Vasundhra supported in writing immigration plea, Sushma family friend: Lalit Modi

June 17, 2015

New Delhi, Jun 17: IPL's controversial former chief Lalit Modi on Tuesday made explosive claims that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje had supported in writing his immigration plea in Britain and that he has a 'family' relationship with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Vasundhra RajeModi made the statements while giving an interview to a news channel.

While claiming innocence, the ex-IPL chief said he has been "over criticised" and "taken to task" by the former UPA government.

Holidaying in the tiny Balkan nation of Montenegro, Modi told the TV channel, "At the end I have done nothing wrong. I've gone by book... I have been over criticised, have been taken to task by the (UPA) government for no reason for all."

Modi said in the interview that Raje had accompanied his wife to Portugal for her cancer treatment two years ago. Raje became chief minister of Rajasthan for the second time in December 2013.

The comments of the tainted former IPL commissioner assume significance because it came hours after it was reported that Raje had given a "Witness Statement" in August 2011 to British authorities supporting his case for immigration in Britain which he has made his base after fleeing from India where he faces serious charges of money laundering and FEMA violations.

Raje's purported "Witness Statement" was made public earlier in the day on behalf of the Modi camp but later the Rajasthan chief minister said she was not aware of this document.

"Of course I know the family. I have always known them...(But) I do not know what documents they are talking about," she told reporters in Jaipur.

In the interview Modi said, "My relationship with Vasundhara Raje goes back 30 years. That relationship is known to everybody.

She is a close friend of the family and my wife for a long time...She openly agreed to be (to be a witness), but unfortunately by the time the case went to trial, she was already chief Minister, so she did not come to become a witnes. The statements she gave is all on records in the courts."

"Raje and Sushma supported me when my wife was sick," he said.

"It was a family, a legal whatever you may call it. We were very close. But the point is not that...I am very close to a lot of politicians, not only Mrs Swaraj...," Modi said when asked about his relationship with Sushma Swaraj.

The ex-IPL chief maintained that the entire UPA government was against him.

Modi added that former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram tried to deport him to India.

He challenged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prove charges against him and said "Swarajs" have been his friends for over 20 years, and that Vasundhara Raje is a "family friend".

Asked if he was cool about Swaraj possibly losing her job because of her support to him, he said: "I am not perfectly cool and calm about someone doing an honest losing their job. (Shashi) Tharoor lost job because he lied. He lied he had nothing to do with the Kochi team..."

He said he could have given up his right as Indian citizen and taken another citizenship but he did not do so because he wanted to prove that his passport was taken wrongly.

Modi also said Swaraj's daughter Bansuri has been his lawyer for four years.

"I am close to a lot of politicians," he added.

"Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel also helped me with travel papers... Rajiv Shukla also helped me with travel documents," he said.

With her name being linked to the Lalit Modi controversy, the Rajasthan CM tonight seemed to distance herself from a document purportedly showing her backing former IPL chief Immigration plea in Britain.

"Of course I know the family. I have always known them...(But) I do not know what documents they are talking about," she said.

Asked if there was a media trial against her, she said "that is left for you to decide."

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News Network
January 9,2020

Dubai, Jan 9: A roadshow promoting Gujarat as an education hub of India will be held here from January 17, officials said.

Representatives of 22 universities and four colleges from Gujarat will be part of the two-day event organised by the Indian Consulate in Dubai.

"The roadshow will provide a glimpse of the thriving education sector in Gujarat and enable the interested candidates to get a first-hand understanding of the rich resources of the state in order to pursue higher education," according to a statement released by the Indian Consulate here on Wednesday.

A delegation led by Gujarat's Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama will take part in the event under the 'Study in Gujarat' campaign, the statement said.

The Principal Secretary of the state's Higher and Technical Education, Anju Sharma, will participate in the roadshow, which will conclude on January 18.

The participating educational institutions include Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gujarat Forensic Science University, Nirma University, LD College of Engineering, Gujarat Arts and Science College, Vishwakarma Government College and SAL College.

"In the last decade and a half, Gujarat has been successful in establishing its identity as the leading educational hub of India. State of the art infrastructure, safe environment, curriculum at par with international standards and industry exposure gives students an edge during the course of their study," the statement said.

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Agencies
June 5,2020

Jodhpur, Jun 5: A video has gone viral on social media showing what could be called Jodhpur's George Floyd moment with a twist, showing cops throwing a person on the ground and pressing his neck with their knees for roaming around without a mask.

However, unlike the unfortunate incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the cops in Jodhpur reportedly acted after the person, said to be mentally challenged, turned violent after being confronted by the police.

Dumb TV media is playing the initial part of this video as 'India's George Flyod moment'. Doesn't matter to them that the same video shows the man beating the cops back badly pic.twitter.com/vGSaON6oii

— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) June 5, 2020

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after being arrested by the police outside a shop in Minneapolis in the US on May 25. Footage showed a white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes while he was pinned to the floor. He was pronounced dead later in the hospital, triggering widespread protests across the US.

However, in the Jodhpur incident, the man, identifed as Mukesh Kumar Prajapat, did not die but instead started fighting with the policemen.

Jodhpur police officers confirmed that the video was shot in the city on Thursday after the police wanted to issue a challan against the man for roaming on the streets without wearing a mask before he started manhandling the police.

The video shows a cop pressing his neck with his knee while two other cops held the young man's legs. A huge crowd gathered when the scuffle broke out.

Meanwhile, the SHO of Dev Nagar police station, Somkaran, said that the police were issuing a challan to Prajapat when he attacked them and tore their uniform. An FIR has been lodged against Prajapat on a complaint lodged by the Pratap Nagar police station. He will be produced in the court later in the day.

Prajapat is said to be mentally challenged and had damaged his father's eye earlier for which a case was registered against him, the poice said. Action is being initiated against Prajapat under the Epidemic Act, they added.

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Agencies
May 1,2020

New Delhi, May 1: The Centre has finalsed the criteria for delimitation of various zones after May 3. It has identified at least 130 districts as red zones, 284 orange zones and 319 green zones.

According to a letter written by Health Secretary Preeti Sudan to the Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs, all the states have to delineate the containment areas and buffer zones in the identified red and orange zone districts and notify the same.

The letter said, the national capital has at least 11 red zones, Uttar Pradesh 19 red zones, 36 orange zones and 20 green zones while, the state of Haryana has 2 red zones, 18 orange zones and 2 green zones.

The Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh has been identified as a red zone district while, Ghaziabad has been designated as an orange zone. The national capital has no orange and green zone; there are only red zones according to the letter.

In Maharashtra, Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nashik come in the red zone.

In West Bengal, Kolkata, Howrah, 24 Parganas -- both North and South have been identified as red zones while Hooghly, Nadia, Murshidabad etc have been marked as orange zones.

In the southern part of India, Kerala has 2 red zones and 10 orange zones, while Tamil Nadu has 12 red zones and 24 orange zones.

The Health Secretary said that the list will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier and communicated to states for further follow-up action in consonance with the directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 based on field feedback and additional analysis at state level, states may designate additional red or orange zones as appropriate.

However, states may not relax the zonal classification of districts classified as red or orange as communicated by the Ministry. This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts.

A district will be considered under green zone, if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case since the last 21 days in the district.

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