Kashyap rules out resignation

Replying to a question on the need for an independent inquiry,Kashyap said: “I am happy that the state government has already ordered an inquiry at its level. There is no need for a CBI inquiry.”

Stating that he has not seen the video CD,reported to be dated April 17,2009,(in the run-up to Lok Sabha polls),the MP said: “There is a big question mark on the authenticity of the CD as the person who has released and prepared it has not come out in the open. The date mentioned in the CD is of April when I was not an MP or a party candidate,nor had I filed my nomination.”

Kashyap alleged that there had been an attempt by his political opponents to throw him out of the race for the party ticket for the Lok Sabha poll,and that many attempts were made later to malign his image. He added: “Nine months later,the release of a fabricated CD points to a link to the old attempts against me.”

Asked about the link of the CD to the ‘cash packet’ episode involving him that made headlines around the Lok Sabha elections last year,he said: “I cannot comment on that,but during elections many people come forward with financial help for the party. However,the cash packet that was found at Hotel Paragon in Solan during a wedding reception,where I was also present,was handed over by me to my men to find out whom it belonged to. Later,when no one claimed it,we gave it to the police. An FIR was registered in that case and later it was found that the money belonged to a party worker who had left it on the table where I had found it.” He said he got to know only later that there was Rs 25,000 in that packet.

When asked if he would take moral responsibility if the contents of the CD were found to be true after the inquiry,he said: “Why not?” But when further probed about resignation,he said: “Why should I resign? In a politician’s career,many such controversies are cooked up by opponents (political or personal). In that case,politicians would have to keep on resigning every now and then.”