'Heard of Laapataa Ladies not of laapataa VP': Kapil Sibal asks about Dhankhar's whereabouts
New Delhi, Aug 9 (PTI): Former law minister and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday said he had heard of the movie "Laapataa Ladies" but never heard of a "laapataa (absent) vice president", as he raised questions about the whereabouts of former VP Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Sibal urged Home Minister Amit Shah to make a statement on the whereabouts of Dhankhar to assuage concerns about his health and well-being.
In a sudden and surprise move, Dhankhar resigned as vice president on July 21, the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament, citing health reasons. But opposition leaders have claimed that he was forced to resign.
"On July 22, Jagdeep Dhankhar, our vice president, resigned, and it is August 9 today, and since that day, we just do not know where he is. He is not in his official residence. On the first day, I tried to contact him and his personal secretary picked up the phone and said he is resting," Sibal said.
The independent MP said several of his political colleagues also have not been able to get through to him.
"So, I have heard of 'Laapataa Ladies' but I have never heard of 'laapataa vice president'," Sibal said while referencing the Kiran Rao directorial, which was India's official entry to the Oscars.
Dhankhar was the vice president and he supported the government throughout his tenure, but it now seems the opposition will have to protect him, Sibal said, taking a swipe at the government.
"What should we do? Should we file a habeas corpus?" he said.
The home ministry would be aware of his whereabouts and Amit Shah should give a statement on where he is, because even his health was not good, Sibal said.
"So, is he getting treatment done somewhere? People of his family have also not said anything. What is the issue? We had heard of such things only in other countries but India is democratic so such things should be in the public domain," he said.
"I had very good personal relations with him (Dhankhar). He was a lawyer with me who argued many cases. I am concerned. It does not look nice that I go and file an FIR. There is no news from him, from his friends, family," the former Union minister said.
"I would like to urge the home minister, you have such resources, you send back Bangladeshis, he was, after all, our vice president, so you would know, so please give a statement on it (his whereabouts)," the senior advocate said.
In a post on X, he asked, "Can we be informed: Where is he? Is he safe?
"Why is he incommunicado? Amit Shah ji should know! He was our Vice President; the country should be worried!" he wrote.
There is time to go before the vice presidential election in September, Sibal said, adding "we can meet him before that".
"So, we have to find out if he is healthy. Nothing of this has ever happened in India's history."
In a sudden move, Dhankhar resigned from his post last month, citing medical reasons. He sent his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu and said he is stepping down with immediate effect.
Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022 and his tenure was till 2027.
He was also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha and his resignation came on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament.
Dhankhar had recently undergone angioplasty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
In his eventful tenure as the Rajya Sabha chairman, Dhankhar had several run-ins with the opposition, which had also moved a motion to impeach him.
The motion, the first time ever in independent India to remove a vice president, was later rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.
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Pak court grants bail to PM Shehbaz's daughter and her husband in graft case
Lahore (PTI): A Pakistani court on Tuesday granted bail to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's daughter Rabia Imran and her husband Imran Yousaf in a mega corruption and money laundering case.
Judge Ashfaq Ahmed allowed the bail petitions of the couple and restrained the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from arresting them till May 7.
"The special court (central) Lahore granted interim pre-arrest bail to PM Shehbaz's daughter, Rabia Imran and her husband Imran Yousaf till May 7 in a mega corruption and money laundering case as the couple personally appeared before the court along with their counsel after arriving from the UK, where they had gone in 2022 to evade arrest," a court official said.
Last week, an accountability court had suspended the perpetual arrest warrants issued against the couple in the multi-billion corruption case, related to the Punjab Saaf Pani Company case.
The accountability court had issued perpetual warrants for their arrest in 2022 during the tenure of the Imran Khan government.
The PM's daughter and her husband had fled to the UK in 2022, and the court subsequently had declared them proclaimed offenders.
Interestingly, the country's anti-graft body -- National Accountability Bureau (NAB) -- that had instituted the multi-billion corruption case against the couple told the accountability court that it has no objection if the court suspends their warrants.
PM Shehbaz was also nominated in this corruption case but has been acquitted because of a lack of evidence.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has consistently alleged that the acquittal of PM Shehbaz and other ruling coalition members in various mega corruption cases is the result of a "compromised judiciary" and a "NAB-PMLN nexus" (referring to a perceived alliance between the NAB and the military-backed government).
His party has claimed these acquittals represent the "demise of justice" and has accused the judiciary of acting as a "silent accomplice" to state-backed political terrorism.
Khan was ousted from power in April 2022 through a no-confidence motion. Subsequently, he was arrested in August 2023 and has been in jail in multiple cases since then.
