Nitinji has come clean by asking for probe: Advani

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Wednesday backed party chief Nitin Gadkari, saying the latter has come "clean" by asking for a probe on the charges against him.

"Nitinji has come clean by asking for an inquiry by the department of company affairs," Advani said in a statement on certain media allegations questioning investments in the BJP president's family business.

He said the allegations against Gadkari were about "standards of business and not misuse of power or corruption".

"I am of the view that the BJP should be different and should not claim immunity on either the scale or the nature of the allegations," he said.

Accusing the government of trying to neutralise the "unprecedented" corruption charges against it by targeting Gadkari, Advani hoped that an impartial probe will be conducted into the matter.

"I hope that the government inquiry will be fair and the government will not use its political hostility to the BJP to colour the inquiry," he said.

Advani lashed out at the United Progressive Alliance for trying to work a strategy to paint the entire political class with the same brush to minimise and escape its "unpardonable sins".

He said allegations against opposition leaders like Gadkari was an "off-shoot" of this.
  
Terming Gadkari's response to the government probe into his business investments as "fair and proper", Advani said, "This shows the difference in the BJP's attitude."

He said one of the allegations of wrongdoing against Gadkari was related to the land issue, which has been proved wrong, according to media reports.
 
He also congratulated Gadkari for "voluntarily" asking for a probe into allegations of dubious funding in his companies.

Advani lamented that the "monumental" corruption by the ruling UPA has "made the political class hang its head in shame".