Pawar boosts PM on Rafale, adamant on JPC probe
Mumbai, Sep 27 : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image has been unscathed in the ongoing Rafale fighter aircraft row, a statement the BJP heartily welcomed on Thursday.
"There is no doubt in public minds about Modi's intentions in the Rafale deal, that's what I feel," Pawar said in an interview with a Marathi news channel New18-Lokmat, aired on Wednesday.
However, concurring with the Congress-led opposition demands, Pawar made it clear that there should be a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the Rafale deal in depth to unravel the truth before the public.
"When the Bofors deal with signed, the BJP was in the opposition and vociferously demanded a JPC probe which the then ruling Congress conceded. The terms and conditions of secrecy and other aspects are common in both Bofors and the Rafale agreements. So a JPC must be appointed to clear the air on the Rafale issue," Pawar asserted.
While the Congress on Thursday terming it Pawar's "personal views" on the sensitive matter, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah grabbed the opportunity by thanking Pawar for "placing national interests above party politics and speaking the truth".
"Dear Rahul Gandhi, you would be wiser by believing your own ally and a leader of Pawar Saheb's stature," Shah said in a mocking tweet.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been calling Modi a "chor" (thief) on the Rafale deal.
Attempting a damage control exercise, senior NCP leader and MP Majeed Memon said Pawar's statement was being atwisted out of context.
"There is absolutely no question of giving 'a clean chit' to anyone as suggested in some sections of the media," he said.
"I wish to make it clear on behalf of Pawar that the JPC should focus on two main issues - the financials of the deal and the pricing of the aircraft, and why Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd was suddenly edged out. The financials are very important and they cannot hide behind the secrecy clause since it's the taxpayer's money," Memon told IANS.
Pawar further said that while the technical clause was confidential, there was nothing wrong in revealing the pricing of the deal.
He pointed out that during the Bofors controversy, BJP leader and now External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had even wanted the technical aspects revealed.
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Man held for attempting to encroach on 532 acres of forest, govt land near Bengaluru
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday said that police have arrested a man for allegedly attempting to encroach upon 532 acres of forest and government land at B M Kaval near Bengaluru by submitting forged documents and obtaining court orders fraudulently.
He said the accused, M B Manmatha alias M B Nemannagowda, had earlier also attempted to claim ownership over 512 acres and 26 guntas of forest and government land in Chikkamagaluru's Mudigere by producing fake records.
In connection with the case, an Assistant Conservator of Forests had lodged a complaint at the Mudigere Circle police station on November 28, following which the Tahsildar also lodged a separate complaint, the minister said in a statement issued by his office.
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Based on these complaints, police registered an FIR and have now taken Manmatha into custody. "The investigation will reveal who were all involved in this conspiracy to encroach upon forest and government land," he said.
The FIR was registered against the accused at Mudigere police station in Chikkamagaluru district on December 13 under Sections 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant section of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act.
Khandre further claimed that it had come to his notice that some officials and government advocates were directly or indirectly assisting those attempting to encroach upon government and forest land worth thousands of crores of rupees.
The minister said he has written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking a CID or Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the matter.
Warning of strict action, the minister said no one attempting to grab forest land using forged documents would be spared and termed the development a "wake-up call".
