Centre Trying to Ascertain Facts on Chatwal Cases

In the wake of a controversy surrounding the
Padma Bhushan given to Sant Singh Chatwal, the Centre
is trying to ascertain facts on the allegations of criminal
complaints registered against the NRI hotelier.

"We are trying to ascertain facts," Union Home Secretary
Gopal K Pillai said when asked about the reports that there
are three criminal complaints with Kerala Police, four cases in
Delhi and Kerala High Courts that named Chatwal and his associates.

He, however, made it clear that no probe has been ordered nor
any report sought from anyone.

According to media reports, all the cases against Chatwal were filed
or registered after April 2009 and in two of these cases,
Chatwal was served summons as recently as last month.

The cases reportedly related to "non-payment of bills" by
Chatwal to the suppliers of furnishings to his newly- constructed
Kochi hotel and "criminal intimidation" of them on the night of the launch party.

With the controversy around awarding of Padma Bhushan
to hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal getting stoked further with filing
of PILs against him, BJP today asked the government to rethink its
decision if it wanted to avoid getting "egg on its face".

"Selection of Chatwal has made the whole process
(of choosing Padma awardees) suspect and has lowered the
dignity of the awards. It is the duty of the government to
maintain this dignity as it is also a matter of prestige of the awards,"
BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.

He said that BJP was aware of filing of PILs in the case
and also of reports that Chatwal offered to fund Barack
Obama's presidential election campaign but the latter politely declined.

"If the government wants to prevent egg on its face,
it should take appropriate action, lest other institutions
may have to take corrective action," Rudy said.

Some eminent journalists have also filed an RTI application to
know how Chatwal figured in the list of Padma Bhushan awardees.

Reports suggest that though Chatwal's name did not figure in the
initial list, his name was recommended later by the Prime Minister's Office.

Chatwal was earlier indicted by the CBI in a bank fraud case
involving USD 9 million and was even under arrest for a short period.