Days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a First Information Report (FIR) against 15 people in connection to the Delhi Excise Policy scam, officials of the central agency are now investigating ‘toolkit modules’ that might have been used to stir positive response for the Delhi government’s liquor policy.
As per reports, the CBI has unearthed a maze of corporate companies, with similar addresses in Mumbai and connected to the ongoing liquor licensing scam in Delhi. Officials privy to the matter informed that there was prima-facie evidence of non-disclosure of material information under the Companies Act and financial wrongdoings.
The central agency is probing foreign remittances, and international travels of over 50 different people including social media influencers, businessmen, comic artists and entertainers. These entertainers were represented by Vijay Nair’s Only Much Louder (OML)
Financial dealings in cryptocurrencies and shares by Hyderabad-based individuals and companies, that obtained licences to sell liquor in Delhi, are also being investigated. Opindia had earlier reported how the former CEO of Only Much Louder, Vijay Nair, had been closely associated with the Aam Aadmi party.
He was accused of being “actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy of GNCTD of Delhi for the year 2021-22.”
Toolkits have been in existence since farmer protests
The monicker ‘Toolkit’ which has become a shorthand for coercive action, targeting or instigating an online lynch-mob to threaten a person or institution was first popularised by infamous global climate activist Greta Thunberg. She had inadvertently revealed the sinister global campaign against India after she shared a ‘Toolkit’ in a tweet during the Farmer’s protests in India in 2021.
The document shared by Greta Thunberg listed a series of actions that people across the world could take to pressurise the Indian Government over the cause of agitating Farmers. Earlier, celebrities and politicians including Rihanna, Greta Thunberg, Mia Khalifa and Canadian MP Jagmeet and others had come forward in support of the farmer protests. But the document shared by Greta had made it clear that it is part of a larger conspiracy to cause unrest in India.
Later, in May 2021, A new Congress toolkit was circulating on social media that contained ways to craft a deliberate narrative to paint the Kumbh Mela as a “super-spreader” event for coronavirus while maintaining a carefully crafted silence over massive Eid gatherings.
The toolkit asked to “Collaborate in advance with friendly journalists on social media to immediately amplify these messages,” directed to its workers. Recently, India witnessed a systematic effort to internationalise the Nupur Sharma saga and damage ties with Arab nations.
Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, has likely fallen for a prank by a popular Instagram user who had sent him a message last evening posing as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker. The user messaged the AAP leader that he has a message from Amit Shah and that if Sisodia joins BJP, he will be relieved of all the cases against him.
On Monday, Sisodia, creating a new fuss, claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has offered him to join the party and abandon the Aam Aadmi Party, which will result in the dismissal of all cases filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The screenshot of the message was shared on Twitter by another popular Twitter user Facts (@BefittingFacts)
In the tweet, Manish Sisodia wrote that the BJP has sent him a message that if he breaks up AAP and joins BJP, all CBI and ED cases against him will be dropped. He claimed he is a descendant of Maharana Pratap and a Rajput and he will behead himself but not bow before ‘corrupt-conspirators’.
The tweet by Manish Sisodia.
It is worth noting that the CBI has raided the deputy CM in a case involving irregularities and corruption in Delhi’s liquor policy, which was implemented earlier this year and subsequently reversed. On Friday, August 19, 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked 15 people, including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in an FIR. Along with Manish Sisodia and Excise officials, the CBI has implicated many other private individuals as suspects in the fraud.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra has slammed Sisodia for his recent statement.
ज़िंदगी भर औरंगज़ेब की इबादत की और चोरी और रिश्वतख़ोरी में जेल जाने का समय आया तो महाराणा प्रताप याद आ गए
केस माफ़ कराने और BJP में आने के लिए आपने कितने पापड़ बेलें है ये मीडिया और पोलिटिकल सर्कल में सबको पता है
Mishra said how all his life the likes of Sisodia have worshipped Aurangzeb and now flaunting Maharana Pratap’s connections. He further added that in the political and media circles, Sisodia doesn’t really have great reputation.
Earlier, former Pakistani minister Ch Fawad Hussain had also fallen for PokerShash’s pranks during the Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan in 2019. In September 2019, Hussain took to Twitter to tell the world that ‘informed sports commentators’ had told him that India has threatened Sri Lankan players that they will be ousted from Indian Premier League (IPL) if they don’t cancel their Pakistan tour.
Except, Fawad Chaudhry’s tweet came hours after prankster had sent the message to Fawad Hussain on WhatsApp that the decision by Sri Lanka was taken after the IPL authorities threatened Sri Lankan players that they’ll be thrown out of IPL if they go to Pakistan. PokerShash’s account has been suspended on Twitter since, but as evident, he is now continuing to prank people on other platforms.
The jury, however, is still out whether Sisodia fell for a prank.
Allegations of corruption against Manish Sisodia
The Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-2022 is at the centre of the controversy. The Delhi government’s now-cancelled liquor policy was first envisaged in 2020. It modified how alcohol was sold in Delhi once it went into effect in November 2021.
Until recently, only government-owned liquor stores could sell alcohol. The Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022 allowed for the entry of private businesses into the market. The National Capital was split into 32 zones, with 27 private dealers operating in each.
Every municipal ward has at least two liquor sellers. Private liquor stores were permitted to entice customers by giving discounts on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP).
While the purpose of Excise Policy 2021-2022 was to combat black marketing and the liquor mafia, the AAP government was quickly chastised over claims of corruption. In the new liquor policy, Naresh Kumar, who was appointed Chief Secretary of Delhi in April 2022, discovered errors and procedural failures. The Chief Secretary prepared a report and sought the response of Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the head of the Excise Department.
Manish Sisodia reportedly waived off ₹144.36 crores on the license fee, to be paid by the private liquor vendors, under the garb of the Coronavirus pandemic. He also caused loss to the Excise Department and benefitted liquor licensees by waiving the import pass fee of ₹50 per beer case.
All these changes were made without the final approval of the Lieutenant Governor and thus considered illegal under the Delhi Excise Rules of 2010 and Transaction of Business Rules of 1993. The CBI had therefore registered a case against Manish Sisodia.
According to reports, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched a preliminary investigation into accusations of corruption in the Delhi Government’s acquisition of 1,000 low-floor buses and their yearly maintenance contract. In June of last year, a three-member committee formed by former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal identified “procedural lapses” in the maintenance agreement and recommended that it be scrapped.
After the BJP questioned corruption in the annual maintenance contract (AMC) of DTC’s bus procurement in the Assembly last year, the home ministry recommended a CBI inquiry last August. A three-member committee then issued a report on the orders of the then-LG of Delhi.
The committee stated in an 11-page report that the AMC promotes “cartelization” and “monopoly pricing.” It also included the purchase and AMC tendering sequence, alleging that it created a situation in which both bidders were aware that they were the sole players in the game. In its findings, the committee stated that it “focused its attention only on the procurement process of AMC of the buses.”
This comes after the CBI named 15 suspects, including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in an FIR filed on Friday, August 19, 2022, in connection with the excise policy scam.
Searches were conducted at 31 places, including Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Bengaluru, which resulted in the recovery of incriminating documents/articles, digital recordings, and so on. The CBI has also charged Arva Gopi Krishna, the former excise commissioner, as well as deputy commissioner Anand Tiwari and assistant commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.
It has been suspected that irregularities were committed in changes to the Excise Policy, granting excessive favours to licensees, waiving/reducing licence fees, extending L-1 licences without authorisation, and so on. It is further alleged that illegal earnings from these activities were channelled to concerned public personnel by private parties, who then made fraudulent entries in their books of accounts.
Last year, the Delhi excise department, headed by Manish Sisodia, introduced a new policy that resulted in government liquor shops being closed and private firms being handed licences. Along with Manish Sisodia and Excise employees, the CBI has implicated other private individuals as suspects in the fraud. In addition to the 15 people identified in the FIR, the CBI also included ‘other unknown public servants and private persons’ as accused in the FIR.
On August 22, 17-year-old Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu stood victorious against world champion Magnus Carlsen at the FTX Crypto Cup, the American finale of the Champions Chess Tour, in Miami. This is the third time in the last six months that Praggnanandhaa has defeated Carlsen. Praggnanandhaa won the game in the blitz tiebreaker after the score was tied at 2-2.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeats the reigning 5-time World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen at the FTX Crypto Cup. pic.twitter.com/AqIpvmaEXS
Though Carlsen was on the verge of winning the game, he made blunders leading to the defeat. Praggnanandhaa secured the second position based on the score, while Magnus won the event.
As per the score-card of the tournament, Praggnanandhaa had a good start and won four consecutive wins. While he won the games against world No.6 Levon Aronian, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, and Hans Nieman, Praggnanandhaa lost the game against China’s Quang Liem Le in the fifth round, followed by a loss against Poland’s Jan-Krzystof Duda in the sixth round via the tie-break.
It’s a done deal- Praggnanandhaa wins 3 games in a row and defeats Magnus Carlsen in the blitz playoffs! The boy has created history, and he finishes second in the @ChampChessTour FTX Crypto Cup. pic.twitter.com/KsWzw1TqGo
Six months ago in February, Praggnanandhaa had won the game against world No 1 Carlsen in an online championship, the Airthings Masters rapid chess tournament. Praggnanandhaa was just ten years old when he became the youngest international master in history in 2016.
What prompted me to write this article was not the knife attack on Salman Rushdie, a long pending task handed over to the faithful by the now departed Ayatollah Khomeini. Not just the Ayatollah, but many other religious leaders of various schools of thought have made it abundantly clear there is only one possible punishment for Rushdie’s crime. Their knowledge of scriptures is unfortunately not as good as that of left liberals.
The social media followers of such leaders have jumped on the bandwagon with their usual enthusiasm as numerous tweets and statements over the years show. In fact, what should surprise anyone is why it took this long.
So why am then I writing this?
I came across several articles, Op-Eds and news items in our fearless, independent media asking or wondering why BJP is not condemning the attack. While Hindu merely reports that BJP is silent, Indian express explains it as “once burned, twice shy”. Even Deccan Herald tries to explain BJP’s silence. ET was somewhat more neutral, declaring that barring a few Indian leaders were mum on the incident.
Of course, all other parties and leaders are exempt from much scrutiny in general, and only BJP has to explain. After all, these journalists “speak truth to power”, and BJP is now in power. If UPA is in power, then of course they will vigorously question the party or leader that seeks to replace them in power. That is fair too.
The point is, why should BJP open its mouth? They should keep quiet. Let me explain why.
We have been told by several leading liberal newspapers like NDTV, NYT, WaPo, etc. (that usually speak the truth in such matters), by the FBI itself and the woke uber-liberal Biden administration that the “motives of the attacker are unknown”. Which means it could be anything. Perhaps a pickpocket attempt that went bad or some personal reasons. Maybe Salman was trying to seduce the attacker’s girlfriend. There are a million possibilities. Giving it a communal colour is abominable.
FBI experts must have racked their brains trying to solve this motive puzzle. Pity them. The rooms in Hoover Building are so big, something that is 7 feet tall, dark grey and weighs 6 tons can sit in one corner unnoticed. They could not find it. That is why they wisely kept away from declaring the motives. What can BJP know that FBI doesn’t?
Under these circumstances, BJP making a statement assumes a motive and becomes gross interference in the internal affairs of a friendly power. BJP may be attacked for religious bias and bigotry if they rush to condemn. They are right to treat it as just another day in NY.
Furthermore, BJP cannot just condemn one random urban crime. That is unfair. If BJP must start condemning every mugging, gun crime and knife attack in Chicago, NYC and Washington, not to speak of upstate NY and other areas, all ruled efficiently by woke liberals that want to defund police, they may need an army of typists and secretaries just to issue such condemnations 24x7x365. It is practically impossible. JP Nadda’s arms will go numb signing condemnation statements.
Moreover, should BJP get involved in the internal affairs of the liberal ecosystem, especially when there is no political reward for itself? Clearly no.
The left liberals have made their stand very clear. While they cannot stand up and cheer the attacker (that would make Ford Foundation, Soros, Church groups and other potential donors to their NGOs and fundraisers cringe, although they could perhaps still write Op-eds in WaPo or NYT), they have done everything in their powers short of cheering.
Rana Ayyub who sets the standards for others to follow deleted her super-mild tweet wishing speedy recovery (as if Salman contacted COVID) for fear of offending the faithful. Such is the depth of her fearless liberalism.
Others kept quiet or issued boilerplate statements and quickly washed their hands of the matter, moving on to their usual lucrative business of attacking Hindus, BJP, Modi or patriarchy. Most of them tried to do an “equal-equal”, spending most of their precious 280 chars attacking Hindu rights and mentioning the Rushdie incident in passing.
Practically NONE of them blamed those who shall not be named, directly, clearly and strongly. After all, they have had plenty of practice. Similar incidents involving Kamlesh Tiwari or Kanhaiya and dozens of other incidents over years have given them lots of chances to perfect their obfuscation skills.
Our left liberal obedience to the narratives that made Rushdie’s neck come into accidental contact with a knife, is next only to their obedience to the narratives from Politburo mass rapist butchers, corrupt fascist dynasties, or the despot in Beijing. After all, when there is an all-weather, sweeter than honey partnership signed at the GHQ level, who dare cross the line?
No one that challenges the left liberals to condemn the alleged incident will escape an attack. They will be called trolls, Sanghis, fascists and whatnot. Given the sort of frenzy the liberals can trigger through their dog whistle, it is best not to question them. Just ask the near and dear of Kanhaiya Lal.
Given such a milieu, expecting BJP to condemn the attack is plain crazy.
BJP should stay clear of intra-liberal issues. Let them sort it out themselves. Any outside interference will only make the well-known Tamil proverb come true – a mridangam gets banged on both sides!
On August 21, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act over his comments at a rally in Islamabad a day earlier. Soon after, there were reports that an arrest warrant against Khan was issued, leading to a law and order situation. His supporters not only showed solidarity on the streets but also on social media platforms. A large number of supporters reached his Bani Gala residence amid the reports of the arrest warrant.
Live broadcast of Khan’s speeches banned by PEMRA
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued an order banning the live telecast of Khan’s speeches on all satellite TV channels. Furthermore, his official YouTube channel has been blocked by the authorities, which added more fuel to the fire. In a tweet Khan said, “The fascist Imported govt sunk to a new low today by banning live coverage of my speeches on TV & then blocking YouTube temporarily during my speech at Liaquat Bagh. All this after continuous intimidation of media persons & taking channels off air earlier.”
This is not only a gross violation of freedom of speech but also negatively affects the digital media industry and the livelihoods of many. What they need to understand is that no matter what they do, they cannot suppress the will of the people which is Haqeeqi Azadi.
He added, “This is not only a gross violation of freedom of speech but also negatively affects the digital media industry and the livelihoods of many. What they need to understand is that no matter what they do, they cannot suppress the will of the people which is Haqeeqi Azadi.”
As per The Dawn’s report, PEMRA issued a four-page document instructing them not to telecast Khan’s live speech on Saturday, where he had targeted police and Judicial officials. The recorded speech was allowed with conditions including a time-delay mechanism.
PTI leaders slammed the government on social media
Amidst the political drama prevailing in the neighbouring country, PTI leaders slammed the current leadership and urged supporters to take the streets “for the sake of Pakistan.”
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said in a tweet that Khan was at home, and hundreds of workers had reached his residence to show support.
Murad Saeed, a close aide of Khan, informed his followers about the ‘arrest warrant’ against Khan and urged his supporters to “get out for the sake of Pakistan.”
Several other leaders, including Hammad Azhar, Farrukh Habib, and others, urged the PTI supporters to take on the streets in their respective cities and asked them to reach specific locations in large numbers.
PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur took a step further and issued a warning to the Police to stay away from the “political war. If Imran Khan is arrested by the imported government, we will take over Islamabad,” he warned. “And my message to police is that don’t be part of this political war anymore; otherwise, will deal [with] you as PDM workers, not police anymore let PTI and PDM leadership and workers fight and decide once and for all.”
If imran khan is arrested by the imported govt we will take over Islamabad and my message to police is that don’t be part of this political war anymore otherwise will deal u as pdm workers not police anymore let pti and pdm leadership and workers fight and decide once and for all
Police refuted claims about the arrest but issued a warning
Islamabad police media director Taqi Jawad was quoted by The Dawn saying that though Police teams had reached the Bani Gala residence of the former PM, it was not for the arrest but to maintain law and order. He said following the reports of an arrest warrant being issued got circulated, a large number of PTI supporters reached Bani Gala leading to the possibility of a law and order situation in the area. The Police went only to maintain law and order. He further added if Police plan to arrest Khan, a media release will be issued for the same.
In a series of tweets, the Islamabad Capital Territory Police (ICT) issued warnings to PTI leaders, including former PM Khan, against the threats. It said, “Anyone threatening the police or making false accusations will be dealt with according to the law.”
The Police added that it has been doing its duty and will continue to do so with due diligence. Reminding the leaders that the Police personnel took an oath to serve the nations, it added that the department would continue to do so.
ICT added, “All officers are rendering their services with complete responsibility and continue to discharge them. The Police is an organized institution, and we are bound to perform our duties come what may.” It further warned strict action against those who level false allegations against the department.
PTI leader Shireen Mazari alleged that ICT had withdrawn Imran Khan’s security following his Saturday night speech. She said, “This is against the law, but who cares about the law in this Imported government? The nation should know how conspirators are creating a life threat for Imran Khan.”
FIR against Imran Khan
The FIR against PTI chief over his Saturday night speech was registered at around 10 PM at Islamabad’s Margalla police station over a complaint filed by magistrate Ali Javed. As per the FIR, Khan “terrorized and threatened top police officials and a respected female additional sessions judge.”
In his Saturday address, Khan had threatened to file cases against the IG and DIG of the Islamabad Police and threatened he would not “spare them.” He further threatened Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and said she should “prepare herself as the action would be taken against her.”
In his complaint, the magistrate argued that the address created hurdles in the proper functioning of the Police department and judiciary and asked for strict action against Khan.
Allegations of mental, physical, and sexual torture of PTI leader Shehbaz Gill in custody
During his address, PTI leader Imran Khan demanded justice for his Chief of Staff Shahbaz Gill and alleged he was mentally, physically, and sexually tortured during 2-day Police custody. He said, “All the pictures and videos clearly show that Gill was tortured both mentally and physically, including sexual abuse – most too gruesome to tell.” Gill was arrested by ICT in the case against him for inciting “mutiny among armed forces.”
On Monday (August 22), historian Vikram Sampath slammed actress Mona Ambegaonkar after she claimed that freedom fighter Veer Savarkar was convicted of rape.
In a tweet, the ‘CID’ actress claimed that Savarkar confessed to attempted rape and served 4 months in jail. “Savarkar’s first conviction, was for the attempted rape of Margaret Lawrence, in 1908. He confessed to the crime and was sentenced to 4 months in jail,” she alleged.
“This ‘sanskari’ low criminal, is the Sangh Parivar’s role model today. No wonder most of them are rapists. #BilkisBetrayed,” Mona Ambegaonkar further stated.
Screengrab of the tweet by Mona Ambedgaonkar
When social media users sought evidence to back her outrageous claims, the actress began searching for sources on social media.
She tried to solicit answers from a Facebook user, who had made similar claims 3 years ago. “Do you have a link/news report/proof for this claim?” the actress inquired in desperation.
Screengrab of the Facebook comment by Mona Ambedgaonkar
Meanwhile, OpIndia reached out to Vikram Sampath, author of a 2-part detailed book series on Veer Savarkar’s life.
He pointed out, “Fake news completely. No British records or the case files running into thousands of pages on the Nasik Murder case & conspiracy case has any mention of such an incident.”
“Figments of vile imagination,” the historian concluded while tagging Veer Savarkar’s grandson Rajit Savarkar.
Screengrab of the tweet by Vikram Sampath
Mona Ambegaonkar is an Indian actress best known for her work in the television and film industries in Hindu and Marathi languages. She is known for her roles in films like Mangal Pandey, Mardaani and the television serial CID.
Apart from her roles in the industry, Mona is also “famous” for the “activism” she does on and off social media. On social media, her personality is more bent toward being an abusive and hateful troll who continues to spew venom on anyone and everyone who is against her line of thoughts, apart from being a habitual fake news peddler.
She is known for hurling abuses at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, practising Hindus, RSS and others.
On Sunday (August 21), a large mob of Islamists laid siege on the house of a Hindu sanitary worker after they falsely accused him of desecrating the Quran. The incident took place in the Saddar area of Hyderabad in Pakistan.
The victim, identified as Ashok Kumar, reportedly had a spat with a local shopkeeper named Bilal Abbasi. Following the heated argument, Abbasi filed a complaint against the Hindu man for committing blasphemy.
Soon after, Muslims in the area gathered outside Kumar’s residence and demanded that he be handed over to them. The violent mob also raised the slogan of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda (beheading)’ and called for the lynching of the Hindu man for supposedly insulting the Quran.
Hyderabad police dispersed a violent mob which was demanding handing over a Hindu sanitary worker accusing him of #blasphemy Police claims the sanitary worker was targeted because of a personal clash with a local resident pic.twitter.com/CnSFLNLqhH
In a tweet, Dawn journalist Mubashir Zaidi said, “Hyderabad police dispersed a violent mob which was demanding handing over a Hindu sanitary worker accusing him of blasphemy.”
Citing the police, he pointed out that Ashok Kumar was targeted over a personal clash with Bilal Abbasi. As per a report in ANI, the act of burning a copy of the Quran was carried out by a Muslim woman while the Hindu man was falsely implicated in the case.
In visuals, Islamists were seen trying to break into the house of the Hindu man. However, their plans were foiled and the police was able to disperse the frenzied mob. The incident endangered the lives of 18 Hindus who were living in the building.
Nonetheless, Kumar was arrested on Sunday (August 21) by the Hyderabad Cantonment police, based on the dubious complaint of the Muslim shopkeeper Bilal Abbasi. He was booked under Pakistani Penal Code (PPC) Sections 34 and 295B.
However, no action was taken against the mob that carried out violence and vandalism to ‘avenge’ blasphemy.
Hindu sanitary worker Ashok Kumar booked under 295B of blasphemy over alleged desecration of the Quran in Hyderabad. The allegation came after a brawl with a shopkeeper Bilal Abbasi who then lodged the complaint against Kumar.
Instead, the police sounded apologetic and pleaded with the locals to not take law into their own hands. SSP (Hyderabad) Amjad Ahmed Shaikh said, “The sentiments of all the Muslims are hurt but we shouldn’t harm innocent people in the reaction.”
Blasphemy is often used in Pakistan to settle personal scores and intimidate minority communities including Hindus, Christians and Sikhs. In December last year, the Islamic country had drawn international condemnation after a Sri Lankan man was lynched to death over false allegations of blapshemy.
The Union Finance Ministry has said that there is no proposal to levy charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions. The clarification from the ministry came after media reports had emerged claiming that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has floated a proposal to impose transaction costs on UPI services to recover the cost incurred on maintaining the UPI system.
“UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public & productivity gains for the economy. There is no consideration in Govt to levy any charges for UPI services,” the finance ministry announced on Twitter.
UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public & productivity gains for the economy. There is no consideration in Govt to levy any charges for UPI services. The concerns of the service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means. (1/2)
The ministry also added that the concerns of the service providers on recovering the cost of running the UPI system will have to be met through other means. The ministry added that the govt had provided such financial support to the digital payment ecosystem last year and similar measures have been announced this year also, to encourage further adoption of Digital Payments and promotion of payment platforms that are economical and user-friendly.
The finance ministry’s clarification came after media reports claimed that the RBI had made the proposal to impose a cost on UPI usage in a paper “Discussion Paper on Charges in Payment System,” where the central bank had reportedly suggested introducing usage charges for UPI transactions. The objective of the RBI paper was to assess the possibility of recovering the cost of building and running the UPI infrastructure.
The paper reportedly said that as UPI fund transfers are same as fund transfers made through IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), the UPI should also attract same service charge as IMPS. It is notable that UPI uses the same IMPS system for instant fund transfer from one bank account to another, and both systems are run by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Through the paper, RBI had sought feedback from stakeholders on the possibility of imposing a charge on UPI, and whether it should be a flat charge or a ‘tiered’ charge based on transaction value. However, RBI had clarified that it has not taken any decision on the matter, and had merely initiated a discussion on it.
The discussion paper dealt with the overall payment networks in India, with an objective to structure and streamline the framework of charges for different payment services like National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), IMPS, UPI and other payment instruments like debit cards, credit cards and prepaid payment instruments.
RBI had said that while there are many intermediaries in the payments transaction chain, consumers generally complain about high and non-transparent charges. The discussion paper had said, “Charges for payment services should be reasonable and competitively determined for users while also providing an optimal revenue stream for the intermediaries. To ensure this balance, it was considered useful to carry out a comprehensive review of the various charges levied in the payment systems by highlighting different dimensions and seeking stakeholder feedback.”
Therefore, the RBI discussion paper didn’t said that the central bank is imposing service charges on UPI transactions, it was only a topic of discussion for overall payment networks in India and their associated charges. However, several media reports published misleading reports claiming that RBI is considering imposing the charge.
This divided social media users into two groups, some people supported the move saying that nothing should be free and the banks and service providers need to recover the cost of running the system, the majority of people opposed it. They said that UPI has acted as a primary force in making India a front-runner in the digital economy. They also argued that any service charge that is bound to discourage people from using UPI and motivate them to use cash instead goes against the objective of the Modi govt to make the Indian economy cashless.
However, for now, the finance ministry had put all such speculations to rest as it has clarified that there is no proposal to impose charges on UPI transactions.
On Saturday (August 20) night, a 30-year-old political scientist Darya Dugina was killed in a massive explosion near Bolshiye Vyazemy village, located on the outskirts of Moscow.
As per reports, she was seated in a Toyota Land Cruiser at around 9:00 pm (local time) when an explosive device, planted in the SUV, went off. The car immediately caught fire and exploded in flames.
Darya Dugina was the daughter of Russian political commentator and Putin’s aide, Alexander Dugin. It is speculated that the intended target was the deceased’s father. Nonetheless, the investigators have opened a murder case and are now probing all aspects.
Alexander Dugin, Russian Mastermind behind Russia’s annexation of Crimea, AKA “Putin’s brains”, at the scene where his daughter, Dariya Dugin, was killed when her car exploded. Most likely from an assassination attempt that meant to target Dugin himself. pic.twitter.com/jCnVfJ6jAr
A family friend of Darya Dugina, Andrey Krasnov, informed that the car belonged to Alexander Dugin. He stated the father-daughter duo were supposed to travel together but Alexander Dugin changed plans at the last minute.
He further added, “This was the father’s vehicle. Darya was driving another car but she took his car today, while Alexander went in a different way. He returned, he was at the site of the tragedy. As far as I understand, Alexander or probably they together were the target.”
While pro-Kremlin officials have pinned the blame on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s senior advisor Mykhailo Podolyak has dismissed all charges. “Ukraine has absolutely nothing to do with this, because we are not a criminal state like Russia, or a terrorist one at that,” he remarked.
Alexander Dugin: The Philosophical influence behind Russian invasions
Alexander Dugin, the father of deceased Darya Dugina, was dubbed as ‘Putin’s brain’ and the ‘philosophical influence’ behind the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.
He has also been regarded as the de-facto brain behind the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Dugin served as the former Chief Editor of Tsargrad TV and currently holds no formal position within the Russian government.
Described as a hyper-nationalist, he has called for the unification of all Russian Speaking territories under one ‘new Russian Empire.’ Dugin believes that the ongoing war is a special military operation, which is meant to demilitarise Ukraine.
Screengrab of the news report by Foreign Affairs
He was sanctioned in 2015 by the United States for allegedly being “complicit in policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Alexander Dugin was reportedly involved in recruiting insurgents in Donetsk during his tenure as the Eurasian Youth Union leader. He also controls Russian nationalist news media, Geopolitika. His influence in the Russian government has been the subject of immense speculation.
“For anyone who has read Dugin, the echoes of his thought in Putin’s recent speeches about Russia’s supposedly proper place in the world have been unmistakable, and uncanny,” read a report in Washington Post.
— Alexander Dugin (International) | Z (@Agdchan) June 8, 2022
“Reading Dugin’s work broadly, his goals are straightforward: the restoration of a powerful, authoritarian Russian state and the internal dissolution of Russia’s enemies, particularly the liberal West,” the article further added.
Alexander Dugin is the author of “The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia,” wherein he outlined ways on how to deal with the West.
Darya Dugina: Advocate of Eurasian hegemony over Western globalism
In an interview with Geopolitika in March this year, Darya Dugina described herself as an expert in international relations and a political observer of the International Eurasianist Movement. She also claimed to have appeared on Pakistani and Indian TV channels as a European geopolitical analyst.
When quizzed about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the political scientist dubbed it as a ‘clash of globalist and Eurasian civilisation.’ She had said, “The West’s unanimous support for Ukraine in 2022, the supply of weapons on an unthinkable scale: it all feels like agony. The agony of a globalist regime that is beginning to lose ground to multipolarism.”
Darya Dugina squarely blamed the United States for provoking the entire conflict and lamented how most of Europe had taken sides instead of being neutral. She also alleged that Western sanctions have not affected the Russian economy and had instead hit European nations hard.
Screengrab of the article in Geopolitika
She further added that instead of being isolated, Russia has emerged as a pioneer of ‘multipolar world order.’ Dugina emphasised, “As for the reaction of the Russians, the overwhelming majority supports the special military operation (Ukraine invasion).”
She pointed out, “In their eyes, it is an understandable defence of Russia’s geopolitical interests and a fight against Russophobia, because a regime has been formed in Kiev that denies Russians the right to self-determination (language, culture, identity) and existence.
While speaking about her lineage, Darya Dugina said, “The fact that we are under sanctions by the US, Canada, Australia and the UK is also a symbol that we Dugin are on the path of truth in the fight against globalism. Therefore, I would say it is an honour to be born into such a family.”
Screengrab of the press release by the U.S. Department Of The Treasury
In a press release on March 3, 2022, the US Department of The Treasury accused the political scientist of spreading disinformation against the West. It claimed that Dugina was the Chief Editor of the United World International (UWI) website.
“In 2022, UWI suggested that Ukraine would “perish” if it is admitted to NATO…UWI’s chief editor, Darya Aleksandrovna Dugina (Dugina), sought contributors to write articles on UWI,” it stated.
“Dugina is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661, E.O. 13694, as amended, and E.O. 13848, for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, UWI,” the press release emphasised.
Darya Dugina was thus sanctioned by both the US and UK , with the latter labelling her as a “high-profile contributor of disinformation” about Russian-Ukraine war.
