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Demonetisation anniversary: Congress tears into Modi

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 Ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “knowledge of economics”, the Congress on Thursday ripped into him for the “reckless” decision of demonetisation that it said wrecked the economy and consumed many lives.

On the second anniversary of the Modi’s 2016 decision to ban Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, the Congress launched a campaign “Destruction by Demonetisation” highlighting the havoc caused by the move and how it was a complete failure.

The party will also hold a nationwide protest on Friday.

A host of party leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came out in stringent criticism of demonetisation.

Calling it an “ill-fated” and “ill-thought” exercise, Singh said the scars and wounds of the decision were only getting more visible with time and its deeper ramifications were still unravelling.

He asked the government not to indulge in any further unorthodox, short-term economic measures that could cause more uncertainty in the economy and financial markets.

Singh said November 8 was a day to remember how economic misadventures can roil the nation for a long time and asked the government to restore certainty and visibility in economic policies.

“Today marks the second anniversary of the ill-fated and ill-thought demonetisation… The havoc that it unleashed on the Indian economy and society is now evident to everyone.

“It is often said that time is a great healer. But unfortunately, in the case of demonetisation, the scars and wounds of demonetisation are only getting more visible with time,” he said in a statement.

Singh said that beyond the steep drop in headline GDP growth numbers after demonetisation, the deeper ramifications of note ban were still unravelling.

“Small and medium businesses that are the cornerstone of India’s economy are yet to recover from the demonetisation shock,” he added.

“Notebandi (note ban) impacted every single person, regardless of age, gender, religion, occupation or creed.”

Addressing the media, former union minister and Congress leader Anand Sharma held Modi solely responsible for the note ban and called it a money laundering scheme that helped the BJP and its industrialist cronies.

“It was an arbitrary and reckless decision that led to economic disaster and misery, deaths of large number of citizens, loss of millions of jobs and wiping out of small traders and businesses,” said Sharma.

“The PM will never oblige with answer either to the media or Parliament. He is less than literate in economics and less knowledgeable in history. So he makes his own history and his own economics. He thinks he is wiser then (John Maynard) Keynes when it comes to economics because no PM in the world would do what he has done,” he said.

Sharma also said that Modi’s claims that the Indian economy was running on black money tarnished the country’s image globally.

The Congress leader also ridiculed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who on the day sought to justify demonetisation saying it was aimed at “formalising the economy”.

“The Finance Minister should stay away from defending the decision as he was never consulted before when it was taken. His defences are an insult to the people of the nation who suffered countless miseries.

Never before a finance minister has been reduced to an apologist of an arrogant Prime Minister,” said Sharma dismissing Jaitley’s arguments in support of demonetisation.

IANS

Pak seizes Indian and other DTH worth Rs 7.83 cr in nation-wide crackdown

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Pakistan authorities have seized smuggled Indian and other Direct-To-Home (DTH) equipment worth Rs 7.83 crore from various markets in a nation-wide crack down against the illegal devices, revealed a report.

The report was submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday after it took up a suo motu case relating to easy availability of Indian DTH or magic box in the Pakistani market.

The DTH Satellite TV is the latest technology to deliver digital TV satellite service to households.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan was also told that 30 FIRs had been lodged during the crackdown and 39 people arrested by the Customs Department and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Dawn reported.

The report, which was furnished before the apex court through Additional Attorney General Nayyar Abbas Rizvi, said that the nationwide enforcement operations has ended the commercial sale and availability of smuggled DTH equipment in the local markets.

During the last hearing, the apex court had constituted a committee consisting of member (customs), the FIA’s additional director general and a member of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to find out the source of smuggled goods and to take steps to curb the smuggling.

The report recalled that the Federal Board of Revenue has also enhanced enforcement measures adopted by the customs field formations which resulted in seizures of goods and other contraband items, including DTH equipment worth Rs24.8 billion during 2017-18.

However, the report conceded that mere enforcement measures would not be sufficient to completely root out the transportation or availability of DTH equipment used for illegal broadcasting of Indian content in the country. Therefore, a holistic strategy needs to be worked out by all agencies/regulators to address this issue.

The committee constituted by the apex court proposed measures like the PEMRA’s suggestion to grant concessions from duty or taxes for the import of equipment and other accessories to successful bidders in the awarding of DTH licences a process which is in progress and likely to be completed soon.

In the absence of local DTH, the subscribers were opting for other illegal means, which include Indian DTH services, the report said.

The PEMRA has also suggested a technological solution which can effectively disrupt the reception and rebroadcast of Indian content using smuggled DTH equipment or those imported through regular channels after modifications by the local vendors, the report said.

However, the report called for support from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority for blocking the internet protocols addresses of the websites which were either running the illegal C-Line/CC-CAM or advertising the illegal Indian DTH in Pakistan.

PTI

 

SC order on firecrackers partly flouted in Bengaluru

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Supreme Court’s order limiting firecracker-bursting to two hours during Diwali was partly-flouted in Bengaluru with many people burning firecrackers for a longer period, an official said on Thursday.

“People in many locations of the city had started burning firecrackers at 6 p.m., even though the time set by the state was from 8-10 p.m.,” the city’s civic authority spokesperson L. Suresh told IANS here.

However, the 10 p.m. deadline for firecrackers was largely followed across the city, he said.

The state government on November 2 notified that people can burst crackers from November 5-8 between 8-10 p.m. in compliance with the apex court’s order.

There were, however, no complaints registered with the city police for violation of the timings.

“We have not received any complaints across the city so far for bursting firecrackers beyond the prescribed timings,” an official from the city police control room told IANS.

At least 10 children have suffered eye and skin injuries in parts of the city due to firecrackers, Suresh added.

IANS

CCB raids mining baron Janardhana Reddy’s Ballari mansion: The ponzi scam explained

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The police have pieced together a paper trail of the money laundering operations and have also procured confessions.

A day after mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy was accused of being involved in a ponzi scam, the Central Crime Branch sleuths investigating the case have raided his mansion in Ballari.

A team of Bengaluru CCB officers reached Ballari on Thursday morning and began searching Janardhana Reddy’s home.

The search operation comes a day after he was accused in a money laundering case. The police have accused Gali Janardhana Reddy of taking Rs 20 crore from the owner of Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd Syed Ahmed Fareed in order to strike a deal with Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials to drop the case against they were investigating against Ambidant.

A lookout notice for Reddy was also issued in all airports and harbours as there are suspicions of the Ballari strongman leaving the country.

A CCB source told media that Syed Ahmed Fareed allegedly confessed to giving Janardhana Reddy Rs 20 crore, of which Rs 2 crore in cash and 57 kg of gold bullion worth Rs 18 crore by laundering it through two jewellery firms.

The source said that Syed Fareed was under the police lens for allegedly cheating hundreds of investors after promising them massive returns and then reneged. “It was during his interrogation that Syed confessed to ADGP Alok Kumar, who learnt that he had paid Janardhana Reddy. The CCB officers are now looking for the gold and hence they are searching Reddy’s house in Ballari,” the source added.

The Bengaluru Central Crime Branch has formed four special teams to look for Janardhana Reddy, who went incommunicado on Wednesday.

How did Janardhana Reddy’s name appear in the scam?

The CCB source said that over a fortnight ago, ADGP Alok Kumar was put in-charge of probing Ambidant’s alleged money laundering case. “Initially, all we knew was that the founder of Ambidant had cheated many people of at least Rs 200 crore. After an FIR was registered, Fareed was called in for questioning. Fareed confessed to cheating the people and promised to return all the money. He told ADGP Alok that he had rich friends who would help him,” the source said.

CCB sources say that Fareed was adamant about keeping the names of his alleged “rich associates” secret. When the CCB sleuths pressed him for details after further investigation, he revealed the name of Ali Khan, a close associate of Janardhana Reddy.

“ADGP Alok Kumar was also taken aback as much as other officers. He immediately informed Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. The bye-elections were in progress. Hence, the information was not made public and Reddy’s arrest was put on hold as the incident would have be politicised. However, information of Ali Khan’s possible arrest was leaked and he applied for anticipatory bail and Reddy was able to abscond,” the source added.

Who is Syed Fareed?

Syed Fareed is the founder of Ambidant company in Bengaluru, which duped thousands of people with the promise of bountiful returns. The total scam has been pegged by city crime branch at around Rs 600 crore and a total of 21 cases have been filed since 2017.

Much before Fareed courted arrest with city police, the company was raided by the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate. After his property was attached, Fareed had approached Ali Khan, an associate of Reddy.

Police also confirmed media reports which said Fareed with his son Ashfaq had met Ali and Reddy at the Taj West End in Bengaluru hotel in March and the ‘deal’ was done to “settle the case.”

How police found the Reddy angle?

In November 2017, three cases of fraud were registered against Ambidant Marketing Pvt. Ltd. in the DJ Halli police station. The case was subsequently handed over to the CCB in mid-October this year. It was while going through the company’s financial records that the police discovered the transactions.

The CCB came across various bank accounts and transactions. However, one transaction of Rs 18 crore stood out. Up on investigation, it was was found that the account was linked to a Bengaluru-based jeweller Ramesh Kothari, owner of Ambika Sales Corporation. Kothari’s questioning revealed the name of another city-based jeweller Ramesh, who runs Rajmahal Fancy Jewellers to be involved in the transaction.

Up on following the money trail, it became evident that gold bars had reached Ali Khan. It was after this that Fareed was questioned about his alleged “rich friends.” The interrogation revealed that Fareed and Reddy met through Ali Khan and the first meeting was set up by a realtor from HSR Layout Brijesh Reddy.

“Last week, Ramesh was arrested. He confessed to delivering the gold to Mehfuz Ali Khan, the personal assistant of Janardhana Reddy in Ballari,” the CCB source said.

The CCB sleuths have also recovered six vouchers of Ambika Sales Corporation, which allegedly is proof of the sale of 57 kg gold bullion signed by Syed Fareed, who had transferred the Rs 18 crore to the firm.

Syed Fareed, who is also in CCB custody, has allegedly confessed to meeting Janardhana Reddy in March this year at a posh Bengaluru hotel and paid him to allegedly ensure that the Enforcement Directorate drops the probe against Fareed.

The CCB sleuths have recovered 21 photographs from Fareed’s phone of the meeting in Taj West End. “The photographs are geo-tagged and the time and date has also been recorded,” the source said.

TNM

Air India flights hit as contract workers go on strike in Mumbai

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At least two dozen domestic and international flight arrivals and departures were hit after a large number of contract workers resorted to a flash strike at the Mumbai airport early on Thursday, officials said.

“Due to a sudden industrial situation at Mumbai Airport by Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL) employees, some flights have got delayed. We are assessing the situation and all efforts are being made to minimize the delays or disruptions,” the national carrier tweeted.

To tackle the situation, the AI summoned the permanent employees to normalize the flight operations, especially the early morning departures which were delayed by around two hours.

According to AI, eight arrivals and 16 departures comprising domestic and international services were delayed by an average two hours due to the agitation, disrupting passenger schedules at the height of the Diwali festival.

The reasons for the unforeseen protest was not immediately clear, with speculation ranging from non-disbursement of Diwali bonus to reinstatement of sacked labourers.

IANS

Demonetisation disaster hurt economy severely: Stalin

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DMK President M.K. Stalin and PMK Founder S. Ramadoss on Thursday criticised the Central government for demonetising the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee notes in 2016.

In a tweet M.K. Stalin termed the demonetisation as “one man made disaster for India”.

On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a television broadcast announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee notes.

In his tweet Stalin said: “People were brought on streets with their money declared illegal. Indians stood in endless lines and many died outside banks, millions of jobs were lost, small industries shut and the economy hit irreversibly.”

On the other hand, Ramadoss said the day marks the second anniversary of not only demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee notes but also of hurting the economy severely.

IANS

Mamata greets Advani on his 92nd birthday

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wished veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani on his 92nd birthday.

“Heartiest birthday greetings to L.K. Advani ji. Advani Ji, I respectfully wish you good health and happiness,” Banerjee tweeted.

Advani was born on November 8, 1927, in Karachi (now in Pakistan). He is one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the BJP.

He was the last Deputy Prime Minister from 2002 to 2004 under the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was also the Minister of Home Affairs from 1998 to 2004.

IANS

Nirav Modi declared ‘proclaimed absconder’ by Gujarat court

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 A Gujarat court on Thursday declared fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi as a “proclaimed absconder” in a Rs 52 crore customs duty evasion case filed in March and ordered him to appear in court on November 15.

A public notification issued to various Maharashtra and Gujarat newspapers, and sent to government and police departments, referred to Nirav Modi as a proclaimed absconder under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code that could make it difficult for him to secure an anticipatory bail.

In Surat, Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) B.H. Kapadia accepting an August 8 plea by the Customs Department asked the diamantaire, who is also the prime accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, to appear before the court next Thursday.

Deputy Customs Commissioner R.K. Tiwary had filed the August petition against Nirav Modi and his firms — Firestar Diamond International Pvt Ltd, Firestar International Pvt Ltd, and Radashir Jewellery Co Pvt Ltd — that involved a dispute over “huge tax amount”.

The diamond merchant and his firms had imported high-value rough and unpolished diamonds around 2014 and taken advantage of a government scheme allowing waiver of import duties if the raw materials were intended for export after processing in the Surat Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

However, after cutting and polishing, the firms allegedly sold those high-value stones worth around Rs 900 crore in the domestic markets and evaded customs duties of around Rs 52 crore, as detected by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai.

Apart from this, Nirav Modi also exported low-quality diamonds to various countries like Dubai, Hong Kong, Canada and the US, passing them off as processed high quality diamonds. Following this he was summoned by the court.

When he did not appear, an arrest warrant was issued against him on June 22.

However, all efforts by the department to execute the warrant failed as the diamond merchant was in hiding. His homes and offices were locked for long, and he had left the country, Public Prosecutor N.L. Sukhadwala told the court.

In its affidavit on October 9, the Customs Department said it had emailed copies of the arrest warrants to three IDs, and it was delivered to one of them, but was ignored by the user.

“Nirav Modi has knowledge about this warrant, yet he is absconding” trying to show that the warrant could not be executed, said CJM Kapadia, declaring the diamond merchant a “proclaimed absconder”.

 

IANS

Sessions forced out as AG as Trump installs loyalist

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 The US President has wrestled back control of the Russia probe by firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replacing him with a loyalist who has echoed Donald Trump’s complaints about the special counsel investigation into the election interference.

Sessions delivered his resignation letter to the White House on Wednesday at the request of the President. The former Alabama senator who was an early supporter of Trump, made clear the decision to go was not his own.

“Dear Mr President, at your request I am submitting my resignation,” he wrote in an undated letter.

Sessions’s Chief of Staff Matthew Whitaker, who has criticised the Russia inquiry will take over temporarily, raising questions about the future of the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller III.

“We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well!” tweeted Trump. “A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.”

Till now, Rod J. Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General, oversaw the investigation because Sessions recused himself in March 2017, citing his active role in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

A Justice Department official said Whitaker’s role in the Russia probe will be subject to the normal review process for conflicts, the Washington Post reported.

Democrats were outraged by Session’s removal and demanded that Whitaker also remove himself from taking charge of the inquiry, citing potential conflicts of interest, including his criticisms of the Mueller investigation as well as his connections to a witness in that investigation, Sam Clovis, a former Trump campaign aide.

In 2014, Whitaker was the chairman of Clovis’ unsuccessful campaign to become Iowa state treasurer.

“Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general,” Democratic party Senate leader Chuck Schumer said.

House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said: “It is impossible to read Sessions’ firing as anything other than another blatant attempt by Trump to undermine and end Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation.”

Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who served during President Barack Obama’s administration, tweeted that anyone who tried to interfere with the Mueller investigation “must be held accountable”.

On Tuesday, after the voters chose a divided government by handing the House majority back to Democrats, the CNN said Trump made his hallmark — the sort of “I-do-what-feels-right-when-it-feels-right” move — just like it has been over the past three years.

Whitaker could hold the Attorney General’s post for roughly 200 days because he has not been confirmed previously by the Senate. He has not shied away from sharing his concerns over the investigation.

In August 2017, he wrote a piece for CNN in which he stated that looking into Trump’s personal finances or those of his family, “goes beyond the scope of the appointment of the special counsel”.

He went on to call on Rosenstein to “order Mueller to limit the scope of the investigation” or risk the inquiry starting “to look like a political fishing expedition”.

Meanwhile, Trump in a wide-ranging and sharp-tongued news conference on Wednesday said that any hope for bipartisan deals would evaporate if House Democrats use their new power to investigate him or his administration.

Such efforts, he said bluntly, would precipitate “a warlike posture”.

Democrats said they plan to begin a series of investigations of the President, including issuing a subpoena for his tax returns, which he has for years refused to release.

During his combative conference, Trump repeatedly lost his cool as he answered questions from journalists. He called CNN’s Jim Acosta “a rude, terrible person”, snapped at Peter Alexander of NBC News and directed April Ryan of American Urban Radio to “sit down”.

Later, the White House withdrew the permanent credential from the CNN journalist Acosta for confronting Trump following the mid-term results.

IANS

Asia Bibi still in Pakistan after prison release, says government

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 Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, who was released from prison a day earlier after being acquitted of blasphemy charges, has not fled the country, the government said on Thursday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said that Bibi was still in Pakistan, denying rumours that she had already left after the furore caused by her release on Wednesday night from a prison in Multan, where she spent eight years on death row.

Bibi, a mother-of-five, was convicted in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours.

Earlier reports said that she left the prison on Wednesday night and was flown to an “unknown destination”.

Faisal did not provide more details about the woman, whose acquittal on October 31 triggered widespread protests led by the hardline Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

“There is no truth in reports of her leaving the country — it is fake news,” Faisal told Dawn NewsTV.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry called out the “irresponsible” behaviour of certain media outlets for running the news of Bibi leaving the country without “confirmation”.

“It has become a norm to publish fake news for sake of headlines,” Chaudhry said on Twitter. “#AsiaBibi case is sensitive issue. It was extremely irresponsible to publish news of her leaving the country without confirmation. I strongly urge section of media to act responsible.”

The TLP wants the Supreme Court to review the verdict. The radical group last week forced the government to agree that Bibi would not be allowed to leave Pakistan and that it would not block a review petition.

TLP spokesperson Ijaz Ashrafi tweeted that no government department confirmed that Bibi had gone abroad and added that government had assured the party that she would remain in the country until the verdict on the review petition was announced.

Several countries have offered asylum to Bibi. On Wednesday, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini announced that his country would help her leave Pakistan.

Last weekend, Bibi’s lawyer Saif Mulook left Pakistan, citing threats to his life after protests against the acquittal paralyzed the country.

Pakistan’s harsh anti-blasphemy law was established during British colonial rule to avoid religious clashes. But several changes to the law in the 1980s promoted by the then military dictator, General Zia-ul-Haq, led to its abuse.

IANS

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