On Friday( 19th July),The Lokpal of India has rejected a complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi over allegations of receiving black money from industrialists Adani and Ambani. The Lokpal deemed the allegations against the Prime Minister as “ex-facie far-fetched.”
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NEW DELHI: On Friday( 19th July),The Lokpal of India has declined to entertain a complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi concerning allegations that they received black money from India’s prominent industrialists. The Lokpal’s decision, stated that the allegations against the Prime Minister were “ex-facie far-fetched.”
The complaint revolved around a speech made by PM Modi during a campaign rally at Telangana’s Karimnagar on May 8. In his address, Modi questioned whether the Congress was receiving “tempos of cash” from Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani. This statement led to the filing of the complaint, alleging corruption and the receipt of black money by the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi.
The anti-corruption body, in its order, clarified the context and nature of the speech. It described the speech as bordering on “surmising and conjecturing,” and labeled it as “Simply a tactic of election propaganda aimed at cornering the opponent by presenting a questionnaire based on assumed or fictional facts.” The Lokpal emphasized that the speech did not substantiate any case of corruption against the Prime Minister.
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“This statement might be comparable to engaging in shadow boxing. Nevertheless, such a speculative questionnaire cannot be considered as revealing any information with verifiable allegations of corruption against another public official that would warrant intervention by the Lokpal.”
– the Lokpal’s order stated.
The decision was made by a full bench comprising Chairperson Justice (retired) AM Khanwilkar, and Judicial Members, retired Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi, L Narayana Swamy, and Sanjay Yadav, along with Members Sushil Chandra (former Chief Election Commissioner), Pankaj Kumar, and Ajay Tirkey. This collective decision underscores the consensus among the members regarding the lack of substantial evidence in the allegations.
The Lokpal has rejected claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to act on intelligence information regarding certain allegations. The decision was made after careful consideration of the available evidence and the content of the complaint.
“This allegation is, on its face, far-fetched. The subject speech contains no reference indicating that the speaker received or gathered such information from intelligence sources, either formally or informally. In our opinion, this allegation does not advance the matter further, as the speech is entirely an expression of surmise, conjecture, or a hypothetical questionnaire.”
-stated the Lokpal in its ruling.
The complaint against PM Modi was dismissed at the initial stage due to its ‘untenable’ nature. The Lokpal found it to be lacking in merit and based on non-substantial evidence. Consequently, the complaint, which also called for an investigation into Rahul Gandhi, unidentified tempo owners, and two prominent industrialists, was dismissed.
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“The complaint against these individuals is based on unrealistic and unverifiable facts regarding their alleged involvement in corrupt activities.”
-the Lokpal observed.
In its detailed assessment, the Lokpal emphasized that it would not be constrained by technicalities and would readily “hesitate to proceed against all such persons who are prime facie involved” in corruption, regardless of their status or position.