A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday alleging Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suppressed details on his assets in the election affidavits. Saket Gokhale, a former journalist, who claims to be an independent consultant, filed the PIL alleging that the PM was the beneficiary of a questionable land allotment policy followed by the Gujarat Government since 1998. As a consequence of this policy, the public lands were allotted to legislators at bare minimum prices.
According to the petition, in 2002, Modi benefited due to the policy, as he received prime land at a paltry price. The petition said the land allotment scheme had got into controversy after the Gujarat High Court registered a suo moto case in 2000. On November 2, 2012, the Supreme Court directed the HC to consider the matter. The apex court intervened and stopped any further allotment of plots and also ordered that no permission should be given to transfer plots already allotted without the approval of the High Court.
The petitioner claimed that in the election affidavits filed by Modi after court's observation, Plot No. 411 simply disappeared. In the affidavit filed in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and in the declaration of assets made as Prime Minister in 2015, 2016 & 2017, this plot is allegedly omitted.
According to the petitioner, the affidavits declare ownership of 1/4th share of Plot No.401/A in Gandhinagar, which is a "non-existent plot". The petitioner said that Plot No. 401 is allotted as per the government policy to Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley.
The petition said: "Though, the said Plot Nos. 401, 403 to 411 are ostensibly in the names of different owners, the said plots have been joined together (except plot no.402) and have a single compound wall with multiple structures constructed on the said land. The petitioner verily believes that all the said plots (having a single compound) is been held/utilized/occuppied for the use and benefit of Respondent No.3(PM Modi) and are in fact his benami assets."
The SC also ordered that no further allotment of plots under the policy should be made and no permission to transfer plots already allotted should be given without the approval of the High Court. While ordering so, the SC bench of Justices D K Jain and M B Lokur had recorded the submission of counsel for Gujarat Government Adv. MeenakshiLekhi that no fresh allotment as per the policy has been made after 2000 and that the entire policy was being re-examined. Gokhale alleges that this submission is incorrect, as allotment to Modi was made in 2002. In the election affidavits filed by Modi after this judicial development, Plot No.411 is conspicuous by its absence, alleges Gokhale. In the affidavit filed in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and in the declaration of assets made as Prime Minister in 2015, 2016 & 2017, this plot is allegedly omitted. Instead, the affidavits declare ownership of 1/4th share of Plot No.401/A in Gandhinagar, which according to the petitioner is a "non-existent plot". The petitioner adds that Plot No.401 is allotted as per the government policy to Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley. The case in Gujarat High Court regarding the validity of the policy was not progressing as many judges recused from hearing it. This led to the matter being transferred to the Supreme Court on August 28, 2017. As per SC records, the matter was last listed on January 1, 2018. Gokhale claims on the basis of personal visits that Plot No.401 is adjacent to several other plots allotted to many BJP leaders, and all these plots form a compact plot in the prime location of Gandhinagar. He further affirms that Plot No.411 is still in the name of Modi, as revealed by public records.
Contending that the alleged false affidavits by PM Modi violated the citizen's right to have information about the candidate under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, the PIL seeks a probe by a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired Chief Justice of India to investigate the alleged irregularities.
Courtesy/By: Sakshi Garg
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16 Apr 2019
