Bottling The Truth Or Sugar-Coating It?
Shivraj Patil must come clean ________ M Ratan ________ Ambala, New Delhi, Latur, June 6 : Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s record in office may not be much to write home about — a string of terrorist attacks across the country since he took charge and no sign of a breakthrough in any case. On one front, at least, the Minister has delivered — by providing the clout of his official address to help his son’s businesses, from a distillery in Haryana to a sugar mill in Maharashtra. An investigation by The Indian Express in New Delhi, Ambala and Latur has found that the Home Minister’s son Shailesh Patil and daughter-in-law Archana Patil have cited the Home Minister’s official residence, 4, Janpath, as their address when they became part of a Rs 149-crore distillery project sprawled across 52 acres in Ambala. Records obtained from the Registrar of Companies and pollution board authorities show Shailesh and Archana Patil joined as directors of N V Distilleries Ltd on May 9, 2005. The plan