Robert Vadra, Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law, who is under the Enforcement Directorate for alleged involvement in a money laundering case, had applied to Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court seeking permission to fly to London. The court has reserved the order till June 3. Vadra had reportedly submitted a medical certificate to the court stating that he has a tumour in his large intestine and he needs to go to London for treatment.
On Wednesday, Vadra appealed that his passport is released so that he can travel to London for diagnosis and further treatment. His lawyer KTS Tulsi argued that since Vadra is participating in the investigation and has returned to India without having any summons issued to him, he should be granted permission to fly since it cannot be said that Vadra will flee.
Rejecting Vadra’s claims, the prosecutor lawyer arguing on behalf of the ED pointed out that the medical certificate bears the date of 13th May. He asked why was this not submitted earlier. The medical certificate also specifically mentioned how the further opinion needs to be taken from London. “Why does the medical certificate say he will take further opinion from London? He can take it from anywhere else. It’s not like treatment is not available in India. Why is the medical certificate specifying where he can get the second opinion from?,” the lawyer argued.
Earlier today, the ED had summoned him tomorrow for questioning in connection to the land deals in Bikaner, Delhi and other properties. On May 24, the ED had moved the Delhi Court seeking cancellation of Vadra’s anticipatory bail which was granted to him earlier this year.
Vadra is being proved in several cases by investigating agencies, which includes money laundering and illegal land deal cases. According to ED, the money laundering case involves payment of Rs 300 crore in a defence deal and USD 10 million received in a petroleum deal. A 1.9 million GBP London based property allegedly owned by Vadra is also a subject of the probe.
Earlier ED had questioned Robert Vadra in its office, but ED had alleged that he was not cooperating in the investigation and said that his custodial interrogation is required. ED ha said in the court that “Robert Vadra is not cooperating despite several opportunities and his custodial interrogation is required.” The agency had also said that Vadra had started political mudslinging, saying “It is unfortunate that the petitioner has got involved in political mudslinging. His conduct during the course of investigation raises even more apprehensions that he is a key to unearthing the modus operandi and black money.”
In Uttar Pradesh recently, a Muslim woman had named her newborn son ‘Narendra Modi’ after the Prime Minister. She had praised his welfare schemes and commended his government’s efforts to abolish the corrupt practice of Triple Talaq.
Mainaz Begum in UP’s Wazirganj had stated that the child was born on 23 May, the day PM Modi won a second term, so she had named her child as Narendra Damodardas Modi. She had also stated that her husband and family members were initially opposed to the idea but had relented after she persisted.
However, the latest reports say that Mainaz Begum has decided to change her son’s name to Mohammad Altaf Modi. She has stated that her family and community members are vehemently opposed to the idea of a Muslim boy being named Narendra Damodardas. She has also claimed that her community has threatened not to perform the child’s circumcision or perform the ‘Hakika’ celebrations for childbirth.
Moreover, there is now another controversy attached to the child’s date of birth. Media reports have stated that the doctor at the local CHC has stated that Mainaz Begum is lying about the child’s date of birth. Dr Bhavna of the Wazirganj CHC has reportedly claimed that the child was born on 12 May, not 23rd May as the mother is claiming. She has stated that she was on duty at the hospital and the child was born on 12 May at 12.59. The birth details are documented at the hospital.
West Bengal Chief Minister and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chairperson has reversed her decision to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the Modi government after the families of the BJP workers who lost their lives in political violence in the State were invited to attend the ceremony as a mark of respect. She revealed this by posting her statement on Twitter. The West Bengal CM also denied the political violence happening in the state.
The oath-taking ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party pic.twitter.com/Mznq0xN11Q
Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier planned to attend the swearing-in ceremony, said in her statement that the claims of the BJP of its workers being killed in political violence in West Bengal are not true. She denied the happening of any political murders in the State. She added that these murders might have happened due to personal enmity, family quarrels or any other reasons but these were not political murders. She said that such an august occasion of celebrating democracy should not be used by any political party to score political points.
The BJP has sent invitations to the families of 51 workers who were killed in the political violence during the Panchayat polls and the recent Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal. The West Bengal CM had assented to attending the ceremony on May 30 and was scheduled to fly down to Delhi today.
Due to rampant political violence in West Bengal, the Election Commission had to cut short the election campaign in the State during the last phase of the recent Lok Sabha elections.
2019 has been one of the most critical electoral contests that have resulted in a progressive mandate. For decades, the representation of women in parliament never went beyond 12% even as we kept talking about quotas and reservations for women in parliament. The political set up of India was largely driven by men while the identity of a “woman” never featured in such politics driven by identity. Additionally, even for the women who did manage to get elected, most of the time, their governance and politics were controlled by their husbands and other family members.
The 17th Lok Sabha Elections has systematically broken this trend, and this is a welcome sign. For the first time, 78 women will be the members of 17th Lok Sabha i.e. 14.39% which is the highest figure since independence though we have to go miles to reach equal representation.
In Odisha, Biju Janta Dal gave tickets to 33% women candidates, one of them is a leader emerged through self-help groups. Out of a total of 8000 candidates, 723 were women contestants, which is only 9% yet, still, it is the highest ever. This suggests that women have had a better strike rate at getting elected these elections which represents how the electorate has matured over the last couple of years.
According to the Election Commission (EC), the voter turnout for the 2019 elections was the highest ever, with a record 67.11% turnout, as compared to the 66.40% in 2014. It’s refreshing to note that women have voted more in absolute numbers and in percentage terms, as they crossed the turnout of men in 9 states and UTs. The higher turnout was recorded in Bihar, Odisha, Kerala, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
I was curious to know, what motivated women to go and vote in large numbers. While speaking to women who were active in the campaign, I got some answers regarding the changing power structure at the household level. A lady who was campaigning in Chandni Chowk said, she met a young girl, who said “earlier I used to be afraid even if the food prepared by wasn’t liked by my in-laws. I was scared as I didn’t know what my husband will utter in rage, my life was always at stake. Now, not only me but many opened their mind, argue with their husbands and assert their opinion”, referring to ban on Triple Talaq.
An old lady of Rajasthan who has crossed 95 and where the sex ratio is worrisome, appreciated “Beti Bachao”. Many benefitted out of “Ujwala Gas”, many with road connectivity, electricity and so on, for which they were vocal, and hence they decided to go out and vote in large numbers.
Besides, three political parties are lead by women, Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee; Priyanka Gandhi, Smriti Irani, Nirmala Sitharaman played a lead role in the campaign. Twitter and debate soldiers contributed a lot in this election, where the presence of women was remarkable.
The role of women in the campaign itself was a motivating element. Women candidates and a wife or a daughter or a sister of the candidates walked to villages and met women. They were at the forefront of the campaign and managed the whole campaign. It’s but natural that a woman connects better to a woman… but to note she can connect to men and youth as well is more interesting. This compartmentalization in a way is helping to fix stereotypes.
In a nutshell, women politicians, ministers, campaigners are motivating women voters to come forward and cast a vote. They are seen as role models by many. It’s an appeal of aspiration; positivity for change that has made the numbers in Lok Sabha 2019 and as the voters too. Importantly, assertions of women as ‘citizens of the nation’, I hope, have crossed the barriers and compelling elements through the ballot. No doubt, 17th Lok Sabha has shown many positive trends and immense possibilities of change towards more n more participation of women in politics.
I see a larger turnout of women voters as a sign of women led governance… more empathetic and equitable.
After the Congress party’s poll debacle, more trouble appears to be headed its way. At the centre of the storm is Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Times Now has reportedly accessed a transcript of a conversation between Nath and his Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Praveen Kakkar, which is part of an IT-Department dossier.
Times Now has claimed that the transcript exposes rampant dubious financial transactions, rampant round tripping and even intimidation of government officials to win the Lok Sabha elections. The OSD was allegedly asked to build pressure upon the mining and transport department who, according to Nath, were helping the BJP win elections from Katni.
The OSD, however, refuted all allegations. “I don’t know anything about it, Even, the I-T department has not asked me any question. When I will be asked, I will answer. All allegations are false. This conversation never happened,” Kakkar said.
Kamal Nath has responded to these new revelations by saying that these are concoctions of the investigative agency. According to him, the IT-Department is deliberately leaking material to the media and indulging in politics.
It is further reported that 11 Congress candidates in the state were given money between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. Digvijay Singh, alone, allegedly received a hefty amount of Rs. 90 lakhs. The dossier also contains a conversation between close Kamal Nath aide RK Miglani and SM Moin, Chief Accountant of the Congress party.
According to the transcript, Miglani tells Moin that Rs 20 crores will be delivered to him. The dossier also contains conversations between Miglani and others about the said amount. It begs the question at this point, if the Chief Accountant of the Congress party was on the loop about these transfers of money, were the Gandhis unaware?
Kamal Nath has been facing the heat for quite some time now. Raids had been conducted in April on close associates of the MP CM which had led to the recovery of huge sums of cash. More than 300 IT Income Tax sleuths had conducted raids in 50 locations connected to him. Searches were reportedly conducted at locations of MP Chief Minister’s OSD, Ratul Puri (Kamal Nath’s nephew), Amira Group, and Moser Baer. Searches were also conducted in Bhopal, Indore, Goa and 35 locations in Delhi.
Now, the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh is under serious threat after the party’s disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Moreover, Kamal Nath was rebuked by Rahul Gandhi himself for prioritizing his son over the party. Under such circumstances, Kamal Nath’s tenure as MP CM appears to be on borrowed time.
A video has gone viral on social media in which Sri Lankan star Lasith Malinga is seen giving bowling tips to Australian all-rounder Marcus Stonis.
Having played in IPL and for the same side Mumbai Indians, Malinga had earlier helped Indian pace sensation Bumrah a lot. Carrying the legacy of IPL, Malinga was found giving tips to Stonis on how to bowl the slower ball.
“Variations are very important in the short-format game. During IPL also he (Stoinis) had wanted to know how I bowl [it],” Malinga told the media after the match in Southampton on Monday, 28 May.
“I wanted to give him tips – that’s how cricket moves forward. Whoever wants to know, I will help them. I’ll share tricks on how to bowl slow balls, which situation you will use it, why you want to use the slow one.”
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 27, 2019
Malinga has variations in his bowling and which always keep the batsmen guessing what would come next. It is good to see players helping out each other on the world stage. That’s not a common sight but the IPL has changed the approach. Many players have started helping even when they are playing against each other.
“Cricket is a batsman’s game,” Malina agreed, “but bowlers can change the game.”
Malinga has taken most wickets (43) in the World Cup among current players. He is the only bowler to take 4 wickets in 4 balls (against South Africa in 2007). He is also the only bowler to take 3 hat-tricks in ODI.
All three doctors accused of abetting suicide of the Mumbai based doctor Payal Tadvi, have been arrested by the state police. Dr Bhakti Mehere was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, followed by the arrest of Dr Hema Ahuja later last evening. Dr Ankita Khandelwal was arrested earlier this morning.
On 22 May 26-year-old Payal Tadvi, a second-year MD in gynaecology at BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central, hanged herself in the college hostel room hours after performing two surgeries. She had been allegedly driven to suicide by her seniors who reportedly used to humiliate her by making casteist remarks against her.
Dr Payal’s mother and other members of her family had accused three seniors of harassing her as she belonged to the scheduled tribe (ST). Payal belonged to the Tadvi Muslim Bhil Scheduled Tribe community. An FIR has been filed against them at the Agripada Police Station under the Atrocities Act, the Anti-Ragging Act and the IT Act and Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
The three accused – Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehere and Ankita Khandelwal had been absconding ever since the FIR had been filed and the police had been trying to track them down.
Reportedly, the college has confirmed that she was targetted for her caste. In a report based on 30 statements from people in Payal’s family, colleagues and staff they have found evidence of harassment and casteist remarks made by the three seniors.
Payal was allegedly also harassed during her work and also was targetted in a work WhatsApp group. On May 21 she was allegedly not allowed to enter the hospital’s operation theatre after she was accused of neglecting her work. They accused her of negligence after having come across a picture of her dining out.
Payal’s mother Abeda had received constant complaints of harassment from her daughter ever since she had joined the college. She and her husband had met with the department head in December 2018 and was assured that action would be taken. Following a worrying phone call from her daughter she once again went to the college and had submitted a letter of complaint.
However, the dean Ramesh Namdeo Bharmal denied receiving any complaint from either her parents or from Payal. Bharmal said that the family withdrew the letter immediately. There was no reason for the dean to act if there was no written or verbal communication to the dean’s office. The dean cannot take any action without a complaint,” he said.
The NCW had issued a notice to the hospital, “It is a matter of serious concern. Considering the gravity of the matter, it is requested that the matter be investigated and Commission be apprised, about action taken in the matter at an early date”.
Meanwhile, the incident has stirred up protests in the city of Mumbai demanding justice for Payal Tadvi.
The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) has also suspended the three accused. The doctors have also written a letter to MARD asking for a fair investigation.
In a major jolt to the Gandhi family, the Enforcement Directorate has attached a Gurugram property worth Rs 64.93 crores under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA). The said property was illegally allotted to Associated Journals Limited(AJL) by the then Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for Rs 59.39 lakhs.
Adjudicating Authority under PMLA confirms ED’s attachment of Plot No. C-17, Sector 6, Panchkula worth ₹64.93 Crore which was illegally allotted to Associated Journals Limited (AJL) by Bhupinder Singh Hooda the then CM of Haryana for ₹59.39 lakh.
The adjudicating authority has confirmed the attachment. The Enforcement Directorate had earlier sought court permission to attach properties as a permanent attachment, following which the move has been initiated. The adjudicating authority had already approved the ED’s request after granting a hearing to Associated Journals Limited (AJL). The properties were under ED scanner for a long time now and following the attachment, it leaves the Gandhis with little options to challenge the move.
According to ED investigation, the plot number C-17, sector 6, Panchkula was allotted to the AJL in the year 1982 as per the request of the company to start the Nav-Jivan newspaper. However, the AJL did not abide by the terms and conditions of the allotment, the estate officer, HUDA, Panchkula vide order dated 30.10.1992 ordered to take back the plot on the ground that the allottee i.e. AJL violated the necessary terms and conditions of the allotment letter by not starting the construction and completing the same within the specified time period.
However, the Bhupinder Hooda government had, in 2005, re-allocated the plot to AJL under for the original price plus interest at a mere 59.39 lakh rupees.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier in December 2018 attached property worth Rs 30 crores in Mohali allotted by former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the case of Associated Journals & National Herald Case. The Supreme Court last year upheld the Income Tax Department’s decision to re-open their tax assessment for the financial year 2011-2012 in connection with the National Herald Case.
Subramanian Swamy, the petitioner in the case has alleged criminal misappropriation by both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He has asserted that AJL had taken an interest-free loan of Rs 90.25 Crores from the Indian National Congress. It is alleged that the loan was not repaid. A newly incorporated company Young India with a capital of Rs 50 lakhs had almost all shareholding of the AJL. All the accused in the National Herald scam, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Oscar Fernandes, Motilal Vohra, Sam Pitroda are out on bail.
In a separate money laundering case against Robert Vadra, related to the London properties he owns, the Enforcement Directorate will question him tomorrow.
The ED had earlier asked for custody of Robert Vadra asserting that his responses have been evasive and he is not complying with the agency in their investigation.
A campaign may be over. But the evil that they did lives on. We deserve to know what they were willing to do to honest hardworking people in the country in order to fulfill the ambitions of a lazy and entitled dynast.
Going into the General Election 2019, the biggest idea that the Congress had to offer was a Minimum Income Guarantee (NYAY). A guaranteed sum of Rs 72000 to every poor household. What’s “poor”? Who gets to identify the “poor” and how do you define “household”? We were never told these details and likely deliberately so.
But the most important detail that was officially kept hidden was where the money would come from.
That’s MIT “economist” Abhijit Banerjee, the adviser for the NYAY scheme.
This isn’t even a case of middle class vs poor. Mr. “Economist” Abhijit Banerjee also wanted to use the “inflation tax”, which must be a cute academic term for letting prices spiral out of control, used by people who are sitting in Boston and will not have to bear the brunt.
In other words, everyone would be punished: both poor and middle class. The only intended beneficiary of NYAY was Rahul Gandhi himself.
But when Rahul Gandhi was asked to clarify, he personally assured that the money for his minimum guarantee scheme would not come from extra taxes on ordinary folks.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi claiming the fund for NYAY won’t come from income tax.
Not that anybody believed him at the time, on this or any other issue, but it is satisfying to have a senior Congress leader admit this finally. Now that the campaign is over.
Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor contradicting Rahul Gandhi’s stand.
That’s Shashi Tharoor in his interview published today in The Hindustan Times. There you have it! Shashi Tharoor admits that it would be the “professional classes” centered in urban areas who would be paying for it.
Compare this with Rahul Gandhi’s statement that “Money won’t be taken from the middle class and income tax won’t be raised.”
Also notice how unabashed the Congress Party is. Not a lick of shame or repentance about the fact that their entire campaign was based on lies. Instead they are regretting the fact that news of NYAY reached only those who were going to be scammed by it and not those whose votes they wanted to buy.
The Congress Party has ruled this nation for close to 60 years. If anyone had the time and opportunity to address India’s poverty, it was them. Indira Gandhi promised to make a beginning in 1971, after the Congress had enjoyed uninterrupted power for 24 years. How did that go?
As I pointed out in a previous article, by 1974 the inflation had risen to 28.6%, the highest income tax rate had risen to 97% and the GDP growth meanwhile had collapsed to 1.2%! No wonder Indira Gandhi had to impose Emergency the next year. And in 2019, after the Congress had ruled for almost 60 years, Rahul Gandhi tried to claw his way back to power by announcing a vote buying yojana. No wonder the poor saw through it.
Now let me say a word about those “professional classes” that the Congress was planning to soak in order to fund its vote buying scheme. Who are these professional classes?
See, Nehruvian socialism kept India poor for forty years as the world raced ahead. Then, some reforms were made in the early 90s when India was at the brink of bankruptcy. A small group of people made use of this window of opportunity to escape from the clutches of utmost poverty and make a slightly better life for themselves. They slogged through school, competed with lakhs of others for a seat in a decent college and then squeezed themselves into a decent job. They achieved a moderate standard of living, something that even someone with a high school education in the first world would take for granted.
And so the Congress Party’s zamindars have their eye on this new professional class, the ones who have made their way in life without coming from the ranks of the high born in Lutyens Delhi. The NYAY idea was the plan of these Congress zamindars to extort money from those they saw as upstarts.
And when they heard murmurs of discontent, they tried emotional blackmail.
You see, unlike the Congress zamindars who have been ruling the nation for generations, these professional classes are known to suffer from something called ‘conscience’. Because they are drawn from the ranks of ordinary folk and they do relate to the suffering of the absolute poor.
The Congress tried to use their conscience against them by sending them on a guilt trip. It didn’t work.
Congress leader Sam Pitroda patronising the middle class
Who are they calling “selfish”? Does the Congress elite know what it takes to get a seat in a decent college or even a seat in a local train? Does the Congress elite know how hard it is to earn that paycheck? And how it feels when the government dips into that paycheck and collects a hefty tax? Rahul Gandhi would know if he had ever earned anything in his whole life.
How would he know? All he gets is one more promotion every time he fails at something.
The money that the government takes out of paychecks of ordinary people is not for entitled dynasts to buy votes with. It isn’t free.
And by the way, Shashi Tharoor is wrong about one more thing. It’s not just 50 percent of people who had heard about NYAY. Everybody had heard about it, poor, middle class or rich. These days news spreads on the internet in a matter of minutes. You can wag your tail and thank Rajiv Gandhi for it if you want.
Everybody had heard about 72,000. They just didn’t believe it. People didn’t vote for you. Not because they were selfish. But because they were smart.
Outgoing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has opted out of the next Narendra Modi government to be sworn in tomorrow. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was posted on social media by Arun Jaitley, he requested that he should not be included in the new Government.
Jaitley has written that he has faced some serious health challenges in the last eighteen months, and his doctors have enabled him to emerge out of most of them. He says that after the end of the election campaign, he had orally informed Modi that although he was able to discharge the responsibilities assigned to him during the campaign, he would like to keep away from any responsibility in the future for some time.
Now Arun Jaitley has formally made the request to not be included in the new Modi government, which would enable him to concentrate on his treatment and health. He has written, “I am writing to you to formally request you that I should be allowed a reasonable time for myself, my treatment and my health and. therefore, not be a part of any responsibility, for the present, in the new Government.” Jaitley adds that he will obviously have a lot of time at his disposal to undertake any work informally to support the Government or the Party.
I have today written a letter to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, a copy of which I am releasing: pic.twitter.com/8GyVNDcpU7
After the massive victory of NDA in the elections, several sections in media had speculated that Arun Jaitley may not be the finance minister, or not even be a part of the new government, due to health issues. But the government had denied those reports as false and baseless and had asked the media not to indulge in rumour mongering.
It may be noted that Arun Jaitley didn’t present the last budget of the government due to health issues, and it was presented by railway minister Piyush Goyal, who was given the additional charge of Finance and Corporate Affairs ministries ahead of the budget in January this year.
