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Kejriwal lashes out at MHA notification, says Modi govt trying to run Delhi through backdoor

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: After being issued a notification from the Home Ministry detailing just what powers he actually had, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hit back alleging that the notification was an attempt to protect the corrupt and that the Narendra Modi government was trying to run the Delhi government through the Lieutenant-Governor.

The Delhi chief minister called the Centre’s notification “a gift from the Modi government for completing a year in office” and clarifying his relationship with the Lieutenant Governor, Kejriwal said “Jung saab ke saath koi Jung nahi hai” (There is no war with Jung).

However, he said that Lieutenant Governor has no actual powers as all his orders come from the top.

“Pre independence, Queen of England used to send notifications to the Viceroy here. Now, Jung Sahab is Viceroy & PMO is London. All orders come from the PMO,” Kejriwal said.

Continuing his attack on the Modi government, he went on to state that the notification proved that Modi with his 3 BJP MLA’s is trying to control the Delhi government through the backdoor.

“The BJP and Congress want to have their own officers in Delhi and get government contracts for their own people,” he alleged.

The Centre on Friday morning issued a notification which backed Jung and said that it was not mandatory for the Lieutenant Governor to consult the Chief Minister.

Kejriwal alleged that issuing the notification was very ‘unfair’ towards the people of Delhi, and said that the AAP government is doing very good work.

“We want to ask the Narendra Modi government, who are they trying to save through this notification?” he said

Kejriwal alleged that the government is rattled by the action taken by the Delhi government against corrupt officers and was attempting to protect corrupt officials by issuing the notification.

“They are saying that we can’t take any action against corrupt official in the central government,” he said.

Shifting his focus on Najeeb Jung, Kejriwal said, “The Lieutenant Governor has never asked about water or electricity, all they are interested in is transfer posting.”

He also added that it is because of the AAP government that a lot of money being paid for transfers has ended, a statement his deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had made earlier.

“Probably the AAP government is one of the cleanest governments Delhi has ever seen,” Kejriwal said.

(Agencies)

Jayalalithaa set to return as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister after party lawmakers' meeting

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Jayalalithaa

Chennai: J Jayalalithaa was today elected by AIADMK lawmakers to take over as chief minister of Tamil Nadu at a party meeting in Chennai this morning. The 67-year-old leader, who was not present at the meeting, is likely to take oath tomorrow.

144 of 150 party lawmakers attended the meeting at the AIADMK headquarters where five rebel MLAs from actor-politician Vijayakanth’s DMDK were also present. Current chief minister O Panneerselvam headed straight to Ms Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence after the meeting. He is expected to resign today.

Nearly eight months ago, Ms Jayalalithaa was convicted in a corruption case and forced to step down in the midst of her third term as the state’s top leader.

Ms Jayalalithaa’s return as the head of the government was enabled by her acquittal earlier this month in the same case, and a party that has expressed its unwavering devotion to her in unabashed shows of sycophancy.

Ms Jayalalithaa was found not guilty of illicitly amassing wealth adding up to nearly Rs. 50 crore by the Karnataka High Court. She must win a state assembly seat within six months of taking over as Chief Minister.

The leader, who is known as “Amma” or “mother” will appear in public today for the first time after her acquittal to garland statues of AIADMK leaders including founder MG Ramachandran.

In a statement on Monday that broadly hinted at her plans, Ms Jayalalithaa had told party workers that “whatever our cadres wish will happen soon.”

When her replacement O Panneerselvam took over as Chief Minister, other AIADMK leaders and he wept through the swearing-in ceremony; when she was jailed, Ms Jayalalithaa’s enraged supporters set buses on fire; she has said more than 200 people killed themselves to protest against her incarceration.

(Agencies)

Blooper: Subramanian Swamy attempts to tie a knot to a bride

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subramanian swamy

Tirunelveli: A gag reel showing senior BJP leader and self-styled nationalist Subramanian Swamy almost getting married for the second time is doing the rounds on social media platforms of late.

As per media reports, the BJP leader was invited to bless the bride and groom at a wedding held in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. During the wedding ceremony, he was asked to hand over the nuptial chain or ‘mangala sutra’ to the groom and bless the couple.

Swamy, who seemed to be absent-minded, almost tied the nuptial chain to the bride instead of handing it over to the groom.

However, an alert elderly lady pulled back Swamy at the spur of the moment. Swamy finally handed over the nuptial chain to the groom.

(Agencies)

Tharoor attacks media, calls it 'self-appointed liars'

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SHASHI THAROOR

Thiruvananthapuram: Former union minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has again courted controversy, this time by accusing the media of being “self-appointed liars and scum”.

However, as his comments Wednesday kicked up a furore, he sought to clarify that he had attacked “only those who put exploitation of tragedy above justice”.

“I’ll speak to the police, not to self-appointed liars and scum,” he remarked while responding to a media person’s query here.

The lawmaker was asked why his aides were allegedly not speaking the truth in the case relating to the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, in the wake of a Delhi court allowing the police Wednesday to conduct a lie-detector test on three “suspects” in the case.

“It suits gutter journalists 2 pretend I attacked their entire fraternity. I attacked only those who put exploitation of tragedy above justice,” the former Union minister tweeted Wednesday morning.

In another tweet, Tharoor said: “Let’s be clear: only 1 channel ran a witch-hunt yesterday all evening, lied & distorted facts, aired innuendo, ran a survey on purported guilt.”

(Agencies)

The real DK Ravi unveiled; his company attempted to acquired 50 acre Dalits’ land

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D-K-Ravi

Bengaluru: The CBI, which is investigating the unnatural death of IAS officer D K Ravi, has found that R&H Properties, a real estate company with which he had links, had attempted to acquire 50 acres of land belonging to SC/ST community in Chikkaballapur bordering Bengaluru.

The CBI has also found that unlike the claims by BJP and JD(S) leaders D K Ravi committed suicide by hanging himself.

The agency claims its investigation has shown Ravi was involved in an “improper attempt” to acquire around 50 acres of land for a real estate project that he and a friend had embarked on with investments from different quarters including his wife’s family and IAS batchmates.

The CBI, looking at the circumstances that may have led to the suicide apart from a failed relationship with an IAS batchmate to whom Ravi sent a final WhatsApp message, went through forensic evidence and questioned doctors involved in the post-mortem proceedings to come to the conclusion that it is “as apparent, a case of suicide’’.

The death of 34-year-old Ravi on March 16 rocked Karnataka. The Congress government in the state, under pressure from opposition parties and conspiracy theories that the officer was murdered for standing up to the real estate lobby in Bangalore, ordered a CBI probe a week later.

The agency, which registered a preliminary enquiry on April 16, claims its findings show Ravi and friend Hari K were involved with a real estate company R and H Properties which was attempting to acquire 50 acres of land belonging to SC/ ST communities in Chikaballapur region with money collected from friends and family.

CBI sources said the association of Ravi with R and H Properties first emerged when the IAS batchmate to whom he sent a final message told police that her husband had invested Rs 10 lakh in R and H Properties at the behest of Ravi who claimed he was buying land to start a real estate project.

Ravi’s name does not, however, figure in the firm or its bank accounts as a partner or joint account holder.

During the investigation of R and H Properties, Ravi’s friend Hari said the officer had ventured into a deal to buy 50 acres of land belonging to the SC/ST community, CBI sources said. The firm paid compensation to farmers for the deal but the acquisition was not cleared since acquisition of SC/ST land is prohibited under law, sources said.

The failure to acquire land resulted in Ravi running to several people for help to recover money paid as compensation for land, sources said quoting Ravi’s partner. Pressure was also building from investors in the firm for the return of money, the sources said.

In the days before his death, Ravi told Hari to withdraw Rs 2 crore from the R and H Properties account and give it to his wife Kusuma, CBI sources said.

CBI sources said the account of R and H Developers had deposits of Rs 5.42 crore and withdrawals of Rs 5.42 crore over a two-year period including a September 14, 2014 deposit of Rs 10 lakh by Ravi’s IAS batchmate and several cash deposits of Rs 5 lakh each.

(Agencies)

MBA graduate denied job in diamond export company for being Muslim

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Zeshan Ali Khan

Mumbai: A young MBA graduate was declined employment in a leading diamond export company allegedly on the grounds that he was a Muslim.

The issue has snowballed into a controversy with the National Commission for Minorities saying it will conduct an inquiry if there is any truth in the matter.

Management graduate Zeshan Ali Khan applied for an opening in the company on May 19.

However, the company replied to him saying that they hire only non-Muslim candidates, according to Khan, who shared the details on his Facebook page.

“Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates,” the company said in a response to his application. Giving details, Khan said, “I was looking for a job, I came to know about a recruitment drive taking place at Hare Krishna Exports Pvt LTD, one of the leading exports houses of the country. I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to start my career with them.

“I applied for a job day before yesterday in the evening at 5:45 PM and within 15 minutes I get a reply from them that we regret to inform you, we don’t hire Muslims. We only hire non-Muslim candidates. I was quite shocked when I read about this, I took a screen shot of it and posted it on Facebook,” he said.

“At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting foreign countries and inviting them for investment and pushing ahead the ‘Make in India’ campaign, the leading export houses are rejecting candidates for their religion,” he said.

Khan said he subsequently received a ‘regret’ mail from the company after his social media post generated sharp reactions. The company said it was a “personal mess” created by a trainee in the HR team.

“It was a blunder and personal mess created by one of our trainees who has no decision making power. We have 61 employees in our office here including one Muslim in the HR team,” Hari Krishna Exports Private Ltd said in the mail.

NCM chairperson Naseem Ahmed said, “We just received a petition this morning and as per our set procedure we will call for the comments of the respondent company and based on their response we will decide their course of action.

“If there is any truth in this, it is unfortunate. An inquiry should be conducted,” he said.

Reacting to the controversy, Minister of state for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “A person’s caste, area or religion cannot be a demerit.

“Discrimination on the basis of religion is neither allowed by our Constitution, nor by our administration. If there has been case in which he (Zeeshan) was denied or fired from the job only on the basis of his religion, then I feel its not right,” he said.

(PTI)

Black money: Dossier on 15 entities with government

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BLACK-MONEY

New Delhi: The Supreme Court constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has received a new dossier on tax related business information on about 15 entities which have allegedly stashed illicit money abroad.

Work is also “in progress” in various investigation and enforcement agencies regarding 600 suspect names and addresses obtained from abroad by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB).

The information about the dossier is part of a note prepared by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for the SIT.

The note reveals that tax authorities and investigators probing black money cases have decided to hold one-on-one meetings with their overseas counterparts based in tax havens and other countries to “deepen” cooperation in the fight against illicit funds stashed abroad.

The note also says that “certificates of incorporation” of eleven entities listed in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) report which were received from two foreign Financial Intelligence Units have been shared with CBDT for further action.

Sources said they have got additional information on about four more entities in this regard. The dossier is said to contain information about the circuitous manner and the route taken by the entities to stash money abroad.

The ICIJ brought out these names early last year while some additional details were published by the global group this year on suspected world entities holding assets and shares in overseas business structures, including those with Indian connections.

(Agencies)

No conclusion drawn on IAS officer DK Ravi's death: CBI

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ias-dk-ravi

Bengaluru: Investigation into the death of an IAS officer here, which had stirred a huge controversy over circumstances surrounding it, was still underway and no conclusion had yet been drawn on it, the CBI said today.

It said “all aspects/hypotheses” relating to the unnatural death of D K Ravi, found hanging at his house here on March 16, were being inquired into.

The clarification by the central agency came amid reports that CBI in its preliminary probe had found that Ravi, known as an upright officer, had committed suicide over some alleged real estate transactions involving him.

“In reference to reports in certain section of media regarding CBI concluding its investigation in DK Ravi’s case, CBI would like to state that all aspects/hypotheses relating to the unnatural death of DK Ravi are being inquired into. The matter is under investigation and no conclusion has yet been drawn on the matter,” CBI sources told PTI.

CBI had started a preliminary inquiry last month into the “unnatural” death of Ravi, an IAS officer of 2009 batch whose body was found hanging at his residence in Bengaluru a month ago.

His mysterious death had snowballed into a major controversy with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah agreeing to hand over the case to CBI after public outcry and demand from Ravi’s family which rejected the suicide theory.

(PTI)

Excess lead found, food inspectors order recall of Maggi noodles

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maggie-noodles

New Delhi: Food inspectors have ordered Nestle India to recall a batch of Maggi noodles from shops across the country, saying the product contained dangerous levels of lead. The Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) in Uttar Pradesh said high lead content was found during routine tests on two dozen packets of instant noodles, manufactured by Nestle in India.

Two FDA officials said all the packets of instant noodles tested in the state-run laboratory were contaminated. They found a lead concentration of 17.2 parts per million (ppm), which is way beyond the permissible limit. The FDA officials said the acceptable limit of lead ranges between 0.01 ppm and 2.5 ppm.

The scientists also found high levels of added Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), a taste enhancer, in the noodles.

“Maggi instant noodles contained dangerous amount of lead and MSG. We had to immediately issue orders against the company,” D.G. Srivastava, deputy inspector general of the FDA in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, told Reuters.

Nestle India, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle SA , said it had strict safety and quality controls in place for all raw materials used to make Maggi noodles.

“We do not add MSG to Maggi Noodles, and glutamate, if present, may come from naturally occurring sources. We are surprised with the content supposedly found in the sample as we monitor the lead content regularly as a part of the regulatory requirements,” it said.

A company spokesman confirmed Uttar Pradesh had ordered it to withdraw the batch dating back to March 2014, but added the items concerned had either already been consumed or were beyond the sell-by date, making the recall difficult.

Srivastava said his team collected more than two dozen packs of instant noodles from stores across the state and tested each pack separately before making the findings public.

“Our experts conducted several tests and each time the results were shocking,” he told Reuters, adding they had approached federal food inspectors in New Delhi to launch a wider investigation of the noodles.

(Reuters)

Business Man and Yoga Guru Ramdev calls Modi government arrogant, lauds Rahul

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Ramdev

New Delhi: Multi Million Ayurvedic products owner Ramdev, who has been a staunch supporter of the BJP for years now seems to have changed his stance as he slammed the Narendra Modi-led NDA government on Tuesday.

In an exclusive conversation with Aaj Tak, Ramdev said that a few BJP leaders have become arrogant after their landslide victory in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Ramdev praised PM Narendra Modi, but he also emphasised that the central government should work to improve its anti farmer image. Watch Video

Quite surprisingly, Ramdev appreciated Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to revive the Congress party, which suffered a major setback in the 2014 Assembly elections. He appreciated Rahul Gandhi and said he has injected new life in congress. He said strong opposition is important for democracy. Opposition has succeeded in portraying govt as anti poor.

Besides the yoga guru also appreciated Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and said he is doing good work. Ramdev and Kejriwal had earlier worked with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.

On black money issue Ramdev said will wait till June and then decide on the future course of action.

On the Putrajeevak beej controversy, Ramdev said he welcomes any investigation. Taking a dig at KC Tyagi, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev also said that if the JD(U) leader has a problem then he can try ‘Putrajeevak Beej’ and then he’ll surely become a father again.

(Agencies)

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