Archives for 2023

WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump has failed to disclose gifts worth USD 250,000 given to the First Family by foreign leaders which included USD 47,000 worth of gifts by Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the then President Ram Nath Kovind and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath, a partisan democratic Congressional committee have alleged in a report.

The report is titled “Saudi Swords, Indian Jewelry, and a Larger-than-Life Salvadoran Portrait of Donald Trump: The Trump administration’s Failure to Disclose Major Foreign Gifts.”

The report presents preliminary findings from Committee Democrats’ ongoing investigation into former President Trump’s failure to disclose gifts from foreign government officials while in office, as required by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act.

Trump, a Republican, served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.

“Committee Democrats are committed to determining the final whereabouts of these missing big-ticket gifts, such as golf clubs, the larger-than-life custom portrait of Donald Trump from El Salvador, and other potential unreported items, and whether they may have been used to influence the president in his conduct of US foreign policy,” said Congressman Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

The report alleges that Trump, 76, and the First Family failed to report more than 100 foreign gifts with a total value of over a quarter of a million dollars.

According to the report, the documents revealed that the Trump family received 17 unreported gifts from India with a total estimated value of more than USD 47,000.

Among these gifts was a USD 8,500 vase by Yogi Adityanath, a USD 4,600 model of the Taj Mahal, a USD 6,600 Indian rug by former president Kovind, USD 1,900 cufflinks by Prime Minister Modi.

In November 2021, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General issued a report on significant problems at the Office of the Chief of Protocol during the Trump administration, including “missing items of a significant value.”

The report determined that a “lack of accurate recordkeeping and appropriate physical security controls contributed to the loss of the gifts.”

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Tuesday extended the suspension of mobile internet and SMS services in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Moga, Sangrur and Amritsar’s Ajnala sub-division and a few areas in Mohali till Thursday noon.

The curbs will be lifted from the rest of the state from Tuesday noon, the department of home affairs and justice said in an order.

The curbs on mobile internet and SMS services were imposed by the Punjab government on Saturday as the state’s police force launched a major crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh and members of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’.

“it is directed that all mobile internet services (2G/3G/45/5G/CDMA/GPRS), all SMS services (excluding banking and mobile recharge) and all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice calls, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab shall continue to remain suspended from March 21 (12.00 hours) to March 23 (12.00 hours) only in the districts Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Moga, Sangrur, sub-division Ajnala in Amritsar, areas adjoining YPS chowk and airport road, both in SAS Nagar in continuation of this office order no 1781 dated March 20 in the interest of public safety, to prevent any incitement to violence and to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order,” the recent order read.

It clarified that mobile internet services in all the remaining areas of the state should start functioning normally from 12 noon on March 21.

CHENNAI: Announcing the rollout of one of its key poll-time assurances made in 2021, the ruling DMK on Monday said the scheme providing Rs 1000 per month assistance for eligible women heads of families will be launched in September this year.

Coinciding with Dravidian stalwart and party founder, the late CN Annadurai’s birth anniversary on September 15, the launch of the ‘game-changer’ initiative would come months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, where the DMK has set its eyes on its led alliance sweeping all the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone Puducherry segment.

State Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Monday presented Budget 2023-24 in the Assembly and announced that the monthly assistance scheme would be launched by Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Making the announcement in his Budget address, he said the modalities were being worked out for the scheme’s implementation and Rs 7,000 crore has been set apart in the budget for the plan. It shall be a “game changer in the socio-economic life of women of the State,” he said.

Dravidian icon and DMK founder CN Annadurai’s (1909-1969) birth anniversary falls on September 15.

He was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu between 1967 and 1969, leading the first non-Congress government in the state in post-independent India.

The Rs 1,000 assistance for women family heads is one of the electoral assurances made by the DMK ahead of the 2021 Assembly election and it eventually became a very popular promise.

Often targeted by the main opposition AIADMK for ‘not implementing,’ it, the DMK regime had to reiterate many times that the scheme would soon see the light of the day.

DMK President and CM Stalin, during his campaign for the recently held Erode (East) bypoll, had assured of an announcement on the date of launch of the assistance scheme. It would be made known in the Budget presentation, he had then said.

In Tamil, the assistance is officially known as “Magalir Urimai Thogai,” which means “Women’s Right to Assistance.

Tabling the Budget, Rajan said that owing to the unprecedented and difficult reforms undertaken, “we have reduced the annual revenue deficit of around Rs 62,000 crore which we inherited on assuming office (May 2021), to around Rs 30,000 crore in the Revised Estimates of the current year.” This is notwithstanding the several “massive welfare schemes” that are being implemented during the last two years, he said.

Fare-free travel for women in State-run buses and breakfast scheme for government school students are among the several schemes being implemented.

Even as Rajan began his address, the principal opposition AIADMK attempted to raise issues which led to a din for a while. The party MLAs later staged a walkout.

Despite accomplishments, the minister said “we are bracing for challenging times ahead,” in view of unprecedented inflation, the continuing war in Ukraine and volatility in the global economy and financial markets.

“We have outperformed by growing faster than the national average in the previous year and by significantly lowering the Revenue Deficit and Fiscal Deficit when compared to that of the Union government,” he said adding it was a testimony to Stalin’s leadership.

The Finance Minister announced the setting up of a “state of the art global sports city” in Chennai and Rs 25 crore for “factory skill schools” and Metro rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai.

Rajan also announced the renovation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Outdoor Stadium here at an estimated cost of Rs 25 Crore.

Udhayanidhi, son of CM Stalin is the Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development.

Rajan said the free breakfast scheme for primary students has led to increase in attendance, between 10-30 per cent in schools.

In the upcoming financial year, the government would construct classrooms, laboratories and toilets at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore, he said.

The Budget also reflected the DMK regime’s social justice, Tamil development and cultural ideological focus, as seen in several announcements.

It includes a memorial here for Tamil martyrs Thalamuthu and Natarajan, who sacrificed their lives to protect Tamil in the struggle against “Hindi imposition,” a grant of Rs 5 crore for propagation of ideals of Dr BR Ambedkar by translating his works into Tamil, holding an international conference on Tamil computing and promotion of sea cruises that connect places of significance in Tamil culture.

“Tamil art, music, architecture, sculpture, crafts and dance reached their pinnacle during the Chola period and their glory spread far and wide. To highlight the contribution of the Cholas who ruled the world, and to preserve artefacts and relics of that age, a grand Chola museum will be set up in Thanjavur,” Rajan announced.

The government would also extend the free bus pass scheme to 591 more elderly Tamil scholars.

KOCHI: The investigation wing of the Income Tax department raided the offices and residence of businessman Faris Aboobacker in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka as part of the probe into alleged tax evasion and black money hoarding behind real estate deals by his companies. Faris, who is a Chennai-based real estate businessman, has been summoned to appear for interrogation.

The raids started simultaneously at around 8 am. The Income Tax department carried out the raids after conducting a preliminary probe into the business activities of Faris. The probe revealed that Faris has stakes in 92 companies operating in various parts of the country. He has offices in Kochi and Chennai. A team also raided Faris’s residence in Koilandy.

Officers from the Kochi and Chennai Investigation Wings also reached Faris’s offices in Kochi and Kozhikode. The team also raied the office of Shoba Developers in Thrissur. Faris’s office in Chennai and offices of firms located in Bengaluru and Mumbai where he has stakes were also raided. According to sources, documents and electronic devices were seized.

“It was a joint search operation by investigation units in multiple states. The investigation is being conducted by the Kochi and Chennai units. It was found that Faris registered land in the name of various firms with NRIs at the helm to evade tax. The money transactions for these land deals were carried out abroad. Even for the registration, the minimal value of the land is recorded in the document. A huge tax amount has been evaded through this operation. Even most of the firms to which land was sold are suspected to be benamis of Faris. The search at the office of Shoba was held following information about the land deal between Faris and the Thrissur-based real estate company,” an Income Tax official said.

Though Faris has been summoned to appear for interrogation, he is yet to respond. “He could not be reached despite several attempts. We spoke to his relatives who claim that he is in Chennai. However, his office staff said that he is in London. A notice directing to appear for interrogation has been sent via email as well. He has to be questioned in detail to get the real picture of the land procured across India,” an officer said.

Faris was in the news over allegations regarding his association with CPM leaders in Kerala. Earlier, the opposition had alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan maintained a close association with the controversial businessman.

NEW DELHI: The culture ministry has planned an International Museum Expo to showcase precious cultural heritage exhibited in different museums across states. The three-day exhibition will serve as a knowledge-sharing platform, where domain experts will discuss best practices and standard operating procedures. According to the ministry, the objective of the programme is to educate and sensitise the people about museology, conservation and heritage.

The expo–scheduled to be held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, starting May 18–will be a ‘learning experience’ for those who wish to develop new museums or upgrade existing facilities. In view of the proposed exposition, the ministry has started identifying museums so that a directory of museums could be brought out.

The directory will contain details of each museum; run by the Government and private individuals or organisations. There are more than 300 prominent museums in the country which are being maintained by the ministry and respective states and union territory (UT) authorities.  

National Science Centre Delhi, a unit of National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), is the nodal agency, which will be organising the Expo for the ministry.

The event is part of the second phase of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, celebration and commemoration of 75 years of India’s independence. The exhibition coincides with the International Museum Day.

The three-day event will focus on various theme museums through workshops, seminars, master classes, panel discussions and other events in which invitations will be extended to artists, dignitaries and professionals from various fields across the globe.

In its recent report, the standing committee on transport, tourism and culture recommended the ministry to collect relevant meta-information about the museums such as their location and contact details and put the details on its website. The directory may also be shared with the ministry of tourism for promotion, which will help to increase footfall to museums, the panel has noted. 

“The Committee feels that it is important to ignite the interest of Indian citizens towards museums. Increased footfall at museums would make it viable for the Government to come up with more museums across the country. This, in turn, would give a strong push to the tourism sector in the country…The Committee recommends that the ministry may undertake a case study of the best international museums with the highest footfalls. The best practices observed from such case studies may be fine-tuned in light of Indian context,” observed the Committee of parliamentarians.

KOLKATA:  A nearly four-year legal battle against a departmental store that charged a customer Rs 4 for a carry bag ended two days ago when the consumer district redressal forum in Kolkata passed an order directing the store to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as expenses to the petitioner.

The forum in its order said the departmental store charging Rs 4 for a carry bag from the petitioner was not legal. In November 2019, Surajit Khanra visited the departmental store in Parnashree, Behala, in south Kolkata. When he turned up before the payment counter after shopping, he found Rs 4 was added to his bill as the charge for a carry bag. Khanra objected as there was a logo of the departmental store on the carry bag which he did not want.

He asked for a bag without any logo. But the person allegedly did not pay any heed to the request. Khanra then decided to move the forum. During the course of the hearing, Khanra said if customers do not want, no departmental store can force him or her to buy carry bags. At the same time, a carry bag with a logo of the product cannot be sold.

In reply, the representative of the departmental store said Khanra was not carrying any bag and he was told that the items that he purchased would be delivered to his address. Unhappy with the submission, the commission asked how could the departmental store promise to deliver the items which would have cost more than Rs 4.

The store then replied that the state government imposed restrictions on the use of plastic bags which are not recyclable and this is why charges were applied that meet the government’s guidelines. The judges on the bench were not happy with the logic of the departmental store. One judge asked why the store authority did not introduce paper bags.

LUCKNOW:  The ruling BJP has swept the elections of the primary cooperative credit societies in rural areas while winning around 80 per cent posts of the cooperatives’ chairman and vice-chairman. The elections took place on Sunday.

Taking the early lead, the BJP-supported candidates cornered a majority of positions of the primary agriculture credit societies in the state over which the main opposition Samajwadi Party had a strong grip till 2020. A total of 46,773 different cooperative societies will be constituted through the electoral process over the next few months.

On Sunday, the elections were held for two key posts – chairman and vice-chairman — of 7,148 societies. The BJP walked away with a victory in about 6,450 of them. The SP registered a win in over 500 societies while the rest went to independent candidates.

The victory of the ruling party assumes significance considering that most farmers are linked to the activities of rural societies which facilitate the distribution of fertilisers, seeds, loans and credits in the villages. Meanwhile, reports of protests after the announcement of the results surfaced from several districts, including Jalaun and Bareilly.

The results of the elections highlighted the fact that the ruling party seemed to have made forays into SP strongholds in central UP as the candidates associated with saffron camp won on more than 80% of the two key positions in the Kanpur division, which includes Etawah, Kannauj, Auraiya and Farrukhabad districts, the key constituencies of Yadav belt.

While in Badaun, BJP-backed candidates had a cent-per-cent strike rate and won all the 132 societies, in Shahjahanpur, which is the native district of state cooperative minister JPS Rathore, the party-backed candidates won 111 out of 115 societies that went to the polls. 

The election will continue till mid-June.

Rural delight for saffron camp

• The BJP win is significant as most farmers are linked to rural societies that facilitate the distribution of fertilisers, seeds and loans
• The party has apparently made forays into SP strongholds in central UP as the candidates linked to saffron camp won more than 80 per cent of the two key positions in the Kanpur division
• In Lucknow’s 76 of 81 primary co-op societies, BJP won in over 61