Can't return for safety concerns, case politicised: Nirav Modi
Mumbai, Jan 5: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, a prime accused in the PNB fraud case, told a court here Saturday that he cannot return to India due to safety concerns and also because his case has been politicised.
Modi's lawyer filed his reply to the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea seeking to declare the diamond merchant a fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA) before the special court for cases filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Modi feared for his safety given the violent threats made against him "as illustrated by the burning of his effigies", the reply said.
Statements made by politicians from all parties showed that they had "prejudged the issue of his guilt" and his case was being used for political purposes, it added.
While he left the country long before a case was registered against him, the ED tried to "falsely implicate" him for offences "backed by shallow claims", Modi's reply said.
The fugitive diamond merchant also claimed to have duly replied to the ED's summons.
According to the ED, Modi failed to respond to its summons thrice, after which it filed the plea under the FEOA.
The ED did not mention that he had stated in his reply that he could not travel as his passport had been revoked, Modi said.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi cheated the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 14,000 crore by fraudulently securing Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) to obtain credit overseas.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
