scania's Ethanolrun bus in Nagpur as a part of his drive to bring in green public transport in the country, and the Union Minister encouraged the "Nagpur Municipal Corporation to initiate a pilot project and the Nagpur civic body signed a commercial memorandum of understanding with the Swedish company" and accordingly, Scania's Ethanol-operated buses started plying in Nagpur.
"It was purely a commercial arrangement between the Nagpur civic body and the Swedish bus manufacturers and Gadkari and his family had nothing to do with it. The attempts by a section of the media to drag the name of Nitin Gadkari and his family, therefore, are very unfortunate and part of a sinister and malicious campaign to malign Gadkari and tarnish his unblemished reputation as a person of impeccable integrity,' the statement added. (ANI)