LONDON, Feb 21: A British university on Thursday accused Indian tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who made a controversial donation which embarrassed Prime Minister Tony Blair, of reneging on a cash aid vow after it refused his daughter a place on a course.
The prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) said Mittal withdrew a pledge of 200,000 pounds (325,000 euros, 285,000 dollars) to fund scholarships for poor students after his daughter Vanisha’s failure to gain a place in 1999.
Mittal is at the centre of an affair which has made Blair’s administration the target of sleaze allegations.
The billionaire gave 125,000 pounds to the ruling Labour Party weeks before Blair wrote to his Romanian counterpart supporting Mittal’s bid to buy Sidex, Romania’s state steel firm.
A spokesman for Mittal dismissed the LSE’s accusations of reneging on a promise to help poor students as “malicious gossip”, adding that “no lobbying whatsoever” had taken place at the university on behalf of Mittal’s daughter.
The LSE said in a statement: “Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter did not succeed in gaining a place at the LSE.
“She applied for an undergraduate course for the year 1999-2000 but she was unsuccessful.
“When his daughter did not get in, Lakshmi Mittal reneged on a pledge of 200,000 pounds for a scholarship at LSE. We have not heard from him since.”—AFP
