'Praful Patel’s deal with Mirchi’s wife treason'
NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah has said that the real estate deal between Mumbai blast accused Iqbal Mirchi’s wife and former Union minister Praful Patel was “nothing short of treason, and that the onus is now on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and NCP boss Sharad Pawar to come clean on the issue”.
In an exclusive interview with Times Now, his first after taking over as home minister, Shah emphasised that a red corner notice issued by Interpol was pending against Mirchi, a drug lord and a close associate of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. His wife, Hajra Memon, entered into a property deal with Patel, the then civil aviation minister in the Manmohan Singh-government. Mirchi died in 2013.
Shah said while it was for the Enforcement Directorate to decide its course of action, he believed the deal with Mirchi’s wife was tantamount to treason. “See, an investigation is underway. You and I sitting here cannot decide. Enforcement Directorate is getting details of the case. Once the probe is complete and an analysis is done, only then can we comment whether there is a terror angle or not. But prima facie it appears that the agreement with Iqbal Mirchi’s wife is nothing less than desh droh (treason),” Shah said.
When specifically asked whether the deal needed to be investigated as a terror case in the light of Mirchi’s association with Dawood, Shah said it was for the ED to decide.
“The fact is that already action has been taken. Enforcement Directorate is already investigating the matter. You are the one who has made it public. I just want to say that all investigation will take place as per the Constitution and if a terror angle is found, and I’m sure it will, if it emerges, then the case will be followed in that direction. There is no doubt about this,” the home minister said.
“Why are you seeking answers from me? You should be asking questions to Rahul Gandhi. It was a Congress-led government. You should ask Sharad Pawar because Praful Patel is a leader of the NCP and the date that you are mentioning, and I want to tell you here that a red corner notice against the accused had already been issued by then and yet they went ahead and signed an agreement with them,” he added.
Shah said surprisingly, both NCP and Congress were silent. “Only Praful Patel is answering and in fact I’ve read his explanation also and nowhere does he talk about these signatures. He doesn’t explain as to why he had to sign a deal with Hajra Bibi, what compulsions he had,” he said when asked about UPA's stand in the Supreme Court that Hajra’s passport be revoked for reasons to do with national security and because she was seeking to dispose of the properties illegally acquired by Mirchi.
On the accountability of Sonia Gandhi, Pawar, Manmohan Singh and key figures in the UPA, Shah said, “See, legally, when agencies reach the root of the matter, all of them will have to answer. They must because in-depth analysis, a judicial process will take place, they all have moral responsibility. I really want to ask Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as well as Sharad Pawar whether they will come clean on this matter in public?”
He added that on one hand, the UPA told the SC not to give Hajra Bibi her passport as she was trying to dispose of illegal properties of Iqbal Mirchi and on the other, its own cabinet minister was signing a property deal with her.
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from Times of India https://ift.tt/2VGRQ1R
In an exclusive interview with Times Now, his first after taking over as home minister, Shah emphasised that a red corner notice issued by Interpol was pending against Mirchi, a drug lord and a close associate of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. His wife, Hajra Memon, entered into a property deal with Patel, the then civil aviation minister in the Manmohan Singh-government. Mirchi died in 2013.
Shah said while it was for the Enforcement Directorate to decide its course of action, he believed the deal with Mirchi’s wife was tantamount to treason. “See, an investigation is underway. You and I sitting here cannot decide. Enforcement Directorate is getting details of the case. Once the probe is complete and an analysis is done, only then can we comment whether there is a terror angle or not. But prima facie it appears that the agreement with Iqbal Mirchi’s wife is nothing less than desh droh (treason),” Shah said.
When specifically asked whether the deal needed to be investigated as a terror case in the light of Mirchi’s association with Dawood, Shah said it was for the ED to decide.
“The fact is that already action has been taken. Enforcement Directorate is already investigating the matter. You are the one who has made it public. I just want to say that all investigation will take place as per the Constitution and if a terror angle is found, and I’m sure it will, if it emerges, then the case will be followed in that direction. There is no doubt about this,” the home minister said.
“Why are you seeking answers from me? You should be asking questions to Rahul Gandhi. It was a Congress-led government. You should ask Sharad Pawar because Praful Patel is a leader of the NCP and the date that you are mentioning, and I want to tell you here that a red corner notice against the accused had already been issued by then and yet they went ahead and signed an agreement with them,” he added.
Shah said surprisingly, both NCP and Congress were silent. “Only Praful Patel is answering and in fact I’ve read his explanation also and nowhere does he talk about these signatures. He doesn’t explain as to why he had to sign a deal with Hajra Bibi, what compulsions he had,” he said when asked about UPA's stand in the Supreme Court that Hajra’s passport be revoked for reasons to do with national security and because she was seeking to dispose of the properties illegally acquired by Mirchi.
On the accountability of Sonia Gandhi, Pawar, Manmohan Singh and key figures in the UPA, Shah said, “See, legally, when agencies reach the root of the matter, all of them will have to answer. They must because in-depth analysis, a judicial process will take place, they all have moral responsibility. I really want to ask Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as well as Sharad Pawar whether they will come clean on this matter in public?”
He added that on one hand, the UPA told the SC not to give Hajra Bibi her passport as she was trying to dispose of illegal properties of Iqbal Mirchi and on the other, its own cabinet minister was signing a property deal with her.
[1][2][3][4]
References
- ^ Amit Shah (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Praful Patel (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Sonia Gandhi (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Times Now (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2VGRQ1R
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