New Delhi: Days after former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan quit alleging interference in the running of the ministry, her predecessor Jairam Ramesh said he faced no interference from Congress top officials in the running of the ministry.
Speaking to the news channel NDTV ahead of the launch of his book 'Green Signals', which records his 25-month tenure in the environment ministry between 2009 and 2011, Jairam said, "I can say that during my tenure, I never received any direction from Sonia or Rahul Gandhi on how to run the ministry."
Earlier, Jayanti Natrajan alleged that she had been given specific directions on clearances of mega projects from Congress vice President Rahul Gandhi's office. Rahul Gandhi in reply accused her of attacking him at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ramesh has categorically denied all questions related to Natrajan.
In his book he wrote, "Immediately after taking over I met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had recruited me to the Planning Commission back in1986 and with whom I had worked closely both in government and in the Congress party. He told me that the environment ministry had acquired a reputation for corruption and I should introduce a culture of transparency and accountability."
The book also contains numerous records, including letters and correspondences, between him and the former PM and other leaders during his tenure as the environment minister.
Regarding the verdict in Delhi assembly elections, he said it was a wake-up call for the Congress. But asked about the call to bring Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a leadership role, he said, "Solutions do not lie in one person. We need to stop cutting each other down."
