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Modi sarkar says Koh-i-Noor was a gift to England, are Lalit Modi, Mallya too?

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Kumar Shakti Shekhar
Kumar Shakti ShekharApr 19, 2016 | 16:29

Modi sarkar says Koh-i-Noor was a gift to England, are Lalit Modi, Mallya too?

Indians have got a rude shock upon learning that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has told the Supreme Court that the historic Koh-i-Noor diamond was neither "forcibly taken" nor "stolen" by British rulers, but was "gifted" to the East India Company by the rulers of Punjab. One wonders whether the government will also tell the court that two absconders - former IPL boss Lalit Modi and liquor baron Vijay Mallya - who have taken refuge in the United Kingdom (UK) - too have been gifted to the country.

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"Kohinoor cannot be said to be forcibly taken or stolen as it was given by the successors of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to East India Company in 1849 as compensation for helping them in the Sikh wars," solicitor general Ranjit Kumar told a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur on April 18.

The apex court then asked whether the government was willing to stake claim to the Koh-i-Noor, one of the most talked about and valuable diamonds in the world. "If we claim our treasures like Koh-i-Noor from other countries, every other nation will start claiming their items from us. There will be nothing left in our museums," Kumar said.

Without dismissing the PIL, the bench, also comprising Justice UU Lalit, asked the solicitor general to file a detailed reply within six weeks. "We would like to know if there is a claim the government wants to make? See, we are not inclined to dismiss this plea. If we dismiss it, that country (United Kingdom) may say that your Supreme Court has rejected the plea and it may lead to denial of the governments legitimate claim... You cannot afford dismissal as it may be treated as an obstruction in your way. You formulate a response and file it in six weeks," the bench observed.

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Undoubtedly, the Narendra Modi government's stand on Koh-i-Noor is baffling because it is a "nationalist" dispensation. It is also contradictory to the position taken by the BJP and its ideological mentor the RSS. "Kohinoor is India's property and it should be with India," said RSS leader Indresh Kumar, reacting to the government's stand.

modimallya19416mb_041916034618.jpg
Both liquor baron Vijay Mallya (left) and former IPL boss Lalit Modi (right), wanted by India, are in the UK.

Lalit Modi, who is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for the bungling of a Rs 425-crore deal for TV rights, had fled India in 2010 and has refused to come back and face interrogation.

Meanwhile, Mallya, a Rajya Sabha MP, seems to have followed suit and has refused to cooperate with the Enforcement Directorate (ED). As a result, his passport has been cancelled and an arrest warrant issued against him in a case involving bank loans worth more than Rs 9,000 crore. He had left the country for the UK on March 2.

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The Opposition has pulled up the BJP in the past alleging that external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had helped Lalit Modi procure travel documents to fly from the UK to Portugal in August 2014 for his wife's treatment. They also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was helping the fugitive. The BJP is now being accused of allowing Mallya to flee the country.

In the backdrop of the Centre's plea in the Supreme Court in the case of Koh-i-Noor, one wonders whether social media and the Opposition will also mock the BJP over Lalit Modi and Mallya and say that they too are gifts to the UK.

Last updated: April 19, 2016 | 16:48
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