Amar Singh denies financial gains from UPDC
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh today told the Election Commission that he drew no financial or other benefits as chairman of the UP Development Council (UPDC) to attract disqualification as an MP under office-of-profit rules for lawmakers.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh today told the Election Commission that he drew no financial or other benefits as chairman of the UP Development Council (UPDC) to attract disqualification as an MP under office-of-profit rules for lawmakers.
In an affidavit filed with the Commission through his counsel, Singh also insisted that his Cabinet rank as head of the UPDC was only a "decorative" designation.
"A perusal of all the pertinent records would show that the repondent (Singh) has never availed of or even asked for any monetary benefit or honorarium or for any residential accommodation in any form or other facilities, including telephone or medical facilities in connection with the said post," the SP leader said in his affidavit.
Singh, who maintained that he broke no office-of-profit rules by heading the UPDC, also requested penalty on complainant J N Shukla, a Lucknow resident, who has challenged his Rajya Sabha membership.
"It is, therefore, respectfully prayed that the instant reference case may be dismissed with costs," he said.
Singh's counsel Pradeep Rai told reporters that his client would, however, file another reply in two weeks' time because petitioner Shukla has filed a supplementary complaint against him.
"The Election Commission granted us two weeks to file our reply after we sought a copy of the (supplementary) complaint, which was provided to us," Rai said after meeting the EC on behalf of Singh who is currently abroad.
He said the EC has not yet fixed a date to file the reply.
On the company's overseas projects, he said the company was already executing projects in Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. The transmission line of Bhutan's Tala project to northern India would be commissioned within a month, he said.
In an affidavit filed with the Commission through his counsel, Singh also insisted that his Cabinet rank as head of the UPDC was only a "decorative" designation.
"A perusal of all the pertinent records would show that the repondent (Singh) has never availed of or even asked for any monetary benefit or honorarium or for any residential accommodation in any form or other facilities, including telephone or medical facilities in connection with the said post," the SP leader said in his affidavit.
Singh, who maintained that he broke no office-of-profit rules by heading the UPDC, also requested penalty on complainant J N Shukla, a Lucknow resident, who has challenged his Rajya Sabha membership.
"It is, therefore, respectfully prayed that the instant reference case may be dismissed with costs," he said.
Singh's counsel Pradeep Rai told reporters that his client would, however, file another reply in two weeks' time because petitioner Shukla has filed a supplementary complaint against him.
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"The Election Commission granted us two weeks to file our reply after we sought a copy of the (supplementary) complaint, which was provided to us," Rai said after meeting the EC on behalf of Singh who is currently abroad.
He said the EC has not yet fixed a date to file the reply.
On the company's overseas projects, he said the company was already executing projects in Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. The transmission line of Bhutan's Tala project to northern India would be commissioned within a month, he said.
The company was also planning a foray in Indonesia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Kenya, China, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Kazakhstan, he said. Power Grid was looking at three broad areas in these countris - consultancy work, running existing projects with management control and executing new transmission projects, he said, but did not give details.
On the development of a national grid, Singh said the entire grid would entail an investment of Rs 71,000 crore. The development of national grid would result in savings in investment of up to Rs 60,000 crore on account of reduced capacity addition requirement, he said.
The company is also executing rural electrification projects in more than 87,000 villages at a total investment of Rs 9,400 crore, he said.
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