Srinagar, Aug 25: Terming the allegations leveled by the Peoples Democratic Party on the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as “baseless,” the Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather on Wednesday said the Chief Minister would file a defamatory suit against the party. “It is unfortunate that instead of trying to help the government with its suggestions to deal with the present situation, our political friends (PDP) are engaged in petty politics and  are trying to derive political mileage,” Rather told a hurriedly called news conference here.
 “The allegations are baseless and unsubstantial. The Chief Minister has decided to file a defamatory suit against PDP legislators, and also a criminal and civil suit. A notice has already been sent to the PDP. We will seek justice in the case,” Rather said.
 Senior PDP legislator Nizam-ud-din Bhat, flanked by several party MLAs had leveled a series of allegations against Omar and his government “for draining public exchequer for personal interests.” 
 Reacting to the allegation by Bhat against Omar that he had received Rs 500 crore kickbacks in Rattle project, Rather termed it “false and far from truth” saying the second bidder in the race for acquiring the project, TATA, had appreciated the transparency in the bidding process.
 Reading out from a paper which he claimed was the letter written to the Chief Minister by the TATA officials, Rather said: “We appreciate that under your leadership Rattle was well managed by the JKSPDC and this openness and transparency has became bench mark to emulate the projects in the state and country.”
 If there would have been anything wrong, Rather said they (TATA) would have been first to voice their grievances. He said they were cent percent satisfied with the bidding process and hoped to work with state government in future.
 “We will always welcome good criticism and government is open for suggestions. I suggest to PDP not to indulge in mudslinging. They will get a chance to play politics but at this juncture they should come forward to take state out of the present situation,” Rather suggested. “People can make use of RTI to seek information about these allegations.”
 About the allegations that Omar was spending Rs 20 crore on his private residence at Gupkar here, Rather said the estimated cost of the house was Rs two crore out of which Rs 1.5 crore had been spent.
 “We refute the allegations as these are baseless. The antiques are there in the Toshkhana and anybody can check from the records that nothing has been shifted from there. We should not stoop so low to level allegations without any base”
 About the corruption allegations against some ministers whose case was handed over to  the State Vigilance Organization (SVO) by the chief minister, Rather said the SVO chief had been directed by the Chief Minister  to act promptly in the case. “Once the report comes action would be taken accordingly and guilty will not be spared,” the minister said.
 Rather said there was nothing true about the allegation that Omar had withdrawn Rs 26 crore from Chief Minister’s secret fund. “This is absolutely false.”
 Regarding the allegations that some ministers had sought kickback of Rs three crore from heart specialist, Dr Fayaz Shawl for setting up the heart institute here, Rather said the name of state minister Nasir Sogami had figured in the case as per media reports. “I talked to him (minister) about the issue. He told me that he had sent a notice to the doctor for leveling allegations against him. The minister told me that he had received an e-mail from the doctor seeking apology in the case.”
 The minister had to face volley of questions regarding the present situation in the valley, particularly the unending killings and government’s inaction to stop them and punish the culprits.
 In an official handout, released later in the evening, Rather said an amount of Rs five crore was spent on the renovation of Chief Minister’s House at Moulana Azad Road while Rs 26 lakhs was spent on the Nowgam Residence by the former Chief Minister of the PDP, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST