Gadkari says no commercial interest in e-rickshaws

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday refuted allegations that his family had links with a company manufacturing e-rickshaws and said he had no commercial interest in the sector.

Reacting to media reports that claimed that Purti Green Technologies, a Nagpur-based company with interests in manufacturing of e-rickshaws has links with his family, Mr. Gadkari said the accusation was baseless.

“Battery-run e-rickshaws have been in operation in several parts of the country for many years and these are being manufactured by large number of companies in different States. More than two lakh e-rickshaws are operating in Delhi NCR and other parts of the country. The production of e-rickshaw is allowed only to manufacturers who have obtained a license from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [CSIR],” he said in a statement. The BJP said the allegations against Mr. Gadkari were “baseless and motivated.”