Bhopal: Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh Thursday said a fine of Rs 100 crore should be imposed on former BJP leader Uma Bharti for alleging that he had amassed
wealth to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore during the 10 years that he was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister.
"Even though Uma made such a preposterous allegation against him, she had not furnished any proof till now for it," Singh said.
The Congress General Secretary, who was Chief Minister from 1993 to 2003, said he does not need the fine money for himself but if it was paid the fund would be spent on charity.
Singh said soon after Bharti made this allegation, he had written a letter asking her to explain the basis on which she had arrived at the amount of Rs 15,000 crore.
"I challenge Uma, she cannot even prove that I had accumulated (assets of) Rs 15,000 lakh leave alone Rs 15,000 crore."
Singh said the Bharatiya Janshakti party leader, a former CM, never responded to his letter and this forced him to file a defamation suit against her.
He said Bharti's allegation, unproven till now, had cost the Congress the December 2003 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh when BJP came to power.
Besides this, the baseless charge had caused a lot of agony to him and his family members, Singh said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, November 26, 2009, 14:20