New Delhi: A famous evangelist on Friday alleged that the Congress was harassing him because he refused to pay Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, when he was Leader of the Opposition, $5 million.
K A Paul, who runs the Global Peace Initiative in Houston, USA, alleged at a press conference in Hyderabad that he feared for his life, as Reddy was "nursing a grudge" against him.
Paul alleged Marketing Minister B Satyanarayana on December 9, 2003 asked him for a donation on Reddy’s behalf. "I flatly refused the request. I am opening up now after more than three years because there is a threat to my life. My charity activity is sought to be banned in India," he alleged.
Reddy rejected the allegations. "I am totally surprised. I have never asked for any donation from any one, including Paul," Reddy said
He said he had met Paul once at an orphanage run by the evangelist’s brother in Sadasivapet near Hyderabad. "I was in the opposition then. Along with some of my family members and party colleagues, I visited the orphanage."
"Paul later asked me to use my good offices with (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi to invite her to visit the orphanage," Reddy said. "I am not responsible for this. I do not know why Paul is raising such wild allegations after three years."
Reddy refused to answer reporters’ questions on whether he planned to sue Paul. "Either I should ignore such baseless charges or take needful remedial action if the allegations are sustained and motivated. Let us see," he said.
Senior TDP leader N Janardhan Reddy demanded judicial probe into the charges and police protection for Paul.
Paul has created controversy before—he says he has counselled dictators Charles Taylor, Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic.
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