Congress demands Gohain's ouster as Minister over rape charges
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Congress on Friday demanded dismissal of Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain as a case of rape was registered against him in Guwahati.
"(Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji, you have failed the test not once, not twice, not thrice, but almost a dozen times. Again there is a rape FIR against one of your Cabinet colleagues, Gohain," Congress leader Pawan Khera said addressing a press conference here.
He said that if PM Modi does not act now, then he would lose the moral authority to stay in the office even for a day.
"Remove him from his office. You can't allow him to be in a position of power and influence during the investigation. Please remove him if you meant anything that you promised before 2014," he said.
"We demand from this government, from Modi, from (BJP President) Amit Shah to take immediate and strict action against rape accused Minister Gohain," he said.
The Congress leader's remarks came after a woman in Assam filed a case of rape with the Assam Police against Gohain.
Referring to the cases of rape in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were allegedly involved, Khera mentioned the case of Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh and said: "We saw you were standing with the rapists of Unnao."
Khera was referring to BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Senger, who has been charged for rape by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Congress leader also questioned Modi's silence on the Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes. "Your own government is there in alliance with (Bihar Chief Minister) Nitish Kumarji."
Khera also questioned Modi's silence over his party's state ministers coming out in support of the rape accused in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua.
Slamming Modi, he said: "Last week, we saw reports from Deoria, from Pratapgarh, and again you remained quiet."
"These are the same people who used provocative and emotionally charged slogans to woo the people of the country before 2014. And now, their Cabinet ministers are being charged with sexual assault and rapes, yet they maintain silence and action is hardly taken against those involved in such cases," Khera added.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
