Washington, February 08: Hitting out at the “malicious campaign” against him after the government awarded him the Padma Bhushan, NRI hotelier SS Chatwal said on Monday that this had only strengthened his resolve to work for strengthening Indo-US ties.
Denying that he carried any “background and baggage,” Chatwal said none of his fund raising offers or his personal financial contributions had ever been turned down.
Chatwal, 63, said if the allegations were true, his fund raisers and contributions to election campaigns of top Democratic party leaders had not been accepted over the past several decades.
“Certainly that has not been the case,” Chatwal told a news agency.
Chairman of Indian American Democratic Committee, Chatwal said he is “pained” and “personally hurt” at the “malicious campaign”.
Responding to reports that his offer to raise USD 10 million for the Obama Campaign was turned down, he said: “The matter of the fact is that he (Obama) was all booked up with events across the country and a time and date could not be nailed down”.
“Such malicious campaign is personally hurting. But, it only strengthens my resolve to continue to work and redouble my efforts for deepening of ties between the two greatest democracies of the world,” he said.
-PTI