Slugfest over Nirmala’s meet with army land scam accused

Ranchi: A political slugfest erupted on Thursday following meeting of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman with money laundering and land scam accused builder, Vishnu Agarwal, in the presence of state BJP chief Babulal Marandi in Ranchi in a plush hotel in the capital. The incident put state BJP on the backfoot but it shifted the blame on organisers.
Nirmala was in Ranchi to attend meetings — one organised by an NGO in association with Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) — at a hotel and another by the BJP unit at a banquet hall later in the day.
Ahead of the event at the hotel, Vishnu, who was arrested by ED in July last year and is out on bail in January this year, was found greeting the minister with a bouquet at her hotel room in the presence of Marandi. The meeting photos soon went viral on social media giving ammo to the incumbent coalition govt in Jharkhand which questioned BJP’s double-standards on corruption. Many went on to accuse that the meeting was allegedly part of BJP’s “washing machine campaign” — a jibe often lobbed at the saffron camp for its “selective” act on the “corrupt”.
Sharing the picture on X, JMM’s central general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharjee wrote: “Businessman Vishnu Agarwal, who was jailed on charges of army and other land scams, met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Babulal Marandi was also present during this period. He was arrested by ED but is out on bail. It should be known that ED comes under the Finance Minister only.”
Congress in a statement too posed series of questions to union min and BJP. In its statement state Congress president Rajesh Thakur said, “ED comes directly under Finance ministry and the minister meeting land scam against whom ED probe is still on raises several questions.”
BJP put the blame on the organisers. Party spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said, “The programme wasn’t organised by govt or BJP but by an NGO and local trade bodies. Many may have met Union minister of whom he was one. However, no matter what, under PM Narendra Modi’s regime, if anyone is at fault, he/she will have to face the music.”