CBI, ED must probe Jay Shah: CPI-M

The CPI-M has urged the government to direct the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to probe the business dealings of BJP President Amit Shah's son Jay Shah.

In an editorial titled "Is the BJP President's Son above Scrutiny?", CPI-M journal People's Democracy said: "Jay Shah has become the centre of a case of crony capitalism and questions are being raised about business malfeasance."

It quoted a report in an online news portal as saying that Jay Shah owned a private limited company, Temple Enterprise Pvt Ltd, which had a revenue of only Rs 50,000 in 2014-15 but which rose to a turnover of Rs 80.5 crore in 2015-16 -- a 16,000-fold rise.

The company reportedly had unsecured loans of Rs 16.78 crore from a financial services firm. However, in October 2016, the company abruptly wound up its business.

Another company, Kusum Finserve Pvt Ltd, was set up in July 2015 to trade in stocks and shares and imports and exports. But it decided to go into the wind energy sector. It raised a loan of Rs 25 crore from a cooperative bank against collateral valued at Rs 7 crore.

"Among the properties mortgaged were one of Amit Shah valued at Rs 5 crore. The company also received a Rs 10.35 crore loan from a public sector enterprise, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, for setting up a 2.1 MW windmill plant."

The editorial said a host of questions had arisen about these business activities of Jay Shah - getting unsecured loans, a sudden and dramatic jump in turnover, ostensibly while dealing with export of agri-products, sudden closure of the company, a new venture which enters into a totally new area and getting a financial loan from a public sector enterprise.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist said that though Jay Shah was a private citizen, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal defended him. "The BJP leadership is out in force to deny any wrongdoing on the part of their President's son."

The editorial said that at a time when the Modi government was going after businessmen and opposition politicians on corruption and charges of laundering black money, "the way they are handling Jay Shah's case is in glaring contrast".

It said the Jay Shah case was "just one of the growing list of corruption and bribery cases involving the BJP...

"The Modi government must investigate the affairs of his (Jay Shah) companies. The CBI and the ED must be put on the job to at least show that they are not selective about tracking down economic offenders," the editorial said.

--IANS

mr/nir