Q: Why is there so much buzz about your sugarcane business?
Nitin Gadkari: It's not so much a business project for me as much as a social-economic one in Vidarbha. Many sugar mills have closed down or gone defunct. Our group and 15,000 other share holders revived a sugar mill in Bhandara after winning an open bid thrice and took Rs. 400 crore from Nabard. We have provided jobs to 6,000 people. I became BJP president by accident; otherwise my attention was on social work in Vidarba. We have even organised 2,000 heart surgeries.
Q: Haven't your business friends got you into this situation?
Nitin Gadkari: I don't do business with my friends. It's a wrong perception. As Maharashtra PWD minister between 1995 and 1999, I had a series of roads, highways and flyovers built across the state including the Yashwantrao Chavan Mumbai-Pune Expressway, involving Rs. 8,000 crore. Was there a single complaint of corruption against me when so much money was involved? On the other hand, there was all round praise for cost cutting and timely completion of these projects.