Modi-Nitish bonhomie again, PM lauds Bihar CM on prohibition

January 5, 2017

Patna, Jan 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today showered fulsome praise on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for launching a movement against liquor and appealed to all to make prohibition a grand success, weeks after he lauded the JD(U) chief for supporting demonetisation.

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"I greet Nitish Kumar from the core of my heart for launching a campaign against liquor," the PM said as Nitish and his ally RJD President Lalu Prasad shared the dais with him during the concluding function of 350th Prakash Parva of 10th Sikh Guru Govind Singh here.

"But, this work (prohibition) would not be a grand success only by efforts of Nitish Kumar or one party. All the political parties, social organisations and citizens have to participate in it to make it a 'jan-jan ka andolan' (peoples movement)," Modi said.

Bihar will become an example for the entire country through successful implementation of prohibition, the PM said.

The PM's mention of prohibition came in response to the Bihar Chief Minister's request to him to spread prohibition across the country. Fulfilling its poll promise, Nitish Kumar government had imposed total prohibition in Bihar.

Kumar in his address mentioned that Narendra Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat had successfully carried prohibition which has been in force in the western state since its inception.

Though Modi and Kumar have been bitter political opponents, the Prime Minister had praised the Bihar Chief Minister recently for supporting demonetisation after the winter session of Parliament was washed out due to protests by a united opposition on note ban.

The JD(U) had walked out of NDA over naming of Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in 2014. The two leaders led a shrill campaign in the 2015 Assembly elections against each other with Kumar, in alliance with RJD, handing down a humiliating defeat to BJP.

However, breaking from opposition ranks, the JD(U) has supported demonetisation.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind, Union ministers Ramvilas Paswan and Ravishankar Prasad were also present on the dais at the function today.

Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav and senior BJP leader and Patna Saheb MP Shatrughan Sinha were also present.

Bowing his head in reverence to the 10th Sikh Guru Govind Singh, the PM lauded his efforts for unity of the country through formation of "Panch Pyara panth".

Patting Nitish Kumar for taking personal interest in making elaborate arrangements for the 350th Prakash Parva, the PM said the Centre on its part, besides helping the Bihar government in organising the event, is celebrating the historic occasion in different countries through its embassies.

The central government has allocated a sum of Rs 100 crore for the celebration of 350th Prakash Parva abroad which is being done through a committee formed for the purpose, Modi said.

The PM also highlighted the Centre's contribution in successful organisation of the occasion in Bihar.

He said the Railway ministry as well Union Culture ministry have spent Rs 40 crore each for Prakash Parva in Bihar.

The PM received "prasad" (offering) from a langar in the tent city that has been erected in Gandhi Maidan, before leaving for Patna Airport on way back to Delhi.

The PM, Nitish Kumar, Union ministers Ramvilas Paswan and Ravishankar Prasad wore turban at the function.

Lakhs of Sikh devotees from the country and abroad have arrived for the event.
Punjab Chief Minister and Akali Dal President Prakash Singh Badal also showered praise on Nitish Kumar for elaborate arrangements for the Prakash Parva.

"In 70 years of my public life, I have seen several samagams...but the way Nitish Kumar took personal interest in hosting the event is an example," Badal said.

"I could not have organised the occasion in much grander way," he said.

Badal also hailed the PM for his special bond with Sikhs and thanked him for his presence in all the functions organised by the community.

Besides the 350th Prakash Parva, Kumar said, the state government would also host centenary celebration of Champaran Satyagraha of Mahatama Gandhi launched against British rule in 1917.

While referring to prohibition, Kumar said it was a tribute to Guru Govind Singh and Mahatama Gandhi who had heralded agitation against British rule through Champaran satyagraha in East Champaran district of Bihar against forced indigo plantation enforced by Britishers.

With the concluding function today, 350th Prakash Parva which began on December 25 last has come to an end.

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News Network
March 25,2024

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will face Kerala BJP chief K Surendran in the high-profile Wayanand constituency this Lok Sabha election.

Wayanad, a Congress stronghold, has been with the party since 2009. Mr Gandhi won it in 2019 and retained his Lok Sabha membership, having lost his Amethi seat to Union Minister Smriti Irani.

His rival this time, Mr Surendran, has the significant task of challenging the Congress-Left binary in Kerala's political landscape. Both the Congress and the Left are in a national alliance though they remain rivals in this southern state.

Surendran has contested all three Lok Sabha elections since 2009 and also four Assembly elections. In 2021, he contested from Konni and Manjeshwar seats simultaneously. 

In 2019 general elections, Mr Surendran finished third in Pathanamthitta constituency behind the Congress and the Left. He had lost the 2016 assembly polls from Manjeswaram by merely 89 votes. He also contested a bypoll in 2019, but lost it as well.

He was appointed to head the BJP Kerala unit in 2020 and became the face of the protests against the entry of young women into Sabarimala years ago.

Mr Surendran, who is from Kozhikode, figured in the BJP's fifth candidates' list, which also named actor Kangana Ranaut and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

Wayanad is the second Kerala seat to see a battle of titans after Thiruvananthapuram, where Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will face the three-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The BJP has also fielded former vice-chancellor of Sree Sankara Sanskrit University K S Radhakrishnan from Ernakulam and actor-turned-politician G Krishnakumar from Kollam. T N Sarasu, a former educator, will contest from Alathur in Palakkad.

The highlight of the BJP's fifth list was the electoral debut of actor Kangana Ranaut from Mandi in her homestate Himachal Pradesh. The list, which named 111 candidates in 17 states, also featured new joinees like industrialist Naveen Jindal and Mr Gangopadhyay.

Mr Gangopadhyay, who joined the BJP recently after taking voluntary retirement, is the first former judge to join electoral politics. He has been fielded from Tamluk in Bengal and will face Trinamool's Debangshu Bhattacharya, a youth leader who had penned the party's "Khela Hobe" song.

Varun Gandhi, a sitting MP from Pilibhit, has been dropped and his seat has gone to Jitin Prasada, who switched to the BJP from the Congress in run-up to the election. His mother Maneka Gandhi has been fielded from her current seat, Sultanpur.

Actor Arun Govil, who played Ram in popular TV series Ramayan, will contest from Meerut. Union ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey and General VK Singh too were part of the list.

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News Network
March 29,2024

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The Income Tax department has issued a notice of approximately Rs 1,800 crore to the Congress party, exacerbating its financial concerns ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections, multiple reports revealed on Friday.

The development comes after the Delhi High Court rejected the party's plea challenging reassessment proceedings for four assessment years.

The new demand pertains to assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21 and includes penalties and interest. The Congress party now awaits reassessment for three other assessment years, expected to conclude by Sunday, the stipulated deadline, said a report.

Congress lawyer and RS MP Vivek Tankha alleged that the fresh notice of nearly Rs 1,800 crore was served on the party on Thursday without key accompanying documents.

"We received the demand notice without assessment orders. The govt appeared keener to serve us with demand rather than issue us reasons for reassessment," a news paper quoted Tankha as saying. He further added, "this is how the main opposition party is being strangled financially, and that too during the Lok Sabha elections".

Delhi HC rejects plea

The Delhi High Court, on Thursday, dismissed petitions filed by the Congress challenging the initiation of tax reassessment proceedings spanning four years by tax authorities. Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, comprising the bench, stated that the pleas were rejected in line with their earlier decision to abstain from intervening in the reopening of reassessment for an additional year.

The subject matter of the case pertained to assessment years from 2017 to 2021.

In a previous petition dismissed the week before, the Congress party had contested the initiation of reassessment proceedings concerning assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17.

The High Court dismissed the plea, citing that the tax authority had prima facie gathered "substantial and concrete" evidence warranting further scrutiny. The tax department alleged that approximately Rs 520 crore had evaded assessment during these three years.

Additionally, the department revealed that searches conducted on entities, including some purportedly linked to Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar and a company in Surat, had uncovered cash transactions involving Congress. These transactions were cited as violations, disqualifying the party from tax exemption available to political parties.

In the absence of exemption, parties are treated as "association of persons" and are obligated to pay taxes on their reported income. Moreover, the cash transactions are included in their total income.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 18: The Election Commission on Monday afternoon issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries - including the top bureaucrats from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

The poll panel also directed the transfer of West Bengal's Director-General of Police, the top cop of a state that has seen several instances of poll-related violence in recent years. The poll panel further said a shortlist of three potential replacements had to be prepared and submitted by 5 pm.

The re-shuffle, not an uncommon move by the Election Commission before major polls, also includes the transfer of the Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand Home Secretaries, as well as senior officials attached to the offices of the Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh Chief Ministers.

In addition, Iqbal Singh Chahal, who is Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and other officials in municipalities across Maharashtra, have been removed too.

All of this comes less than a month before the 2024 Lok Sabha poll; the ECI on Saturday said voting will begin on April 19 and run over seven phases till June 1.

This is, in fact, the first bureaucratic re-jig by the ECI since it announced polling dates.

The ECI's move comes after a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and his two associates, the newly-appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. This step comes as part of the poll panel's commitment to ensure a level playing field for all political parties in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, as well as by-polls for 26 seats in 13 states.

Sources said the personnel removed were found to be holding dual charge in the offices of the respective chief ministers of each state, and this could compromise, or be seen to be compromising, required neutrality, particularly in relation to law-and-order before, during and after polling.

Bengal's ruling Trinamool has not yet reacted to the removal of DGP Rajiv Malik, who is seen by some to be close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party. In the past, the state government has questioned the last-minute re-shuffle of senior civil service and police officials so close to an election, arguing it actually hampers prep work since the new faces need time to adjust to the post.

Bengal has frequently witnessed violence during polling season; in June last year over a dozen people were killed across the state as voting for a panchayat election was underway.

The Trinamool accused the opposition of instigating violence and criticised central forces for their failure to protect voters, while the Congress claimed the state had let thugs loose on the people.

While announcing the dates on Saturday, the Chief Election Commissioner said the poll panel would take a very dim view of any violence during the election. Mr Kumar said the ECI is prepared to come down hard on any such incident. "We're putting political parties on notice," he declared.

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