Kirit Somaya is an Indian politician who is 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 Somaya, also known as Somaya Kirit Jayanthilal, was born on Friday 12 February 1954 (age 69; as of 2023) in Bombay, Bombay State, India (present-day Mumbai, Maharashtra, India). His zodiac sign is Aquarius. He did his schooling at MM Pupils High School, Khar, Mumbai. Kiriti attended Shrimati Mithibai Motiram Kundnani College of Commerce and Economics (MMK College), University of Mumbai to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce (1975). In 1979, Somaya passed the CA Final, earning a rank from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He also did his PhD in Small Industries Protection and Finance from the University of Mumbai. During his college days, Kirit Somaya served as a student activist associated with the BJP youth wing. In 1975, during the declaration of emergency in the country, Somaya actively participated in the Bihar movement led by Jaiprakash Narayan. He worked briefly at his firm before entering politics.
An old picture of Kirit Somaya at a Dandiya event
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′8″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper (dyed brown)
Eye color: dark brown
family
He belongs to a middle class Gujarati family.
parents and siblings
Kiriti’s father’s name is Somaya Jayanthilal and mother’s name is Gunwanthiben Somaya.
wife and children
Kirit Somaya is married to Meda Somaya, a businessman. They have a son together, Neil Somaiah, who is a municipal councilor from 108 Mulund ward. Neel is also associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kirit Somaya with his wife Meda Somaya
Kirit Somaya’s son, Neil Somaya
religion
Kirit Somaya follows Hinduism.
Address
9/C-701, Neelam Nagar, Phase II, Gavanpada Road, Mulund East, Mumbai-400081
signature
Kirit Somaya’s signature
Career
Kirit Somaiah, who was associated with the BJP’s youth wing during his college days, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1975 after the National Emergency in India. In 1995, Kirit contested the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections from Mulund constituency and won by 43,527 votes.
Kirit Somaya during a rally in Maharashtra
While serving as Mulund MLA, Kirit passed two important Acts in the Maharashtra Assembly, which include the Maharashtra Small Investors Protection Act, the Judicial Abolition Act and the introduction of the Housing Society Transfer Bill. In 1999, Somaya was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from the North East constituency of Mumbai after defeating Gurudas Kamat of the Indian National Congress by 7,276 votes.
Kirit Somaya with his party workers at the BJP office
During his tenure as a Member of Parliament, he presented the most petitions in the Parliament, which was 11 out of 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) has ever presented so many petitions. An active member of the house, Kirit asked a total of 832 questions to the house on several issues. From 1999 to 2004, he served as a member of various committees, including the Finance Committee, the Standing Committee on Trade and Industry, the Committee on Petitions and the Public Accounts Committee. He also worked as a member of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Railways.
Kirit Somaya in a 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; Somaiah defeated Sanjay Dina Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party by 317,122 votes. On June 12, 2014, he was appointed as the chairman of the chamber committee. He held this position until November 27, 2014. He later served in various committees such as the Public Accounts Committee, the Standing Committee on Finance, the Committee on Privileges and the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Urban Development. He also served as the president of the Mumbai unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, even though the BJP fielded Kirit Somaya, Shiv Sena workers threatened the party not to campaign for the BJP if it nominated Kirit Somaya. Later, Manoj Kotak was announced as the BjP candidate for the Mumbai North East Lok Sabha seat.
Kirit Somaya at a press conference
confrontations
Cases pending
- 1 charge relating to willfully causing hurt to obstruct a public servant in the discharge of his duty (IPC Section-332)
- 1 charge relating to house trespass after injury, assault or preparation for wrongful restraint (IPC Section-452)
- 1 charge relating to the offense punishable with imprisonment for the purpose of concealment or destruction of a house (IPC Section-454)
- 4 Charges relating to membership of unlawful assembly (IPC Section-143)
- 3 Charges relating to all members of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offense committed in pursuit of a common object (Section 149 IPC)
- 2 Charges relating to wrongful restraint (IPC Section-341)
- 2 Charges relating to punishment for rioting (IPC Section-147)
- 1 count of joining an unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon (IPC Section-144)
- 1 The charge relates to joining or continuing an unlawful assembly, knowing that it has been ordered to disperse (IPC Section-145)
- 1 charge relating to damage up to fifty rupees (IPC Section-427)
- 1 charge of aiding and abetting the commission of an offense by a society or by more than ten persons (IPC Section-117)
- 1 charge related to punishment for defamation (IPC Section-500)
- 1 charge relating to willfully causing hurt (IPC Section-323)
- 1 Charge relating to assault or criminal force to prevent a public servant from discharging official duties (IPC Section-353)
Violation of the model code of conduct
In April 2014, a complaint was filed in the Bombay High Court against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kirit Somaiah, accusing him of violating the model code of conduct. According to the petitioner, Nikunj Dave, a resident of Somaya constituency, who was contesting from Mumbai North East constituency, sought votes on the basis of caste, community and language preferences. Despite numerous complaints, the complainant alleged that both the Election Commission and police officials neglected to take any action against Kiriti.
Defamation Complaint by Sanjay Raut
On 12 June 2023, Sanjay Raut, Member of Parliament and leader of Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction, filed a defamation suit against Kirit Somaya in a Mumbai court. Raut’s complaint is in response to tweets made by Somaya, specifically about Raut. In his complaint, Raut alleged that Somaya has been continuously posting defamatory statements on his Twitter account since 2022. Raut claimed that these statements were baseless and intended to tarnish his reputation. he stated
I was shocked and surprised when I noticed Somaya’s tweets on her Twitter account with defamatory statements. The defamatory statements from his twitter account against me without any hard evidence are trying to tarnish my reputation in the eyes of the public and general public. “
Raut said the statements were meant to malign her public image and also pointed out that the tweets in question are still available on Somaiya’s social media page, which further corroborates her allegation. Raut said that the same is character assassination without any evidence,
Somaya’s statements are destructive and depict character assassination without any evidence. Such a malicious statement, without any documentary or any evidence, indicates Somaya’s complete irresponsibility.”
Based on these circumstances, Raut approached the Magistrate in Mulund, Mumbai and urged them to confess to the offenses under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. Raut requested the court to summon Somaya, accused in the defamation case.
appropriation of funds
Kirit Somaiah was once responsible for misappropriating Rs 58 crore raised through crowd-sourcing to save INS Vikrant, India’s inaugural aircraft carrier, from being scrapped. Despite the eventual condemnation of the ship, Somaya failed to return the funds to the individuals who had enthusiastically contributed to the ship’s rescue. The case against him was initiated in 2022.
Claims of attack by Shiv Sena activists
In April 2022, Kirit Somaya sparked controversy after she claimed she was physically attacked by a group of 70-80 Shiv Sainiks who pelted stones, bottles and shoes at her car in front of Khar police station in Mumbai, where she had gone to meet Amravati MP Navneet Rana and her husband, Navneet Rana. He also accused the Mumbai Police of showing excessive deference to the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray. In a series of Twitter posts, he wrote:
Heavy stone pelting at Khar police station by Shiv Sena Gonda (mobs), my car window broken, I am injured, I am going to Bandra police station. I am shocked, 100 gonds are pelting stones on Shiv Sena in the presence of 50 policemen in Khar police station campus. He wanted to kill me. What does a police commissioner do? How come so many mobsters are allowed to gather at Sena police station?”
assets and properties
movable assets
- Bank deposits: Rs. 1,20,00,406
- Shares and Bonds: Rs. 8,83,170
- Postal Savings: Rs. 6,60,825
- LIC Policy: Rs. 44,14,618
- Loans and advances: Rs. 26,22,173
- Motor Vehicles: Rs. 9,30,018
real estate
- Residential buildings: Rs. 75,00,000
- Other real estate: Rs. 4,93,866
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable property are given as of 2014. It excludes assets owned by his spouse and dependents (minors).
Net worth
Kirit Somaya’s net worth in the financial year 2013-2014 was estimated at Rs. 2,79,96,426. It excludes the net worth of his spouse and dependents (minors).
Facts/Trivia
- As the leader of the BJP’s anti-corruption-fraud detection committee, Somaya led a nationwide campaign against corruption by the ruling UPA government and its allies. He traveled to 16 states and 100 counties, exposing many scams. However, he has been particularly quiet about scandals and corruption within his own party, such as the Yeddyurappa scandal.
- Somaya exposed several scams including NSEL case, Coal mining scam, Maharashtra Sadan Scam, Adarsh Scam, Wheat Scam, DMAT scam and Maharashtra Irrigation Scam.
- As a people’s activist, Somaya made significant social and political contributions. He founded an NGO ‘Yuvak Pratishthan’ which has been actively involved for more than three decades in various endeavors like Slum Rehabilitation, affordable and accessible healthcare for all and promotion of education and sports.
- Apparently, Kirit Somaya has a strained relationship with former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Kirit had made several negative remarks and allegations against Uddhav when Shiv Sena and BJP were together in power in the state. The enmity between the two later led to Somaya being denied a ticket during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra as there was an alliance between the Shiv Sena and the BJP.
Categories: Politics
Source: dienchau2.edu.vn
