“One meeting was kept secret…?”: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam alleges Uddhav Thackeray meeting Gupta family

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 12 (ANI): Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam on Monday alleged that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray during his visit to Delhi met the Gupta family who allegedly committed scams in South Africa.

“It was publicly announced that Uddhav Thackeray went to Delhi to meet the leaders of the INDIA bloc. The meetings he had with all the leaders were publicized widely. But one meeting was kept secret and that was with a member of the Gupta family. Gupta’s family committed scams in South Africa and they had to abscond from there in 2018. The then president of South Africa Jacob Zuma also had to leave his position because of them and then he was also removed from his party.

Two of the Gupta brothers are absconding and there are Interpol and red corner notices against them. They are in Dubai. The third brother among them, Ajay Gupta is in India. Ajay Gupta is also an accused in the suicide case of a businessman in Uttarakhand, Baba Sahni. He has been out on bail since July 11,” Nirupam alleged.

“Why did Uddhav Thackeray meet such a person discreetly?… Did he want money from Ajay Gupta for the upcoming elections?” he questioned Uddhav.

Uddhav Thackeray was in the national capital from August 6 to August 8 and held various meetings with the INDIA bloc leaders.

In 2018, the South African government started investigating the corruption charges against former president Zuma.

The former South African president is accused of overseeing widespread graft during his nine-year reign. The Guptas are accused of using their influence to profit financially and influence senior appointments. However, they have denied wrongdoing.

The Gupta brothers — Ajay, Atul and Rajesh — had migrated from Uttar Pradesh to South Africa in the 1990s and owned a business empire spanning computer equipment, media and mining in South Africa.

The scandal forced Zuma to quit in 2018 after he faced massive furore within his own ruling African National Congress (ANC) lawmakers over corruption charges.