A group of 81 former civil servants that compromise of defence personnel, judges, academicians and professionals, led by former Delhi Police Commissioner R S Gupta have written to the President of India, Ramnath Kovind expressing concern about another set of former babus casting aspersions on the neutrality of the Election Commission. They have also raised concerns about this lobby trying to influence the Election Commission in taking anti-Modi steps to ‘conform to a particular line of thought and behaviour’.
The letter said that attempts are being made by a group of former babus, headed by Salahuddin Ahmad, retired IAS officer, to discredit the Election Commission.
The letter said, “Slurs being laid against the Election Commission of India, casting aspersions on its neutrality and ability to hold free and fair elections appears to be a part of the larger design to influence its decision making and to make it conform to a particular line of behaviour and thought”.
The letter said that an earlier letter written to the President by the former babus allegest that the Election Commission is going through a crisis of credibility and that it is the prevalent view of the country that its independence has been compromised. However, the letter signed by 81 civil servants says that this view is limited to a “small group of people who may be having a partisan interest in propagating such a view”.
The former civil servants in their letter to the President of India also raised a concern about this ‘partisan group’ pressurising the Election Commission to take anti-Modi steps. The letter said that the very people who have cast aspersions on the Election Commission and doubted its neutrality have succeeded in influencing the EC to ban a biopic that was made by an independent producer. Presumably, the letter was talking about the Vivek Oberoi starrer biopic of PM Narendra Modi that has been banned from release by the Election Commission purportedly, to give all the candidates a “level playing field”.
The letter says that the Election Commission’s decision to ban the biopic came right after the release of the letter by this vested group of people who might have a partisan interest.
According to Deccan Chronicle, the letter also slammed the decision to ban a web series based on the life of Prime Minister Modi. The serial, the letter said, had already aired 5 episodes prior to Model Code of Conduct being set into motion and that banning of that series amounts to a breach of constitutional rights.
“Now, the same retired civil servants, through their open letter to your hon’ble self, are trying to stop a ten-part web series “Modi: A Common Man’s Journey,” of which five episodes have already been screened before the model code of conduct came into effect. This again amounts to a violation of Constitutional rights and depriving certain people of their freedom of expression”, the letter reportedly read.
The group of 81 former civil servants also raised concerns about the letter which raises doubts on EVMs and insists on VVPAT based audit of the election system.
Concluding the letter, the civil servants raised concerns about such letter not serving the democratic process and also on how this group is trying to influence the decision of the Election Commission. They also raise concerns about on whose behest is such a partisan approach being taken.
“We are deeply pained that a few retired civil servants, who should have known better, have chosen to slander the Election Commission and are attempting through such slander, to influence its decisions. It amounts to a smear campaign, designed to weaken India’s well tested constitutional bodies. One wonders on whose behest such a partisan approach is being taken. Needless to say, unfounded allegations and slander campaigns do little to promote the cause of democracy”, the letter reportedly said.
The Election Commission has taken several steps in the recent past that have raised doubts about whether the decision is being influenced. The decisions are, more often than not, viewed as anti-Modi.
EC officials in Maharashtra had recently issued an order directing producers of television serials ‘Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai’ and ‘Tujhse Hai Raabta’, aired on &TV and Zee TV channels, to remove content that deemed to benefit the “prospects of a political party” by praising government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Before this decision by the EC, Congress had objected to these serials.
A citizen had printed “No gifts, please vote for PM Modi” on his wedding card and had got a notice from the Election Commission too raising concerns about the Election Commission encroaching on citizen’s fundamental rights. The Election Commission had also served a show cause notice to ABVP students for a book launch that was organised in JNU claiming poll code violation. The ABVP had planned to launch #ModiAgain by author Aabhas Maldahiyar and Saffron Swords by Manoshi Sinha Rawal on 15th April. The event has now been cancelled.
The same Election Commission had served a show cause notice to officials for banning the release of a book on the Rafale Deal for violation of the MCC. However, the ban was subsequently revoked and the book was released.
In yet another shocking incident from Mumbai, an Uber driver Aftab allegedly got angry when he saw the Shivaji Mandir, a theatre in Mumbai and started abusing Chhatrapati Shivaji, the warrior king who once fought the Mughals. Twitter user Samiir said that when he was passing by the Shivaji Mandir near Plaza Cinema in Mumbai, the uber driver Aftab started abusing Shivaji Maharaj and said, “Teri maa ka bh*s**”.
I told him to mind his language. He didn’t
Then he started telling me Tum bhi pooja karte ho uski. Band karo. Aap bolo ki aise logonki pooja nahi karenge
I said its my wish. No one forcing u to worship him. Then his tone got more threatening. 2/n pic.twitter.com/mteeH0jnNs
Samiir says that Aftab then lost his cool that everywhere there is ‘Shivaji’ (a lot of landmarks in Mumbai are named after Chhatrapati Shivaji including the Mumbai international airport and the Mumbai Central railway station) and that they ‘worship’ him.
Samiir claims that he asked Aftab to mind his language, Aftab got more abusive and his tone got even more threatening.
Then he said he did a favour by picking me despite the traffic. I told him it was his job and he should drop me at my location. He reluctantly did
When i was getting off he grabbed my phone and gave himself a 5 * rating
I realised it, changed rating and gave him one star 4/n
Samiir says Aftab insisted that no one should worship Shivaji and at one point asked Samiir to get off his Uber in middle of his trip. Aftab, Samiir claims, said that he did a favour to him by picking him up despite the traffic. After reluctantly dropping Samiir to his location, Aftab proceeded to grab Samiir’s phone and give himself a 5 star rating for his ‘service’.
Samiir says that when he reported the matter to Uber, Uber credited the amount he had paid back to his account and said that action has been taken against the driver. Samiir says that it is necessary for even the minorities to be sensitized about the faith of Hindus so that everyone feels safe in the country. Samiir says that while there are media reports where Hindus are shown to be baying for Muslim blood and out to lynch them, experiences of people like Samiir are brushed under the carpet.
Two days back we had reported how a lady with the Twitter handle @sona2905 was subjected to rude and obnoxious behaviour of an Uber driver, Usman, who got aggressive on seeing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture on her phone cover. He started off with refusing to turn on the air conditioner in the Uber and even told her to ‘ask Modi to send her a cab’.
OpIndia has reached out to Uber for an official statement on the measure it has taken safety of the passengers and the drivers’ alleged behaviour. We shall update the report once we get a response from them.
The election for the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency has been cancelled by the President of India on the recommendation of the Election Commission. This was followed by the recovery of a large amount of money in the constituency meant to bribe voters.
Last month, the Income Tax department and the EC had raided DMK treasurer Durai Murugan’s residence in Vellore and reportedly seized a large amount of unaccounted cash. DMK is the alliance partner of Congress for Tamil Nadu and in their seat-sharing arrangement, the Vellore seat has gone to DMK.
Huge amount of cash was kept in cartons and gunny bags neatly packed with ward and division numbers written on them, leaving no doubt about the purpose of the money. Money worth more than Rs 11.5 crore and several incriminating documents were recovered in the Income Tax raid.
Following this, the Election Commission had recommended to the president that the election in Vellore should be rescinded as money power was being used to influence voters. The commission had written that current electoral process in Vellore parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu has been seriously vitiated on account of unlawful activities of certain candidates and some members/workers of the political party. The commission had said that in such a scenario, conducting the poll in the constituency on 18th April as scheduled will jeopardize the conduct of free and fair election in such a vitiated atmosphere.
Accordingly, exercising the power given to the Election Commission of India under article 324 of Constitution read with section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 and other powers, the commission recommended that the president may rescind the election notification issued for the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency.
Considering and accepting the recommendation of the ECI, the president cancelled the election for Vellore.
It may be noted that earlier in the day, the EC had issued a statement saying that no decision on cancelling Vellore election has been taken yet, denying several media reports speculating the same.
23 candidates had filed nominations for the Vellore seat, which include A.C. Shanmugam of AIADMK, D.M. Kathir Anand of DMK and E. Karunanithi of BSP. In 2014, AIADMK had won the seat defeating the BJP candidate.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has today asked the Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed who had campaigned for Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress candidate Kanhaiya Lal Agarwal in North Dinajpur district to leave India. The MHA had earlier called for a report from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office(FRRO) inquiring whether he had violated any visa conditions.
On receiving the report, Ahmed has been asked to leave India and his visa has been cancelled. He has also been blacklisted by the MHA.
West Bengal shares a porous international border with Bangladesh and illegal infiltration from Bangladesh has been a cause of worry for India’s security. According to Agarwal, the response to Ahmed’s campaign was ‘excellent’ and was expected to campaign on Monday as well.
BJP has asserted that the TMC is trying to entice the Muslim voters which are about 50% of the population in North Dinajpur. “By engaging a Bangladeshi actor, the ruling party is trying to woo the nearly 50% Muslims voters in North Dinajpur. The Trinamool is scared of us and hence, bringing foreign actors here”, said BJP Bengal chief, Dilip Ghosh.
On August 12, 2015, Union Minister Sushma Swaraj roared in Parliament, right in front of Sonia Gandhi, who was visibly shaken and looked pale.
Swaraj thundered away asking the distraught mother-son duo who Adil Shahryar was and why he was exchanged for Warren Anderson, the main accused in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. She asked what was the relationship between the Gandhi family and Adil Shahryar.
A blog was written prior to this uproar in the Parliament that traced the entire relationship that had seldom been written about by the media. The material had been around since 2010 and the media, playing Nero’s guests, looked away.
There was paltry little in the public domain about Adil Shahryar, and when the blog was written, I thought all the material that was to be discovered about Adil Shahryar and all the material that survived a family bent on destroying links, had surfaced. However, I was wrong.
With the Prime Minister raised the issue of Bhopal Gas Tragedy as one of the great Anyay (injustice) Congress has done to the people of India, the newfound information became relevant.
What was the Bhopal Gas Tragedy?
August 30, 1981 – Adil Shahryar was arrested in Miami, the US for Hotel Arson. On further inquiry, the Federal Authorities learnt that a shipping container belonging to him contained scrap paper and two explosives, and was meant to blow up the ship on which it was going to be loaded. Accordingly, he was prosecuted.
May 17, 1982 – Adil Shahryar was sentenced to 35 years in a federal Prison on five counts of militancy, by a Federal Judge.
December 3, 1984 – Gas Leak at Union Carbide India Ltd. plant in Bhopal after water mixes with Methyl Isocyanate producing poisonous gas that killed 4000-16000 people living in the slums nearby.
December 7, 1984 – Union Carbide Corporation’s Charmain Warren Anderson visit Bhopal to take stock of the situation. He is detained by MP Police under instructions of CM Arjun Singh, who seemingly received information from then PM Rajiv Gandhi.
December 8, 1984 – He is sent to New Delhi in then MP CM Arjun Singh’s plane, to be released. According to CIA’s declassified Documents, he was released on express instructions of Rajiv Gandhi, after he discussed the matter with, possibly, US Embassy. He is said to have claimed that his people are too excited as the General Elections 1984-85 were around the corner.
December 24-28, 1984 – General Elections were held for the 8th Lok Sabha. Somewhere during its campaigning, Rajiv Gandhi justifies 1984 Sikh Genocide, less than 2 months after the killings, by saying infamously, “When a Big Tree falls, it’s natural that the ground beneath shakes.”
Undisclosed Date in 1985 – Warren Anderson meets India’s then Ambassador to US K Shankar Bajpai in Washington, to discuss financial settlements. Bajpai informs Anderson that “Govt of India had an open mind on the issue of a negotiated settlement”.
February 28, 1985 – Top Secret meeting is allegedly held between UCC’s Rolf H Towe, UCIL’s V P Gokhale & B B Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers. Singh is informed about meeting with Ambassador Bajpai.
March 4, 1985 – UCC makes a formal proposal to the Govt of India for negotiated settlements, proposing a predetermined fixed sum of money to be paid to Govt of India. They use Indian Railways Act payment rate for accidental deaths as a guide.
April 8, 1985 – Rajiv Gandhi Govt files lawsuit against Union Carbide Corporation & Warren Anderson, claiming a compensation of $3 Billion. There were 7 charges – 1) Multinational Enterprise Liability; 2) Absolute Liability; 3) Strict Liability; 4) Negligence; 5) Breach of Warranty; 6) Misrepresentation; and 7) Punitive Damages. Govt of India claimed that UCC provided Faulty Design, which allowed negligent connection of Water supply to enter MIC Tanks. The CSIR had not yet completed its study and ascertained this Design Fault accusation.
Paltry little is available on Adil Shahryar and Mohammed Yunus. Mohammed Yunus was the nephew of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (The Frontier Gandhi) and came in contact with Indira Gandhi in 1944. As Indira Gandhi grew farther away from Feroze Ghandy, it is said that Indira Gandhi grew lonely and during this time Mohammed Yunus was a supportive friend, who Jawaharlal Nehru grew to like and at the time of Independence & partition, he asked Yunus to stay back in India. Yunus was married to Lajwanti Ralliaram, daughter of a then prominent Leader Rallia Ram, who was an early Punjabi Christian. Mohammed Yunus never had to regret his decision of staying back in India. In 1960, he was the Ambassador to Spain, then became Chairman of Trade Fair Authority of India etc. He was also in charge of the zealously guarded files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and is infamous for personally destroying many sensitive files pertaining to Netaji.
Their son Adil Shahryar, who was born in 1947 grew up with Rajiv Gandhi, who was born in 1944 and Sanjay Gandhi, who was born in 1946. So they were all nearly the same aged kids. Amitabh & Ajitabh Bachchan were also part of this group then.
As he grew, Adil Shahryar was known to have become a key member of Sanjay Gandhi’s political gang and was reported to have committed excesses on Govt Officials during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977.
Thereafter, we hear about his arrest in the US in 1981, sentencing in 1982 and then exchange and an executive pardon in June 1985.
You may think he would have mended his ways, but in 1987-88 his name came in the infamous Fairfax Scandal, along with his father for offering a bribe and threatening the detectives who looked into Bofors.
While looking for all such information, I stumbled upon very sensitive information.
New Information
Exactly 5 years after his release from the US Federal Prison in June 1985, in June 1990, Adil Shahryar wrote for the Alumni Book of his Alma Mater American International School (AIS, New Delhi), on the occasion of a Reunion planned for July 9-11, 1990 at Lakeside Inn, Lake Tahoe, California, USA.
In the note, apart from reporting his progress after his schooling in AIS, he candidly describes his arrest in the US, the sentencing of 35years and later Executive Clemency by President Reagan. He also provided the copy of Executive Clemency issued to him, signed by President Reagan.
It is intriguing that Adil Shahryar managed to make $250 Million in mere 5 years in pre-Liberalization, pre-Internet, pre-Mobile Phone Indian Economy. Teaching Computers to Indians in 1985?
And Priyadarshini Institute? Reminds me of Indira “Priyadarshini” Gandhi.
Contract with TRON Association to develop software products? Well, check for TRON Association today and see what turns up. Never mind that, but it reminded me of Rajiv Gandhi’s IT Dream.
But a “net-worth” of $250 Million was the real cake.
On 20th September 1982, Adil Shahryar applied for “Insolvency” in US Courts. He was in Federal Prison since at least May 1982. So, clearly, till his release on the basis of Executive Clemency on June 11, 1985, he had no other business or employment. Any business, like Computer Education through his firm Priyadarshini Institute may have been established only after his release, possibly in late 1985 or early 1986.
Mugshot of Adil Shahryar that shows he filed for insolvency
Aptech Ltd., a well-known Indian company that offers Computer Education too, was founded in 1986 as well. After running the company for 33years, today Aptech Ltd.’s Market Capitalisation stands at Rs.700 cr and it’s Networth (Total Assets minus Total Liabilities) stood at Rs. 243.98 cr at the end of March 2018.
Then how did Adil Shahryar get a net worth of $250mn between 1985 & 1990, mere 5 years? USD was worth Rs. 18.11 in 1990. So, it works out to Rs. 452 cr, adjusted for Time & Inflation, that is worth over Rs. 3500 cr in 2019.
After going through the fact that India demanded $3 Billion as compensation and then settled for $470 Million, 1/6th of the original demand, any thinking individual will wonder what made Rajiv Gandhi agree to a settlement at 1/6th the original claim. And then if you learn that some good-for-nothing kid, made a “net-worth” of $250 Million in pre-Liberalisation Indian Economy when there were no Mobile Phones, No Internet with a company that taught Computers to Indian kids, what is one to assume given his relationship with the first family of Indian politics?
The question that arises and one that must be investigated is why did the government of India settle their $3 Billion claims for a mere $470 million?
Adil Shahryar’s name has been buried and seldom uttered. Not by the political class and certainly not by the media who is more than willing to let the indiscretions of the first family slide under the rug. Adil Shahryar died at the page of 42 in 1990, one Month after disclosing his Networth in a Note to his Alma Mater.
One month after disclosing such sensitive figures, this 42 yrs old criminal was declared dead. He is said to have died of Hepatitis.
A day after Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed was seen campaigning for the TMC candidate Kanhaiya Lal Agarwal in North Dinajpur district of West Bengal, the Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a report from Foreigners Regional Registration Office(FRRO) enquiring whether Ahmed had violated any visa conditions.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked for a report from Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) on Bangladeshi actor Ferdous campaigning for TMC in West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/9uj22bZvEn
Yesterday, Ferdous took part in a roadshow along with other Bengali actors in Raiganj Hemtabad, Karandighi and Islampur. The BJP, on the other hand, had alleged that this is the violation of the model code of conduct. The BJP West Bengal Unit President Dilip Ghosh said that tomorrow Mamata Banerjee could even invite Pakistan PM Imran Khan to campaign for the TMC.
“How can a foreign national (Ferdous) be allowed to campaign for political road shows in West Bengal. It is unprecedented. It seems the party doesn’t have an Indian star for campaigning. Tomorrow, Banerjee will invite Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to campaign for the TMC. We condemn this as a Bangladeshi film star should not be a part of India’s biggest democratic festival”, said Ghosh.
BJP has asserted that the TMC is trying to entice the Muslim voters which are about 50% of the population in North Dinajpur. “By engaging a Bangladeshi actor, the ruling party is trying to woo the nearly 50% Muslims voters in North Dinajpur. The Trinamool is scared of us and hence, bringing foreign actors here”, he said.
The Election Commission has said that there’s nothing mentioned in the rulebook about foreign nationals campaigning. The Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Basu said, “There is nothing mentioned in the rule book, we shall look into it if we receive any complaint.”
In an attempt to further polarise the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday indulged in communal politics after he asked Muslims to unite and vote for the Congress party to remove Modi and the BJP.
According to the reports, speaking at a rally at Katihar in Bihar, Navjot Singh Sidhu stirred a massive controversy after he sought votes for Congress party candidate Tariq Anwar on the religious lines. Navjot Singh Sidhu said that the Muslims must come together and destroy the BJP with their solidarity.
“I am warning you, my Muslim brothers, you are nearly 64% of the total population here. They are dividing you by bringing people like Owaisi. They will come up with a new party to divide the Hindus and the Muslims. However, The majority community (Hindus) of the country are a minority in this constituency, if you (Muslims) unite together and vote then Modi and the BJP will be decimated,” he said.
#WATCH Bihar:N Sidhu says in Katihar ‘Main aapko chetavni dene aya hun Muslim bhaiyon,ye baant rahe hain apko,ye yahan Owaisi jaise logon ko la ke,ek nai party khadi kar aap logon ka vote baant ke jitna chahte hain.Agar tum log ikathe hue,ekjut hoke vote dala to Modi sulat jaega’ pic.twitter.com/PQlIjm4oW2
The statements from Navjot Singh Sidhu is not very surprising as the Congress party has now taken an open stand to indulge in minority appeasement. The Congress President Rahul Gandhi has himself decided to contest from a minority dominated Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala after sensing a defeat in Amethi constituency against Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Navjot Singh Sidhu’s direct appeal to Muslims comes days after Mayawati made a similar pitch in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoband and paid with consequences as she was barred from campaigning for 48 hours by the Election Commission. The Model Code of Conduct bars candidates from seeking votes on communal or religious lines.
This is not the first time Sidhu is indulging in such controversies. Earlier, he had visited Pakistan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of close friend Imran Khan and his hug to the Pakistan army chief Qamar Bajwa stirred a massive row in India. Navjot Singh Sidhu had also caused a severe controversy after he posed with dreaded Khalistani terrorist Gopal Singh Chawla during his controversial visit to Pakistan to attend the Kartarpur corridor launch ceremony.
Former Congress leader S M Krishna today said that the Congress party President Rahul Gandhi is a person of ‘unlimited maturity’. Former external minister in the UPA cabinet led by Dr Manmohan Singh, Krishna pushed his weight behind Prime Minister Modi and urged people to come and vote for the BJP.
Taking jibes at Congress President in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Krishna said, Rahul Gandhi does not know how to handle things, especially when he is at the helm of things. Referring to the manner in which Rahul Gandhi has been handling the Rafale issue, where even the Supreme Court sent him a notice for inventing facts, Krishna said that despite holding an important position, Rahul Gandhi is handling things in a shambolic manner. “Any person holding such a high office will ruminate over a serious issue for a long time, before issuing reactions. But he does everything in a jiffy. He needs a lot of lessons in politics,” he said.
He further added that he quit the party because it ran on dynasty and not on merits. He then urged the voters to cast their votes in favour of the BJP. The former Congress leader joined the BJP in March 2017. He had said that after 46 years in Congress he left the party because of Rahul Gandhi’s interference.
The first phase of elections in Karnataka will take place on Thursday, April 18 for 14 Lok Sabha constituency. The second phase will be held on April 23 for the remaining 14 constituencies.
The Supreme Court today admitted a petition seeking permission for Muslim women to enter mosques to offer prayers.
A bench of Justices S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer issued a notice to the center asking it to respond to the PIL filed by a Pune-based couple.
The petition by Yasmeen Zuber Ahmad Peerzade and her husband Zuber Ahmad Nazir Ahmad Peerzade contended that “There is nothing in the Quran and the Hadith that requires gender segregation”. They added that “The act of prohibition of females from entering Mosque is void and unconstitutional as such practices are not only repugnant to the basic dignity of a woman as an individual but also violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution”.
The petitioner pleaded the apex court to declare the present rule of prohibiting women from entering the mosque as illegal.
“Like men, women also have the constitutional rights to offer worship according to their belief. At present, women are allowed to offer prayers at mosques under Jamaat-e-Islami and Mujahid denominations, while they are barred from mosques under the predominant Sunni faction. It is submitted that even in the mosques where women are allowed to worship, there are separate entrances and enclosures for men and women. There should not be any gender discrimination and Muslim women should be allowed to pray in all mosques, cutting across denominations. It is submitted that there is no such gender discrimination in Mecca, the holy city”, the petition read.
Citing the apex court judgment in the Sabarimala case where the court said that “Religion cannot be used as cover to deny rights of worship to women”, the petition said women are allowed in mosques in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, US, UK, and Singapore.
They claimed there were several women affected by this but were not in a position to approach the court. The petition said, “the alleged act of prohibition of entry to mosque is a violation of the constitutional and fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution as there cannot be any discrimination based on caste, sex, and religion”.
Meanwhile, the bench which was not satisfied with the replies by the counsel for the petitioners told the council that the Supreme Court is only willing to hear the case because of its verdict on Kerala’ Sabarimala temple. “The only reason we may hear you is because of our judgment in the Sabarimala temple case,” the bench said.
The bench also wanted to know if the protection of Article 14, that ensures equality before the law for all, also applies against individuals. The court sought to know if a mosque, temple or church can be treated as a state, adding that Article 14 refers to state action.
On September 28, 2018, the Supreme Court, in a 4:1 verdict, allowed entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
Four of the five judges on the bench, then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud ruled against the restriction on women while Justice Indu Malhotra gave a dissenting opinion.
Income Tax Commissioner S. K. Srivastava has written a complaint to the Election Commission (EC) for alleged subversion of the electoral process and vitiation of the election in Shivaganga constituency by Congress leader and former union minister P. Chidambaram. The IT Commissioner in his letter writes he wants to bring to the EC’s notice ‘unfettered abuse of illegitimate black money, the collusion of District Electoral Officer (DEO) cum Returning Officer (RO) and district administration and the abject failure of Election Observers in supervising the elections’.
The IT Commissioner states that the first fraud committed by the DEO cum RO in Shivaganga is the fact that on ECI and Tamil Nadu CEO website, Karti’s affidavit as a candidate for Congress mentions his father’s name as ‘Chidambaram’ and not ‘P. Chidambaram’ which was the correct name he Karti has stated in his Rajya Sabha nomination.
Page 1 of letter written by Income Tax Commissioner S. K. SrivastavaPage 2 of letter written by Income Tax Commissioner S. K. Srivastava
Labelling the DEO and RO as partisan and compromised, Srivastava has said that the officer has ignored that Karti Chidambaram has concealed that fact he is out on bail in many cases including cases relating to undeclared properties and assets. The I-T officer wrote that P Chidambaram has compromised the electoral process completely.
He also claimed that during the visit of Special Expenditure Observer of Shivganga, as many as 67 complaints were lodged alleging that P. Chidambaram had kept his illegal black money in malligai stores etc to be bribed to voters, and this matter has been hushed up by Returning Officer. The RO stated that after a visit by junior officials no such cases were noted and his officers did not consider that the complaints made to the expenditure observer should be verified, the letter stated.
Srivastava writes that the DEO cum RO officers are neither trained in the investigation of financial frauds nor they have the support base to very such frauds by ‘a hardened criminal like P. Chidambaram’, and the officer should have referred the matter to Income Tax department.
Making serious allegations against election officials of Shivganga, Srivastava writes that due to collusion of the DEO cum RO and other officers because of use of black money by PO Chidambaram, the RO had even deployed some junior officers to question the Special Expenditure Observer over the invitation of an income tax officer to a meeting.
Srivastava writes that the election process in Shivagana has got reduced to a farce by bribing voters and compromising the DEO cum RO and the district administration. He also said that if the election commission thinks that the allegations against Chidambaram should be probed, he is available for leading the same.
This is not the first time that Income Tax Commissioner S K Srivastava has written against P Chidambaram. Earlier he had written a 28-page letter giving details of corruption, immorality, and malpractices committed by Chidambaram. He had also alleged that Chidambaram had parked black money worth Rs 6700 crore in NDTV though 2G & Aircel-Maxis scams and Vasan Health Care money laundering.
Srivastava has also alleged that Income Tax officer Sumana Sharma, wife of NDTV journalist Abhisar Sharma, helped NDTV in tax evasions. It was alleged that NDTV had bribed the I-T officer, which included an all-expenses-paid trip Europe and Mauritius.
