As Amit Shah’s asset reports disappeared #ShahControlsMedia trending

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AHMEDABAD: The news-reports on the wealth of BJP chief and Irani’s controversial educational qualifications carried on by Times of India, Economic Times, Navbharat Times and DNA on Saturday, dramatically vanished away from their websites in a matter of minutes.

#ShahControlsMedia started trending on Twitter, soon after all the major news websites pull down reports on Shah’s assets and Irani’s ‘decreasing’ educational qualifications.

Even though the reports have been taken down from the news-websites, many social media users have been sharing the screenshots.

BJP chief Amit Shah’s self-declared assets grew three times in five years while Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani has not completed her graduation, according to their affidavits for the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat.

According to Shah’s affidavit, his movable as well as immovable properties, including his wife’s, stand at around Rs 34.40 crore, including Rs 10.38 crore ancestral property.

In his 2012 affidavit for the Assembly polls, the cumulative value of the assets mentioned by him was around Rs 11.15 crore. This suggests his assets grew almost three times in five years.

In her affidavit, Irani, whose educational qualification attracted controversy after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has clearly mentioned she has not completed her graduation yet.

“Bachelor of Commerce, Part 1. Three year degree course not completed,” her latest affidavit says.

In her 2014 affidavit, she had only mentioned ‘Bachelor of Commerce Part 1, School of Open Learning (Correspondence), University of Delhi, 1994’.

She has also declared that she, along with her husband, owns assets worth around Rs 7 crore.

BJP’s Balwantsinh Rajput, who recently resigned from the Congress, has emerged as the richest candidate with assets worth Rs 315 crore.

In his affidavit, Congress’ candidate Ahmed Patel has declared assets worth around Rs 6.50 crore, which includes assets in his wife’s name. In 2011, movable as well as immovable assets declared by Patel were worth around Rs 3.66 crore, which suggest a near two-fold increase.

In 2012, the total value of assets possessed by Rajput, when he was with the Congress, as well as his wife’s, was around Rs 260 crore.

For the three Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, which would go for polls on August 8, the BJP has fielded Shah, Irani and Rajput, while the Congress has nominated Ahmed Patel.

They have filed their nominations and their affidavits have been uploaded on the state Assembly website.

With PTI inputs