The Hindu : National : Jain assails Sawant panel report

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Thursday, Mar 17, 2005

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National

Jain assails Sawant panel report

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, MARCH 16 . The former Education Minister of Maharashtra, Suresh Jain, today assailed Justice P.B. Sawant Commission in the Assembly amid strong protests from the Opposition Shiv Sena and BJP.

While presenting his personal explanation since the report of the commission is already tabled in the House, Mr. Jain alleged that the findings of the commission were "clearly based on wrong presumptions, misreading of facts and at times lack of understanding of the subject matter."

While insisting that the commission had overstepped its jurisdiction, Mr. Jain alleged that Mr. Justice Sawant did not give him an opportunity to reply or clarify.

The Leader of the Opposition, Narayan Rane, said that the former Minister was passing strictures against the commission under the pretext of providing personal explanation under Rule 48.

The Speaker, Babasaheb Kupekar, ruled that the objectionable portion of the statement be expunged. Mr. Jain made similar statement to the media.

The social activist, Anna Hazare, who is also indicted by the Sawant Commission, mostly for `maladministration' in the trusts he runs, said in a statement that he had always accepted deficiencies in documentation and technical matters of the functioning of the trusts.

But the Ministers against whose corruption he had launched a crusade could not prove a single charge of embezzlement of funds that they had made against him with a view to maligning him. He pointed out how the Ministers supplied stacks of papers to journalists while alleging widespread corruption in Hazare's trusts. "But they could not substantiate even a single charge," he said.

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