The sessions court extended the interim protection from arrest granted to former world billiards champion Michael Ferreira till February 24 in connection with Rs. 425 crore QNet case.
“The court extended his interim protection till February 24,” said Chief Public Prosecutor Kalpana Chavan.
Ferreira had approached the court on January 22 seeking pre-arrest bail.
In the second week of December, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police, probing the QNet case, had served summons to the 75-year-old Ferreira as they wanted to quiz him about his association with the scam-hit company.
However he did not turn up.
The EOW has so far arrested nine ‘team leaders’ of the QNet for allegedly duping investors by offering to sell products such as magnetic disks, herbal remedies and holiday schemes through fraudulent practices.
QNet has also been accused of using the banned ‘binary pyramid’ business model for their multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes to entice investors.
The accused have been charged with cheating and forgery under the Prize, Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act 1978.
The appointment of the new Police Commissioner has already run into controversies. Questions were raised over Maria’s appointment and officials also alleged that the decision was politically motivated. A question which arises in my mind is why every senior police officer wants to become the police chief as only one person will be appointed for the coveted post. What is the big deal if any official doesn’t become the Mumbai Police Commissioner? Maria was deserving candidate hence he was appointed as the new police chief and there is no need to make a hue and cry over it. In fact those officials who were overlooked for the post of police commissioner have been offered promotions. So they need not get disappointed about it and should resume their duties.
It’s the responsibility of the police officer to tackle crime. It doesn’t matter what post is assigned to cops as it’s their duty to resolve crime case and make the city safe for residents. Questions are being raised about the intention of the senior level officials who are eyeing the lucrative job about whether they are greedy. It doesn’t matter if an official is appointed as the Police Commissioner or the post of Director General. At the end of the day, they have to control crime in the city.
Let’s talk about the officer’s who are upset with the government’s decision to appoint Rakesh Maira as Police Commissioner. Vijay Kamble who was in fray for being appointed as the police chief has been alloted the post of Thane police Commissioner should not feel disappointed. Another police officer, Ahmad Javed too was not pleased with Maria’s appointment as the new police chief as he felt that he was more eligible for the post. He has been appointed as the Director General, Home Guard which is a higher post as compared to Mumbai Police Commissioner.
The reason why every police official dreams wants to become the Police Chief of Mumbai is because it’s a metropolitan city and the nation’s financial capital.
Ahmad Javed has gone to leave instead of taking charge as Director General, Home Guard and Vijay Kamble is also expected to follow his footsteps which is setting a bad precedent and malign the image of the police department. Finally, I can say that instead of eyeing for the coveted post police officers needs to beef up the security of the city security and make it a better place to live.
After taking over as Finance Minister in August 2012, Chidambaram had drawn up a financial amalgamation road map to lower the fiscal deficit to 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2013-14, 4.2 per cent in 2014-15 and 3.6 per cent in 2015-16. He said the government’s objectives included fiscal consolidation, reviving the growth cycle and enhancing manufacturing. The Minister had on several occasions said he had drawn a red line for the fiscal deficit and it would not be breached. As per current indications, the fiscal deficit has come down mainly on account of expenditure compression and higher realisation from the 2G spectrum auction. GDP growth has improved and will be 4.9 per cent for the current financial year.
Economic growth had slowed to a decade’s low of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13. Congratulations to Finance Minister for controlling fiscal deficit and lowering it down by 0.3 per cent than the previous financial year. It is the notable achievement of UPA Government. Many such things are said and done but after this interim budget people are confused, they don’t know whether to congratulate UPA or just see the fun of postponing all responsibilities to the new government to be formed in 2014.
In these nine years, UPA has taken the country to a primitive state, giving too many subsidies, paying less attention to education and health sectors. The next government will have to do something to reduce or do away with these freebies. No one can deny that Congress Party has got great economist minds like P. Chidambaram, Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia but they are surrounded by dirty minds which has disease of corruption. I don’t think, currently any other party in India have talented economists like them. However, why they are not leaving corruption and working for the progress of the country? One cannot be 100 per cent corruption free. We Indians are still good if you eat 20 per cent and develop with remaining 80 per cent but today, the trend is going in reverse direction; we see 80 per cent corruption and 20 per cent development. Political parties should forget its differences and think for the progress of the country and its people. Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram never had free hand to frame the budget as they might have wanted. And it is a fact, a very bitter fact. Cars should be made costlier by increasing taxes and reduce the direct tax on income. Honestly, people will not be impacted as they do not buy a car every year. Increase in car cost will be set off by rebate on tax on income. Finance minister himself said luxury car sales (more than 50 lacs) is more than people declaring income above 1 crore. Congress is making auto and real estate a hub of black money.
Indirectly, it will lead to more pollution, more traffic on roads and more burdens due to fuel import cost. People with black money are rewarded. Only 2 per cent people pay tax on income in India. Increasing the lowest tax slab to 5 lacs and increasing the tax on cars by 1% is a win win situation for all honest people.
Leaving direct taxes untouched, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday slashed excise duty on cars, SUVs and two-wheelers, and capital goods and consumer durables to boost manufacturing and growth. Presenting the interim Union Budget for 2014-15, he also provided service tax exemption for storage and warehousing of rice like it was done in case of paddy last year. Also, blood banks have been exempted from its purview. The 1 per cent surcharge on ‘super-rich’ having income above Rs. 1 crore in a year, and the 5 per cent surcharge on corporates imposed last year, has been allowed to lapse . The budget document does not give figures of the indirect tax concessions, which are valid up to June 30, 2014 and could be reviewed later. They will be notified later in the day.
He justified the excise duty relief saying, “However, the current economic situation demands some interventions that cannot wait for the regular Budget. In particular, the manufacturing sector needs an immediate boost. To encourage domestic production of mobile handsets, he restructured the excise duty for all categories fixing it at 6 per cent with CENVAT credit or 1 per cent without CENVAT credit. Customs duty structure on non-edible grade industrial oils and its fractions, fatty acids and fatty alcohols has been pegged at 7.5 per cent to encourage to domestic production of soaps and oleo chemicals. Similarly, a concessional customs duty of 5 per cent on capital goods imported by Bank Note Paper Mill India Pvt Ltd has been provided to encourage to indigenous production of security paper for printing currency notes. Giving budget estimates, the minister said the current financial year will end on a satisfactory note with the fiscal deficit at 4.6 per cent; below redline of 4.8 per cent, and the revenue deficit at 3.3 per cent. The fiscal deficit for 2014-15 has been pegged at 4.1 per cent, which will be below the target of 4.2 per cent set by the new fiscal consolidation path. Revenue deficit is estimated at 3 per cent.
Plan expenditure for the coming fiscal has been fixed at Rs. 555,322 crore, unchanged from current year, and non-Plan expenditure at Rs. 12,07,892 crore, marginally higher than 2013-14. Chidambaram said excise duty has been reduced from 12 to 10 per cent on capital goods and consumer non-durables falling under Chapter 84 and 85 of the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act. Small cars, motorcycles, scooters and commercial vehicles will attract a lower excise duty of 8 per cent from the current 12 per cent, while SUVs will see a 6 per cent reduction in duty from 30 to 24 per cent. Large and middle segment cars will enjoy an excise duty of 24/20 per cent, down from 27/24 per cent. Outlining a 10-point vision for the future, the finance minister said India must achieve the target of fiscal deficit of 3 per cent of GDP by 2016-17 and remain below that level always. On current account deficit, he said there is no room for any aversion for it since the country will run a CAD every year for some more years and it can be financed only by foreign investments – FDI, FII or ECBs or any other foreign inflow. As a part of the vision, he said a developing economy must accept that when the aim is high growth, there will be moderate level of inflation.
Chidambaram always says the right things rightly and then goes on to take the wrong decisions, wrongly. They are sure, they will not be elected this time. In order to contain the fiscal deficit within the budgeted 4.8 per cent of the GDP, you are leaving a huge burden of unpaid bills for the next government.
Continuing his tirade against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress leader Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday accused Sonia Gandhi of dividing the state with the sole aim of making Rahul Gandhi the next prime minister.
Sitting on a dharna along with a large numbers of supporters at Jantar Mantar, Jagan charged that the ruling party came up with the idea of bifurcating Andhra as it hoped to win some seats by aligning with TRS in Telangana and strengthen chances of Rahul Gandhi becoming the next PM.
Referring to Sonia Gandhi’s Italian background, he dubbed the Indian National Congress as “Italian National Congress” and said, “Even Britishers did not do what she did to my state of Andhra Pradesh”.
He said the use of a pepper spray by a Congress MP in Parliament to protest the state’s division was a Congress conspiracy to suspend Seemandhra MPs.
“Congress has engineered the chaos. They have plotted it… Knowing very well that their fortunes are down to practically zero, these people have ignited passions. Months before elections they have broken my state,” he charged.
The Seemandhra MPs were “undemocratically” suspended by Parliament to muzzle their voice. “The ruling party wanted to push through the Bill to create Telangana without any debate,” he said.
The YSR Congress leader said that he would support anybody, including BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, if they support the move to keep Andhra united.
Jagan has met leaders from various political parties, seeking their support for keeping the state united.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said on Monday that after the budget had been passed, the Parliament should focus on the anti-corruption bills.
Talking to reporters in the national capital Rahul asked the Opposition parties to fix a date to pass the bills on which there was a general consensus.
The Congress VP had recently accused the main Opposition, the BJP of blocking passage of six anti-graft bills at a public rally at Belgaum, Karnataka. He had said that his party wanted to pass them but were being stopped in Parliament. He had also said that the BJP leaders don’t allow functioning of Parliament and at the same time reminded the crowd that the RTI Act and the Lokpal Bill was brought by the Congress.
The Parliament passed the Lokpal Bill in the last session of Parliament. The Congress leaders have said time and again that Rahul was instrumental in getting the anti-graft bill passed.
The BJP, however, hitting back at Rahul said that it was Congress MPs who were creating ruckus in the House. Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley clarified that his party was ready to support most of the anti-corruption legislations once the UPA government restored order in the House.
Taking a dig at the Congress VP, Jaitley had written in his blog, “Not having spoken even once on major scams such as 2G spectrum allocation, coal block allocation, Commonwealth Games, he has only belatedly realised that corruption is a major issue in Indian politics.”
Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the Interim Budget today amidst din in the House. Leaving direct taxes untouched except for continuing the income tax surcharge on ‘super-rich’ individuals and corporates, he slashed excise duty on cars and two-wheelers, and capital goods and consumer durables to boost manufacturing and growth.
Presenting the Interim Budget for 2014-15 along with a vote-on-account for spending up to July, Chidambaram also provided service tax exemption for storage and warehousing of rice like it was done in the case of paddy last year. Also, blood banks have been exempted from its purview.
Rejecting the argument of policy paralysis, Chidambaram enumerated the path-breaking decisions of the government in 2013-14 which included decontrol of sugar, gradual correction of diesel prices, rationalisation of railway fare, starting the process of issue of new bank licenses and restructuring of power distribution companies.
Referring to the GDP growth rate, Chidambaram said the slowdown began in 2011-12 and in nine quarters it had declined from 7.5 per cent in Q1 of 2011-12 to 4.4 per cent in Q1 of 2013-14.
Given the spirited opposition to the passage of the Telangana Bill in Parliament, the UPA government on Monday announced that it will be debated in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
“Telangana Bill will come up for discussion in Lok Sabha on 18th. Those who want to oppose can do so in a parliamentary manner,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said.
The announcement comes on a day when the YSR Congress is organising a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the division of Andhra Pradesh. As many as eight train full loads of party workers have arrived in Delhi from various parts of AP, reports said.
The forum for protection of integrated AP, led by the Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGOs) Association, would also be organising a protests this week in Delhi. The forum plans to hold a public meeting at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi against division.
The APNGOs and other protagonists of integrated Andhra Pradesh have been camping in Delhi to campaign against the proposed division.
Meanwhile, the separate statehood supporters have been making efforts for the passage of the Telangana Bill.
TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, his party MLAs and the leaders of other pro-Telangana parties and outfits have also been camping in Delhi to drum up support for the Bill.
Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi has been the venue for many a protest and clashes over the contentious issue during the last couple of weeks.
In a new low in India’s parliamentary history, pepper spray was used in the Lok Sabha on February 13 resulting in hospitalisation of three MPs following a ruckus over introduction of the Telangana bill after which 16 Andhra Pradesh MPs were suspended.
Some Union ministers from Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh have met LK Advani seeking BJP’s support for a package for the region following the decision to create a separate Telangana state.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s first list of 20 potential giant-killers for the general elections due by May seems to have ruffled some feathers internally. The Congress and the BJP are, however, dismissive.
On Sunday, Arvind Kejriwal’s party lined up some of its big names to contest against the likes of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, union ministers Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Manish Tewari, the BJP’s Nitin Gadkari and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
AAP had sought applications for Lok Sabha ticket. Releasing the list, Mr. Kejriwal’s trusted aide Manish Sisodia said, “Our aim is to send the common man of this country to Parliament. We want good people of this country to be there. This is a new experiment that people of this country are looking forward to.”
But already there is discontent. In Nagpur, where AAP has chosen to air-drop prominent leader Anjali Damania of Mumbai to contest against former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, a local supporter called Rupa Kulkarni said, “The AAP cabinet of Nagpur had approached me over the last two months to convince me to contest elections from this seat. Finally, I made up my mind and agreed.”
She did not oppose Ms. Damania’s nomination but added, “The claims that have been given by AAP that the candidates will be selected on the public mandate within several local districts have not been done. This first list does not have common people in it.”
In Pune, where the party has picked a candidate called Subhash Vaare to contest the seat currently represented by “tainted” Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi, another local, Arun Bhatia, has reportedly threatened that he will contest as an Independent.
The list released yesterday confirms that senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, who has already been campaigning, will take on Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. In the same state, AAP’s Mukul Tripathi will contest against Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid in Farrukhabad, while Baba Hardev Singh will fight Mulayam Singh Yadav in Mainpuri.
In Delhi, journalist-turned-politician Ashutosh will take on Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal in his Chandni Chowk constituency. Mr. Sibal seemed unperturbed, only saying, “Someone has to come, and that person will campaign… To them, I say good luck.”
Mr. Khurshid’s response: “Is it a party or was it a party in Delhi?”
Among other prominent names on the AAP list are social activist Medha Patkar, senior leader Yogendra Yadav and former banker Meera Sanyal.
Also on that list are tribal rights activist Soni Sori, senior advocate HS Phulka and Jarnail Singh, who infamously hurled a shoe at Union minister P Chidambaram during a press conference in 2009.
Eleven people were killed and 33 injured some of them seriously, when a mini-bus in which they were travelling plunged into a gorge in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.
The vehicle was on its way to Ramban town from Banihal when it skidded off the road and fell into the 800-ft deep gorge at Battery Chashma at around 3:45 pm, police said.
The mini-bus was packed with passengers, they said.
Eight of the injured, who were in serious condition, were airlifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu for treatment, police said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the accident and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.
He sanctioned a financial relief of Rs. one lakh each to the next of kin of those killed and Rs. 10,000 each for the injured who had been hospitalised, officials said.
In some fresh trouble for Asaram who is accused of raping a minor girl in his Jodhpur ashram last year, an unidentified woman reached Jodhpur court on Monday claiming she is Asaram’s wife.
However, the lady is reportedly married in Jodhpur and hasn’t filed any sexual harassment case against Asaram till now. It is not clear what her intentions are and whether she will become a party in the sexual assault case against Asaram.
On February 8, Jodhpur District and Sessions Court Judge Manoj Kumar Vyas had framed charges against the self-styled godman under sections 342 (for wrongful confinement), 354A (sexual harassment), 370(4) (trafficking), 376(2)f (rape on a woman when she is under twelve years of age), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509/34 and 120 (B) (Criminal conspiracy).
He was also charged under section 23 and 26 of Juvenile Justice Act and section 5(f)/6, 5(g)/6 and 7/8 of POCSO Act. The charges attract a maximum of life imprisonment.
Two other accused Shiva and Prakash were also framed under the same sections except section 109/120(B) instead of plain 120(B) and section 7/8 read with section 17 of POCSO Act instead of plain section 7/8 of POCSO Act. They were however not charged under JJ Act.
The defence had said they were mulling filing a petition against the order.
“Since, the charges on Asaram are redundant, we are exploring the possibilities of filing a revision petition,” Pradeep Choudhary, counsel for Asaram had said.
Here is another reason for Tinsel Town to celebrate with pomp and show. Harman Baweja has confirmed of his relationship with BipashaBasu in an interview.
As B-town was ablaze with rumours of the duo dating each other privately, Harman unabashedly admitted that Bipasha is the most attractive woman for him.
Confessing his love for Bipasha, he went on to praise the 35 year old leggy lass` inner and spiritual beauty, stating that they both are quite alike.
After Bipasha`s ex flame John Abraham tied the knot this year, gossips are rife about the duo planning to settle down soon.
The two struck a chord at the 70th birthday bash of superstar Amitabh Bachchan and since then they have often been seen together raising many speculations.
According to a close source, Bipasha`s parents also had a formal meeting with the Bawejas` at their residence.
Well, is marriage on the cards for the couple any time soon…? Well that time will tell.
Here is another reason for Tinsel Town to celebrate with pomp and show. Harman Baweja has confirmed of his relationship with BipashaBasu in an interview.