Allegations of being gifted Scania bus are baseless, says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The office of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on March 9 clarified that all allegations against him and his family members that Swedish bus manufacturer Scania gifting a bus to them are "baseless and fabricated".

Scania allegedly delivered a luxury bus to a company that had close ties with Gadkari's sons in November 2016. It was also said the bus was not paid for and was used for the wedding of Gadkari's daughter.

The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways has clarified his stance on these reports, calling them "nothing but a figment of media’s imagination".

"The 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 Shri Gadkari," read the clarification.

The media has also been requested to wait for an official statement by Scania India since the entire episode is an internal affair.

"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."

The media reports also alleged that Scania had paid bribes to win bus contracts in India, as reported Reuters. Gadkari played a pivotal role in introducing Scania’s Ethanol-run bus in Nagpur as a part of his drive to bring in green public transport in India.

He had encouraged the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to initiate a pilot project, following which the civic body signed a commercial MoU with the Swedish company. 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," read the statement.