PIL in SC for probe into PM Modi’s assets as per poll affidavit

Agencies
April 16, 2019

New Delhi, Apr 16: A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday alleging Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suppressed details on his assets in the election affidavits.

Saket Gokhale, a former journalist, who claims to be an independent consultant, filed the PIL alleging that the PM was the beneficiary of a questionable land allotment policy followed by the Gujarat Government since 1998. As a consequence of this policy, the public lands were allotted to legislators at bare minimum prices.

According to the petition, in 2002, Modi benefited due to the policy, as he received prime land at a paltry price of Rs 1.3 lakh in the heart of Gandhinagar City (Plot No.411, Sector 1, Gandhinagar) on October 25. This Plot No. 411 was mentioned in his election affidavit in 2007, when Modi had contested the Gujarat assembly elections.

The petition said the land allotment scheme had got into controversy after the Gujarat High Court registered a suo moto case in 2000. On November 2, 2012, the Supreme Court directed the HC to consider the matter. The apex court intervened and stopped any further allotment of plots and also ordered that no permission should be given to transfer plots already allotted without the approval of the High Court.

The petitioner claimed that in the election affidavits filed by Modi after court's observation, Plot No. 411 simply disappeared. In the affidavit filed in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and in the declaration of assets made as Prime Minister in 2015, 2016 & 2017, this plot is allegedly omitted.

According to the petitioner, the affidavits declare ownership of 1/4th share of Plot No.401/A in Gandhinagar, which is a "non-existent plot". The petitioner said that Plot No. 401 is allotted as per the government policy to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The petition said: "Though, the said Plot Nos. 401, 403 to 411 are ostensibly in the names of different owners, the said plots have been joined together (except plot no.402) and have a single compound wall with multiple structures constructed on the said land. The petitioner verily believes that all the said plots (having a single compound) is been held/utilized/occuppied for the use and benefit of Respondent No.3(PM Modi) and are in fact his benami assets."

Contending that the alleged false affidavits by PM Modi violated the citizen's right to have information about the candidate under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, the PIL seeks a probe by a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired Chief Justice of India to investigate the alleged irregularities.

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Agencies
March 6,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 6: A 12-member team from Telangana on Friday visited Kerala to study how the state contained the spread of novel coronavirus.

Interacting with the team, Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said, "The team will be given a presentation at National Health Mission and they will visit Alappuzha district to know how the health facilities are set up by Kerala Health Department on the grassroots level."

"The team comprising doctors and senior health officials will visit the control room set up by the Health Department and also will attend daily review meetings. They will also visit an isolation ward in the hospital and interact with doctors and nurses, " the minister said.

She added, "Kerala model is being followed by other states too. All states are working together and the country as a whole is fighting the coronavirus. They are sharing our experience. All of India is standing together. Contact tracing and isolation is the most important part."

Dr Mahaboob Khan, part of the Telangana team told media persons, that the discussion with the health minister was fruitful.

"Kerala was the first state in India where a positive coronavirus case was reported. All three positive cases reported have been discharged after testing negative. So we wanted to study how Kerala was able to contain it and the health system in place here, " he said.

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News Network
February 6,2020

Beijing, Feb 6: The number of confirmed fatalities from China's coronavirus outbreak rose to at least 560, after authorities in hardest-hit Hubei province reported 70 new deaths on February 6.

In its daily update, the health commission in Hubei also confirmed the number of confirmed infections in the outbreak has reached 28,018 nationwide with 3,694 new cases reported.

The epidemic, which has spiralled into a global health emergency, is believed to have emerged in December from a market that sold wild game in Hubei's capital Wuhan.

Hu Lishan, an official in Wuhan, warned Wednesday that despite building a hospital from scratch and converting public buildings to accommodate thousands of extra patients, there was still a "severe" lack of beds in the region.

There was also a shortage of "equipment and materials," he told reporters, adding that officials were looking to convert other hotels and schools in the city into treatment centres.

Authorities in several other cities in China have placed restrictions on the number of people allowed to leave their homes.

Global concerns have also risen about the virus, with cases confirmed in more than 20 countries.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Mar 2: Two more positive cases of the novel coronavirus -- one in Delhi and another in Telangana -were reported, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

The person from Delhi had travelled to Italy, it said adding he is being diagnosed at RML hospital.

The other person with the coronavirus infection has a travel history to Dubai, the ministry added.

"Both the patients are stable and being closely monitored," the ministry said.

Sunitha Krishnan is the name of the patient from Telangana and she is a social activist.

Krishnan has tweeted, "So going to enjoy hospitality at Gandhi Hospital for two days as admitted in the isolation ward suspected coronavirus. They have not started the tests yet( 1.30 hrs since I arrived).I believe the results make take 48hrs. At this pace, I have a feeling I am might be here sometime."

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