Nothing personal against Sachin, says man who challenged his Rajya Sabha nomination

May 17, 2012

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While the entire nation is waiting with sheer eagerness to see Master Blaster take oath as a Rajya Sabha member, 79-year-old Ram Gopal Singh Sisodia, who claims to be an ardent fan of the cricketer, had moved Delhi High Court challenging Sachin Tendulkar's very nomination as a member of parliament.

However, Sisodia claims he has nothing personal against Tendulkar. Speaking to MiD DAY, he said that he respects Tendulkar like millions of Indians. "However, this is not the way to honour him," he said, adding that the constitution clearly states who all can be nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

"If the Congress wanted to honour him, it could have given him a respectable position in the party. It's simply unacceptable to use the country's parliament for political benefits and appeasement. It is the parliament of the Republic of India, and not an akhara," said Sisodia.

A former journalist, Sisodia said that he has been in active politics for the past 60 years. "However, I have not seen such an illegal appointment to the parliament so far," he said.

Why not Anna?

Soon after Tendulkar was nominated for the Upper House, Sisodia had written to president Pratibha Patil and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. But he said nobody bothered to respond.

"If the government really wants to honour eminent people and nominate them to the Rajya Sabha then it should have nominated people like Anna Hazare, who have been into social service since long. However, it won't do so for obvious reasons," he added.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court refused to restrain Sachin Tendulkar from taking oath as Rajya Sabha member. However, it sought the Central government's response on the petition by Sisodia.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice AK Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai directed the government to file its reply by July 5, the next date of hearing.

Sisodia had first gone to the apex court with his petition. But the court declined to entertain it and asked him to move the appropriate high court with his plea.



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News Network
March 27,2024

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Bengaluru: Darshan Babu is an engineer who is fond of betting on cricket matches and has been placing major bets on Indian Premier League (IPL) games since 2021. He often borrows money after losing a bet, or to place one when he is short on funds. His 23-year-old wife, tired of the constant harassment by creditors, died by suicide.

Ranjitha was found hanging at her home in Karnataka's Chitradurga on March 18. According to the family, Darshan had racked up a debt of over Rs 1 crore.

He worked as an assistant engineer in the Minor Irrigation Department at Hosadurga and had been ensnared in the realm of IPL betting from 2021 to 2023. This took a major toll on the couple's finances. Allegedly, he had borrowed over Rs 1.5 crore to place bets after his luck ran out and he lost all his money. While he managed to return Rs 1 crore, cops say that he still has a pending loan of ₹ 84 lakh.

Ranjitha married Darshan in 2020. She realised the truth about Darshan's involvement in betting in 2021, claims her father Venkatesh.

In his complaint, Venkatesh said that his daughter was extremely distressed due to the constant harassment by moneylenders and this led to her suicide. He has also named 13 men who had allegedly lent the money.

He said that his son-in-law was lured into betting with a promise of quick money.

"He (Darshan) was not willing to get into betting, but the suspects forced him saying it was an easy way to get rich. They promised to finance his betting activities against some blank cheques as security," he said.

Cops during their investigation found a suicide note, where she detailed the harassment they faced. Darshan and Ranjitha have a two-year-old son.

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