नवीनतम
Sam Pitroda denies bribery allegations
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Congress leader Sam Pitroda on Wednesday categorically denied allegations of bribery and corruption, asserting that he has never paid or accepted a bribe in India or any other country throughout his 83-year life and career.
Taking to social media platform X, Pitroda stated, "In light of recent reports in the Indian media, both on television and in print, I wish to categorically state the following: I do not own any land, home, or stocks in India. Additionally, during my tenure working with the Government of India—whether with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the mid-1980s or with Dr Manmohan Singh from 2004 to 2014—I have never taken/received any salary."
He further wrote, "Furthermore, I want to put on record, unequivocally, that I have never in my entire life—spanning 83 years—paid or accepted any bribe, in India or in any other country. This is the absolute and irrefutable truth."
His statement comes in response to a complaint filed against him with the Karnataka Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Bengaluru on Monday, accusing him of involvement in a Rs 150 crore land scam.
Senior BJP leader and activist N.R. Ramesh lodged the complaint, alleging that Pitroda, a close associate of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, was involved in a large-scale illegal land acquisition scam concerning Karnataka’s Forest Department property. The allegations include fraud, corruption, illegal government land acquisition, and abuse of power.
The complaint details that Pitroda registered an organisation named Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) in Mumbai in 1991. In 1996, he requested the Karnataka Forest Department to lease reserved forest land to FRLHT for “medicinal plant conservation and research.” Subsequently, 12.35 acres of forest land in Jarakabande Kavalu near Yelahanka, Bengaluru, was leased to FRLHT for five years.
The lease was extended in 2001 for another 10 years, expiring in 2011. However, Ramesh alleged that despite the expiry, FRLHT continued to occupy the land due to "political and financial influence," with officials allegedly refraining from reclaiming the land due to bribery.
The complaint also claims that FRLHT has been cultivating rare medicinal plants on the government land and profiting from their sale for nearly three decades.
Sam Pitroda, originally from Odisha, served as an advisor to India’s Telecom Department under former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.
