Sant Singh

Smarting from the row over Padma Bhushan to US hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, government on Wednesday went overboard defending the controversial decision raising many eyebrows in Congress and elsewhere in the process.

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging Centre's decision to confer Padma Bhushan on NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal.

This was a felicitation ceremony, Pride of Punjabis, in honour of the Padma Bhushan awardee, Sant Singh Chatwal.

With the issue of Padma Bhushan to Sant Singh Chatwal threatening to turn into a full-blown controversy, Congress distanced itself from the decoration for the controversial US hotelier.

The Central Information Commission has directed CBI to make public reports related to discharge of US-based hotelier and Padma awardee Sant Singh Chatwal from cases of alleged bank fraud.

Two Union Ministers and a prominent US Congressman recommended the name of controversial NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal for the prestigious Padma awards, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Political personages from the Democratic Party rushed to distance themselves from Sant Singh Chatwal, the millionaire Indian-American hotelier and long-time “Clintonite” who has been nailed by the US justice department for election funding malfeasance.

Chandigarh-based zonal office of the enforcement directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 78,96,700 of one Sant Singh under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in a forgery and cheating case against an Mohali based immigration consultancy firm.

The government's list of 130 Padma awardees this year includes 13 who are either foreigners, NRIs or People of Indian Origin (PIOs); 17 awardees are women from various fields.

Unfazed by the slew of allegations over financial irregularities, NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal on Wednesday said "truth had prevailed" and added that he felt great at receiving the Padma award.

Noted hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal today termed as baseless allegations that he was involved in the cash-for-vote scam dating back to the 2008 trust-vote against UPA-1.

NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal was sailing in the Caribbean on his yacht - having flown there in his private plane - when Sunday Times reached him for an interview on the raging controversy over the Padma Bhushan award to him. The feisty sardar says he never sought the award, there are no criminal cases against him, and his ties with entire Indian political spectrum are intact. Excerpts from his conversation with Chidanand Rajghatta:

Guru Nanak Khalsa College from Women felicitated 234 students at a prize distribution function on Wednesday in the college's Sant Singh Gujarkhani auditorium.

On his visit to India in March 2000, former US president Bill Clinton was keen that Sant Singh Chatwal be included in the PM's official lunch. Despite several requests, the Vajpayee govt refused to inlcude Chatwal.

In an incident of carjacking miscreants targeted the owner of Sant Shoes of Chaura Bazaar, Sant Singh in Ferozepur Road at 4pm on Friday.

The family members of a Pakistani Sikh woman have accused the Pir Baba town police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK) of refusing to lodge a complaint pertaining to her "abduction" by a Muslim man.

A 23-year-old BCA student was found murdered in his shop on Wednesday morning. Police have registered a murder case against unknown persons on the complaint of the victim’s father Ram Charan and are looking for the accused.

Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal will contribute USD 1 million to an ambitious project coming up in India aimed at better acquainting the Sikh youth and the international community about the origin and values of the Sikh faith.

A discreet inquiry conducted by the government has concluded that selection of the controversial US hotelier was done on the basis of a recommendation made by the overseas Indian affairs ministry.

The fighting spirit still reigns strong in 'great warrior' Brigadier Sant Singh, 94, who fought four wars in the last century and had the honour of being awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) - country's second highest gallantry award — twice.

Weeks before the sentencing of NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal on charges of conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions in the US, over 300 letters of support from his friends have been submitted to a court here detailing his humanitarian work to seek leniency.

International Punjabi Society organised a do in city lately. Biggies like Yash Copra were spotted at the event.

Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal on Thursday pleaded guilty at a court here to violating federal election campaign laws by using straw donors to secretly funnel money to political campaigns and will pay a million dollars to the US as part of his plea agreement.

Hotelier Vikram Chatwal's wedding is billed as one of India's most lavish bashes in years.

An angry Mukherjee challenged the protesting BJP and Left MPs to move court. He said US officials who wrote report had diplomatic immunity.

Several top Democratic leaders in the US are returning the funds collected by Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal in the wake of his guilty plea to federal prosecutors for making thousands of dollars in illegal donations to political campaigns through "straw donors".

Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal-led Dream Hotel Group signed the hotel management agreement with Viiking Ventures to open the Dream Hotel in Delhi. Set to open in West Delhi, Dream New Delhi will feature 187 guest rooms and suites and other hi-end amenities.