Senior BJP leader and spokesperson Sambit Patra on Tuesday said that the Supreme Court’s order on the Kolkata police chief was a “big slap” on the face of West Bengal government. Alleging that it was a political battle launched by the Chief Minister, Mr Patra said, “As far as Mamata Banerjee’s drama of dharna is concerned, finally, she had to eat her own words that ‘we were there to save the Constitution’…In fact, she has been exposed,” the BJP spokesperson told news agency .

“Ironically, the top court’s verdict was a big slap on the face of the West Bengal government and the kind of rhetoric politics that Mamata Banerjee was playing. People of this country are extremely intelligent and they will give a befitting reply in the general elections because one thing is aptly clear that the elections are between the gang of the corrupts and Mr Modi,” Mr Patra added.

Ms Banerjee on Tuesday ended her ‘save the Constitution’ dharna, which she had started on Sunday night after the CBI’s attempt to arrest Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar. Speaking to reporters, the Bengal Chief Minister claimed that the “dharna was to save our democracy, Constitution, IAS, IPS officers and agencies.” 

“We started the dharna only after consulting all political parties and after that, they extended their full support,” Ms Banerjee said, adding that her government “got justice from one pillar of democracy, that is, the judiciary.” 

The Chief Minister also said that the Central government’s claim that the Kolkata police chief had joined her in the protest was not true. “The truth is Rajeev Kumar never joined the protest. Is Rajeev Kumar their nightmare? Why are they so scared? As per protocol wherever PM, CM or any other minister or Governor goes, the police always has to be with them to give them security,” she said.

The home ministry yesterday asked the Bengal government to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Rajeev Kumar. In a letter addressed to the state chief secretary, the ministry cited “undisciplined behaviour and violation of All India Services (Conduct) Rules” by the officer. The Bengal government is not duty bound to follow the order but this move could further escalate the tension between the state and the Centre.

The Supreme Court has directed Rajeev Kumar to appear before the CBI in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam probe. The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, however, said that no coercive step should be taken against him. The police chief has to appear before the CBI at a neutral venue in Shillong, the capital Meghalaya.

Agencies

Nasheman News : BJP’s Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday sought a transparent inquiry into the crash of the upgraded IAF Mirage-2000 fighter in Bengaluru on February 1, resulting in the death of two ace test pilots.

“We need a thorough and transparent inquiry into the crash of an HAL-upgraded IAF Mirage in Bengaluru and the loss of life of its two brave warriors,” said Chandrasekhar in a statement from New Delhi.

Although the lawmaker submitted a request for discussion on the crash in the Upper House, disruption of the proceedings by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) members did not allow the Zero Hour.

“Though I had submitted a Zero Hour mention on the issue, it could not be taken up due to disruption of the proceedings by the TMC members,” lamented the member in the statement.

The test pilots — Squadron Leader Samir Abrol from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and Squadron Leader Siddartha Negi from Dehradun in Uttarkhand died from fatal injuries after the fighter crashed while taking off from the military airport on an acceptance sortie after an upgrade by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

The pilots, commissioned in the air force a decade ago, were on deputation as test pilots at the IAF’s Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) in this tech hub from their respective air bases.

“I appeal to those in the political class who dithered in the modernisation of the IAF combat fleet for over a decade whilst they bought helicopters for VIPs — to not obstruct modernisation to score brownie points,” he said.

“Doing so (politicking) would be to put our brave young aviators at risk unrelated to the enemy or combat mission,” the lawmaker said.

Recalling that many brave air warriors lost their life in similar test flights or regular sorties, Chandrasekhar said the government should fix accountability for the mishaps.

“It is our collective duty to ensure the brave combat aviators fly the latest aircraft and not continue with 35-40-year-old aircraft to fulfil their missions in peace and war for our nation,” the member added.

A joint inquiry by HAL and IAF will be held to ascertain the causes that led to the fatal crash of the ill-fated French fighter on a test flight.

Nasheman News : Social activist Anna Hazare ended his 7-day- long hunger strike on Tuesday evening after a nearly six-hour marathon meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

Union Agriculture Minister Radhe Mohan Singh also participated in the discussions at Hazare’s Ralegaon-Siddhi village.

After the meeting, Fadnavis requested Hazare to break his fast, which the activist did by accepting a glass of sherbet from the chief minister amidst loud cheers by his supporters and villagers.

Earlier, Fadnavis and Singh discussed threadbare the 3-point demands raised by Hazare who launched the indefinite hunger strike on January 30.

The demands were: implementation of Lokpal at the national level, setting up Lokayuktas in all states and conceding the farmers demands through the M.S. Swaminathan Commission Report.

The government moved at top speed to appease the 81-year old Hazare after he lashed out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, accusing it of “using” him to come to power in 2014.

In wake of the statement, Fadnavis rushed to Hazare’s village from Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon to hold final talks with him and later announced that his demands have been met.

“The process of appointing Lokpal will be initiated soon by the centre. The Lokpal search committee will meet on February 13 as per the directives of the Supreme Court in the matter,” Fadnavis said.

For the Lokayukta in Maharashtra, as demanded by Hazare, a joint drafting committee has been set up to prepare a new bill on the issue which would be introduced in the upcoming Budget session of the state legislature starting later this month, he said, adding it would have representatives of the government as well as those nominated by Hazare.

The farmers’ demands pertaining to the Swaminathan Commission Report implementation has also been taken up to Hazare’s satisfaction and further process will be taken up, he said.

Nasheman News :  The 10-day budget session of the Karnataka legislature began on a stormy note on Wednesday with BJP legislators disrupting Governor Vajubhai Vala’s address to its joint sitting.

As soon as Vala began his address in Hindi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members walked towards the Chair and started raising slogans against the state’s JD-S-Congress coalition government, drowning his voice. 

With the opposition members refusing to hear him out in the pandemonium, the Governor abruptly stopped his speech after reading only two pages and left the Assembly.

Soon after, Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar tabled the Governor’s speech as ‘read’ and copies of Vala’s joint address were circulated in Kannada and English to the members of the Assembly and Council.

The Speaker made obituary references to the state’s iconic seer Shivakumara Swami, who passed away on January 21, and Mangaluru-born former Defence Minister George Fernandes, who died on January 29.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, BJP leader in the Lower House B.S. Yeddyurappa and Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara also paid tributes to the seer and Fernandes.

Kumaraswamy, who also holds the Finance portfolio, will present the state Budget for fiscal 2019-20 in the Assembly on Friday.

Input by Rizwan Asad.

Nasheman News : The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to advocate Prashant Bhushan on a contempt plea filed by Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and the Centre saying that Bhushan tweeted that the AG “fabricated” minutes of a selection panel meeting on the appointment of then acting CBI Director M. Nageswara Rao that was cleared by the panel.

A bench of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Navin Sinha said they will be addressing the issue of “vital importance” involving commenting on a matter of sub-judice affecting public opinion and the rights of the litigants. The next hearing will be on March 7. 

Making it clear that “punishment to a lawyer should be the last resort”, Justice Mishra said: “Contempt is a Brhamastra, it should not be used ordinarily.” 

While Venugopal, at the outset, made it clear that he was not seeking any punishment for Bhushan but wanted a line to be drawn and a law be declared spelling out the limits on media reporting and lawyers commenting on matters sub-judice. 

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, sought to discipline the errant lawyers who go public criticizing judgments and casting aspersions on judges. 

Mehta said the “magnanimity” of the court on not taking action against such people should not be treated as a “weakness”. 

 Nasheman News : MPolitics is the game of possibilities where all stakeholders play their games to keep opponents on their toes. They use all the instruments at their disposal to prevent possible electoral tie-ups and spoil political fortunes.

According to political pundits, the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine in Maharashtra is planning to throw spanners to block a political scenario where the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) would come together to spoil the possibilities of the BJP-Sena combine improving or maintaining its tally in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. 

And it should surprise none if the ruling combine decides to rake up the scam related to a Mumbai-based top housing finance company and the aircraft deal to corner the top leadership of the NCP. The arrival of ‘corporate lobbyist’ Deepak Talwar to India from the UAE and the recent raking up of the housing finance company’s case are being seen in political circles as an attempt to serve a signal to the NCP to watch its step while joining the anti-BJP alliance. While both the developments have links to the NCP leadership, it’s almost certain that NCP chief Sharad Pawar cannot be part of the BJP alliance. 

However, before baring the claws, both NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to soft handle each other, keeping political analysts busy trying to decipher and decode the political messaging.

The Maharashtra strongman, known for his friendly ties with leaders across the party divide, praised Modi for his hard work after the Gujarat Chief Minister-led NDA’s stunning victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “Modi works hard, that is a fact. During our tenure I had a good equation with him, for professional reasons, and I know his working style. Amongst UPA partners I am the only one who has a communication line with him,” Pawar said at that time. 

Modi too responded in similar vein. While addressing a meeting in Baramati, hometown of Pawar, in February 2015, Modi, who had lashed out at Pawar some six months earlier, showered praises on the NCP leader, claiming that even if they are from two different parties and have two different ideologies, their aim is one – India’s progress.

And come December 2018, the willy politician that Pawar is tried to open communication channels with the Gandhis. Attacking Modi for targeting the Gandhis, the Maratha strongman said the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru spent years in jail during the British rule while Indira Gandhi protected interests of the poor when in power. Praising Sonia Gandhi and her son and party President Rahul Gandhi, Pawar said: “People should feel proud of them as they continue to serve the poor despite the assassination of prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.”

Meanwhile, after tough posturing on both sides, the Congress leadership in Maharashtra and the Pawar-led NCP appear to tie the political knot for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, political sources said. And the possibilities of that have unnerved the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). 

The crucial seat-sharing formula for the 48 Lok Sabha seats — the second highest after Uttar Pradesh — is “practically clinched” and would soon go for the formal nod of the top party leaders like Sharad Pawar and Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

However, the question of accommodating some key local allies is still pending and keeping everyone on tenterhooks.

It may be recalled that on the eve of the 2014 Assembly elections, the Congress-NCP, as also the BJP-Sena combine, had split and fought elections separately, resulting in multi-cornered contests in most of the 288 (Assembly) segments.

This was among the prime factors, analysts later said, which led to the Congress-NCP rout after 15-year rule in Maharashtra, a traditional Congress stronghold. The state was earlier ruled for a term by the Sena-BJP (1994-1999) and from 1999-2014 by the Congress-NCP.

In the present scenario, with a major change in political circumstances compared with 2014 when the “Modi wave” had washed out the Congress-NCP, “a pre-poll alliance is a sensible option”, as a senior NCP official put it.

Though the final figures are kept under wraps, both sides claim “a win-win situation” that would give a tough fight to the BJP-Sena combine, which has yet to finalise its alliance, with the Sena stance giving the BJP a headache.

The Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) led by Prakash Ambedkar, which has allied with the Owaisi brothers’ All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to present a potent Dalit-Muslim force, has demanded 12 seats for allying with the Congress-NCP, leaving the latter aghast.

Besides, the Congress-NCP are wary of the AIMIM factor, which could gnaw into their minority strongholds and indirectly benefit the BJP-Sena combine with a division in votes, said a high-ranking state NCP leader.

A senior Congress leader said in the final tally, the Congress-NCP may part with 3-4 seats from their share to accommodate the smaller parties and also ensure their victory.

There is also considerable speculation whether Maharashtra would opt for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections — though categorically denied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis — but nobody from the BJP has commented.

Nevertheless, Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan is unfazed: “We are prepared for simultaneous elections. It’s up to them to decide,” he said.

If this materialises, smaller parties rue it would pose fresh organisational, manpower and funding challenges for them, with the ruling combine having an upper han

Nasheman News :  Ruckus by the BJP on Wednesday forced Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to cut short his joint address to the state Assembly at the start of the 10-day Budget session.

Even as Vala was reading out his speech in Hindi, Bharatiya Janata Party members walked towards the Chair and raised slogans against the JD-S-Congress coalition government, causing pandemonium in which his voice could not be heard.

The address by the Governor ended in less than five minutes amid the ruckus.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who also holds the Finance portfolio, will present the state Budget for fiscal 2019-20 in the Assembly on Friday.

·        Political parties are required to submit a statement of election expenditure to the Election Commission within 75 days of completion of Assembly Elections.

·        The expenditure statement contains details of the total amount received as funds in the form of cash, cheques and demand drafts and the total amount spent under various heads.

·        The expenditure statement contains information on the amount spent on the following heads at the central, state, district and constituency levels by the party:

o   Publicity

o   Travel expenses

o   Other expenses

o   Expenditure towards candidates

·        Political parties submit these statements providing information of funds collected and spent between announcement and completion of elections.This period could be between 3 weeks to 3 months based on the notification issued by the Election Commission.

·        This report analyses the funds received and expenditure incurred by recognized political parties, during the state Assembly election to Karnataka, held in the month of May, 2018.

·        6 National Parties and 7 Regional Parties have been considered for analysis in this report.

·        Election expenditure statements of JD(S), SHS, and JD(U) for Karnataka Assembly Election are unavailable on the website of the ECI.

Details provided in the Election Expenditure Statement

Funds Collected and Expenditure incurred by political parties

·        Total funds collected by 8 political parties during Karnataka Assembly Election held in 2018 was Rs 356.04 cr and total expenditure incurred was Rs 170.16 cr.

·        BSP and AIFB had not declared any funds collected at the Central Headquarters and State Units during Karnataka Assembly Election, 2018.

·        Funds collected by the parties at the Central Headquarters was Rs 269.94 cr and expenditure was Rs 112.144 cr. Karnataka State Units spent Rs 58.014 cr.

Graph: Total funds collected and expenditure incurred by political parties during Karnataka Assembly Election, 2018

Graph: Funds collected and expenditure incurred by political parties (less JDS) from Central Headquarters and State Units during Karnataka Assembly Election, 2018

Expenditure incurred by political parties under various heads

·        Political parties declare their expenditure under the heads of Publicity, Travel Expenses, Other/ Miscellaneous expenses and Lumpsum amountpaid to their contesting candidates.

·        Political Parties that contested in Karnataka Assembly Election, 2018, spent the highest, Rs 129.72 cr on Publicity, followed by Rs 30.06 cr on travel expenses, Rs 17.84 cr on Lumpsum amount paid to candidates and Rs 9.63 cr on Other/Miscellaneous expenses.

·        Expenditure on publicity is 69.28% of the overall expenditure declared under various heads.

·        Expenditure on travel expenses is 16.05% of the overall expenditure declared under various heads.

Graph Expenditure incurred by political parties (less JDS) under various heads during Karnataka Assembly Election, 2018

Expenditure on Travel by political parties

·        The ‘Travel’ head is segregated into travel expenses incurred specifically on star campaigners and that of the party leaders.

·        Political parties spent 92.68% of their total travel expenses or Rs 27.86 cr on their star campaigners and the remaining 7.32% or Rs 2.20 cr on travel of their party leaders.

·        Travel expenses from Central Headquarters by itself was Rs 17.52 cr or 58.28%, which was higher than Rs 12.54 cr or 41.72% spent from Karnataka State Units.

                                                                                 Graph: Expenditure incurred on Travel by political parties during Karnataka Assembly Election, 2018

Observations of ADR

·        The election expenditure statement of JDS is not yet available in the public domain despite contesting in Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 and emerging as the ruling party in the state.

·        AIFB has not mentioned any funds collected and expenditure incurred from it Central Headquarter and State Unit in spite of contesting elections.NCP and AIADMK collected funds from the Central Headquarters and State Units respectively but have not shown any expenditure incurred in their statements.

·        The expenditure statement of CPI does not provide any information about the breakup of general party propaganda expenses incurred by party headquarter.

Recommendations of ADR

·        It must be made mandatory for all political parties to submit their statements of expenditure in the format given by the ECI, within the prescribed time limit. Political parties not submitting on time or in the prescribed format should be heavily penalized.

·        The details of all donors who contribute to national and regional parties exclusively for their election campaigns must be declared in the public domain irrespective of the amount donated.

·        A format similar to the donations report along with the date of donations, submitted to the ECI on an annual basis, has to be prescribed for the expenditure statement so as to bring in more transparency in the finances of the political parties especially during elections when it is said that black money plays a major role.

·        Where possible, the expenditure must be limited to transactions via cheque/DD/RTGS so as to reduce the use of black money in elections, as per the transparency guidelines issued by the ECI.

·        Similar to the shadow observers of the ECI for monitoring expenditure of candidates, there must also be observers for monitoring the expenditure of political parties.

Nasheman News : The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Uttar Pradesh unit chief Mahendra Nath Pandey on Tuesday slammed the Samajwadi Party for extending its support to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee in her stand-off with the Centre and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Questioning the criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, he said the opposition was like a “gang of corrupt” and rattled because of the ongoing investigations against them.

“These are the people of whom some are on bail, some on parole and the others on the verge of going into jail,” Pandey claimed while reminding Akhilesh Yadav that while he is speaking of democracy, he himself was sitting in the lap of the Congress, which had sent socialist ideologues like Jai Prakash Narayan behind bars during the Emergency.

He also said that people who had undemocratically usurped power in their own party should not lecture others on democracy, referring to Akhilesh Yadav’s takeover of his party.

He also attacked the opposition for alleging that the Modi government was trying to frame them through government agencies. “All these cases on which action was being taken had been filed during the UPA regime or have been directed by the Supreme Court or high courts,” he said, while adding that all those who have plundered public money or misused their positions of power will have to pay for it.