New Delhi: Ashok Lavasa, the election commissioner who dissented when the Election Commission cleared Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the charge of making illegal campaign speeches during the Lok Sabha elections, has become the fourth member of his family to face a vigilance or tax probe.
On August 29, chief vigilance officers of public sector undertakings received a confidential communication asking them to check their record for any “undue influence” Lavasa may have exercised during his tenure in the power ministry, Indian Express reported.
The letter, sent “with the approval” of the power secretary, says, “it has been alleged that Shri Ashok Lavasa, IAS during his tenure in the Ministry of Power from September 2009 to December 2013 as JS/Additional Secretary/Special Secretary used his official position to exercise undue influence to benefit few companies/associate companies”.
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There is also an annexure listing 14 companies for which Lavasa’s wife, Novel Singhal, was the director. There is also a list of 135 projects that different PSUs gave to the A2Z Group, and details of payments to the tune of Rs 45.8 lakh which Singhal received.
The chief vigilance officers have been asked to “verify your records for any evidence regarding involvement in any decision making concerning or exercise of influence, in any form exercised by Shri Ashok Lavasa in securing any benefits to these companies/ associated companies for eg in the form of award of contracts/arbitration awards; placing of supply/commercial orders; entering into MoUs/commercial agreement and other financial accruals etc”, Indian Express quotes the letter as saying.
Lavasa refused to comment when contacted by the newspaper and said he did not know about the letter.
Three members of his family – his wife, sister and son – have been under the income tax department’s scanner in recent months. Singhal, a former banker, received a notice from the I-T department in August over her income. Singhal said then that she “had paid all taxes due and disclosed all income earned from pension, and all other sources as per the law”.
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It was later revealed that Lavasa’s sister and son are being probed by the tax department. Shakuntala Lavasa, his paediatrician sister, and his son Abir Lavasa, the director of an organic food company, also received similar notices from the I-T department in August.
Election commissioner Lavasa had dissented at least five times against majority decisions during the campaign for the 2019 general elections a few months ago. Most of these cases were related to complaints against prime minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct.
His daughter, Avny Lavasa, in her position of Leh’s district election officer, had accused army officials of indulging in electoral malpractice around the same time.