My husband not Lalit Modi's lawyer in passport case: Sushma

August 12, 2015

New Delhi, Aug 12: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said her husband Swaraj Kaushal was not the lawyer for former IPL chief Lalit Modi in his passport case and she was not at fault in the issuance of travel documents to him by the British government.

"I am saying again today that there is no mistake by me," she said while participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on an adjournment motion on the Lalit Modi issue.

The minister said the British government had conveyed that Lalit Modi was given travel documents according to appropriate rules.

Sushma Swaraj said her daughter Bansuri was a junior lawyer in Lalit Modi's passport case but received no money.

"She was a junior at ninth number in the appearance list. She appeared with her senior. Not a single rupee was taken (by her)," Sushma Swaraj said, amid continuous slogan-shouting by Congress members.

She rejected the Congress allegations of a quid pro quo with Lalit Modi.

Sushma Swaraj, who earlier spoke in the house, reiterated she did not help Lalit Modi but his wife who was to undergo a medical procedure for cancer treatment in Portugal.

The minister hit out at the Congress over its allegations on her conflict of interest.

She said when P. Chidambaram was finance minister in the United Progressive Alliance government, his wife Nalini Chidambaram was appointed a lawyer by the income tax department.

She said when an AIADMK member brought this to the notice of parliament, Chidambaram said he had no knowledge of the department's decision.

Sushma Swaraj also cited other instances of alleged conflict of interest by Congress leaders.

The Congress is demanding the resignation of Sushma Swaraj over her alleged help to former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi, who is facing investigation by the Enforcement Directorate.

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Gautam Adani reclaims Asia's richest person title with net worth of USD 111 billion

News Network

June 1,2024

Gautam Adani, chairman of multinational conglomerate the Adani Group, has reclaimed the title of the richest person in Asia with a net worth of $111 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This came after the group's shares rallied up to 14 per cent on Friday.

With this, Adani has overtaken Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani after nearly 5 months. Ambani stands at 12th rank with a net worth of $109 billion. He had overtaken Adani in net worth after his conglomerate's shares crashed following the Hindenburg report last January.

So far in 2024, Adani’s net worth has jumped $26.8 billion while Ambani's wealth has increased by $12.7 billion.

Last week, Adani also expressed his optimism about the future of the group saying that its best days are ahead.

“The road ahead is paved with extraordinary possibilities, and I can promise you that the Adani Group today is stronger than it has ever been," he said.

2023 had been quite challenging for the Adani Group after the Supreme Court ordered a panel to probe the allegations in the Hindenburg report. Adani, who was the third richest person in the world before the report, slipped in the rankings rapidly after the group's shares saw a sell-off.

However, later the Supreme Court ordered the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (Sebi) to conclude its investigation into the Adani Group and said no more probes were needed. Sebi had said that it could not reach an outcome in its probe.

The shares of the Adani Group have rallied after the judgement. In January, Adani had overtaken Ambani after nearly 12 months but later the lead was taken again by Ambani. Now Adani has overtaken Ambani again.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed that currently, Bernard Arnault is currently the richest person in the world with a net worth of $207 billion. He is followed by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos with total wealth of $203 billion and $199 billion respectively.

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