Central Vista plea junked, petitioners fined Rs 1 lakh; who is behind this motivated petition?
Delhi High Court called the 'petitiion motivated and not a genuine PIL'. Here is unravelling the 'agenda-based' petitioners who wanted to put brakes on a project of national importance.
New Delhi: the Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking stay on the Central Vista project. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner for moving a motivated plea.
A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh dismissed the plea seeking to halt the project during the coronavirus pandemic, saying the petition was “motivated” and “not a genuine PIL”.
The court said that since the construction workers are residing on-site, there is no question of staying the Central Vista construction work.
Delhi High Court to pronounce its verdict today in plea seeking suspension of construction work on #CentralVista Project in light of Covid-19.
Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh will be delivering the judgment. pic.twitter.com/zTPDGygsxx
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 31, 2021
Modi-haters behind the petition to halt Central Vista project
The plea for halting the work was moved by Anya Malhotra, a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a historian and documentary filmmaker.
The two had contended in their PIL that the project was not an essential activity and can be put on hold for time being.
Sohail Hashmi ‘s anti-Modi stance behind motivated plea?
Sohail Hashmi, one of the petitioners is under the scanner for filing a motivated plea against a ‘project of national importance’. But, question arises – what made him take lead in opposing this project.
His past reveals a lot about his hate-filled actions against Modi regime. Sohail Hashmi is the brother of Shabnam Hashmir and Safdar Hashmi.
Shabnam Hashmir was accused of running a fake campaign to defame then CM Narendra Modi after the Gujarat riots. She is also one of the active members of Award-wapsi gang. Her NGO also came the lens of investigative agencies for alleged illegal foreign funding, following which its registration was revoked.
Sohail Hashmi -brother of Shabhnam Hashmi & Safdar Hashmi. Sohail was prominent in “Not in my Name”/ Award Wapsi/Anti-Lynching campaign
Shabnam Hashmi’s activities on Gujarat, 2002 Riots are in public domain.
Her NGO had its foreign funding registration cancelled in 2016
3/n pic.twitter.com/YTDqgW9mct
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) May 31, 2021
An social media account in name of Sohail Hashmi seems to lend support to a letter to Justice Pratibha Rani on the JNU issue.
He was also one of the prominent voices who called Jai Shri Ram a provocative war cry and blamed it for the lynchings in the country. He was one of the 49 celebs who signed the letter and sent to PM Modi.
Co-incidence or joining hands with Opposition?
One may see it as a coincidence but Rahul Gandhi and his team have been trying to corner Modi govt over the same claim, as mentioned by Sohail Hashmi & his fellow petitioner.
Rahul Gandhi also repeatedly says, “it is a criminal waste of Rs 20,000 crore. Central Vista is non-essential and government must abandon it.”
Now, Rahul Gandhi & his eco-system essentially made same claims as were made by the petition by Hashmi & Co.
This is Non-essential
It is a Criminal waste of Rs 20,000 cr
Modi Putting lives at riskLet’s examine these claims
5/n pic.twitter.com/7BI2lFc5Ph
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) May 31, 2021