Rana Kapoor was forced to buy MF's painting from Priyanka

Mumbai: Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor has told the Enforcement Directorate that he was "forced" to buy an M F Husain painting from Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New York, as per the chargesheet filed by the federal anti-money laundering agency in a special court here.

Kapoor also told the ED that he was told by the then petroleum minister Murli Deora that the refusal to buy the M F Husain painting will not only prevent him from building a relationship with the Gandhi family but also prevent him from getting the 'Padma Bhushan' award.

The statements of Rana Kapoor are part of the second supplementary chargesheet (overall third) filed in the special court here recently against the Yes Bank co-founder, his family, Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, and others in a money laundering case.

Stating that he had paid a cheque of Rs 2 crore, Kapoor claimed that "Milind Deora (son of the late Murli Deora and former Congress MP) later conveyed to him confidentially that the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of Sonia Gandhi in New York". Kapoor also told the ED that Ahmed Patel, a close confidante of Sonia Gandhi, had told him that by supporting the Gandhi family at an opportune time for medical treatment of Sonia Gandhi, I (Kapoor) had performed a good deed for the family and it would be duly considered for the 'Padma Bhushan' award.

The Congress on Sunday launched a counter offensive against the BJP. Congress senior spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi called it political vendetta and said the "government was jumping with joy because it suited their political target". Singhvi said, "It's more disgusting that the government is relying on a 2010 transaction and on a statement of a person who is behind bars and whose 20-30 bail applications have been rejected. He is called a master fraudster, and the government is jumping with joy because it suits its political motive. They want the pot boiling for 2022 regarding a transaction of 2010, neither Murli Deora nor Ahmed Patel are sadly here to deny it."