New Delhi, Oct 13: Terming as "baseless innuendos" the allegations of "money bungling" by her Trust, Law Minister Salman Khurshid's wife Louise launched a scathing attack on activist Arvind Kerjriwal accusing him of "doing politics using the shoulders of the disbaled".
Louise Khurshid went to the extent of describing Kejriwal as an "ambulance chaser", meaning briefless lawyers in the US who chase ambulances to get clients.
Louise also trashed speculation about her husband resigning over the issue, saying there is no reason why her husband should step down.
"There is no inquiry against Khurshid either by the central government or any report by the CAG. So why should he step down," Louise said.
She was also critical of a television group against which she has filed a defamation suit for a sting operation on the issue saying more such suits will be filed including one by the Law Minister himself.
"They could find only three persons to say that they have not received anything, whereas we have provided artificial limbs to thousands of people. And we alone did not do all this. Our MLAs like Vivek Bansal, Jitin Prasada and others also organised camps for the disabled in various areas where artificial limbs were distributed. They are all disturbed now.
"We have spent huge money serving the people of our constituency Farrukhabad for which we did not take anything from the government. We will not soil our hands for an amount like Rs 70 lakh. We have done no wrong. All this is totally false," she said.
She denied any inter-ministerial rivalry behind the controversy but wondered why the Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment did not give papers and documents to the CAG and others, when they were sought.
"The Ministry should have given the accounts. We had submitted the utilisation certificates and all documents," she said adding that the ministry for "some inexplicable reason" said they were not concerned with it, when the CAG made certain queries regarding the Trust's work.
"There already enough innuendos. I do not want to add up to them. I will not make any allegation but it was quite shocking that they did not give documents," Louise said.
Louise said the Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment should have given the accounts (to the CAG) submitted to it by her NGO Zakir Husain Memorial Trust.
"The ministry should have given the accounts, we submitted...all these proofs are with the ministry. All these proofs are with the ministry. Why the ministry did not give all these proofs?" she wondered.
Louise claimed the document being shown by certain news channels regarding her NGO is not a CAG report.
"The document is merely an excerpt from an initial internal report, which seeks, from Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to give certain clarifications. Neither the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust nor any of its functionaries have been questioned by the CAG or by the Ministry," she said.
Louise said she will write to the CAG to seek take her opinion in their final findings.
Asked whether she and the Law Minister are open to a probe into the functioning of the NGO, she said, "Certainly.
Let them go each of the 17 districts". She said she had talked to the CAG office and they had said that no report will be final unless her comments are incorporated.
Targeting Kejriwal, she said he should first come clean on the amount of Rs 2 crore, which he was going to give to Anna Hazare after they parted ways before "screaming and shouting" on others.
She said that the protest march by disabled persons to yesterday did not have anyone from Uttar Pradesh.
"Kejriwal is what Americans say is an ambulance chaser. He is chasing issues. He is no more an activist. He has launched a political party and looking for issues...," she said.
