Sharad Pawar denies DB links

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has denied having any link with the tainted DB Realty owned by the jailed Shahid Balwa, a day after corporate lobbyist Niira Radia told?Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that the Maharashtra politician can be behind the real estate company implicated in the 2G scam.

In a denial to NDTV, Pawar on Thursday said:?”What I saw in TV and newspapers…she is saying has not got any proof…this is her perception. I want to make one thing absolutely clear…in this realty and telecom…we have no relations…I have not one naya paisa in the company.”

Balwa, one of the key men implicated and arrested in the 2G licencing scam is the promoter for DB Realty and Swan Telecom, which is mired in the telecom scam for bagging a licence allegedly with the help of now jailed former telecom minister A Raja despite its apparent ineligibility.

Earlier on Wednesday, The CBI has opposed the bail petitions of five corporate honchos in connection with the 2G Spectrum allocation scam.

The bail petitions were moved by Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech, and three officials of Reliance Anil Dhirubhani Ambani group — Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.

They were presented in the special court along with former telecom minister A Raja, his ex-personal aide RK Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa, who all are lodged in the Tihar Jail currently.

The special CBI court, presided over by Judge OP Saini, listed the matter for hearing on April 15.

Earlier on April 2, the CBI had filed an 80,000 page charge-sheet against nine people and three companies, including Raja and his Telecom ministry aides and Unitech, Swan telecom and Reliance Telecom.