New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) dismissed on Wednesday as "plain lies" reports of "misconduct" by home minister Rajnath Singh's son, who was on Tuesday denied a BJP ticket to contest a by-election in Noida.
"This has reference to reports appearing in a section of the media over the past several weeks, mentioning the Prime Minister, and referring to the conduct of some Union Ministers, and alleged misconduct of the Home Minister's son," said a statement issued by the PMO.
"The reports are plain lies, motivated and constitute a malicious attempt at character assassination and tarnishing the image of the government. Those indulging in such rumour-mongering are damaging the interest of the nation," said the statement. "These reports are strongly denied."
Earlier this morning, Rajnath Singh denied that his son Pankaj Singh was denied a party ticket because of allegations of misconduct against him. "I had thought that these rumours would end in a few days but they haven't. I want to assure the people of India that the day accusations against me or anyone in my family are proved prima facie, I'll quit politics and sit at home," said Rajnath.
"I have spoken to the Prime Minister and the BJP chief (Amit Shah) who have also rubbished the rumours I will quit politics if there is an iota of proof against me or my family members' integrity," he said.
The BJP overlooked several high-profile claimants and picked a long-time party worker as Noida candidate on Tuesday, releasing a list of contestants for the September 13 by-polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The omission of Pankaj Singh, seen as the frontrunner for the seat, surprised many. The party instead showed faith in 62-year-old Vimla Batham, an industrialist who has been with the BJP for 25 years.
