Kerala politician Thushar Vellapally claims clean chit by UAE court in cheque default case
Dubai: Thushar Vellapally, President of a coalition partner of the BJP-led NDA in Kerala, who was arrested last month in the UAE in connection with a Rs 19 crore cheque default case, has been cleared of all charges in the case by a UAE court, the leader himself said here on Sunday.
Vellaally, who unsuccessfully contested as the NDA candidate against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 general elections from Wayanad, was arrested on August 20 at a hotel in Ajman in connection with Rs 19 crore cheque default case.
He was released on bail by Ajman Public Prosecution, but was not allowed to travel to India without clearing a civil case.
On Sunday, Vellapally, chief of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena which is a partner of the BJP-led NDA in the state, told media here that he has been cleared of all charges by a court in Ajman. He called it the victory of justice . The Ajman court in the UAE quashed the criminal proceedings against him citing lack of evidence, the party sources said.
The court has said the evidence submitted by the complainant in the case, N Abdullah who worked for Vellapally-owned Boeing Construction Company LLC that is now defunct, lacks credibility and raised doubts on the veracity of the documents filed.
The arrest was based on a complaint from Abdullah, a Thrissur native in 2009, when Vellapally was running a construction business in Ajman.
He alleged that Vellapally had issued a cheque of Dh 10 million (around Rs 19 crore) ten years ago that had bounced. The court has also agreed to release the passport of Vellappally, which it had withheld after the case was registered, the party sources said.
He is expected to remain in the UAE for a couple of days to meet the complainant in the case.
The BJP in Kerala on Sunday welcomed the quashing of a cheque bounce case against the NDA state convener, terming his release as the "victory of truth".
"This is the victory of truth. It's highly deplorable, the tendency to trap the politicians in fake cases and tarnish their image," BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai said in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram.
Vellapally is also the Vice President of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, a prominent organisation of the backward Ezhava community in Kerala.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
