Political vendetta: Cong on Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor's M F Hussain painting allegation
New Delhi(PTI): The Congress on Sunday termed as "political vendetta" the allegation by Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor who has told the Enforcement Directorate that he was "forced" to buy an M F Husain painting from party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and questioned his and the ED's credibility.
Kapoor has told the ED that he was "forced" to buy the M F Husain painting from Priyanka Gandhi and the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New York, according to the charge sheet filed by the federal anti-money laundering agency in a special court in Mumbai.
He told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that he was told by the then petroleum minister Murli Deora that the refusal to buy the painting will not only prevent him from building a relationship with the Gandhi family but also prevent him from getting the 'Padma Bhushan' award.
Kapoor also told the agency that Ahmed Patel, a close confidante of Sonia Gandhi, had told him that by supporting the Gandhi family at an opportune time for medical treatment of Sonia Gandhi, "I (Kapoor) had performed a good deed for the family and it would be duly considered for the 'Padma Bhushan' award".
Asked about the allegations at a press conference, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "This is absolutely astonishing. I don't want to use a strong word, it is absolutely disgusting that a 2010 transaction, a person who is behind bars for years, whose 20-30 bail applications have been rejected, who is called a crook and a fraudster, makes allegations about dead people and the government is jumping with joy only because it suits their political angle."
The government wants to keep the pot boiling for 2022, for a transaction in 2010, when neither Murli Deora is here to deny it nor Ahmed Patel is here to deny, Singhvi said.
"What is the objective of this, is it the result of your (government) pressure tactics and coercion on a person behind bars eager to get his freedom to record statements against political opponents and to keep a 12-year-old thing boiling just for convenience of politics," the Rajya Sabha MP said, hitting out at the government.
However, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya alleged that it is quite clear from Rana Kapoor's confession to the ED that the Gandhis and the Congress are not just "extortionist but were also selling the country's highest civilian honour to the highest bidder or durbaris, who did their bidding".
In his response to the allegations, Singhvi cited that in March 2014, the Yes Bank loan book stood at Rs 55,000 crore and in March 2019, it had increased nearly five times to Rs 2.41 lakh crore.
"The loan book of Yes Bank also showed a very dramatic increase between two other dates which are very inconvenient for the Modi government about which neither the government nor the prime minister talk about anymore. In March 2016, it was Rs 98,000 crore and in March 2018, it became 2.03 lakh crore, about more than double. Remember when demonetisation happened, November 2016," he said.
Singhvi also pointed out that the BJP-led Haryana government invested Rs 2,500 crore as government money into accounts of a "sinking" Yes Bank.
"They are trying to create a fear psychosis to scare people to do political vendetta, they should know better than that. At least spare the dead. At least don't defame people like Deora and Ahmed Patel," he said.
"We all know the credibility of the ED and more than that the credibility of the person accused in this case who is supposed to have made this statement," he added.
The statements of Rana Kapoor are part of the second supplementary charge sheet (overall third) filed in the special court recently against the Yes Bank co-founder, his family, Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, and others in a money laundering case.
Stating that he had paid a cheque of Rs 2 crore, Kapoor claimed that "Milind Deora (son of the late Murli Deora and former Congress MP) later conveyed to him confidentially that the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of Sonia Gandhi in New York".
Kapoor is currently in judicial custody following his arrest in the case in March 2020. The Wadhwans too are in jail custody after their arrest in another case.
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56 killed as storm, rain batter UP
Lucknow (PTI): At least 56 people were killed after a strong storm and heavy rain uprooted trees and damaged houses across several districts of Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Thursday.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the loss of lives and damage caused by unseasonal rain, thunderstorms and lightning on Wednesday and directed officials to ensure relief reaches the affected families within 24 hours.
According to reports received from various districts, 17 deaths were reported in Prayagraj, 16 in Bhadohi, nine in Fatehpur, five in Badaun, four in Pratapgarh, two each in Chandauli and Kushinagar, and one in Sonbhadra district.
According to a list issued by the Prayagraj district administration, seven deaths were reported in the Handia area, four from Phulpur, three from Soraon, two from Meja and one from Sadar due to the storm and rain.
In Bhadohi, sources in the district administration said at least 16 people died in storm-related incidents.
Additional District Magistrate Kunwar Virendra Kumar Maurya said trees and electric poles were uprooted in several areas while many houses were damaged in the storm.
Fatehpur Additional District Magistrate Avinash Tripathi said nine people were killed and 16 injured in storm-related incidents in the district.
"Eight people, including five women, died in Khaga tehsil, while a woman died after a wall of a house collapsed in Sadar tehsil," he said.
In Pratapgarh, four people died in separate incidents of wall and cemented shed collapses and lightning strikes amid strong winds and rain, the officials said.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Bhukar said Bhim Yadav (25) died after being trapped under debris when a cemented shed collapsed in Ojha Ka Purwa village under the Lalganj Kotwali area.
He said Bhushan Pandey (56) died after a wall collapsed in Sari Swami village under the Baghrai police station area.
Bhukar said Shanti Devi (46) of Narangpur village and Lal Bahadur (44) of Chhatrapur Shivala Raghna village also died in storm-related incidents.
In Kanpur Dehat district, two persons died in rain-related incidents, the officials said.
Police sources said a 19-year-old woman, Ruchi, died after being struck by lightning in Bhauthari village under the Rasulabad area while standing under a neem tree with goats during heavy rain. Several goats also died in the incident.
A 60-year-old man standing nearby was also injured, they added.
Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Dushyant Kumar said reports regarding human and livestock losses had been sought from local officials and financial assistance would be provided as per government rules.
In Deoria, Komal Yadav (62), a resident of Bhimpur Gaura village, died after being struck by lightning, district administration sources said. Two others were injured in the incident.
In another incident, Ramnath Prasad (65), a resident of Neruari village, died due to a lightning strike.
In Sonbhadra district, Madhav Singh (38) died after being trapped under a tree that was uprooted during rain and storm.
Chief Minister Adityanath directed the district magistrates and officials of various departments to visit the affected areas and provide all possible assistance to the victims and their families.
He also instructed officials to remain on alert and ordered the revenue and agriculture departments, along with insurance companies, to conduct a survey of the damage and submit a report to the government.
