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Archives for April 2019

Rahul to file nomination papers for Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on Apr 4

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Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 2 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Kerala on Wednesday to file his nomination papers for Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on Thursday.

Mr Gandhi will reach Kozhikode on Wednesday evening and file his nomination on April 4, party sources here said.

Congress Senior leaders including AICC General secretaries Oommen Chandy, KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, IUML leader Kunhalikutty, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC President Mullappally Ramachandran will also accompany the AICC President during his visit to Kozhikode and Wayanad.

Agencies

Will Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s nomination be rejected?

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Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh has accused an EC official of ‘tampering’ with the process of scrutinising Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s nomination papers.

On Sunday, independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh accused Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and the district administration of working in favour of the former’s son and JD(S)’s Mandya candidate, Nikhil Kumaraswamy. Two days after Nikhil filed his nomination on March 25, Sumalatha’s polling agent MA Madan Kumar submitted an objection – a written complaint – to the Returning Officer (RO) and Mandya Deputy Commissioner N Manjushree and general observer Ranjeet Kumar J, pointing out the discrepancies in his nomination papers. According to norms, the RO is supposed to pass an order on such an objection. However, Sumalatha said no orders have been passed in this regard.

Since the scrutiny of nominations began on March 27, several controversial questions regarding Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s nomination have been raised. Now, a series of allegations and counter-allegations have resulted in massive speculations that Nikhil’s nomination may be rejected.

Were there technical errors in Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s nomination papers? Did the Returning Officer (RO) of Mandya and the Election Commission officials tamper with the process of scrutinising his nomination papers?

The last date for filing nomination papers for Lok Sabha elections, or making any changes to it, was March 26 for the first phase of polling in Karnataka.

A day before, on March 25, amidst much fanfare, Nikhil Kumaraswamy submitted his nomination papers to the Deputy Commissioner of Mandya, N Manjushree, at 2.43 pm.

On March 27, the Returning Officer, who is also the Mandya Deputy Commissioner (DC), took up the scrutiny of all nomination papers filed for the Mandya segment. This was done in the presence of election general observers Ranjeeth Kumar J and Rani Nagar at 11.50 am.

On March 27, Manjushree stated that Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s nomination papers were in order.

However, Sumalatha’s polling agent MA Madan Kumar claimed otherwise. On the same day, he submitted a written complaint to Manjushree and Ranjeeth, claiming that the four sets of nomination papers filed by Nikhil Kumaraswamy on March 25 were not in order. Madan stated that Nikhil had not filled in all the columns on his Form 26 (election affidavit).

Madan Kumar then stated that CCTV footage from the DC’s office will show that two days after the last date for filing nominations was over, Nikhil Kumaraswamy submitted a fresh Form 26 on March 27 at 10.20 am.

“Nikhil submitted fresh papers an hour before the scrutiny process begins. I complained to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on March 27, stating that the RO (Manjushree) accepted the nomination papers despite the objection I filed,” Madan told media.

Sumalatha too stepped up the attack against the RO. During an election rally on March 28, Sumalatha accused Manjushree of violating the rules to help Nikhil. She claimed that JD(S) leaders in Mandya, including CM HD Kumaraswamy, were pressurising Manjushree.

On March 29, Manjushree held a press conference in Mandya to counter Sumalatha’s allegations. She said she had followed due process and had not indulged in any illegal activity.

According to Madan, the CCTV footage at Manjushree’s office had recorded Nikhil filing his nomination again, which is against the rules.

“After Manjushree’s press conference, I released a video of the scrutiny of nomination papers. The footage that the DC office gave us as proof that nothing was done wrong was tampered with. You can see the date stamps for yourself and find what went wrong,” Madan added.

On Saturday, the Election Commission of India directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, Sanjiv Kumar to look into the matter. Sanjiv Kumar held talks with officials of the Mandya district administration. Sanjiv Kumar later told the media that since the nomination papers were accepted by the RO, the EC could not intervene in the issue.

On Sunday, Sumalatha accused general observer Ranjeeth Kumar of colluding with the JD(S).  Then, the Mysuru regional commissioner, TK Anil Kumar, was brought in by the ECI to conduct a probe into the accusations of procedural lapses by the Mandya Deputy Commissioner Manjushree.

According to an Election Commission officer, the last date for scrutinising nomination papers for phase 2 of the elections was on March 29 and hence, it is unlikely that Nikhil’s nomination would be rejected now. “Sumalatha can approach the court but she has indicated that she will not do so,” the EC official added.

Meanwhile, Mysuru regional commissioner TK Anil Kumar, acting on a direction from the Election Commission of India, has initiated an inquiry into Sumalatha’s charges. Madan stated that he has recorded the claims of both parties.

“He took my statement and also Manjushree’s and said he would submit the report to the ECI. I have also spoken about how the DC office tampered with the CCTV footage and I have submitted a copy of it to Anil Kumar. He said he will submit it to the ECI and that we would have to wait till EC makes a decision,” Madan added.

Agencies

A Notorious House Thief nabbed Rs 40 lakhs worth stolen Gold and silver ornaments

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Bengaluru, Apr 2 : Police have nabbed a notorious House Thief and recovered from him Rs 40 lakhs worth stolen Gold ornaments and Silver articles in the City recently.
South East Police in a release here on Tuesday said that the arrested was identified as 32 year-old Prakash.
The arrested was involved in 8 house theft cases reported in various Extensions in the City. The stolen articles recovered from him included 1 kg 216 gram Gold ornaments, 1 kg 800 gram Silver articles.
Suddaguntepalya Police have registered a case and investigating

Children of slain journalist Khashoggi to get paid by Riyadh

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Riyadh, Apr 2 : The four children of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the US-based Saudi Arabian dissident and contributing columnist for The Washington Post, receive each month at least $10,000 apiece from Saudi authorities in the wake of their father’s murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year, and have also been given estates in the kingdom worth millions more,officials said on Tuesday.

According to Saudi officials, Khashoggi’s children ? two sons and two daughters ? were presented with houses in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, worth around $4 million each, adding that the estates were likely to be later put on sale.

Moreover, the officials believe that each of Khashoggi’s children may additionally receive tens of millions of dollars as compensation after the trial on their father’s suspected murderers.

Some of the officials said that the payments were partially aimed at making sure that the journalist’s family would continue to avoid making harsh comments against Saudi Arabia following the tragedy.

Another official, however, refuted the idea, saying that it was a common practice in the kingdom to financially help the families of victims of violent crimes.

A former Saudi official also said that the payments to Khashoggi’s children were a way of acknowledging that “a big injustice has been done.”

Khashoggi, who was a well-known critic of Saudi policies, went missing last October after he entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey’s Istanbul.

Agencies

Prime Minister Modi’s divisive, irresponsible speech unlikely to invite EC’s censure

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He has been let off time and again by the Election Commission even after making reckless and irresponsible speeches. Why should it be different this time ?

The Election Commission of India has been extraordinarily lenient with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Despite repeatedly violating the Model Code of Conduct, the PM has got away so far without a warning or a censure from the Commission.

And although the Prime Minister on Monday invoked the word ‘Hindu’ over a dozen times in his address at a public meeting at Wardha (Maharashtra) and accused the Congress of being anti-Hindu and pro-Pakistan, he is unlikely to be pulled up by the Election Commission.

The Election Commission of course can only issue warnings and censure political leaders violating the Model Code of Conduct or vitiating the electoral process. As former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi explained on TV, the Commission can only invoke its ‘moral force’ in case of violations. But a warning to none else than the Prime Minister of India should have a salutary effect and restrain not just him but other political leaders reducing the election campaign to a mud bout in a pig sty.

The MCC says, “No party/candidate shall indulge in any activity which may aggravate existing differences/create mutual hatred/cause tension between different castes & communities, religious/linguistic, there shall be no appeal to caste/communal feelings for securing votes”.

But Modi got away by alleging that more land was being given to bury the Muslims than to cremate the Hindus ( Kabristan vs Shamshan) during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. During the same campaign, he alleged that more electricity supply was being maintained by the state government during Muslim festivals than during Hindu festivals ( Eid vs Diwali).

Then during the Gujarat Assembly election, the Prime Minister made the outrageous claim that the Congress was conspiring with Pakistan to install a Muslim, Ahmed Patel, as chief minister of the state. Even more preposterous was his allegation that former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and former Army Chief Deepak Kapoor had met Pakistan’s High Commissioner and a visiting former Foreign secretary of Pakistan at a private dinner in the house of former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer. The PM, making the sensational allegation the morning after the private dinner, alleged that this amounted to treason.

He is yet to apologise for the reckless comment. It was left to Arun Jaitley to offer some kind of explanation in parliament to mollify the opposition.

And now the Prime Minister is at what he apparently does best, inflaming passions on communal lines, invoking ‘Hindu’ anger and seeking to ‘punish’ the previous government and the previous ruling party for allegedly insulting Hindus by coining the term, “saffron terror”.

The Prime Minister’s ‘minority phobia’ is worrying and raises questions about his mental health, if not his conduct that is unbecoming of the office he holds. With the Election Commission of India turning a benign eye to his several transgressions, it is unlikely that he will be pulled up even now. And one can only dread what he is going to say next in the coming six weeks of campaigning.

Former diplomat K.C. Singh summed up the sentiment of many when he tweeted:

“Regrettably one thought PM Modi’s brush with prime ministerial power, serial hugging of Muslim Gulf Sheikhs & Christian western leaders, his pre-2014 bigotry would pass. Instead from BIGOT he’s now free flowing communal SPIGOT.”

While others quibbled over the demographic divide in Wayanad, from where the Congress President Rahul Gandhi will be contesting, others wondered if it behoved the Prime Minister to speak in terms of religious divisions.

Some Twitter users pointed out that Hindus are in a minority in Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and in several states in the North-East. Should that make a difference in elections ?

Agencies

New Zealand’s new gun law passes 1st reading

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Wellington, Apr 2 (Xinhua) A new gun law following the Christchurch shootings on March 15 has passed its first reading in New Zealand’s parliament on Tuesday.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the morning after the shootings that gun laws must change.
New Zealand’s Police Minister Stuart Nash said the attacks in Christchurch exposed the considerable weaknesses in New Zealand’s current firearms law.
The most critical weakness in the firearms law is that too many people have legal access to too many semi-automatic firearms capable of causing significant harm, he said.
“We are driven by one objective. We are driven by the need to ensure public safety is as strong as it can be. We are also driven by the memory of fifty men, women and children who were taken from their loved ones on March 15. Their memory is our responsibility. We don’t ever want to see an attack like this in our country again. We are compelled to act quickly,” said Nash.
New Zealand’s current firearms legislation came into force 35 years ago. It dates from the 1980s, a time when the country was more isolated from the rest of the world, he said. There were strong import controls and no internet market place or social media.
“Since this time, firearms technology has shifted, the weapons market has become global and there are a significant online community and trading environment. To bring the firearms legislation more up-to-date and substantially reduce loopholes and risk, major change is needed. This Bill takes the first steps to modernize the Act,” said Nash.
The new gun law seeks to essentially ban all semi-automatic weapons. However, it is important to reiterate that the legislation is not directed at law-abiding firearms owners who have legitimate uses for their guns.
“Our actions are instead directed at making sure March 15 never happens again. Semi-automatic firearms which are commonly used for hunting, pest control, stock management on farms, and duck shooting will not be affected,” said Nash.
Meanwhile, the government will implement a buyback scheme for the newly banned firearms which are surrendered.
The government is currently working on the details of the buyback scheme and will make announcements shortly.
Arden said, “The cost of the buyback scheme would cost around 100 to 200 million New Zealand dollars.”
“We recognize it is a substantial amount of money but we are committed to doing this. We will find the money to do this because it’s about making New Zealanders safe. We will remove these guns from our communities,” said Nash.

Agencies

8 Devotees sustain burn injuries while walking barefoot on burning charcoal as part of temple ritual

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Ramanagara, Karnataka, Apr 2 : More than eight devotees, including a boy, sustained burn injuries when they were participating in a ritual of walking barefoot on burning charcoal in a temple in Magadi taluk in the district.
According to official sources, the devotees were participating in the ritual of crossing the burning charcoal pit in Kudur Lakshmi temple last night.
About 56 devotees had participated in the temple ritual.
All the injured were rushed to the Victory Hospital in Bengaluru, immediately after the incident.
Agencies

Imran wants written consultation with Shahbaz on appointment of two ECP members

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Islamabad, Apr 2 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has finally written a letter to opposition leader and president of the Pakistan Muslim League PML-(N) Shahbaz Sharif on the appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), asking him to suggest names in writing.

In a four-page letter, PM Khan has rejected all the objections raised by Mr Sharif in his previous letter over the ongoing consultation process through nominees and has also refuted the allegation that the government is in violation of the Constitution due to the delay in the finalisation of the names of the ECP members from Balochistan and Sindh, Dawn reported.

The language of the letter shows that Mr Khan still does not desire a face-to-face meeting with Mr Sharif; he has quoted a number of examples from the earlier court decisions and even a Quranic verse from Surah Baqrah in support of his argument that the consultation could be and should be done in writing.

?Written consultation is surely preferred,? writes Mr Khan in the letter. ?I again stress your good self to participate in the consultative process by giving your views in writing. In case you do not participate in the consultative process, the people of Pakistan and myself shall have no other option but to presume that you are evading the legal process, in which event further rights shall be reserved,? writes Mr Khan, without further elaboration.

In response to a letter written to him by Mr Khan’s secretary Azam Khan on March 26, Mr Sharif had opposed the prime minister’s act of consulting with him on the appointment of ECP members through nominees and termed the delay in filling the two vacancies a violation of the Constitution.

Mr Sharif, through a letter, had also conveyed his reservations over the delay in the appointment of the ECP members due to the apparent reluctance of the prime minister to hold a direct consultation with him. In that letter, he had suggested that three nominations each for the vacant posts of ECP members were against the intent and spirit of the Constitution.

To give Rahul befitting fight in Wayanad, BJP reposes faith in ally BDJS

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New Delhi, Apr 1 : BJP chief Amit Shah on Monday announced that NDA constituent leader Thushar Vellappally, president of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), will be their nominee against Congress president Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad in Kerala.

The BDJS is a political party formed by leaders of influential but economically backward Ezhava community aiming to make inroads into Kerala’s bipolar political space, which was dominated by either Congress led UDF or CPI-M led LDF.

Set up by the social organisation Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, the BDJS in largely seen as the third front in the state.

“I proudly announce Thushar Vellappally, President of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena as NDA candidate from Wayanad,” BJP chief Amit Shah tweeted.

Mr Shah also wrote: “A vibrant and dynamic youth leader, he represents our commitment towards development and social justice. With him, NDA will emerge as Kerala’s political alternative”.

On Sunday, the Congress announced that Mr Gandhi, who is also contesting from Amethi in UP, will make Wayanad his second constituency.

Interacting with a private TV Channel on Sunday, BJP chief Mr Shah also has said: “I am not saying Rahul Gandhiji is moving to Kerala because of he faces a tough fight in Amethi this time, but this is the fact”.

In 2009 and 2014, Congress leader M I Shanavas had won the seat defeating CPI nominees on both the occasions.

The seat fell vacant in November owing to the death of Shanavas on November 21, 2018.

Nilambur, Wandoor and Eranad assembly segments under the Wayanad constituency have a sizable Muslim population.

The Muslim League also has strong presence. Another assembly segment Thiruvambady has almost equal number of Christian and Muslim population, say locals.

Among the Left partners, the Wayanad seat went to CPI and the party has already named P P Suneer, a state CPI executive member as the candidate. CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy has announced that the party will not withdraw candidate in favour of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and will fight the election with full might.

Thushar Vellappally was earlier named as candidate from Thrissur but the new decision was taken in the wake of Mr Gandhi contesting from Wayanad.

In the last few years, BJP Chief Amit Shah worked hard with leaders of state and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) who took up the cause of Ezhava community.

In fact, the coming together of SNDP and BJP had in 2015-16 had unnerved both UDF and LDF leaders and even some case were slapped on SNDP.

BJP sources said here while Kerala Congress president V M Sudheeran had sought legal action alleging against the organisation for trying to divide society along religious lines, CPI(M) veteran VS Achuthanandan had filed a vigilance complaint seeking a probe into alleged irregularities of Rs 15 crore in the micro-finance scheme of SNDP.

Agencies

Money laundering case: First round to Robert Vadra

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New Delhi, Apr 1 : Special Judge Arvind Kumar on Monday granted anticipatory bail to Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in a case registered by the Directorate of Enforcement under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
ED had made allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property, which is allegedly owned by Mr Vadra, located at 12, Bryanston Square worth 1.9 million pounds.
Counsel for Mr Vadra submitted in the bail application that he was a law-abiding citizen and had appeared before the investigating agency as and when called.
ED had alleged that Manoj Arora, an employee of Mr Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality LLP, was a key person in the case as he was aware of his overseas undeclared assets and was instrumental in arranging funds.
Mr Arora, the ED submitted, arranged funds for Mr Vadra’s undeclared assets overseas and proceeds of crime were used to channel funds from the United Arab Emirates.
Ramifications
A First Information Report was lodged against Mr Vadra and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the month of September last year for alleged irregularities in land deals in Gurugram at Haryana. Mr Vadra had faced allegations that his company, Skylight Hospitality, sold 3.5 acres of land in 2008 in Shikohpur village to realty major DLF at a rate much higher than the prevailing rate. Questions had also been raised over the purchase and subsequent sale of land by the company in Bikaner, Rajasthan, at a significant premium through a maze of transactions.
The business premises linked to Mr Vadra’s associates were raided during the probe and ED had asked him to be present for questioning in the alleged money laundering case.
Directorate of Enforcement submitted that the money laundering charge was lodged against Arora after his role came up during the probe of another case by the Income Tax Department involving absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari under the provisions of a new law against black money and tax evasion.
ED side
ED had earlier submitted that Mr Vadra was not cooperating with the investigating agency so his custodial interrogation was required. Counsel for ED further submitted that it has information about various new properties in London which allegedly belong to Mr Vadra, including two houses of five and four million pounds each, six other flats and more properties.
Special Judge Kumar directed the ED to provide Mr Vadra all the documents seized from his office. Mr Vadra’s counsel had submitted that without providing the documents he has been questioned by the Investigating Agency.
The Judge passed an order to grant bail to Messrs Arora and Vadra with furnishing a surety bond of Rs 5 lac and a surety of the same amount. The court further directed them not to leave the country without its permission or not tamper with the evidence.

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