Page 12 - The Indian EYE 051421

EYE on INDIA MAY 14, 2021 |
TMC leaders
Arrest by CBI sparks a row
trongly opposing the arrest of TMC leaders by the CBI on
Monday in Narada scam, senior Congress leader and former
SUnion Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said the move is a bla-
tant abuse of prosecutorial processes. Speaking to ANI, Kumar said,
“The imprint of partisan politics is writ large in the blatant abuse of
prosecutorial processes by the CBI against political adversaries of
the ruling BJP. Resort to arbitrary criminal prosecution and custody
of the accused by enforcement agencies to deprive citizens of their
fundamental liberties is clearly against the first principles of our
libertarian constitution. Detention of the accused militates against
recent judgments of the Supreme Court that scoff at routine incar-
ceration of political activists.”
“The CBI’s insistence on custody of the accused is, therefore,
wholly unsustainable in law. The manner of exercise of the power
of law enforcement in a democracy is accountable to constitutional
imperatives and it is important that justice is not only done but is
also seen to be done,” added Kumar.
Earlier on Monday, CBI arrested top TMC leaders Madan Mi-
tra, Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee and former TMC MLA So-
van Chatterjee in connection with the Narada scam.
The case is related to a sting operation, commonly known as Nara-
da Sting Operation, in which these public servants were caught on
camera while receiving illegal gratification from the Sting Operator.
Central vista
PIL against project should be
dismissed: SG
olicitor General Tushar Mehta on Monday submitted to the
Delhi High Court that the plea seeking to halt construction ac-
Stivity for the Central Vista project deserves to be dismissed as
it is only concerned with Central Vista and not about other ongoing
constructions.
The Delhi High Court was hearing a plea seeking direction to
halt/suspend all construction activity of the Central Vista Avenue
Redevelopment Project in compliance with orders issued by the Del-
hi Disaster Management Authority over COVID-19. Solicitor Gen-
eral Tushar Mehta appearing for the Union of India opposed the
plea seeking direction to stop the construction of the Central Vista
project. He said that his arguments are based on facts and read out
notification of April. He pointed out that the present petition is only
concerned with Central Vista and not about other constructions.
Mehta argued that here, the public interest is “very selective” in
particular regarding the Central Vista project matter. He said the
petitioner is not concerned about other workmen and other con-
struction works that are going on maybe 2-3 km away from there.
“There is something unusual, and beyond what is portrayed as pub-
lic interest. This is a facade of PIL to disguise something they always
wanted to stop under one pretext or the other,” Mehta submitted.
After Mehta concluded his submission, Advocate Maninder Singh
appearing for the Shapoorji Pallonji Group also opposed the PIL seek-
ing suspension of construction activity for the Central Vista project.
Advocate Singh said the petition is not bonafide. He submitted
that the petitioner’s lawyer had cited some media reports during his
arguments, which are not admissible under law.
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The Indian Eye 12
Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik makes a sand sculpture on Cyclone-
Tauktae with the message ‘Don’t panic, in Puri on Monday. (ani)
Meanwhile, Advocate Sidharth Luthra sought court’s direction
to stop construction at the Central Vista site. “Central Vistas should
not be called as it is so, it shall now be called Central Fortress of
death,” Luthra said.
MP raghurama Krishna
TDP chief writes letter to
President Kovind
elugu Desam Party (TDP) chief, N Chandrababu Naidu on Sun-
day sought the intervention of President Ram Nath Kovind over
Tthe alleged custodial torture of YSRCP Rebel MP Raghurama
Krishna Raju by the state Crime Investigation Department (CID).
TDP National president and former CM of Andhra Pradesh
N Chandrababu Naidu has written letter to the President of India
Ram Nath Kovind, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Har-
ichandan and Union Home Secretary K Ajay Bhalla about the issue
of alleged torture of arrested MP Raghurama Krishna Raju during
CID custody. Chandrababu Naidu in the letter accused that there is
a threat to life of Raghu Ramakrishna Raju from state police and
the Government of Andhra Pradesh. There has been a breach of
privilege of the MP’s rights as well as his fundamental rights are be-
ing violated.
“There is an absolute breakdown of Constitutional machinery
and the ruling party is making a mockery of democracy”, alleged
Chandrababu Naidu. He requested through his letters, for the in-
tervention of the President of India and Union Home Secretary in
this matter.
Meanwhile, TDP MPs K Rammohan Naidu (from Lok Sabha) and
K Raveendra Kumar (from Rajya Sabha) wrote to Lok Sabha Speak-
er Om Birla on the same issue. They requested the Speaker to inter-
vene and order a suo moto inquiry through an independent agency.
At the same time, TDP Andhra Pradesh President K Atchan-
naidu has written a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS
Jagan Mohan Reddy that the shifting of MP Raghu Ramakrishna
Raju to Guntur GGH, without holding medical tests at Ramesh
hospital, as ordered by the CID court, is illegal.
He demanded that the CM to provide security to the life of MP
Raghu. Atchannaidu raised doubts about the safety of the MP Ra-
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