Sanjay Nirupam’s big claim: Uddhav Thackeray held ’secret’ meeting with Ajay Gupta, linked to South Africa graft

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam alleged on Monday that Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray held a secret meeting with "a member of the Gupta family", which was accused of scams in South Africa.

Nirupam said, "It was publicly announced that Uddhav Thackeray went to Delhi to meet the leaders of the INDIA Alliance. 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..."

The Shiv Sena leader said the Gupta family committed scams in South Africa and they absconded 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," Nirupam said.

He went on to claim two of the Gupta brothers – Rajesh Gupta and Atul Gupta – are absconding and there are Interpol and red corner notices against them. "The third brother among them, Ajay Gupta, is in India," he said.

He said Ajay Gupta is also an accused in the suicide case of a businessman in Uttarakhand, Baba Sahni. "Ajay Gupta has been out on bail since July 11," he said.

Referring to this, Nirupam asked, "Why did Uddhav Thackeray meet such a person discreetly?... Did he want money from Ajay Gupta for the upcoming elections?..."

He also said that Uddhav Thackeray should clarify whether he has any investment in South Africa. "Do you have any investment in South Africa? Does the Gupta family have any role in that investment? Did you have any business transaction with Baba Sahni, that you wanted to settle?" the Sena leader asked.

About Gupta family

The Indian-born Gupta brothers – Atul, Ajay and Rajesh – built a sprawling business empire in South Africa after moving there in 1993 as the country opened up to foreign investment when white-minority rule crumbled.

In 2018, South African investigators said the Guptas colluded with ex-president Jacob Zuma to siphon off state assets under a system that, according to one estimate, cost several billion dollars.

Earlier this year, 58-year-old Ajay Gupta and another family member, Anil Gupta, were arrested in Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand state. The case concerns the death of Satinder Singh Sawhney, a 52-year-old building developer working on housing projects with the Guptas.

His corpse was found at the bottom of an apartment block on May 24. Sawhney's son said he left a suicide note in which he accused the two men of threatening him.

The Times of India quoted director of prosecution Girish Pancholi as saying that Sawhney had accused Ajay and Anil Gupta of having "forced him to commit suicide" after filing "fake cases against him".

(With inputs from agencies)