New Delhi, May 15 (IANS): The BJP on Saturday alleged that Congress has close links with businessman Navneet Kalra, accused of hoarding and black marketeering of oxygen concentrators.

Addressing a press conference, BJP Lok Sabha member from New Delhi, Meenakshi Lekhi said, "Congress' hands are with hoarders and blackmarketeers.

"As per law hoarding and black marketeering is illegal during pandemic. About 7,500 oxygen concentrators worth Rs 13 crore seized from Navneet Kalra and Gaurav Khanna of Matrix Cellular."

Lekhi alleged that Rahul Gandhi and the friends of Congress party were making lots of noise about oxygen shortage to intensely create artificial shortage in Delhi.

"They created artificial shortages of oxygen to exploit the situation.

"Kalra has direct relations with Congress. If you see Kalra's Facebook timeline, he had blamed the Prime Minister for the pandemic. Chefs at Kalra's Townhall restaurant have pictures with Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. They captioned these pictures 'with the first family of India'. I don't know whether Kalra's chef understands that the first family of India is the family of the President of India," she said.

Lekhi said that Kalra was given membership of Delhi Golf Club when Ajay Maken was Urban Development Minister.

"Maken had the authority to nominate two people to the Delhi Golf Club. He first nominated Robert Vadra in 2004-05 and in the next year Maken nominated Navneet Kalra. These are the direct Congress connections that these people found to be people of eminence to be nominated to the Golf Club by none other than former MP and union minister of Congress party," Lekhi said.

She said, "The third connection to the party, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been found defending them in the court. That is why I say Congress's hand with hoarders and black marketeers."