Congress targets PMO over Navneet Sahgal scam, alleges Rs 112-crore racket

The Congress on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), alleging that the country’s most powerful institution is being “run by tainted individuals”. This came weeks after the abrupt resignation of former Prasar Bharati chairman Navneet Sahgal.

Questioning how a “tainted bureaucrat” was elevated to head India’s public broadcaster, the party said Sahgal’s appointment itself reflected the rot within the PMO.

Sahgal, widely seen as a favoured officer of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and believed to enjoy proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was appointed Prasar Bharati chairman in March 2024. His sudden exit has triggered intense speculation in the corridors of power, and is being informally linked to the recent controversy around PM Modi’s media adviser Hiren Joshi.

The Congress alleged that Sahgal and Joshi were part of the same ecosystem that has entrenched itself within the PMO.

Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that between 2019 and 2022, Sahgal and his associates orchestrated a Rs 112-crore scam during his tenure as chairman of the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (IED), Uttar Pradesh.

Khera claimed Sahgal, along with IED director Devendra Pal Singh, took cuts from bribes and diverted public funds to a company linked to Sahgal’s sons. Key allegations include:

• Under schemes such as One District One Product (ODOP) and Vishwakarma Shram Samman, nearly Rs 65 crore was allegedly siphoned off from IED, with the lion’s share going to Sahgal.

• The money was collected in the name of toolkits and training programmes, with bribes allegedly taken in cash across districts.

• A similar pattern was repeated in UPICON, where about Rs 46 crore was allegedly embezzled through fake bills, shell firms and dubious sub-contracting.

• An investment of Rs 21 crore was made in a “suspicious company” whose directors, Khera said, were Sahgal’s sons.

“In spite of these grave allegations, Navneet Sahgal was appointed chairman of Prasar Bharati. If the prime minister was aware of this and still cleared the appointment, the matter becomes even more serious,” Khera said.

He further claimed that in December 2022, the income tax department had submitted a 254-page report to the Uttar Pradesh government and the Lokayukta, but the Lokayukta later said it never received the document.

“Where did this 254-page report vanish? A person who should have been investigated was instead rewarded with the top post in public broadcasting,” Khera said.

The Congress leader also alleged that Sahgal was being considered for a post in the PMO after his resignation.

Accusing the PMO of functioning as an opaque power centre, Khera said, “The Prime Minister’s Office is the most powerful institution in the country, yet it is the least transparent. Who owns shares in the app run by the PMO, which families are involved, and which industrialists from Bollywood and abroad are linked to it — all this will soon be exposed.”

“When the truth comes out, the nation will be shocked to see how the highest political office has fallen into the hands of questionable individuals, including people who have faced hawala charges abroad,” the Congress leader added.

A 1988-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Sahgal served under governments led by the BSP, SP and BJP, including a stint as Lucknow district magistrate during then chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati’s tenure.

He oversaw major infrastructure projects such as the Lucknow–Agra Expressway as CEO of the UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority, and later headed the ODOP scheme and the state information department before being moved to Delhi as chairman of Prasar Bharati in March 2024.