P Chidambaram, wife Nalini party to MLM fraud that duped 12 lakh people, says BJP

Alleging that former union home minister P Chidambaram and his wife Nalini were in the know of the activities of the Hong Kong-based multi-level marketing (MLM) group – which operates under multiple names like Qnet, GoldQuest, QuestNet, QI Ltd etc – the state unit of the BJP, on Saturday, demanded an inquiry into the duping of 12 lakh people all over the country by the controversial group.

BJP state unit chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari informed mediapersons that he has already met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in this regard and Fadnavis has assured a thorough inquiry into the operations of these firms in Maharashtra. Bhandari was accompanied by Gurupreet Singh Anand, who has filed a complaint with the economic offences wing of Mumbai Police, regarding duping of his wife by Qnet.

Bhandari said that these companies have been functioning all over the country and have changed names after FIRs, arrests and court cases, thereby duping more and more citizens. He said the companies have duped 1.2 million Indian citizens to the tune of thousands of crores. Each of the investor has lost Rs 1 to 3 lakh in the scam. He said that Chidambaram and his wife were working as legal advisors of these firms for years and so well aware of the operations of these companies.

Pointing out that an advocate, Mahesh Khanna from Chennai, had approached the chief vigilance commissioner (CVC) on the issue, Bhandari informed that the CVC had handed over the matter to CBI in July 2010 for necessary action but since Chidambaram was the union home minister then, the matter was pushed under the carpet. Bhandari alleged that names of Chidambarams, along with former union minister Shashi Tharoor, also figure in the case since advocate Khanna has listed Tharoor's name as well and the matter is referred to the CBI.

Bhandari said that Gurupreet Singh Anand had approached the Mumbai Police, but there too the investigation came under pressure and even Anand was coerced to withdraw his complaint. Bhandari said that the chief minister has assured that the police will get into the roots of this case and that he would also take up the matter with the union government.

Pawar, Deshmukh named in plaint

Stating that names of former CM, late Vilasrao Deshmukh, and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, also have been mentioned by advocate Khanna in his complaint to the CVC, Bhandari said that the BJP, however, is desisting from levelling charges against them for want of documentary proof.