P Chidambaram: No one from my family could influence FIPB

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram yesterday said it was "preposterous" to suggest that any member of his family could influence six secretaries of the central government who were part of the FIPB

P Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram yesterday said it was "preposterous" to suggest that any member of his family could influence six secretaries of the central government who were part of the FIPB.

Strongly refuting allegations that his son Karti had influenced the decisions of the now-defunct Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) when he was the finance minister, Chidambaram said it was a "despicable slur" on the six secretaries of the government. The FIPB used to vet FDI proposals requiring government approval.

The former finance minister said anyone familiar with the working of the FIPB knows that no single officer could take a decision on any proposal and it was a collective decision of six secretaries.

"Anyone who has worked with me knows that no one would dare to influence my decisions. I had never allowed any family member to speak to me or to any officer of my ministry on any official matter," he said in a statement. It was therefore, he said, "preposterous" to suggest that a member of his family, with or without his knowledge, influenced, by corrupt or illegal means, the six secretaries who constituted the FIPB.

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