NDA partner in Kerala claims several Cong MPs/MLAs in touch with BJP; Cong rubbishes it
Kottayam/Kochi, Jul 21: Senior Kerala MLA and NDA partner P C George Sunday claimed six Congress MPs and three legislators from the state had held talks with the BJP central leadership and that there would be defections.
Congress rejected the claim by the Poonjar MLA and called him a big mouth, saying he makes such statements to get media attention.
George, whose Kerala Janapaksham Secular party recently joined the BJP-led NDA in the state, made the claim at a time when the Congress had been hit by desertions of its MLAs in Karnataka and Goa.
I have come to know that six Congress MPs and three Congress MLAs in the state have held talks with the central leadership of the BJP, George told reporters in Kottayam after his party's state committee meeting.
He declined to divulge any further details.
Later, when contacted by the PTI, the senior MLA said he could not divulge more details about the talks but claimed there would be "a flow" from the Congress to the BJP in Kerala.
George said his claim would be proved right soon.
He was formerly with the Kerala Congress (Mani) but broke away ahead of the 2016 assembly polls after differences with the leadership and won the Poonjar seat as an independent.
Later, he formed the Kerala Janapaksham Secular party.
Dismissing his claims, KPCC Vice President V D Satheesan said no one takes George seriously as he is a big mouth.
George is known for making such allegations to get media attention," he added.
Not a single Congress leader from Kerala would join the BJP, Satheesan, MLA, told PTI.
He alleged George was making such claims as the Congress had prevented his move to enter the UDF fold.
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Nashik court sends ‘godman’ Kharat to 3-day police custody in 7th sexual exploitation case
Nashik (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Nashik has remanded self-styled astrologer-cum-godman Ashok Kharat to police custody till April 29 in the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
Kharat, a former Merchant Navy officer arrested on March 18, is accused of sexually exploiting several women and indulging in large-scale financial fraud by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic.
In the seventh case, Kharat sexually exploited a married woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems.
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The accused allegedly gave the woman something to drink, sexually assaulted her while her husband sat outside his office and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against Kharat in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts, on Sunday filed a request application in the court demanding his custody in the seventh case.
Kharat was produced in court for a virtual hearing in the seventh case on Monday.
The prosecution demanded six-day police custody for Kharat, citing the discovery of a locker in Kharat's house during the investigation, from which the police recovered two blank cheques and other documents, all of which have to be probed.
The court agreed to the prosecution's demand and remanded Kharat to three-day police custody till April 29 in the case.
Kharat has been at the centre of a political firestorm, as he was well-connected, and photographs of him with political leaders and other important members of society have been surfacing in mainstream and social media since his arrest.
