Kolkata: Locked in a bitter feud with the Centre over demonetisation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today sought resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and mooted a “national government” headed by BJP veteran L K Advani, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley or Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The TMC supremo, who has declared an all out war against the Modi dispensation over demonetisation and arrest of her party MPs in chit fund scam, sought President Pranab Mukherjee’s intervention to “save the country from Narendra Modi”.

“All opposition parties should forget their differences and come together to save the nation. “It’s high time the President intervened and saved the country. That person (Modi) can’t lead the nation. He should step down. There should be a national government,” she said, suggesting the names of Advani, Jaitley and Singh to replace Modi.

She appreciated Mukherjee’s yesterday’s statement that demonetisation could lead to a temporary slowdown of the economy. “I have never seen such a vindictive government at the Centre. They are breaking age-old institutions like the Planning Commission and others. They are breaking the backbone of the government,” she told reporters.

The Chief Minister claimed West Bengal had lost Rs 5,500 crore following demonetisation and accused the Centre of “letting loose a reign of terror” on Opposition parties. A combative Banerjee also dared the BJP leaders to “touch her” when she visits the party-ruled Jharkhand.

“Two of my ministers and party leaders will visit Jharkhand and meet the tribal whose land has been forcibly taken away by the state government. After they come back and give me a report, I will visit Jharkhand. They (BJP) have said they will beat me up, If I visit a BJP-ruled state. I want to see if they can even touch me,” Banerjee said.

Her comments followed BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya’s recent warning to the TMC to “mend its ways or face consequences” after a string of attacks on party offices and leaders following the arrest of Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Trinamool Congress’ leader in the Lok Sabha, in a chit fund scam case.

Vijayvargiya had wondered whether TMC MPs and even Mamata Banerjee would be able to go around the country and enter New Delhi if his party started protesting against them.

(PTI)

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s former Principal Secretary on Thursday said he had sought voluntary retirement after alleging harassment by the CBI.

Rajendra Kumar alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation was pressurizing him to implicate the Chief Minister in the alleged wrongdoing he (Kumar) is accused of.

The CBI denied the allegations as “absolutely baseless”.

Reacting to Kumar’s statement, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal tweeted: “CBI raids my office, pressurizes officer to implicate me… Why are you so scared of us, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji? Chill.”

A sombre Kumar told reporters outside his residence: “I tender my voluntary retirement (VRS) request to the government from the services.

“It was a very difficult decision and I have taken (it) with a very heavy heart… There are many other ways to work for public welfare and I will seek those.”

He said that despite coming from a very poor family, the government gave him an opportunity to study in a prestigious school and also let him serve in the government for 27 years. “I am obliged for that.”

A 1989-batch IAS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory cadre, Kumar was accused of abusing his official position in awarding Delhi government contracts worth Rs 9.5 crore to private firms during 2007-2014 when the Congress ruled Delhi.

“I will stay in the public service forever till my last breath that is my determination,” Kumar said. “And no hurdle can distract me.”

Asked if the CBI pressurised him to name Kejriwal in the case, Kumar said: “Whatever I have said is the exact truth and I stand by it.

“I have already written in my VRS the main aim of the government (whichever it may be) was to put pressure on me to incriminate certain people, including Chief Minister Kejriwal,” he added.

A CBI statement said: “The allegation, which incidentally has come up after filing the chargesheet, that witnesses and accused were threatened by CBI officers to implicate a political functionary is absolutely baseless and denied.”

The allegations against Kumar were made by a former Delhi government official, Ashish Joshi, after he fell foul of the Kejriwal government that took office in February 2015.

Joshi had alleged that Kumar misused his position to award government contacts to private firms when he was with departments of education, IT and Health.

Kumar was arrested on July 4, 2016.

The case hit national headlines after Kejriwal alleged that the CBI raided his office in December 2015. The CBI denied intruding into Kejriwal’s office and said it was looking for evidence against Kumar.

After remaining in custody for 23 days, Kumar was granted bail on July 26. He has consistently denied the accusations against him.

According to CBI officials, Kumar, as chairman of Delhi Transco Ltd, allegedly facilitated a contract worth Rs 40.16 lakh to Endeavour Systems to develop a comprehensive management information system in 2009 without going through any tendering process.

As Secretary in the health and family welfare department of the Delhi government, Kumar also allegedly awarded a Rs 2.43 crore manpower project to Endeavour Systems in November 2010.

Similar allegations were made against him in other areas as well.

Kejriwal has always maintained that the CBI raid on his office was meant to target him and not Kumar.

(IANS)

In his first remarks after the 50-day deadline to deposit old notes lapsed on December 30, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday warned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation drive may lead to a temporary slowdown of the economy. “Demonetisation, while immobilising black money and fighting corruption, may lead to temporary slowdown of the economy,” said President Pranab Mukherjee. The President added that the government must be “extra careful” to alleviate the suffering of the poor.

“We all will have to be extra careful to alleviate the suffering of the poor which might become unavoidable for the expected progress in the long term,” Mukherjee said. He said that while he appreciates the thrust on transition from entitlement approach to an entrepreneurial one for poverty alleviation, he is not too sure that the “poor can wait that long”.

“They need to get succour here and now so that they can also participate actively in the national march toward a future devoid of hunger, unemployment and exploitation,” the President said.

The 50-day deadline set by the Centre for depositing of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, ended on December 30, and the Reserve Bank of India is yet to make public the amount of money that made its way back to its coffers. A Bloomberg report, however, said that 97 per cent of the demonetised notes were already deposited in banks.

On November 9, a day after PM Modi’s announcement, President Mukherjee welcomed the move saying that it “will help unearth unaccounted money”. “President Mukherjee welcomed the bold step of the Government of India which will help unearth unaccounted money & counterfeit currency,” said a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan.

In the Parliament Winter Session, former prime minister Manmohan Singh termed the demonetisation drive as “organised loot and legalised plunder”. He predicted that it would bring down the country’s GDP by at least 2 per cent.

(Agencies)

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday said his previous statement about the New Year’s eve molestation incident had been interpreted ‘out of context’.

The state Home minister had stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters’ “western ways” for the incidents.

In a press conference today, Home Minister told media National Commission for Women has summoned him and he would reoly to the commission.

Also, announced slew of measures to enhance the safety of the women in IT capital.

Parameshwar assured that number of CCTVs would be increased to 5000 in the city.

We will also increase number of Dial 100 24/7 helplines from present 15 to 100, added the Home Minister.

(Agencies)

Bengaluru: Four persons were arrested today in connection with the groping and assault of a woman by two scooter-borne men near her home here on New Year’s eve, a shocking incident caught on camera that caused a national outrage.

The accused had been stalking the victim for four or five days and molested her when she was returning home after celebrating New Year, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Praveen Sood told reporters here, amid growing public anger over delay in nabbing the culprits.

Sood said two other accomplices had been identified and they would be arrested soon. “This is a plan prepared by six of them. One of them groped. Others assisted,” the Police Commissioner said.

He gave the names of the arrested as Aiyappa, the main culprit who molested the woman and Leno, Sudesh and Somashekar.

Aiyappa and Sudesh are delivery boys, Leno was a helper and Somashekhar a driver, Sood said, adding, a bike had been seized from them. “They have confessed (to the crime),” he said.

The arrest comes three days after a CCTV footage surfaced showing two scooter-borne two men accost a woman, zoom past her, take a U-turn and halt the vehicle before one of them jumps off, gropes her and escapes even as bystanders watch without coming to her help.

Sood said there was no “friendship or anything except that they stayed close by (to the victim’s place).” He said Prashant Francis, a resident of Kammanahalli, came forward with the “gory” video to help police.

Sood said “when we saw the video I felt that I don’t have to talk to the victim at all. It was a clear case of molestation and groping and maybe much more. We did not wait, we did not waste time to look forthe victim or contact her.”

“We suo motU registered the casebecause what had been shown on the video convinced us beyond all possible doubt that this was a heinous crime.”

Sood warned all such “potential violators”that police would not have any mercy on them if such incidents are repeated in future.

In the footage, one of the two men is first seen approaching the woman, forcing himself on her and dragging her to the scooter while the other person is seated on it, before pinning her down.

As she resists and tries to free herself, he pushes her down on the road and both escape from the scene, but not before the victim slaps the one who had grabbed her.

The incident at Kammanahalli here had occurred even as on late December 31 night, several women were molested and groped and lewd remarks passed by miscreants on M G Road and Brigade Road, despite the presence of 1,500 police personnel to control the unruly New Year revellers.

The incident drew flak from many quarters even as Home Minister G Parameshwara stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters’ “western ways” for the incidents.

(Agencies)