Home Blog Page 7411

Income Tax department slaps AAP with a Rs 30.67 crore notice

0

The Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party might have landed itself into fresh trouble after it was reported that the party has been slapped with a Rs 30.67 crore Income Tax notice. As per the Income Tax department, the party has not disclosed income worth about Rs 13 crores and hasn’t even recorded full details of 462 donors who donated about Rs 6 crores.

Just yesterday the party was seen celebrating its 5 years of its so called “revolution”, after which various twitter users had decided to remind them of their broken promises.

This Income Tax order was passed on 23rd November and the department is expected to share its findings with the election commission of India. The order also claims that AAP had received about Rs 2 crores from Hawala channels in the year 2014-15 and it had later incorrectly disclosed it as voluntary donation.

The Income Tax department has also stated that 34 opportunities were given to the party in order to come out with the truth. The party has now been asked to pay a fine of Rs 30.67 cores on a total income of Rs 68.44 crore from 2014 to 2016. AAP has the option of challenging this order in the appellate tribunal and has been asked to furnish a reply by 7th December.

AAP has termed this IT notice as vindictive and its national treasurer Deepka Bajpai has claimed that the government is trying to harass AAP. Even Kejriwal seems to have termed this whole incident as political vendetta, but it remains to be seen if he comes out with a point to point rebuttal to all the allegations, rather than taking refuge behind rhetoric.

Soon after this news broke, rebel AAP leader tweeted that his 14th May expose had been successfully proven:


As reported in the past, Mishra had accused AAP of not revealing his total funding to either the Election Commission or the Income Tax department. He had also alleged that AAP was converting black money into white.

We had also reported Mishra’s allegations that the AAP had received a total of Rs 2 crore from four shell companies (Rs 50 lakh from each) through hawala transactions on 5 April, 2014. He had further claimed that AAP had illegally received donations to the tune of Rs 70 crore.

Mishra is back into his firebrand attacking mode after proclaiming on Sunday that if Kejriwal did not resign immediately, he would drag the AAP supremo to prison by his collar.

Also such Income Tax notice might mean that AAP has hit rock bottom when it comes to ensuring financial transparency in the party.

During the initial days, in order to showcase its “commitment” to transparency, the party had put a public list of donors on its website. The list was updated in real time and one could know the quantum and frequency of donations the party was receiving every day.

This list first got into trouble when in February 2015, the party couldn’t explain properly how it received 2 crore rupees and who were the real donors. This became stranger in July, 2016 when the party removed the list itself from its website.

This meant, questions continued to be raised over this issue and the party was also hit with a “Chanda Bandi” campaign, but to no avail.

Maybe this income tax investigation can finally bring out the complete truth in this sordid affair.

Congress workers vandalise party office in Gujarat to protest ticket distribution

0

The Gujarat Congress workers on Sunday staged angry protests in various party offices in the after they were angered by the ticket distribution for the upcoming assembly elections.

Reportedly dissatisfied with the third candidate list with 76 nominations, the party workers proceeded to vandalise the party head office in Gandhinagar on Sunday night:


Apart from destroying party property, the angry workers even burnt an effigy outside the office. The main point of anger among the party workers seems to be about the party providing Arvind Singh Chauhan a ticket from Amraiwadi seat in Ahmedabad.

Apart from Gandhinagar, protests were also seen in the district of Banaskantha. The Congress in order to possibly avoid such a dissent, had called up 14 of its nominees about their selection. The news spread nonetheless and protests broke out.

It would seem like the situation of the Congress party in the state seems to be reaching comic levels.

Earlier we had reported how party vice-president Rahul Gandhi had to deal with pro-Modi slogans while visiting a textile market in Surat. Here he was welcomed with chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.

Apart from this, reports surfaced, which claimed that the Gujarat Congress is collapsing like badly stacked cycles in a cycle stand. Such an assertion was made after major disagreements were seen cropping up between Congress and Patidar Ananamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leaders.

If all this wasn’t enough, the twitter account of a Youth Congress magazine came up with an elitist meme which targeted the humble tea seller background of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A day after that, BJP Gujarat MLA Harsh Sanghvi and BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Bagga reached Congress office in Surat in order to mark their protest by starting to offer tea in front of it.

Violent threats against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Lalu family continue

0

The Lalu family seems to have developed a penchant for issuing threats and using crass language against political opponents, specially Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the political discourse in the country has seen stark depths, the Lalu family seems to be set on lowering the discourse further.

Perhaps the Lalu family’s anger stems from the fact that their entire political empire crumbled in July after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar decided to walk out of the “Mahagathbandhan” and immediately joined hands with former allies BJP to form a fresh government.

As if this loss of power wasn’t enough, the Lalu family was also suffering a blow with the CBI filing cases against Lalu, Rabri and Tejaswai and raiding 12 locations in connection with it. Apart from this, the Enforcement Directorate had raided Lalu’s daughter Misa’s residence. Income Tax department had also seized the Benami assets of Misa and Tejaswi.

It is the culmination of this political frustration that seems to get reflected in their violent statements.

Earlier this month, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s wife, Rabri Devi had said that people in Bihar are ready to slit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s throat and chop his hands.


This was followed up by the Lalu family’s son, Tej Pratap Yadav who had threatened to beat up Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi.


As if these statements were not enough, Tej Pratap Yadav has shot his mouth off again, issuing threats to the Prime Minister of India. In a statement issued today, responding to Lalu’s downgraded security, he said “Narendra Modi ka khaal udhedva denge”. Literally translated, it would mean he is threatening to get the Prime Minister of India skinned and thrashed mercilessly.


This threat by Tej Pratap comes after the Centre downgraded Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Z+ security to Z category security. The centre has also decided to withdraw NSG protection to Lalu because according to rules, people who have Z category security aren’t eligible for NSG protection.

According to sources cited by India Today, Lalu might get additional CRPF security cover despite being Z category protectee, but that clearly hasn’t stopped his son from making violent threats.

Similarly, the Centre also withdrew security cover provided to former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. Manjhi till now was a Z+ category protectee and had CRPF cover, but after the home ministry’s decision, the CRPF cover provided to him has been withdrawn.

In the face of such threats, wonder the depths the political discourse would have to stoop to before strong condemnation comes from all ends of the political spectrum. While political rivalry is healthy for the country, a threat issued to the Prime Minister of the country is not just a threat to a political rival, but the duly elected representative of the entire Nation and its sovereignty.

Politicians force removal of painting by school kid, as it had ‘BJP symbol’ lotus drawn on it

0

It is a very common sight to find paintings or other artwork made by students hanging on the walls of a school. This is done to showcase the talent, as well as encourage the students of the school. The sight is especially common in nursery schools.

It was no different in the Nursery Municipal School at Mall Avenue in Lucknow, where one of the walls of the school had paintings of flowers, birds, animals, etc. drawn by young kids. While normally such paintings by young kids will bring smile to an adult, one such painting didn’t go down well with some adults.

All because the painting had a lotus flower in it, which happens to the BJP symbol. The same painting had rose, marigold, lily flower etc. drawn on it by some kid, but the presence of lotus was found to be ‘controversial’ by politicians belonging to Congress, Samajwadi Party, and BSP.

These politicians happened to be inside the school because the premises were used for polling in the ongoing local bodies elections on Sunday. There was no objection to these paintings initially, but once Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh registered his vote, some people noted that that there was a lotus, along with other flowers, drawn on a painting hanging on the wall behind the Electronic Voting Machine.

And the ‘controversy’ started. The opposition leaders claimed that this was violation of code of conduct and an attempt to ‘influence’ the voters. Even though the painting was made by some school kid who drew various flowers, politicians insisted that this was part of some ‘political conspiracy’.

“It is a gross violation of code of conduct. It was a deliberate attempt and misuse of official machinery to benefit the ruling BJP and its candidates,” a Congress leader reportedly claimed.

Given that the opposition leaders are making all kinds of accusations, especially about EVMs, if and when BJP wins, the state election commission has promised to ‘look into the matter’ if someone registers an official complaint. However, to pacify the outraged politicians on the spot, the officials removed the flowers painting drawn by some kid, so that the polling progresses without trouble.

adults thrust politics upon children
‘Controversial’ painting being removed from the nursery school wall as politicians objected. (Bhaskar photo)

One hopes that the painting was not thrown in a dustbin and school authorities have put it back on the wall, else the little kid will be too disappointed when he or she comes to school today to find the masterpiece missing.

Alert issued by Kerala police over alleged ISIS plot to poison Sabarimala pilgrims

0

The Thrissur Railway station in Kerala has been put on alert over the possibility of an ISIS terror plot, targeting the pilgrims travelling to the famous Sabarimala temple.

As per reports, the railway police based on an intelligence tip-off have signalled a plot to poison the potable water which is provided at the station. This tip-off is based on a letter sent to the station master K R Jayakumar by the railway station’s sub-inspector.

The station master has been advised to carry out a safety audit of the food and water provided to Sabarimala pilgrims and other commuters. He too has responded in kind by assuring that they are treating this issue with all seriousness and has stated that apart from regular checking, water tanks and food items would be properly inspected.

The state police chief Loknath Behera though, assured that there was no need to panic and asked the general public not to fall prey to spreading panic. As per Behera, a lot of threats are circulating on social media which claim to be from ISIS, all of which are being investigated by the police. During the course of the investigation they tend to alert the appropriate authorities, asking them to be vigilant.

A couple of weeks back, reports had emerged about a Malayali audio clip which called for a war against India and execution of lone wolf attacks on Indian festivals like Kumbh mela and Thirssur Pooram. This audio clip was possibly sent over Telegram messenger by Rashid Abdullah the former head of Kasaragod’s ISIS module who is currently with the Afghanistan unit of the Islamic. In this clip he is heard asking his fellow terrorists to poison food and use trucks to carry out terror attacks.

Such an alert comes after the July terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir which resulted in the deaths of 7 Amarnath pilgrims. This attack happened at about 8:30 in the night when terrorists targeted the patrol van accompanying the pilgrim carrying bus. This bus too was hit in the terrorist firing and caused the death of 7 devotees apart from injuring 12 others.

No Papal visit this year as Modi Government does not extend invitation to the Pope

0

The Pope is set to visit the subcontinent but visiting India would have to be given a miss since the Modi government has not extended an invitation. He is scheduled to visit Myanmar from November 27-30th and Bangladesh from November 30th to December 2nd.

It was reported that the Vatican had announced the Pope’s schedule in August. Catholic cardinalate and ecclesiastics and their associations in India were in touch with the Indian government for obtaining an invite, but they couldn’t get a commitment from the government.

It was during his flight from Baku, Azerbaijan to Rome, in 2016, that Pope Francis gave a press conference to the journalists aboard the papal plane. When Aura Vistas Miguel, a journalist from Radio Renascenca had asked the Pope about his visits to countries outside of Italy, the Pope had responded saying, “It’s sure that up until today that I’ll be going to Portugal and I’ll go only to Fatima. Up to today. Because there’s a problem. This Holy Year, the ad limina visits have been suspended. Next year, I have to do this year’s ad limina visits and next year’s. There’s little space for trips. But I’ll go to Portugal. And India and Bangladesh, almost for certain. In Africa, the place still isn’t sure”.

It is after this statement of the Pope that the consultations for his visit began in earnest. It is reported that the Archbishops and cardinals of Catholic associations like Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC), and CBCI, had formed delegations to meet then President Pranab Mukherjee and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to clear the dates of the visit. But other than meeting the Prime Minister, fruitful commitment regarding the dates of the Papal visits couldn’t be worked out.

The Vatican Radio in June 2017 had reported Cardinal Gracias saying that working with the Indian government to prepare the papal visit has been “a little bit of ‎a difficult situation” as Modi’s calendar has been filled up with state visits from other leaders.‎  ‎”We have to find a good spot where we can give the Holy Father his due importance and respect,” Card. Gracias ‎said.‎

Archbishop Thomas Macwan who had recently stirred a controversy by appealing to the people of Gujarat to ‘save the country from Nationalist forces’ in the upcoming assembly elections and later got an EC notice for the same reportedly said, “Of course, I’d be joyous if the Pope came to the country, but it is a decision to be taken by the government. Perhaps, the dates were not suitable for the government. But I’m confident the government will take a decision soon.”

Many people were of the opinion that the Archbishop’s letter had pointed towards a foreign government meddling in domestic affairs.

In a rather shocking and misplaced reaction, Bishop Mascarenhas said: “In this climate of vigilantism and murderous lynchings, the Pope would have come as a Messenger of Peace, bringing a salve to the people who are powerless in the face of the forces of hate and evil.”

Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, Secretary-General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the permanent association of Catholic bishops in India and which oversees all Catholic churches in the country, said, “It was with a heavy heart, we received the news that the Holy See cannot visit India. This is not vis-à-vis just Catholics in the country, a Holy Visit would have been a prestige for the whole country in the eyes of the world. It is indeed embarrassing that the Pope is coming to the neighbourhood, and visiting two smaller countries and not India. As an Indian, it hurts that the Pope will not be coming here. I hope it hurts all Indians, too.”

He added,“We are continuing with our backchannel talks and are confident that with the support of the government we can welcome Pope Francis in India by the middle of 2018.”

EC serves notice to Gandhinagar Archbishop who urged people to ‘save the country from Nationalist forces’

0

On 23rd, we reported the Gandhinagar Archbishops letter urging people to “save the country from Nationalist forces” in the upcoming Gujarat elections. It had drawn sharp reactions from most quarters. In fact, Savio Rodrigues, an ex senior Congress leader from Goa, had also written an open letter slamming the Archbishop for his regressive stand. This was also seen by many as the direct meddling of a foreign government, the Vatican, in our domestic affairs.

If media reports are to be believed, th Gandhinagar District Election Commission has served a notice to Archbishop Macwan seeking an explanation as to why his letter should not be treated as a breach of Model code of conduct.

Allegedly, the notice was sent after Legal Rights Observatory sought immediate action against the Archbishop arguing that his letter was an attempt to generate fear among the voters and divide the people on the basis of caste and creed ahead of Gujarat Assembly Elections.

Archbishop Macwan had attempted to defend his blatantly communal and divisive letter by saying :

“The letter has only been sent to the Christian community to pray. We can always pray for good humans to be elected as leaders. It has not been issued with any malicious intention to harm anyone.”

However, his defence didn’t move people as it drew criticism. He, in his letter, had said that the ‘nationalist forces are on the verge of taking over the country’ and that is why the Gujarat elections should aim to make a difference.

Responding to this plea of the archbishop and his disdain for ‘nationalists’, Savio Rodrigues had written :

By definition ‘A Nationalist’ is a person who wants their country to be politically independent. Is that so wrong?

Are you saying that we should continue to be slaves under the Portuguese like in Goa and British like in most parts of the country? Are you saying that the Independence we got from colonial powers was wrong and we should have continued to be slaves? Or are you (God forbid) saying that Anti-National should take over the country?

He had also movingly written :

There is no denial that there is an attempt to lay emphasis in restoring some of our Hindu culture, sciences and art that have been buried under mounds of invaders own interpretation of history. There is nothing wrong in that. If we celebrate Yoga Day in India and globally, we should be proud of it. Our roots are Vedic, irrespective what our religion today might be.

With this notice, we hope the Archbishop will not only explain himself, but refrain from initiating campaigns against ‘nationalist forces’.

Modi govt is apathetic to ‘core’ Hindu causes, but it may have sown seeds of Hindu renaissance

0

In a few days, Narendra Modi will complete three and a half years as Prime Minister of India. National and international leftist media has often painted him as a Hindu nationalist. However, apart from his intermittent public displays of personal religiosity, neither he nor any of his government colleagues has paid even a lip-service in favour of the Hindu cause.

On the other hand, sectarian schemes designed specifically to benefit only the non-Hindu population of the country initiated during the previous regime, such as scholarships, monetary gifts during weddings, etc., have continued unabated. Absence of demonstrable intent from Modi and his government to resolve any of the long pending demands of the Hindu community such as control over temples, freedom to run educational institutions, equal rights to propagate religion and non-interference of state in cultural matters has led to disenchantment in a section of the coalition that powered his march to New Delhi in 2014.

But if one moves away from emotion and assesses things objectively, it’ll be clear that we are living through a period of enduring transformation when seeds are being sown for a lasting Hindu renaissance in this country.

As much as we may hate it, there is no denying the fact that at this time point, a vast majority of Hindus in India do not have the option of being distracted by who controls the temples or whether you can burst crackers during Diwali.

I use the word “distracted” consciously. When you are preoccupied with being able to feed, clothe, shelter your family, afford water and electricity or put your kids through school, worrying about temples or festivals will seem a distraction. When you have to fight for every morsel, that is all you have the time for. What do you care for the survival of a civilization when your own survival is not guaranteed?

This is more so if you are born into a non-dogmatic religion that doesn’t require the you pray to, or even believe in, god. The leftists deciphered this very early into independence. They came up with the socialist planning to ensure that the cronies prospered while the masses continued to slog through their impoverished existence. To create a mirage of light at the end of tunnel, empty slogans like garibi-hatao (poverty eradication) were thrown around. This kept the Hindu masses distracted with hope of a better life; meanwhile they continued with enforcing their agenda – of destroying every institution that would remind Hindus of their civilizational glory and instill a sense of self-respect.

What Modi has been doing in these three and a half years is an attempt at undoing the leftist machinations of the last 7 decades. He is now laying the foundation for a glorious Hindu future that can not only resist social and political challenges but also withstand the test of time. He is creating an economic structure that will free the Hindu mind from being distracted with the fight for daily survival.

Be it the eradication of corruption, the tax reforms, the direct transfer of state benefits, promoting native manufacturing, every action of his government is aimed at creating an environment of economic security for the citizens. Once freed from the burden of securing one’s survival, the Hindu mind will certainly turn to securing matters of civilizational importance (I hope!).

Once our society reaches that stage, we will by default exert our power of numbers over politicians. We will not need to beg the political establishment for help. We will fund our own NGOs and supportive media outlets and mount legal battles. Once we start asserting ourselves, the establishment will bow and bend to our wishes.

Does that sound incredible?

Don’t take my word; just look at how the politicians from Congress party are bending over backwards to please the Rajput community over the issue of Padmavati movie. These fellows are naturally programmed to support anyone denigrating the Hindu history. But the current election in Gujarat and the upcoming one in Rajasthan have forced them to feign a respect for the Rajput history.

That is what Modi’s steps to eliminate corruption and formalize economy will do; instill economic security and free the Hindu mind to think about the larger issues of society, civilization and culture. An assertive Hindu society that is prepared to fight for respect and dignity will force a change in the establishment’s attitude.

I do concede that this might all be wishful thinking. Ensuring legal parity for Hindus and protecting the dignity of Hindu institutions may not be anywhere on Modi’s agenda. His attitude towards these issues could even be similar to that of the ‘sickular’ Congress politicians. However, there is no doubt that, by design or as an incidental consequence, Narendra Modi’s governance agenda will lead to a lasting Hindu renaissance in this country. And that is the reason I will continue to support and vote for Modi despite his inaction in ensuring constitutional equality for Hindus in India.

Niti Ayog clarifies over partnering with NDTV, but with half-truth

0

After various people expressed anger and disappointment over controversial news channel NDTV appearing as a ‘media partner’ at an event hosted by NITI Ayog, the policy think-tank of the government of India clarified that the news channel was not the media partner for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit – an event that NITI Ayog is hosting in partnership with the government of United States of America.


As it turns out, NDTV is the media partner of ‘Shuruaat Bus’, which features as one the various events taking place under the aegis of Global Entrepreneurship Summit. ‘Shuruaat Bus’ is an initiative led the Global Education & Leadership Foundation (tGELF), which is not a government entity. However, NITI Ayog is a partner in this initiative, which is being showcased in Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

NITI is partnering in this initiative through its arm named AIM (Atal Innovation Mission), which also took to Twitter to clarify about NDTV not being a media partner for the parent event.


So, while NITI Ayog is technically correct that NDTV is not the media partner of Global Entrepreneurship Summit, its arm AIM in partnership with tGELF had chosen NDTV as a media partner for another event, which is part of Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

This did not go down well with the disappointed users, who thought NDTV must have been entirely avoided by any government entity, even if present as a partner in another entity, owing to the tax evasion charges on the channel’s promoters and other controversies surrounding the news channel.

The fact that an arm of NITI Ayog did partner with NDTV for a smaller event – which is part of the larger event about which clarification was issued – was not a ‘lesser crime’ for many users:


What further irked and angered users was the fact that presence of NDTV as media partner was advertised along with NITI Ayog’s logo, which has the government of India emblem. This was not deemed appropriate by many users, as the channel is under taxmen’s scrutiny; the presence of sovereign emblem alongside NDTV’s name could be seen as giving the channel legitimacy by the same government that suspects it of wrongdoings:


Niti Ayog or AIM have not issued any further clarification or justification over NDTV being a media partner for this smaller event, which will be showcased at Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

Anger on social media as NDTV is named media partner for an event hosted by Niti Aayog

0

NITI Aayog, in partnership with the Government of the United States of America, is hosting the eighth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit from November 28-30, 2017. This is the first time the Global Entrepreneurship Summit is being held in South Asia.

The event hopes to empower Indian entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build partnerships, secure funding, and create innovative products and services that will transform societies for a better future. The event, to be held in Hyderabad, will be addressed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. The US delegation will be led by Ms. Ivanka Trump, Advisor to President Trump.

While the event has very noble intentions, social media users were irked by the presence of the name of one entity in the list of partners. Veteran journalist Kanchan Gupta pointed out that of all the media houses possible, NDTV had been named as the media partner, for the event, which is being co-hosted by the Niti Aayog:


The same NDTV whose anchors are know to conduct debates entirely based on fake news, when the news is anti-Government. The same NDTV whose promoters are under the lens of the IT Department for tax fraud. The same NDTV which launched an attack on the Government, when the CBI raided its founders for investigation tax fraud. The same NDTV which itself is under scrutiny of the Income Tax Department for concealing income.

The same NDTV which had recently published a hit-job on Jay Amit Shah, which was taken down and never came back again, due to “legal vetting issues”. The same NDTV which earned a ban from the Government for irresponsible coverage of the Pathankot incident. The same NDTV which refused to apologize for this “error”. The same NDTV which doubles up as NGO to block development projects via the NGT.

Since alert social media users knew about NDTV’s infamous past, they lashed out at the Government for this partnership:


Another user pointed out the futility in partnering with NDTV, which has a dwindling TRP share:


This is not for the first time that people have been angered over a government department or agency collaborating with NDTV. Earlier in May 2016, similar sentiments were witnessed when Ministry of Textiles had announced a partnership with NDTV for promotion of handloom products:


However, the Ministry of Textiles cancelled the partnership with NDTV a few weeks after the social media outrage. The same was confirmed after our columnist Ashutosh Muglikar had sought information through RTI.

It remains to be seen if the latest outrage and anger could also result in some corrective steps taken by the government.