Ajay Gupta has broken his silence around his current status since he left South Africa in March, after a summons was issued for his arrest.
Currently in his home town of Saharanpur, Gupta told Indian media he wants to set the record straight for the people of his home town.
He claims that he was maligned by the press in South Africa, saying the media in this country have an agenda against him.
“For the past years, the media in South Africa has been maligning our name. This is not new for us. This is the first time that the media in India is writing about us, but this is an old story. We are used to it now… We know that the South Africa media has an agenda. We know that in South Africa the media is also part of the local politics. But why is an Indian journalist speaking about us like this? Indian journalists should research the matter fully first. But they also probably don’t have enough resources to do this.”
Gupta says it is possible this is a political conspiracy against him.
“There could be political compulsions behind the allegations we are facing. It is possible. I can’t say what the nature of politics is. Journalists should analyse…” says Gupta.
Speaking of his relationship with Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane, Gupta says they have been business partners in South Africa since 2006-2007.
“In South Africa, there is a system which mandates that 36% of your management needs to go towards Black Empowerment – since the community was previously disadvantaged. This could have been Zuma’s son, or someone else… He was our partner on merit, not because he was Zuma’s son.”
Responding to the allegations of state capture, Gupta said there is no proof of any of the allegations that have been leveled against his family.
He also maintains that all his family members, except himself, are South African citizens.
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