by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Satyendar Jain
New Delhi : The Union Home Ministry on Thursday granted sanction to prosecute Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain in a disproportionate assets case registered by the CBI in 2017, triggering an angry response from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Jain is accused of floating several shell companies in Delhi including Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd and Manglayatan Projects Pvt Ltd during 2009-10 and 2010-11 for alleged money laundering.
“These shell companies do not have any real business. Satyendar Jain had laundered black money of Rs 16.39 crore during 2010-11 to 2015-16 through 54 shell companies of three hawala entry operators of Kolkata namely Jeevendra Mishra, Abhishek Chokhani and Rajendra Bansal,” said an official in the Home Ministry.
Jain, who holds seven portfolios including Health, Home and Public Works Department, has denied the allegations, saying the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) action is politically motivated.
Kejriwal criticised the Centre’s move, saying the BJP’s decision to registered the case amounted to an attack on people residing in unauthorised colonies.
“Satyendra Jain made the scheme to regularise unauthorised colonies. The Center did not pass it, instead registered a case against him. The BJP is strictly against the move to regularise unauthorised colonies. The BJP is the enemy of Delhiites,” he tweeted, calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi “harmful for Delhi”.
The CBI initiated a probe against him in April 2017 and registered a FIR on August 24 this year.
Besides Satyendar Jain, the CBI has named his wife Poonam, his alleged associates Ajit Prasad Jain, Vaibhav Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain and Ankush Jain as accused in the case.
“After laundering of unaccounted cash and receipt of equivalent in amounts in cheques through hawala entry operator and by using black money in the form of unaccounted cash, more than 200 bigha of agricultural land were purchased in names of companies controlled by Satyendar Jain in the vicinity of unorganized colonies located at Karala, Auchandi, Nizampur and Budhan areas in Delhi’s North and North-West areas during last five years,” said the official.
The official claimed that the Delhi Minister, after being prosecuted by the Income Tax Department, surrendered Rs 16.39 crore of “black money”, which was laundered using Kolkata-based shell companies for purchasing 200 bigha land under Income Disclosure Scheme 2016 on benami names of Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.
On enquiry, it was found that Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain were in no way connected with the four shell companies floated by Satyendar Jain, said the official, claiming that Kolkata-based hawala entry operators also told the Income Tax department that the money laundering was done on the instruction of the Delhi Minister.
“Since Satyendar Jain has declared unaccounted income of Rs 16.39 crore in benami names and tax was paid on this amount, separate proceedings under Benami Property Transaction Act have been initiated. These proceedings are presently pending before the Income Tax Department.”
The re-assessment proceedings referred to cases have detected hawala transactions and instances of unaccounted cash payments in purchase of land, said the official.
The official said that Satyendar Jain had admitted in a writ petition in the Delhi High Court that black money totalling Rs 16.39 crore was actually laundered using shell companies controlled by three hawala entry operators of Kolkata.
“The efforts of the AAP government to regularize unauthorized colonies during its first tenure from December 28, 2013 to February 14, 2014 and present tenure is linked with the investment in agricultural land by Satyendar Jain. The proposed regularization of unauthorized colonies will convert these agricultural lands into residential and commercial land which will provide huge returns on the investment by the Minister,” the official claimed.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that the Congress has scored a self-goal by dragging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parents into the election campaign. The BJP will be glad to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections if the Congress made it a contest between the “son of lesser known parents” and “someone who is known only for parentage rather than merit and competence,” he said.
In an article `What was the name of Sardar Patel’s Father’ on BJP’s website, he targeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi and said the weakness of dynastic parties is that their strength is co-existent with the strength of the present generation of the dynasty.
He sought to tear into the Congress by referring to the remarks of party leader Raj Babbar, who had talked of age of Modi’s mother in connection with the falling value of rupee, and to comments of another leader Vilas Muttemwar, who had said that nobody knew the name of Modi’s father.
“The debate whether India should be a dynastic democracy has been ignited by a self-goal of the Congress Party. The Prime Minister’s mother’s age was made a subject matter of the electoral debate. His father’s anonymity was commented upon as an inadequate credential of the Prime Minister. The argument given was that if you represent the legacy of a well-known family, it is a political point in your favour,” Jaitley said.
The BJP leader said Congress considers only a great surname as a political brand. “Millions of talented political workers who come from modest family backgrounds would fail by the Congress test of leadership. Merit, talent, ability to inspire and lead would not be a virtue.”
Jaitley said he asked his well-informed friends if they knew the name of Mahatma Gandhi’s father or Sardar Patel’s father or wife but none of them had a definitive answer.
Referring to contributions of Gandhi and Patel, he said no photograph of Patel’s wife or her details are available even after extensive research by modern day historians.
“The reason is simple. Decades of Congress rule, naming colonies, localities, cities, bridges, airports, railway stations, schools, colleges, universities, stadiums after one family was intended to declare the ‘Gandhis’ as India’s royalty.”
Jaitley said that after Sardar Patel’s death in Mumbai, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru requested many of his cabinet colleagues that the best tribute to the Sardar would be to work on the day of his funeral and not go to Mumbai but the then Head of State and several union ministers defied the advice.
“The proposal for building his statue at Vijay Chowk was rejected. The country had to be satisfied with the installation of his statue at a traffic round-about on Parliament Street,” he said.
The BJP leader said many believe Sardar Patel was a farmer leader because of his participation in Bardoli Satyagraha but he was one of Ahmedabad’s most successful practising barristers.
“Panditji is passed off as a great lawyer though he never argued a single case in his entire career. He only went to court once for reasons of tokenism to sit behind senior lawyers led by Bholabhai Desai, who was arguing for the three INA officers in the mutiny trial inside the Red Fort,” Jaitley said.
The BJP leader said that dangers of officially glamourising one family at the cost of those who made a far greater contribution is dangerous both for the nation as also for the party to which they belong.
“The contribution of other great stalwarts like Patel and Subhash Chandra Bose is downplayed. Members of one family are projected as larger than life. The party adopts them as its ideology.”
He alleged that Nehru promoted Indira Gandhi as his successor and laid the foundation of India as a dynastic democracy.
He said when Sikhs were massacred in 1984, “communal polarisation against them was considered a legitimate electoral strategy.”
“Today anti-BJPism leads the Congress to a situation where it can tie up even with its political rivals and sympathise with the Maoists, separatists and disruptionists.”
He said the real strength of Indian democracy would be when the charismas of some families is completely shattered and parties, through a democratic process, throw up leaders of merit and competence.
“This was more than adequately proved in 2014 where most dynastic parties lost miserably. India of 2019 is different from India of 1971. If the Congress Party wants the 2019 elections to be between Prime Minister Modi, who is the son of lesser known parents and someone who is known only for his parentage rather than capacity, merit and competence, the BJP would gladly accept the challenge. Let this be the agenda for 2019.”
Modi had also targeted the Congress over its leaders referring to his parents during elections and said in one of his rallies that his father had passed away 30 years ago.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Lucknow : BSP chief Mayawati on Friday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the “painful and forced” demonetization he ordered two years back.
In a statement, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that so far none of the benefits propagated by Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in justification of the note ban had come true.
“Facts and data prove that the nation and its people have suffered the hasty decision of demonetization and that like its other poll promises this too was a bundle of lie,” Mayawati said.
She charged the Prime Minister and the BJP with breaking the spine of the honest and hard working people and creating joblessness while helping their favourites in turning black money into white.
The BJP acquired massive property in the run up to the demonetization, Mayawati said.
A party which took power in 2014 with the promise of ‘acche din’ (good days) has done nothing for people’s welfare, farmers and the poor, she pointed out.
She termed the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes ordered in November 2016 a result of the “ego and dictatorial attitude of a single man” — referring obviously to Modi.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, News, Politics
New Delhi : With nuclear-capable submarine INS Arihant successfully completing its deterrence patrol, India on Monday completed its nuclear triad as it achieved nuclear strike capabilities in air, land and sea.
Congratulating the crew of Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine (SSBN) INS Arihant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s new capability was a “fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail”.
“Today is historic because it marks the completing of the successful establishment of the nuclear triad. India’s nuclear triad will be an important pillar of global peace and stability,” Modi tweeted.
“The success of INS Arihant enhances India’s security needs. It is a major achievement for our entire nation. In an era such as this, a credible nuclear deterrence is the need of the hour.
He said the successful completion of its deterrence patrol “gives a fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail”.
He said INS Arihant will “contribute” to the atmosphere of peace in the region.
“India is a land of peace. Values of togetherness are enshrined in our culture. Peace is our strength, not our weakness. Our nuclear programme must be seen with regard to India’s efforts to further world peace and stability,” Modi said.
The 6,000 tonne Arihant was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre at Visakhapatnam.
Launched on July 26, 2009 by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the submarine was commissioned in August 2016 after a series of extensive sea trials.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday took a dig at the BJP for promising statues and temples ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, after failing to fulfil its earlier poll promises of development and jobs.
“At the beginning of five years, the promise is for development, jobs and money in every citizen’s bank account,” the Congress veteran tweeted.
“Nothing achieved, at the end of five years, the new promise is for grand temples, giant statues and doles,” he said as he reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his earlier promises of vikas (development), providing two crore jobs annually and bringing back black money stashed in foreign tax havens and filling up the poor man’s coffer with Rs 15 lakh each.
Chidambaram’s latest jibe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party comes at a time when the saffron brigade has been raising the pitch for the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.
—IANS
