THE CBI has registered an FIR against an Aligarh-based man for allegedly setting up a ‘Centre for Narendra Modi Studies (CNMS)’ without obtaining permission from the Government or PMO.
The CBI registered an FIR on October 24, acting on a complaint by the PMO on March 26. The PMO had tagged a separate complaint from an advocate of a civil court accusing the individual of running the centre in violation of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
According to the CNMS website, it is an independent research centre, registered as a trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, in Uttar Pradesh. “This Centre operates solely as a non-governmental entity and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Government of India, Any States Government or any political party.” After the FIR, the CNMS issued a statement: “We wish to clarify that the CNMS was legally registered as a non-profit academic trust at Tehsil Koil, District Aligarh (UP) on January 2021. The Trust’s name was later changed to Centre for NaMo Studies (CNMS) after completing all legal formalities and registration… All processes were completed transparently and in good faith.”
The CBI launched a preliminary inquiry in April this year after receiving the complaint from the assistant director, PMO. “The preliminary inquiry revealed that the Centre for Narendra Modi Studies was registered on January 25, 2021, under the Indian Trust Act, 1860, by Jasim Mohammad without prior permission from the Central government or the PMO,” the CBI FIR said.
