Lekhi, Cong in war of words over Kalra

New Delhi: BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi on Saturday alleged that Delhi restaurateur Navneet Kalra, who is accused of hoarding and selling oxygen concentrators in black market, has a long history of association with Congress and strong ties with several party members, including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

“If you see Kalra’s Facebook timeline, he has blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Covid-19 pandemic. His restaurant's chef has pics with Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. They call them India's first family,” Lekhi said.

The BJP MP claimed that when Congress member Ajay Makan was urban development minister, he had nominated Robert Vadra as Delhi Golf Club member in 2004-05 and Navneet Kalra as a club member the next year.

She alleged that Kalra had hoarded oxygen concentrators worth over Rs 13 crore and sold them at highly inflated rates at a time when Congress members were targeting the Centre for oxygen shortage amid the second surge of the pandemic.

“Congress’ hands are always with black marketers and hoarders. Navneet Kalra is directly in links with Congress. Over 7,500 oxygen concentrators, worth Rs 13 crore, were seized from Navneet Kalra and Matrix Cellular CEO Gaurav Khanna's gang,” Lekhi said and added, ”While Rahul Gandhi and his Congress friends create chaos about oxygen shortage, Kalra was hoarding the concentrators.”

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shakti Sinh Gohil rubbished Lekhi’s claims as “baseless allegations by a frustrated politician”. He said the two individuals who looted the country the most— Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi— have photographs with Narendra Modi, so that should make the PM culpable for their crimes too, by her logic. “Lekhi forgot to notice that it was the BJP former corporator’s son in Surat, who was caught making duplicate Remdesivir, and BJP president in Gujarat was hoarding injections,” Gohil said.

Lekhi alleged another Congress member, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, is the advocate for all black marketeers.

Navneet Kalra has been on the run since Delhi Police seized 524 oxygen concentrators from three restaurants owned by him.