Hisar, Haryana:

The BJP’s Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal’s mother Savitri Jindal, who was an aspirant of a poll ticket from the party for the Haryana Assembly elections, filed her nomination from the Hisar seat as an Independent on Thursday.

On the last day of the filing of nominations, 74-year-old Ms Savitri, the wife of noted industrialist late O P Jindal, entered the fray against Haryana Minister and sitting MLA from Hisar Kamal Gupta.

Forbes India has listed her as the richest woman in the country this year having a net worth of USD 29.1 billion.

Polling for the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the results will be declared on October 8.

After filing her nomination, she said, “I have pledged to serve Hisar for its development and transformation. The people of Hisar are my family and Om Prakash Jindal had established my relationship with this family.”

“The Jindal family has always served Hisar. I am fully dedicated to living up to the expectations of the people and maintaining their trust,” said Savitri Jindal.

When the BJP fielded Kamal Gupta from the Hisar Assembly segment, Savitri Jindal was asked by reporters if her contesting the seat against the ruling party would not amount to rebellion.

“It won’t be considered so. I had only campaigned for my son (Naveen Jindal in the Lok Sabah polls). I have not taken any membership (of the BJP),” she had said.

Savitri Jindal was elected as an MLA from the Hisar seat twice. She became represented Hisar in the Haryana Assembly for the first time in 2005 as a Congress MLA. She was reelected from the seat in 2009 and was made a minister in the Singh Hooda government in 2013. She quit the Congress in March this year when her son Naveen Jindal also left the party and later joined the BJP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A Jindal group company’s senior executive facing allegations of molestation by a fellow passenger on a flight has been sent on administrative leave and a third-party investigation has been initiated. 

“We are deeply concerned about the recent allegations involving a senior executive in our company. We recognise the gravity of the situation and are committed to addressing it with utmost seriousness, care, integrity, and urgency,” Vulcan Green Steel said in a statement.

Oman-based Vulcan Green Steel (VGS) is the steel arm of Vulcan Green, which is part of the Naveen Jindal-led Group of companies.

In line with the company’s zero-tolerance policy, and to ensure a fair and independent review, the executive has been placed on administrative leave, the statement said. To maintain impartiality, the company is appointing an independent, credible third party to lead the investigation, it added. 

On Friday, Jindal Steel and Power Chairman Naveen Jindal promised to investigate allegations of molestation against a senior executive of one of the group companies levelled by a female passenger aboard a flight from Kolkata to Abu Dhabi, saying his group has a zero-tolerance policy in such matters.

The female passenger alleged that the executive showed her some obscene videos after calling them movie clips.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is set to witness a battle of affluence, with a significant number of candidates boasting crorepati status. According to the Association of Democratic Reforms, out of the 866 candidates analysed, 338 (39 per cent ) are crorepati, with an average asset value of Rs. 6.21 crores.

Polling for the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections will take place today. The phase will see 869 candidates across 57 constituencies in seven states.

The sixth phase will see constituencies including 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, eight each in West Bengal and Bihar, seven in Delhi, six in Odisha, and four in Jharkhand going for polls in the sixth phase.

Share Of Wealth Among Candidates

The wealth distribution among candidates reveals that 14 per cent have assets above Rs 5 crore and 13 per cent fall within the Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore range. Additionally, 22 per cent of candidates possess assets between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 5 crore, 25 per cent between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, and 26 per cent have less than Rs 10 lakh.

State-Wise Crorepati Candidates

Examining the number of crorepati candidates in each state, Haryana takes the lead with 102 crorepati out of 223 total candidates. Delhi follows closely with 68 crorepatis out of 162 candidates, and Uttar Pradesh comes in third with 59 crorepatis out of 162 candidates. Other states with a notable number of crorepati candidates include Bihar (35), Jharkhand (25), Odisha (28), and West Bengal (21).

Party-Wise Crorepati Candidates

Analyzing party-wise data, independent candidates top the list, with 86 out of 325 candidates enjoying Crorepati status. The BJP comes in second, with 48 crorepati out of 51 candidates, followed by BSP with 23 crorepati out of 54 candidates. The Congress party has 20 crorepati candidates out of 25, the Samajwadi Party has 11 out of 12, and the Jannayak Janata Party has 9 out of 10. Meanwhile, all candidates of Biju Janata Dal, Indian National Lok Dal and Rashtriya Janata Dal are crorepati.

Candidates with Highest and Lowest Assets

Industrialist Naveen Jindal from the BJP tops the list with assets worth Rs 1,241 crore, contesting from Kurukshetra, Haryana. He is followed by Santrupt Misra of BJD from Cuttack, Odisha, with Rs 482 crore in assets, and AAP’s Dr. Sushil Gupta from Kurukshetra, Haryana, with Rs 169 crore.

On the other end of the spectrum, Master Randhir Singh, an independent candidate from Rohtak, Haryana, has declared the lowest assets at just Rs 2. Other candidates with minimal assets include Ram Kumar Yadav from UP’s Pratapgarh with Rs 1,000, and Khilkhilakar from Delhi’s North West Delhi (SC) with Rs 2,000.

A Delhi court has allowed Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal, accused in three cases related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, to travel to Oman and UAE from September 11 to 13.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj allowed Mr. Jindal’s application noting he had travelled abroad several times in the past and returned to India to face the trial within the stipulated period.

“In the considered opinion of this court, the applicant/accused is entitled to permission of the court to travel abroad to Oman and UAE from September 11 to 13,” the judge said.

The judge directed Mr. Jindal to furnish a fixed deposit of ₹1 crore and not to tamper with any evidence or try to influence any witness in any manner.

Mr. Jindal had moved the application seeking court’s permission to go to the two countries in connection with his business interests. One of the cases Mr. Jindal is an accused pertains to irregularities in the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand, which is being probed by the CBI.

A separate money-laundering case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to allocation of the coal bock. The third case being probed by the CBI relates to the alleged irregularities in the allocation of Urtan North coal block in Madhya Pradesh. The CBI and the ED did not oppose the application.