S P Hinduja regrets Mandelson's resignation

S P Hinduja regrets Mandelson's resignation
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, JAN 25: Hinduja Group chairman S P Hinduja today regretted the resignation of British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Mandelson following controversy over his help in Hinduja brothers obtaining British passport.

``I wish to reiterate that we have never sought any favour from any Minister for getting British nationality when we were qualified for the same,'' Srichand Hinduja told reporters after giving some clarifications to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) over his alleged role in the Bofors payoff case.

Srichand Hinduja, who has already been interrogated for over 13 hours in four days from Saturday last, regretted that their donations for the millennium dome in Britain was being linked with the obtaining of British citizenship.

``This is absolutely false. No one had approached me or my brother for having British citizenship,'' Srichand Hinduja said in response to media reports that they had paid huge amount for the dome for obtaining the citizenship.

British newspaper Sunday Observer had reported on Sunday that Liberal Democrat Parliament member Norman Baker has sought an investigation to find out whether Mandelson had helped S P Hinduja and his brother to obtain British citizenship after they agreed to donate one million pound to bail out the Millennium Dome in London.

``The Hinduja Foundation's support for the dome, since 1997, was in order to fulfil these objectives and for no other reason,'' he said.

In the wake of this controversy, Mandelson had to resign yesterday.

Meanwhile, the CBI today completed the interrogation of Geneva-based P P Hinduja but said it would call him again in case any clarification was required even as the Hinduja Group chairman, S P Hinduja, was again summoned to the agency headquarters.

CBI spokesman S M Khan told reporters, ``As of now, the interrogation of P P Hinduja has been completed, but he could be called again if the CBI needed any further clarification''.

London-based billionaire, Srichand Hinduja, was the first to arrive at the CBI headquarters and was questioned by the special investigating group again for over three hours. He had already been questioned for over 13 hours in a span of four days beginning Saturday last.

However, Khan said the investigating officers only needed some clarifications from Srichand Hinduja and no further interrogation was done.

``We only interrogated P P Hinduja today and on January 27 London-based G P Hinduja has been summoned for questioning,'' Khan said.

Prakash Hinduja spent three hours with CBI investigators, whose questioning focussed on the payment the Hindujas have admitted to have received from the Bofors company. The Hinduja brothers have maintained that the payments received by the them were not related to the company's gun deal with India. At the end of the day's questioning, P P Hinduja said, ``I am cooperating with the CBI and all queries sought by them have been replied to.''

When Khan was asked as to why Srichand Hinduja was summoned again to the CBI, he said, ``We needed some clarifications which has been replied by him.''

However, he did not reply to a question whether Srichand Hinduja's appearance at the agency headquarters today was only to pave the way for his moving an application before a designated court to leave the country.

Emerging out of the agency headquarters, S P Hinduja said, ``I have come here to extend all my co-operation with the CBI and reply to all their queries and clarifications.''

The court, which extended their interrogation till January 30, will also hear the applications of three Hinduja brothers for leaving the country after a detailed report of their interrogation was submitted.

The special judge Ajit Bharihoke had said earlier this week that Hinduja brothers were free to move an application in this regard after their counsel stated that his clients could be allowed to go in case their interrogation was completed before January 30.