HYDERABAD: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said Air Asia scandal which unearthed recently, is legacy of the previous dispensation. Speaking at an event in Hyderabad on the completion of four years of Narendra Modi led BJP government at Centre, Prasad said "We are cleaning the dirt.
All bank frauds are being unearthed. In Nirav Modi case, we have seized his property worth Rs 10,000 Crore." Former finance minister P Chidambaram, he alleged, "one day before leaving office, has given away special facilities and concessions to many companies including Mehul Choksi's company."
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On the rising price of petrol and diesel, the senior minister said "last three to four years, 8 to 9 times prices have come down. We are taking a holistic view of the problem as crude prices keep going up and down which leads to unnecessary ambiguity."
In the run-up to general elections next year and challenges posed by a united opposition, he said people of India find hope in the present BJP government. "The India of 2018-2019 is looking at development, stability. Can pure opportunistic alliance offer stability? There has to be a leader who is acceptable and popular," he said, adding "Today in Modi govt, it is India of hope."
However, on the results of various bypolls today, where BJP has not been able to gain much, he said "by-elections is not the barometer as people in India are experiencing the good work done by Modi government. There are a lot of local factors for bypolls. However, I do not know the final picture as counting is still underway."
When asked about Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's ambitious plans for erecting a Federal Front with a united opposition minus Congress, and the perception that BJP will be the ultimate beneficiary, he said: "We are not the official or unofficial advisors of federal front or any other front. But yes, BJP has a major role to play in TS and AP." According to him, the two Telugu states are the focus areas for BJP. "TS and AP are our focus. BJP is a pan India party," he added.
The Union Law minister also opined that in spite of having triple talaq law in place, the practice has been continuing unabated in Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. "Triple talaq is not an issue of religion, faith. It is only an issue of gender justice, dignity and equality. It is acting as a deterrent in the country," said Prasad adding that countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan have regulated triple talaq but in India, the opposition is making it an issue of secularism and communalism.
Going all guns blazing at the opposition, the minister said: "Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati and Mamta Banerjee are women. I want to ask them whether you have some concern for women's rights. Hundreds and hundreds of Triple talaq are still going on in Telangana and UP."