With the Indian Air Force asking former prime minister H D Deve Gowda to make a payment of over Rs 54 lakh for using its aircraft, allegedly for non-official purposes, the former prime minister said on Thursday that the amount has to be paid by the political party concerned.
"The amount was due from Janata Dal as per the government's record itself and it is government's own instruction that it has to be paid by the political party (not an individual)," Gowda told media-persons in New Delhi. The former PM said, "The government has wrongly presumed that Janata Dal-Secular is successor in interest of the undivided Janata Dal and has shared the assets and liabilities of the undivided Janata Dal. The JD-U headed by Sharad Yadav was successor to all the assets and liabilities of the undivided Janata Dal," he said, hinting that the Yadav-led party was supposed to make the payment.
Gowda added that the then Janata Dal divided into five parties -- the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal-United, Janata Dal-Secular, the Biju Janata Dal and the Lok Janshakti Party. He said that he would contest the issue in the high court but would abide by the court verdict, whatever it is. "The matter is sub-judice before the Delhi High Court and I would abide by the judgement," Gowda said, adding, "In my whole life, I have not even kept a single rupee due to anybody..." JD-S leaders said the IAF aircraft was used during the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 1996 by the Janata Dal and the bill was sent to the party's office at 7 Jantar Mantar Road which is now the office of the JD-U. "It came to our notice in only January 2000 even though the JD-S was formed on August 7, 1999. Earlier there was no JD-S when the aircraft was used," a close aide said.
