Kirit Somaiya is an Indian politician, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In August 2019, he was appointed as the vice president of the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He represented Mumbai North-East in the 16th Lok Sabha.
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Wiki/Biography
Kirit Somaiya, also known as Somaiya Kirit Jayantilal, was born on Friday, 12 February 1954 (age 69 years; as of 2023) in Bombay, Bombay State, India (present-day Mumbai, Maharashtra, India). Their zodiac sign is Aquarius. He did his schooling from MM Pupils High School, Khar, Mumbai. Kirit attended the Smt. Mithibai Motiram Kundnani College of Commerce and Economics (MMK College), Mumbai University, to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce (1975). In 1979, Somaiya passed the CA Final from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), securing a rank in the All India Merit List. He also received a PhD in Small Scale Industries Protection and Finance from the University of Mumbai. While studying in college, Kirit Somaiya worked as a student activist, associated with the BJP youth wing. In 1975, during the declaration of national emergency in the country, Somaiya actively participated in the Bihar Movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan. Before joining politics he practiced as a CA in his own firm for some time.
An old picture of Kirit Somaiya in Dandiya program
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 8″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper (dyed brown)
Eye colour: dark brown
Family
He belongs to a middle class Gujarati family.
parents and siblings
Kirit’s father’s name is Somaiya Jayantilal and mother’s name is Gunwantiben Somaiya.
wife and children
Kirit Somaiya is married to businesswoman Medha Somaiya. Together, they have a son, Neil Somaiya, who is the Municipal Councilor from Ward 108 Mulund. Neel is also associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kirit Somaiya with his wife Medha Somaiya
Kirit Somaiya’s son, Neil Somaiya
Religion
Kirit Somaiya follows Hindu religion.
Address
9/C-701, Neelam Nagar, Phase II, Gavanpada Road, Mulund East, Mumbai-400081
Signature
Kirit Somaiya’s signature
livelihood
Kirit Somaiya, who was associated with the youth wing of the BJP during his college days, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after the 1975 national emergency in India. In 1995, Kirit contested the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election from Mulund constituency and won by a margin of 43,527 votes.
Kirit Somaiya during a rally in Maharashtra
While serving as the MLA of Mulund, Kirit authored two important acts in the Maharashtra Assembly including the Maharashtra Small Investors Protection Act, Repeal of the Coroners Court (Post Mortem) Act and introduction of the Housing Society Conveyance Bill. In 1999, Somaiya was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from the Mumbai North East constituency by defeating Gurudas Kamat of the Indian National Congress by a margin of 7,276 votes.
Kirit Somaiya with his party workers at BJP office
During his tenure as a Member of Parliament, he presented the highest number of petitions in Parliament, which was 11 out of the total 27 petitions presented in the 13th Lok Sabha; He set a new record in the history of the Indian Parliament, as no other Member of Parliament (MP) had submitted such a large number of petitions before. Kirit, an active member of the House, raised a total of 832 questions in the House on various issues. From 1999 to 2004, he served as a member of various committees including the Standing Committee on Finance, Standing Committee on Commerce and Industry, Petitions Committee and Public Accounts Committee. He has also served as a member of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Railways.
Kirit Somaiya meeting with Union Ministers and other officials in Delhi
In May 2014, he was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha for a second term from the Mumbai North East constituency; Somaiya defeated Sanjay Dina Patil of Nationalist Congress Party by 317,122 votes. On 12 June 2014, he was appointed Chairman of the House Committee. He remained in this post till 27 November 2014. Subsequently, he served on various committees such as the Public Accounts Committee, the Standing Committee on Finance, the Committee of Privileges and the Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Urban Development. He has also served as the president of the Mumbai unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2019, during the Lok Sabha elections, although BJP kept Kirit Somaiya in mind, Shiv Sena workers threatened the party that they would not campaign for BJP if it fielded Kirit Somaiya as a candidate. Later, Manoj Kotak was announced as the BJP candidate for the Mumbai North East Lok Sabha seat.
Kirit Somaiya during a press conference
controversies
cases pending
- 1 charge relating to voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty (IPC Section 332)
- 1 Charge relating to house-trespass after preparation for wound, assault or wrongful restraint (IPC section 452)
- 1 charge relating to secretly trespassing or breaking into a house in order to commit an offense punishable with imprisonment (IPC section 454)
- 4 charges related to being a member of an unlawful assembly (IPC Section 143)
- 3 charges relating to each member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offense committed in prosecution of a common object (IPC Section 149)
- 2 charges related to wrongful restraint (IPC section 341)
- 2 charges relating to punishment for rioting (IPC Section 147)
- 1 charge related to joining an unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon (IPC Section 144)
- 1 Charge relating to joining or continuing an unlawful assembly, knowing that it has been ordered to disperse (IPC Section 145)
- 1 charge relating to mischief causing damage amounting to fifty rupees (IPC section 427)
- 1 charge related to incitement to commit crime by the public or more than ten persons (IPC section 117)
- 1 charge related to the punishment for defamation (IPC Section 500)
- 1 charge related to voluntarily causing hurt (IPC section 323)
- 1 Charge relating to assault or criminal force to prevent a public servant from discharging his duty (IPC Section 353)
violation of model code of conduct
In April 2014, a complaint was filed in the Bombay High Court against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kirit Somaiya, alleging violation of the model code of conduct. According to the petitioner, Nikunj Dave, a resident of the constituency, Somaiya, who was contesting from the Mumbai North-East constituency, was seeking votes on the basis of caste, community and linguistic preferences. Despite several complaints, the petitioner alleged that both the Election Commission and the police authorities neglected to take any action against Kirit.
Defamation complaint by Sanjay Raut
On 12 June 2023, Sanjay Raut, MP and leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, filed a criminal defamation complaint against Kirit Somaiya in a Mumbai court. Raut’s complaint is a response to tweets by Somaiya specifically targeting Raut. In his petition, Raut claimed that Somaiya has been continuously posting defamatory statements on his Twitter account since 2022. Raut argued that those statements were baseless and intended to damage his reputation. They said,
I was shocked and surprised when I saw the tweets containing derogatory statements against me on Somaiya’s Twitter account. The defamatory statements made against me from his Twitter account without any concrete evidence are trying to tarnish my reputation in the eyes of the society and the public.
Raut said those statements were intended to maliciously tarnish his public image and also emphasized that the tweets in question are still available on Somaiya’s social media pages, supporting his allegation. Terming it as character assassination without any evidence, Raut said,
Somaiya’s statements are destructive and character assassination without any evidence. Such a malicious statement, without any documentary or evidence, shows complete irresponsible attitude of Somaiya.
Based on these circumstances, Raut appealed before the magistrate in Mulund, Mumbai and urged him to plead guilty to the offenses under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. Raut requested the court to summon Somaiya as an accused in this criminal defamation case.
misuse of funds
Kirit Somaiya was once held responsible for misappropriating Rs 58 lakh collected through crowd-sourcing to save India’s inaugural aircraft carrier INS Vikrant from being destroyed. Despite the eventual condemnation of the ship, Somaiya failed to return the money to the individuals who had enthusiastically contributed to saving the ship. A case was registered against him in this matter in 2022.
Claim of attack by Shiv Sena workers
In April 2022, Kirit Somaiya courted controversy when he alleged that he was physically attacked by a group of 70-80 Shiv Sainiks, who threw stones, bottles and shoes at his car outside Khar police station in Mumbai. Where he had gone to meet. Amravati MP Navneet Rana and her husband MLA Ravi Rana in police custody. He also accused the Mumbai Police of showing excessive respect towards the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. In a series of Twitter posts he wrote,
Heavy stone pelting by Shiv Sena goons at Khar police station, glass of my car broken, I got injured, going to Bandra police station. I am shocked, in the presence of 50 police personnel in the premises of Khar police station, 100 Shiv Sena goons attacked me with stones. Wanted to kill me. What is the Police Commissioner doing? How were so many mafia army goons allowed to gather in the police station?”
property and properties
movable property
- Bank Deposit: Rs. 1,20,00,406
- Shares and Debentures: Rs. 8,83,170
- Postage Savings: Rs. 6,60,825
- LIC Policy: Rs. 44,14,618
- Loans and Advances: Rs. 26,22,173
- Motor Vehicle: Rs. 9,30,018
Immovable property
- Residential Building: Rs. 75,00,000
- Other immovable property: Rs. 4,93,866
Note: The given estimate of movable and immovable assets is as per the year 2014. It does not include property owned by his wife and dependents (minors).
net worth
Kirit Somaiya’s net worth for the financial year 2013–2014 was estimated to be Rs. 2,79,96,426. This does not include the net worth of his wife and dependents (minors).
Facts/General Knowledge
- As the leader of the BJP’s anti-corruption-scam exposing committee, Somaiya led a nationwide campaign against corruption by the ruling UPA government and its allies. He traveled to 16 states and 100 districts and exposed many scams. However, he has been notably quiet about scams and corruption within his own party, such as the Yediyurappa scam.
- Somaiya has brought to light several scams, including the NSEL case, coal mining scam, Maharashtra Sadan scam, Adarsh scam, wheat scam, DMAT scam and Maharashtra Irrigation Scam.
- Being a people’s activist, Somaiya has made notable social and political contributions. He founded the NGO “Yuvak Pratisthan”, which has been actively involved for over three decades in various endeavors such as slum rehabilitation, affordable and accessible healthcare for all and promotion of education and sports.
- Kirit Somaiya apparently has a strained relationship with former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Kirit had made several negative comments and allegations against Uddhav when Shiv Sena and BJP were together in power in the state. Somaiya was later denied a ticket during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra due to the enmity between the two because of the alliance between Shiv Sena and BJP.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn