Mahajan’s finances in spotlight

After BJP leader and former telecom minister Pramod Mahajan was shot by his younger brother Pravin, there has been a lot of speculation regarding Pramod’s financial dealings. Sources said the rift between the brothers was because the elder Mahajan had begun trusting his two secretaries more than his family. This speculation has only increased after his secretary Vivek Moitra’s death on Saturday.

The rumour doing the rounds is that Pramod allegedly entrusted some party funds in the hands of his other secretary Sudhanshu Mittal. However, sources close to Mittal have denied the allegations. “These are all disgusting and malicious rumours. Mahajan was BJP in-charge of the Lok Sabha Elections in 1998. In 1999 the responsibility was P Kumarmangalam’s and the 2000 LS polls were handled by Venkaiah Naidu. Mahajan never involved in raising funds for the party or siphoning off money,” said a source close to Mittal.

Some BJP members add there was a rift between Moitra and Mittal. Since Mittal was based in Delhi, he was closer to Pramod while Moitra was said to be close to Rahul.