India is in the process of finalising data protection law and supports digitisation without any compromise on data integrity, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday.
Speaking at the inaugural session of India Mobile Congress 2018, Prasad highlighted the exponential growth in mobile manufacturing in the country, backed by the rising base of smartphone users and internet penetration.
“India’s mobile story is finding global resonance,” Prasad said.
The minister said that the Indian market represented a large footfall for social media companies like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.
Stating that Indians have appetite for content in local languages, Prasad said that more and more solutions need to be focused on regional languages.
He emphasised that India needs technology that “finds a connect with the common man”.
Justice M. Sathyanarayanan, Supreme Court-appointed third judge of the Madras High Court, on Thursday upheld the validity of Tamil Nadu Speaker’s September 18, 2017 order disqualifying 18 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) belonging to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in the state.
The 18 MLAs had pledged support to rebel party leader TTV Dhinakarn, who later went on to form his own faction Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).
“It is not a setback for us. This is an experience. We will face the situation. The future course of action will be decided after meeting with the 18 MLAs,” TTV Dinakaran said while addressing the media after the court verdict.
In August last year, a total of 19 AIADMK MLAs had submitted a letter to then Governor CV Rao withdrawing support to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami. As a retort, chief government whip S Rajendiran asked Speaker P Dhanapal to disqualify the MLAs stating that their actions amounted to voluntarily giving up their party membership.
Later one of the MLAs, STK Jakkaiyan, came back to Palaniswami’s side and Dhanapal disqualified the remaining MLAs in September 2017 under the 1986 Tamil Nadu Assembly Members Party Defection Law.
The disqualified MLAs include S Thangatamilselvan (Andipatti), R Murugan (Harur), S Mariappan Kennedy (Manamadurai), K Kadirkamu (Periyakulam), Jayanthi Padmanabhan (Gudiyattam), P Palaniappan (Pappireddypatti), V Senthil Balaji (Aravakurichi), S Muthiah (Paramakudi), P Vetrivel (Perambur), N G Pathiban (Sholingur), M Kodandapani (Tiruporur), T A Elumalai (Poonamallee), M Rengasamy (Thanjavur), R Thangadurai (Nilakottai), R Balasubramani (Ambur), S G Subramanian (Sattur), R Sundaraj (Ottapidaram) and Uma Maheswari (Vilathikulam).
The Congress will hold protests on Friday outside all CBI offices across the country, demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reinstatement of CBI director Alok Verma who was sent on leave.
Top Congress leaders will be part of the protest outside the Central Bureau of Investigation headquarters in the national capital, while state leaders, including state party chiefs, will take part in similar protests, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
He said the party will ask the prime minister to apologise to the nation for “illegal and unconstitutional” sending on leave of the CBI director. The party will also seek reinstatement of Verma.
A late-night order on Tuesday from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana, who were at loggerheads, on leave.
Besides sending Verma and Asthana on leave, the government also transferred several CBI officials and appointed M Nageswar Rao as the interim chief of the agency.
Verma moved the Supreme Court Wednesday challenging the government’s decision after which it agreed to hear his plea on Friday.
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a fresh petition filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan seeking Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe against Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, including its Special Director Rakesh Asthana.
A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, however, has not given any date for hearing the petition. “We will look into the issue,” the bench of the top court said.
Bhushan, appearing for NGO ‘Common Cause’ today mentioned the matter before the top court seeking quashing of the order against CBI Director Alok Verma and appointment of M Nageshwar Rao as the interim director of the investigating agency.
After a spell of the internal fighting in the premier investigating agency, the Centre divested Verma and Asthana from their roles and asked them to go on leave. The two officials were at loggerheads on several issues and accused each other of blocking investigation of important cases.
The CBI had recently filed an FIR against Asthana for allegedly accepting a bribe from a businessman, who was linked to Moin Akhtar Qureshi case. Asthana was heading the SIT that was probing Qureshi’s case.
Amid this tug of war, Rao was appointed as the interim director of the CBI with immediate effect on Wednesday.
The ongoing CBI mess has unfolded a royal drama with the government late on Tuesday night appointing CBI Additional Director M Nageshwar Rao as the interim Director of the agency. The appointment with immediate effect was reserved after incumbent CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana, the two officers at the centre of the ongoing feud within India’s premier investigating agency, were sent on leave.
Moreover, the government has also sidelined all the three additional directors, number three in the agency hierarchy, including AK Sharma whose name was mentioned in the complaint filed by Asthana.
Hailing from Borenarsapur village in Warangal District of Andhra Pradesh, Mannem Nageshwar Rao is a 1986 batch officer of the Odisha cadre and served in various capacities in his cadre state. Following that, he became a Joint Director at CBI and was recently promoted as the Additional Director. The Additional Director of Railway Police was the last responsibility served by him in Odisha. Besides, he was also the No. 3 in the pecking order at the CBI and was handling the Chandigarh branch along with certain branches in South India.
The Verma-Asthana rift started in October 2017 when Verma, during a meeting of the five-member CVC, objected to Asthana’s promotion as Special Director. The reputation of the Central Bureau of Investigation has crashed deep down after Alok Verma recently filed an FIR against Asthana alleging him to have demanded a Rs 5 crore bribe from a Hyderabad-based businessman through middlemen in order to help him be out of trouble in controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi case, in which Asthana was heading the Special Investigation Team. Asthana too accused Verma of attempts to thwart investigations in important cases while the CBI has already issued a statement defending Verma.
Rao getting new designation in the CBI is too tainted with controversy as many have called him another black sheep in the CBI backed by BJP Telangana. As an acting chief of the investigation agency, Rao has firstly commanded the transfer of the investigation officer (IO) Ajay Bassi, the Deputy Inspector General Manish Sinha, and the whole team probing the bribery case against Asthana. What are all these indicating to? Is this how our Prime Minister wanted or promised to fight the deep-rooted corruption in the country? Why is the central government, through its appointee Rao, trying to shatter the squad investigating fraudulent activities?
BJP MLA Sardar Tara Singh said, “I believe that a capable person must be given the charge of this feud and action must be taken against those who are involved in corruption. So, if a corrupt CBI official is suspended from his post, then it is a good step.”
When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s allegations on Modi suspending Alok Verma to stop the investigation on Rafale deal scam, he commented, “Rahul Gandhi’s agenda is to speak against Narendra Modi every now and then. However, he will not derive any benefit by accusing Modi as the citizens are aware of Modi’s capability and his good work for the nation’s development.”
The ongoing discord in CBI moved the government to take charge in controlling the clutter. However, the Prime Minister-led Appointments Committee choosing Nageshwar Rao with its dramatic midnight mode has caught many eyeballs. Moreover, as per sources, even after being tarnished with corruption charges in his parent cadre Odisha, Rao’s closeness to native Telugu speaking officers helped him to be inducted into the CBI with an active recommendation by former union minister Venkaiah Naidu. A detailed complaint with corruption charges against Rao was sent to the then Director of CBI. The relevant portion of the complaint, which has been exclusively accessed by Afternoon Voice, reveals a huge scam.
It says that “though the FIR against the VGN Developers in a high-valued property case was registered on December 28, 2016, Nageshwar Rao failed to instruct the I.O. to conduct any search operations in connection with the case. Due to this serious lapse, sources say, some serious evidence of bribery by the VGN Developers to various state and central government officials was lost. Instead of allotting this case for investigation to an I.O. of police/investigation background, Rao assigned the investigation of this sensitive case to one Velayutham, an Indian Bank depute best known to him.”
“Rao failed to issue any clear instructions with regard to the investigation of this case or monitor the progress of this investigation. However, he had ensured that he is always kept in the loop with regard to any developments. Though the allegation as per the FIR is that the land in dispute which was purchased by VGN developers was purchased below market price, there are widespread allegations of the involvement of two senior IAS officers of TN cadre who facilitated the issuance of NOC for the sale. The sources also claim that one Ram Mohana Rao, who was a former Chief Secretary of TN government, had also received sizeable money from VGN promoters,” the report further unveiled.
Maj Gen (R) AJB Jaini asserted, “It is unfortunate that CBI, that is noted to be the ultimate agency for doing the right, is being accused of corruption. This is going to shatter the confidence of people as they have already lost faith in the police, judiciary, and the government. The government is removing corrupt officers but appointing even more corrupt people to make them their parrots. The government must remain aloof from the investigation agencies. If the credibility of CBI comes into question, where should the common man go?”
Narendra Modi-led government’s decision to divest Alok Verma of his duties and commissioning M Nageshwar Rao as the CBI Director is slammed by the Opposition parties. While Congress called it “the ‘last nail’ into the independence of CBI” and interpreted Verma’s keenness to probe the ‘layers of corruption’ in the Rafale deal scam as a possible reason behind his sacking, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury termed the removal as “illegal”. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too voiced their acrimony.
Congress leader and MLC Bhai Jagtap expressed, “The credibility of CBI is at stake today. Whatever Rahul Gandhi said in his speech about Alok Verma’s removal from the post of Special Director of CBI is not just allegations but a reality as the Rafale deal is a crystal clear fraud and the biggest of all corruption. Now, the transfer of the officials who were investigating the Rafale scam shows that the government wants to dilute the issue.”
On the appointment of Nageshwar Rao, an official with tainted records, Jagtap smirked and asked, “Not just me but the whole nation wants to know that what is BJP up to as how does it make sense to remove an officer on the charges of corruption but appoint another corrupt officer as the CBI Director.”
“If the government honestly wanted to sack the corrupt officers, they should have given the charge of CBI to someone who has a track record with an impartial approach towards cases. The government just wants puppet officers who can simply dance on their tunes,” he added.
In a typical move on Wednesday, the Narendra Modi government intervened into the ongoing CBI chaos and sent both the Director and Special Director on a leave till the time the probe against them for corruption charges are completed. Both of them have been alleging each other of corruption, FIR was filed, and in an unprecedented move, the CBI had raided its own headquarters. It is to be noted that the CBI Chief, the Director, Alok Verma and the second in command, Special Director, Rakesh Asthana, both come from very commendable and potent career background. While Asthana is one of the most successful officials in the CBI’s history in terms of numbers of cases probed, probes completed, charge sheets filed, and the accused brought to justice, Verma also possesses some commendable professional history in terms of the position held and the kind of achievements he made as the police chief of different UTs and the reforms he made to boost the morale of the forces.
The central government very rightly came with the argument that both of them have accused each other of corruption and that for the fair probe, it was necessary that both of them are out of the official powers to insure that the probe against them is free and fair. The government also informed in a press conference through the Finance Minister that it was the CVC, which on Tuesday evening, decided as per the law that both of them should be sent on a leave till the time the probe against them is completed as a measure for the time being. In other words, both of them were ousted from the office technically for the time being but practically were sacked. Now there are questions those are being raised on the whole issue and with the role of the CVC. Nageshwar Rao has been appointed as the acting director of the CBI until the time the probe is completed or the new chief is elected as per the rules. Point to be noted is that the main argument put forward by the government and the CVC was that since both the number one and number two of CBI were accused of corruption, the both should not be holding any position in the CBI while the agency probes into the charges. But at the same time, the CVC and the government appointed Rao as the acting chief against whom there are many charges of corruption, acting on behalf of the accused, and cases of disproportionate assets which were going on and were being probed by the CBI itself under the supervision of Verma who himself had recommended that Rao should be removed from the agency.
There are many corruption allegations about him and he is known for shielding corrupt governments. The story about the newly instated working chief of the CBI as exposed in savukkuonline.com portal, stated that the Hindustan Tele Printers Limited or HTL was started as a Public Sector Unit of the Central Government, on December 14, 1960, at Guindy. It was intended to manufacture Teleprinters, but at the initial stage, it assembled the parts of teleprinters imported from the Italian Company Olivetti. Another PSU, Hindustan Machine Tools Limited (HMT), manufactured many of the machines required for the Hindustan Teleprinters. Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd. continued as an active supplier to P&T Department. But economic liberalisation turned out to be a bane for this PSU, as it failed to understand the sea change in technology. The introduction of mobile services was the final nail in the coffin of HTL. It turned into a loss-making unit. When the central government wanted to commence a PSU in Chennai, TN government was liberal in allotting prime land in Chennai keeping in mind the employment it would generate. The land was allotted in 1965 and the condition for allotment was specific. The land so allotted should never be used for anything other than the purpose it has been allotted. After HTL became a sick unit, its debts started mounting. HTL owed money to banks, employees, state government by way of sales tax, etc. Banks to which HTL owed money, formed a consortium headed by SBI. In 2001, the Department of Disinvestment, decided to sell 74 per cent shares of HTL and Himachal Futuristic Communication Limited (HFCL) emerged as the successful bidder. Deepak Malhotra, Mahendra Nahata and Vinay Maloo incorporated HFCL in the year 1987.
HFCL commenced its operations by implementing a small 1.68 crore project for manufacture of analog subscriber carrier systems. Subsequently, HFCL stunned the market by forming a partnership with Israel based Bezeq and managed to win 9 of the 20 telecom circles outbidding AT&T – Birla, Reliance-Ninex, BPL-US West, and Tata-Bell Canada. When HFCL’s stocks were running high, it got itself entangled in a scam with its godfather, the then Telecommunications Minister Sukhram, being booked by the CBI. Subsequently, HFCL got embroiled in the 2G scam too.
HFCL Principal Promoter Mahendra Nahata was also accused of making frequent visits to the residence of Ranjit Sinha in spite of being involved in the 2G scam.
The consortium of banks headed by SBI decided to auction 11.021 acres of the land belonging to HTL. The Bengaluru based RMZ Millenia, a realty firm emerged as the successful bidder and bid Rs.298 crores for the 11.021 acres of land.
RMZ also deposited Rs 20 crores in an Escrow account towards the purchase of this land. An agreement to this effect was signed between State Bank of India (Escrow Agent), HTL Limited, the property owner, and RMZ Millenia, the purchaser on March 30, 2007. But the government of Tamil Nadu was reluctant to grant an NOC and was litigating up to the Supreme Court. The undue delay resulted in the successful bidder RMZ Millenia pulling out of the deal. On April 16, 2012, the government of Tamil Nadu finally issued an No Objection Certificate for the sale of the land belonging to HTL in G.O. Ms No. 18, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department. One of the mandatory conditions for issuance of NOC is that “out of the net sale proceeds, the company (HTL Limited) shall remit after deducting its liabilities, an amount equivalent to 10 per cent of such surplus to government”.
But, this G.O itself was the results of a criminal conspiracy say sources. The decision to issue NOC to HTL was taken in a cabinet meet of TN cabinet headed by Jayalalitha. In the meet, it was decided to relax the condition on the sale deed.
(This is the first part of the Editorial and the next part will continue tomorrow.)
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
A boat carrying Maharashtra Chief Secretary D K Jain and some senior state government officials on Wednesday capsized in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai Coast, the Coast Guard said.
The officials were on way to the site of the proposed memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, where work was to begin Wednesday, when it hit a rocky patch, an official said.
The commencement event has been cancelled.
Two helicopters were deployed for rescue work, the Coast Guard official said.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray Wednesday promised a badminton training facility of international standard in Thane neighbouring Mumbai.
Speaking on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Sayyed Modi Badminton Training Academy, Thackeray said the Sena-led Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) will make all possible efforts to make available such facility.
“I expect only one thing in return and that local players should win gold at Olympics in badminton,” he said.
Academy coaches, including Srikant Vad, were felicitated on the occasion.
In absence of a better training facility, local players have to travel to either Hyderabad or Bengaluru, said Vad.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday set aside a Pune court that had granted more time to the police for filing a charge sheet against lawyer Surendra Gadling and some other activists arrested in connection with the violence at Koregaon Bhima village in the state.
A single-judge bench of Justice Mridula Bhatkar held that the Pune court order granting the police an additional 90 days to file the charge sheet and consequently extending the custody of Gadling and others was “illegal”.
While Justice Bhatkar’s verdict paves the way for Gadling and other activists to be released on bail, the judge stayed her own order from becoming operational till November 1, following a request from the Maharashtra government, thus giving time to the state to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
The Pune Police had arrested Gadling along with Nagpur University’s English department head Shoma Sen, Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale, activist Mahesh Raut and Kerala native Rona Wilson in June this year.
The police had booked them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), alleging they had “links” with Maoists.
They were arrested following raids at their homes and offices in connection with an event to commemorate the Battle of Koregaon Bhima (a village in Pune district) on December 31 last year.
Gadling had approached the high court earlier this month with a plea that keeping him under extended custody and refusing to release him on bail was illegal.
He had said his custody was illegal as the prosecution had failed to follow the due procedure while seeking extension of time for filing the charge sheet against him and others in the case.
The UAPA mandates that the prosecuting agency in a case must file its charge sheet within 90 days from the arrest of a person.
But, if there is a delay on a valid ground, the public prosecutor in the case is permitted to file a report before the trial court explaining the reasons for the delay, and seek more time.
The Act mandates that if the trial court is satisfied with the report, it can extend the time for filing the charge sheet up to 180 days.
In the present case, it was alleged that the ‘reports’ that were considered by the lower court in Pune for grant of extension included an application and a written submission made by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), and the Investigating Officer (IO) concerned in the case, respectively.
The arguments seeking the extension were also made by the IO and the ACP before the lower court.
Gadling had argued before the high court that these reports cannot be considered same as the public prosecutor’s report.
Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, however, argued that the ‘report’ mentioned under the Act must not be taken too “literally” by the high court.
He further argued that police reports in the present case also bore the signature of the public prosecutor concerned and therefore, must be considered a valid document for granting the extension.
On the previous hearing on Tuesday, Justice Bhatkar had questioned why the lower court had permitted the IO and the ACP to argue independently when the prosecutor was present in court.
She noted that the law mandated that the prosecutor assist the courts in all cases, unless something specific was required of the IOs, or other parties in any case.
“The lower court committed an illegality in permitting the IO and the ACP to argue independently,” she had said.
A Jakarta-bound Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi was diverted to Mumbai after an Indonesian woman delivered a baby on board the Airbus A330 aircraft, the spokesperson of the Mumbai airport said on Wednesday.
The woman delivered the baby girl when the aircraft was around 40 minutes away from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Wednesday morning, the spokesperson said.
“An Etihad flight EY 474 flying on Abu Dhabi-Jakarta route was diverted to Mumbai Airport on October 24 due to an expectant female passenger of Indonesian origin going into labour on board,” the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said in a statement.
Airport officials had kept a medical team on stand-by, and it attended the woman immediately after the aircraft landed, it said.
“The MIAL doctors provided necessary medical assistance…the passenger was shifted to Seven Hills (hospital) for further medical intervention,” it said.
The flight departed from Mumbai for its destination Jakarta at 9:42 am, it added.
Etihad Airways, in its statement, said that the flight was diverted to Mumbai due to a “medical emergency” and as a result, it will be “two hours delayed arriving into Jakarta”.
