Author: Pioneer News Service
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: September 2, 2005
BSP MP SPENDS RS 5 CR ON MINOR DAUGHTER'S
SAGAAI------- Some are rich, others are stinking rich. Meerut Mayor and BSP
Member of Parliament P Haji Shahid Akhlaq definitely belongs to the second
category. And, he is not ashamed to flaunt his wealth.
So, when it came to his 13-year-old daughter
Sabah's sagaai (engagement) he put his moolah muscle in full public view.
The list of invitees at the bash figured 25,000-odd guests and the maverick
Mayor ensured each one of them went home with an expensive free gift and a
grin ontheir faces.
At Tuesday night's engagement party hosted
at the Hapur Road farmhouse of the MP, the guests were treated to the best
of vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine. With an aromatic dinner and seating
arrangement spread over dazzling lawns, guests were in for a surprise which
came by way of gifts they could choose from.
Guess what they took home? Geysers, air conditioners,
coolers, double-door refrigerators, et al.
And, Haji Shahid Akhlaq did not fight shy
of the expenses incurred. He was, in fact, expansive. He told local newspersons
that he was "free to spend" since it was his first child's sagaai.
The total expenditure on Tuesday's elaborate
sagaai and lavish feast was a whopping Rs 5 crore. And, Haji reportedly promised:
"This is the just the tip of the iceberg. When the marriage is solemnised,
you will remember it for a long, long time."
Why not Mr MP? Wish your minor daughter and
you all the best. But, there are a few startling facts that have already sprung
up and promise to kick up a lot of dust. Details filed by the MP with the
Election Commission just before the 2004 parliamentary election run contrary
to his present purchasing power.
In the affidavit prepared by advocate and
notary CP Dixit, the Meerut MP had submitted to the Election Commission that
he had a paltry Rs 25,000 and his wife, Haseeba Praveen, Rs 30,000 in cash.
In a Dena Bank account (11548), Haji had Rs 1.71 lakh while his wife, in her
account (12246), had Rs 50,655.80.
However, the couple had a handsome number
of shares in a company, Al-Sakeeb Export Private Limited. While Haji had shares
worth Rs 66.09 lakh his wife's shares were worth Rs 53.11 lakh. As per the
affidavit, dated April 17, 2004, the couple had no motor vehicle or any other
savings, National Saving Certificates, Post Office deposits or LIC policies.
The total gold that Haji Shajid Akhlaq and
his wife had in 2004 was 300 grams and was estimated at Rs 1.65 lakh. They
did not have any other moveable assets.
Haji and his wife, however, had some landed
property. Haseeba Praveen had agricultural land worth Rs 4.18 lakh in Meerut.
She also was the owner of two plots in the excess of Rs 1 lakh. Besides Haseeba
also owned four buildings estimated at Rs 5.30 lakh. Shaheed Akhlaq, on the
other hand, had three plots worth nearly Rs 18 lakh.
As per his papers, Haji had six sons and a
daughter, Sabah, who was the eldest aged 12 on April 17, 2004, which means
she is a minor as on date. For the record, the under-35 leader paid Rs 10,710
as Income Tax in 2003-04.
Even if all these assets are added, the sum
spent on the engagement will fall short. It is another story that the Mayor/MP,
as on date, owns a meat-processing unit on Hapur Road and a sprawling farmhouse
on the same expensive stretch.
