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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News Network
May 22,2020

May 22: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on its way from Lahore to Karachi, crashed in the area near Jinnah International Airport on Friday, according to Civil Aviation Authority officials.

Geo News reported that the plane crashed at the Jinnah Ground area near the airport as it was approaching for landing. There were more than 90 passengers on board the Airbus aircraft. Black smoke could be seen from afar at the crash site, say eye witnesses.

There were no immediate reports on the number of casualties. The aircraft arriving from the eastern city of Lahore was carrying 99 passengers and 8 crew members, news agency AP said, quoting Abdul Sattar Kokhar, spokesman for the country’s civil aviation authority.

Witnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to land two or three times before crashing in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport.

Flight PK-303 from Lahore was about to land in Karachi when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, just a minute before its landing, Geo News reported.

Local television reports showed smoke coming from the direction of the airport. Ambulances were on their way to the airport.

News agency said Sindh’s Ministry of Health and Population Welfare has declared emergency in all major hospitals of Karachi due to the plane crash.

It’s the second plane crash for Pakistani carrier in less than four years. The airline’s chairman resigned in late 2016, less than a week after the crash of an ATR-42 aircraft killed 47 people. The incident comes as Pakistan was slowly resuming domestic flights in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported.

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News Network
July 11,2020

Kanpur, Jul 11: "The Uttar Pradesh administration has done the right thing by taking action against my son," said an old and feeble Ram Kumar Dubey, father of gangster Vikas Dubey.

The father said his son killed eight police officials and it was an unforgivable sin.

"Had he listened to us, his life would not have ended this way. Vikas never helped us in any way. Due to him, even our ancestral property was razed to the ground. He also killed eight policemen, which is an unforgivable sin. The administration has done the right thing. Had they not done so, tomorrow others would have acted similarly," Ram Kumar said.

"It is the chief minister's duty to protect every individual. The police is an extension of that. He attacked them which cannot be forgiven. I will not even take part in his cremation," he added.

Ram Kumar Dubey said that his only appeal to the government is to allow him entry to his ancestral property now.

Vikas Dubey was cremated at Bhairav Ghat in Kanpur. His wife, younger son and brother-in-law were present and no other member of his family attended the last rites.

Vikas Dubey was arrested by the police in Ujjain on Thursday morning. He was on the run for the last six days and had come to the city to offer prayers at a temple, where he was identified by a security guard.

He was killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police earlier today after he "attempted to flee".

The gangster was the main accused in the encounter that took place in Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur last week, in which a group of assailants opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest him.

Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter.

Vikas Dubey managed to escape after the incident. Uttar Pradesh police had launched a hunt and raised a bounty on him for Rs 5 lakh.

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News Network
January 21,2020

Lucknow, Jan 21: Defending his brainchild, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the new law will not be scrapped despite the countrywide protests against it.

Addressing a rally here to drum up support for the CAA, Shah also declared that construction of a Ram temple "touching the skies" in Ayodhya will begin within three months.

He said there is no provision in the amended law for taking anyone's citizenship away. "A canard is being spread against the CAA by the Congress, SP, BSP, and Trinamool Congress. The CAA is a law to grant citizenship," he added.

"I want to say that irrespective of the protests this will not be withdrawn," he added.

Shah challenged Congress leaders to hold a discussion with him on CAA at a public forum.

He named Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party's Mayawati and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee while throwing the "challenge".

Congress has become blind due to vote bank politics,"he said. He also blamed the Congress for Partition.

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