Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday denied allegations of a Goa activist that his family members allegedly misused a naval helicopter, calling the claim "entirely false."

A version of the news report that first appeared in The Hindu was published on this site too. According to the report, Ribandar-based lawyer and social activist Aires Rodrigues, in a faxed complaint to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged him "to order an inquiry into an alleged misuse in Goa of a naval helicopter by the family of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley."

However, Jaitley, in a Facebook post, said the news item was false. The news report has since been removed after the finance minister said the Goa-based activist had attempted to malign him.

"The news item mentioned that one Mr. Aires Rodrigues has claimed that my wife and daughter were flown by a naval helicopter from Dabolim Airport to resort at Cancona in South Goa. He has further alleged that the naval helicopter was made available at the instance of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar... The news item is entirely false on three counts: Firstly, it was my wife and son (not my daughter) who were in Goa on 23rd December. Secondly, they did not use any governmental facility, least of all a naval helicopter. Thirdly, Manohar Parrikar, the Defence Minister, had not sanctioned the use of any Defence helicopter for them. In fact, since it was a purely a private visit, Manohar Parrikar was not even aware of the fact that they were in Goa," Jaitley wrote.

Jaitley added that "no activist had a right to invent falsehood and then publicise it over the social media."

Rodrigues had on Twitter and Facebook given details of his allegation but failed to furnish any document. IndiaToday.in has since retracted the report.