New Delhi, May 20: Senior Samata Party leader and Railway Minister Nitish Kumar today rubbished the corruption charges levelled against him by a party MP and described the matter as "motivated". "The whole thing is motivated. I cannot say who can be behind. But whatever has been said is baseless," Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of a book release function here.
Asked to comment on the letter written by Samata MP Brahmanand Mandal to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee drawing his attention to charges of corruption and the alleged threat given to a senior journalist, the Railway Minister said "I do not know what all allegations have been made against me. But I am prepared for a probe into the charges."
Dismissing the report that he had threatened a journalist, Kumar said "it is not my style of working. At least in this life I cannot do so".
In the letter, Mandal had alleged that Kumar threatened a Patna-based representative of a national daily not to write anything against Bihar otherwise he will have to face the consequences.
Kumar, whose supporters have demanded expulsion of Mandal and another MP Raghunath Jha from the party, said that he did not consider Mandal as a Samata MP. Mandal was suspended by Samata president George Fernandes from the parliamentary party for levelling charges against Kumar publicly and through the media.
"When someone makes up his mind to quit the party, he indulges in such talk," Kumar said but evaded questions on internal bickerings in the party. Bureau Report