Prez Patil drops visit to 2G accused-owned dairy

President Pratibha Patil has dropped her plan to visit a dairy in Baramati during her visit to Maharashtra on June 9 after it emerged that it was owned by Vinod Goenka, an accused in the 2G case.

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had sent in a request to the President for visiting Baramati in Maharashtra to see the all round development made in the areas of agriculture, irrigation and town planning.

The request had also identified some of the places that the President could see during her proposed visit, which included Dynamix Dairy Industries Limited (DDIL), owned by the DB group's Goenka.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said the President would inaugurate an engineering college during her visit.

"Due to paucity of time, the President has no other engagements," the spokesperson said.

Goenka, a director with Swan Telecom, is accused by the CBI of cheating and conspiracy. He was looking after realty business of DB group promoted by Shahid Balwa, one of the main accused in the telecom scam.

While initially the President's itinerary included a visit to the dairy, it was changed on Wednesday after Goenka's connection with the 2G scam was brought to her notice, sources said.