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Stop lavish weddings

February 7, 2014

The Kerala government’s decision to bring a bill to curb expensive and lavish wedding ceremonies in the state is laudable. The parents of the girl who cannot afford to spend lumpsum money are made to feel inferior. Obnoxious display of wealth is anti-social. On an average, even a middle class family has to shell out ten lakh rupees for arranging a wedding ceremony. It is a huge sum for a middle level officer, if he works honestly. The situation worsens further if a family has two girls and the father is nearing retirement age. Dowry and expensive wedding celebrations are responsible for increasing corruption besides being a social evil.

It is also reported that an MP who is associated with cricket board, had acquired expensive land in Mumbai and is unwilling to part with it. The malady with most of us is that we want to make hundred crores very soon and then try to double it in the next couple of months. Kanimozhi and Raja are good examples besides Narain Sain. We blindly follow superstition pertaining to a dead “Maharaj” being considered alive and various theories are being discussed on television.

Someone also said that caste based reservation is ultra-virus to the concept of equality in the constitution. The anchor quickly interrupted and said that now we are facing a dangerous situation.
People who have benefited the most on account of reservations are the one who belong to creamy layer. On the other hand, people belonging to poor financial background have not derived any benefit from reservations. One of my colleagues a retired DDG shipping under the influence of few pegs while walking with me said, “We do not want honest persons in the government”. His confidence and conviction was worth watching. People say lot of middle men exists in Delhi. They are unaware that these people have always existed and will continue to exist.

Have you noticed a picture of Rajiv Shukla and Anuradha Prasad depicting a good level of comfort in daily life but will pull out the daggers while discussing politics on TV. BJP and Congress are equal partners in spreading and patronizing corruption. Excessive concentration of wealth in one hand has also resulted into corruption. Why do you think that a boy or a girl hailing from north east unable to find a role in Bollywood films? We should have a balanced view and not get too much sympathetic to people from north east. We must also ascertain whether they are not attempting to draw unfair advantage because some of them may not be very innocent. Teachers, hostel wardens and principals should remain watchful to check whether these students are really pursuing studies and not engaged in any bad habit. Society should remain vigilant and vibrant in addition to being tolerant and supportive.

Interview plotted by Congress

Afternoon Voice

February 7, 2014

The claims by Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the Samjhauta Express, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Dargah blasts, that the RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat had “sanctioned” these terror acts have sparked off a controversy as BJP and its ally party Shiv Sena has questioned the veracity of the interview. On the other hand, Congress reacted strongly on this issue and if said the allegations might be true.

The Caravan magazine carried a story which mentioned that Aseemanand had revealed that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was involved in terror attack of 2007. Bhagwat had specifically told Aseemanand that the attacks should not be linked to the RSS.

The BJP and its ally Shiv Sena, however, dismissed the media report about Aseemanand’s allegation against RSS as “baseless” and blamed it on the “dirty tricks” department for diverting attention from the real issues before elections.

Atul Bhatalkar, BJP MLA said, “Stories published in the magazine was plotted by the Congress and they won’t derive any benefit out of it. It’s the ploy of the Congress government keeping in mind the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.”

Prakash Javadekar, BJP spokesperson said, “The allegations made against RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is baseless. It’s an attempt made by the Congress to malign the image of RSS.”

Talking to AV, Ram Madhav, RSS spokesperson said, “How can a magazine print such stories without verifying facts. Aseemanand has already clarified that he didn’t issue such a statement.”
When asked whether Congress had planted a story Bhagwat replied without naming Congress that a political party is definitely involved for maligning the image of RSS by performing such ‘Dirty tricks’ because election is just round the corner.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, “Statements printed in the interview are twisted and presented to defame Hindutva organizations. We are questioning the authencity of this interview.”

BJP MLA Gopal Shetty said, “The entire interview was fake. Question are being raised about the veracity of interview. Media is blowing this issue out of the proportion. Once we will come to power then will prohibit electronic media for repeatedly telecasting this issue without verifying the facts.”
Swami Aseemanand has been undergoing jail term since 2010. He had recorded a confession before a magistrate after his arrest, but later retracted it.

As per the magazine, the article was based on a series of interactions held with the blasts accused. The magazine also released audio tapes and transcripts of the interview to prove its claim.

Hindu Terror Propaganda by Congress

Vaidehi Taman

February 6, 2014

Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, there is shocking news repeatedly telecast by electronic media that Aseemanand, a key accused in several terror attacks between 2006 and 2008, has alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS sanctioned these strikes. The Caravan magazine which has published his interview claims that Aseemanand has said this all to him. Now, the question is, after seven years of arrest, what made Aseemanand to give such interview and other thing is how a journalist was allowed to interview him in jail? Suppose the journalist managed to interview, but is there any recording or proof to his claims? If yes then why those interviews were not aired on television, radio or websites? Right now, Congress supporting media houses are disproved and rejected by Social media and lost its credibility. Tehelka is almost vanished and Cobra Post is just labelled as Congress’s mouthpiece, no one takes them serious today and now another magazine emerges. Anyways this is not the first attempt to connect extreme Hindu organisations with RSS and termed them as “Saffron terror”.

What is the status of police investigations, in three major blasts happened in 2007? After seven years of investigations, some conclusions are surely expected. Days after a magazine quoted him saying that his terrorism acts were sanctioned by the RSS chief, Aseemanand has denied of having given any such interview to the magazine. Delhi-based Caravan Magazine carried a press release in which Aseemanand was quoted as saying that his terrorist acts were ‘sanctioned by the highest levels of the RSS-all the way up to Mohan Bhagwat, the current RSS chief, who was the organisation’s general secretary at the time’.

Aseemanand is incarcerated in Ambala Central Jail for abetting terrorist attacks on various targets between 2006 and 2008 Samjhauta Express (February 2007), Hyderabad Mecca Masjid (May 2007), Ajmer Dargah (October 2007) and two attacks in Malegaon (September 2006 and September 2008) which together took the lives of 119 people. Aseemanand’s lawyer has come up with a press release, terming the interview ‘a bundle of lies’. The press release says that the content of the article are false and baseless and Aseemanand has denied of having given any such interview. Aseemanand, in the press release, has challenged the magazine to prove the truth of the allegations or apologise. The interview, published with a caption ‘The Believer’ in the magazine’s February edition, is a compilation of four interviews taken during various occasions in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 at Ambala Jail.

Whenever something goes wrong in any part of the country, the first target will be the minorities and attack will be at Hindus. Whenever Hindu’s are targeted then, no matter whosoever are the terrorists, they are labelled as Pakistani and Indian minorities are protected. Somewhere something is unfair. Protecting the rights of minority may be on priority for each and every government but accusing Hindus is also not fair. Terrorist is terrorist, they have no religion then why fingers are raised against Hindus? Investigation agencies always suspect, and suspect comes out clean? Are their sources authentic or they knowingly do this thing? Can’t they have neutral approach to investigations with not just one dimension but from different dimensions? In this way, many innocent lives will be saved and investigations will bring culprits to their dues.

Terrorists have no religion; irrespective of the religion, culprits must be punished as per the law of the country. But, many of the people arrested in Mecca Masjid blasts are implicated in other blasts like Gokul chat, Lumbini park etc. It is a fact that majority of the terrorists acts are committed by misguided youth. Till to-date, Hindu terrorists are in fraction when compared with Muslim terrorists. Police have rights to investigate but without torture. They must be treated as per the law, but they must not be let free with hefty compensation. Justice should be speedy; punishment given by the courts should be implemented fast. Terrorists like Afzal, Rajiv killers etc are still not punished as per the court’s verdict due to vote bank politics. This shows how our police work.

After Malegaon blast, there was appeal to ban Abhinav Bharat, the home ministry wrote to the state government opposing proscribing of Abhinava Bharat — accused of launching bomb attacks at Mecca Masjid, Malegaon, Samjhauta Express and Ajmer Shariff — under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). According to sources in the MHA, there wasn’t substantial material at hand to establish Abhinav Bharat’s “terror activities” over the last two to three years. Also, there was no clear information available on the organizational structure of the Hindutva outfit, including its leadership and cadre still at large, or its infrastructure such as offices and hideouts. The security agencies also had no track of its continued terror funding.

Swami Aseemanand, Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan, Sunil Joshi (now dead) and Rajendra Choudhary are some of the Abhinav Bharat leaders already arrested for their role in various blasts, including the 2007 Samjhauta train blasts and Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Shariff explosions. But, nothing has been proven against them, till today. The National Investigation Agency has filed charge-sheets against Aseemanand but not named any prominent RSS leader. Sources in the agency say they are not sure how the Caravan magazine’s revelation can change anything. Ahead of the national election, due in May, these allegations are likely to take a political turn.
It is noteworthy that Shrikant Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya etc. have been behind bars for years and are in no position to interfere with the evidence gathering, the Police have not been able to charge them in the court of law. Then ATS Chief Hemant Karkare was under tremendous pressure from the NCP bosses including the Home Minister R R Patil to fabricate evidence against them. Now, Congress is already in deep trouble for trying to frame Col. Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya, Aseemanand and other Hindu members despite clear intelligence input even from US that all these blasts have been carried out by LeT. Congress badly failed to frame and charge sheet these people in any of the cases but still keeping them behind bars for over a decade to defame Hindu outfits and attack BJP for petty political gain. That is why; Congress does not want to invite further trouble by banning Abhinav Bharat and polarize votes. Now, they again played dirty by ‘imaginary’ interview of Aseemanand. Everyone knows, the RSS is the ideological mentor of the BJP, and is the fountainhead of a grouping that calls itself the “Sangh Parivar.” If they manage to damage the image of RSS, Congress may retain power after general elections in centre. But, I think this time it won’t happen.

Sena leader moves HC on Adarsh, names Gadkari’s associate

Afternoon Voice

February 6, 2014

Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe has approached the Bombay High Court seeking invocation of Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, Environment (Protection) Act and Benami Transaction Act against the persons accused by CBI in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

Interestingly, her petition mentions Abhay Sancheti, an alleged “close associate” of BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, named by the two-member judicial commission which probed the scam.

“The commission in its final report has clearly mentioned that the society had not sought clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to construct in a Coastal Regulation Zone II area. This amounts to violation under the Environment (Protection) Act,” the petition states.

It further adds that the commission had pointed out that 22 out of the 100 flats are ‘benami’. “The commission in its report said that out of the 22 benami flats, eight are in the name of Abhay Sancheti who is said to be a close associate of former BJP president Nitin Gadkari. Investigation must be conducted under Benami Transaction Act against the accused persons,” the petition said.

However, when the petition came up for hearing before the division bench of Justices N H Patil and V L Achiliya, the judges recused themselves without giving any reasons.

The petition will now be placed before another bench.

Pragya Thakur to be taken to Indore for more cancer tests

Afternoon Voice

February 6, 2014

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key suspect in the murder of RSS Pracharak Sunil Joshi, will be taken to Indore soon for PET scan as part of her treatment for cancer.

Pragya, who was diagnosed with cancer last year and had been undergoing treatment at the Pandit Khushilal Ayurveda Hospital, was briefly shifted to Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital (JNCH) on Tuesday after her condition deteriorated.

“She was brought back to the Pandit Khushilal Ayurveda Hospital last evening”, her relative Bhagwan Jha said.

He said timing of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan–which is done to find out the stage of cancer and its spread–will be finalised after securing permission from police since Pragya is in their custody.

Pragya was arrested by the Maharashtra police in connection with the Malegaon blasts of 2008. Later, the Madhya Pradesh police had arrested her in February 2011 for her alleged role in Sunil Joshi’s murder.

Joshi was named as an accused in the Malegaon and Samjhauta Express blasts cases, and was found murdered at Dewas in MP on December 29, 2007.

Bhatkal, Asadullah sent in ATS custody in 2011triple blast case

Afternoon Voice

February 6, 2014

A special MCOCA court today remanded Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar in ATS custody till February 18 in connection with the 2011 Mumbai terror attack case.

The duo was arrested on Wednesday by the Mumbai Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) after a Delhi court allowed its plea seeking their custody, saying their custodial interrogation was required to complete the probe.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told judge Y D Shinde that Bhatkal was the key conspirator of the three powerful blasts which ripped through crowded areas in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141.
Bhatkal played a very important role in procuring explosives and making Improvised Explosive Device (IED), he said. Nikam also told the court that they want to find out how the money was routed through hawala to execute the blasts.

“The court has allowed us to hand cuff the accused while being transported,” he said. However, defence lawyers told the court that since the ATS was conducting supplementary investigation, the accused should be remanded in judicial custody.

They also told the court that Bhatkal and Akhtar don’t want to make any confessions to ATS about the crime. Meanwhile, before the hearing, the court appointed lawyer V D More from legal aid panel to represent Bhatkal, who wore a smile on his face during the court proceedings while Akhtar had a grim look.

Akhtar’s lawyer Sherif Sheikh and More also moved an application in the court that the accused were detained illegally for a day. Earlier, five accused – Naquee Ahmed, Nadeem Shaikh, Kanwar Pathrija, Haroon Naik and Mohammed Qafeel Ansari were held in the case and are facing trial under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Indian Penal Code and other laws.

Those wanted in the case are Riyaz Bhatkal, who is also a top operative of the alleged home grown terror outfit, Waqas Ibrahim Sad, Dubai-based Muzaffar Kolah and Tehseen Akhtar Shaikh, the police said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested Yasin Bhatkal (30), who is wanted in over 40 terror cases and carries a reward of Rs. 35 lakh, as well as Akhtar, from the Indo-Nepal border on the night of August 28 last year.

Bhatkal, who hails from Bhatkal village of Udupi district in North Karnataka, is wanted in a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad, the agency had said. Bhatkal, who was earlier associated with banned outfit SIMI, is suspected to have allegedly conspired along with others to “wage war against India.”

Bombay HC asks IT tribunal to hear Vodafone case expeditiously

Afternoon Voice

February 6, 2014

The Bombay High Court directed the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) to hear the Rs. 3,700-crore transfer pricing tax demand dispute involving Vodafone India Services on a daily basis from February 21.

The division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha advanced the hearing date from March 21 to February 21, and directed the tribunal to hear and decide the matter expeditiously.

The court also asked both Vodafone and the Income Tax department not to seek any adjournments during the hearings.

The order was passed on a petition filed by the IT department challenging an interim order of the tribunal staying the Rs. 3,700 crore tax demand against Vodafone India.

The tribunal, in December last year, also directed the telecom giant to deposit Rs. 200 crore and provide corporate guarantees for the balance tax amount of Rs. 3,500 crore.

The IT department in its petition urged that the amount of Rs. 200 crore to be deposited by Vodafone was too low.

The department slapped a demand of Rs. 3,700 crore on Vodafone for FY08, which was a fall out of an earlier transfer-pricing order seeking to add Rs. 8,500 crore to the taxable income of the company from the deal that involved it selling its BPO unit to an offshore entity. The company challenged the demand before the Appellate Tribunal.

The IT department had in January slapped another Rs. 3,000 crore demand on the company in another transfer pricing case, which was stayed by the court on January 30.

Transfer pricing refers to the actual price at which a transaction takes place between two related parties, usually belonging to the same group.

Enforcement Directorate registers money laundering case in QNet scam case

Afternoon Voice

February 6, 2014

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case in connection with the alleged Rs. 425 crore financial fraud involving multi-level marketing firm QNet in which the name of former world billiards champion Michael Ferreira has cropped up.

Besides Ferreira, actor Boman Irani’s son Danesh is also under the scanner in the alleged QNet scam. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has already questioned Ferreira and Danesh.

The Mumbai office of ED has registered the case under the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of the EOW FIR filed in this case, official sources said.

The case has cross-border ramifications of monetary transactions and hence the agency has been brought in to probe this angle, they said.
The investigative agency may soon issue summons to all the accused in the case, they said.

The EOW has so far arrested nine team leaders of QNet for allegedly duping investors of crores of rupees by offering to sell products like magnetic disks, herbal products and holiday schemes through alleged 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. Investigating agencies have in the recent past keeping a watch on such cases across the country.

The accused in this case have been charged with cheating and forgery under relevant sections of the Prize, Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act 1978 and the ED probe will now focus on alleged money laundering.

Both Ferreira and Danesh along with QNet have denied any wrongdoing on their part in this case.

Will go all guns blazing on Navi Mumbai airport: GVK

Afternoon Voice

February 6, 2014

GVK Infra which operates the Mumbai International Airport or MIAL says that it will go all guns blazing to bid for the Navi Mumbai international airport. The state government of Maharashtra recently called for a request for qualification or RFQ for the construction of the much-delayed second airport in Mumbai.

“We will certainly bid for the project. We already have a right for first refusal or RoFR for the project, so we have a prize presence,” Issac George, the chief financial officer of GVK Infra said, in a analyst conference call.

The project had been delayed for many years the state government could not acquire the land required for the project. GVK, which already runs the domestic and international airports, was given an RoFR as they would lose some of their existing traffic. GVK will be asked to match the bid of the highest bidder for the project, and it shall pass on to others only if they refuse to do so.

George also said that they might have to wait a little longer for the project as the final bids for the project, are expected only in June. Spread over 1,160 hectares, the project would be one of the biggest airport projects to seek bids since the airport modernisation projects of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad were awarded in 2005.

The Navi Mumbai airport project which is expected to be completed in four phases will cost as much as Rs. 14,574 crore. It will have two parallel runways of 3,700 meters of length.

GVK has also recently launched its new terminal at Mumbai international airport T2. It also plans to now commercialise as much as eight acres of land that belongs to the airport, in four parcels. This land which can translate into 1.8 million square feet of space is not as a part of the encroached land that is currently under dispute.

“We have some bids come in, which we have evaluated. We are in negotiations with the individual parties. We should be able to finalise in a week or so,” said George. The land is located in the lucrative Western suburbs of Mumbai. GVK got the right to monetise the land as it won the bid to develop the Mumbai airport.

The infrastructure company which has presence across sectors like power and transportation too, has a consolidated debt of Rs. 20,970 crore. It is also looking to reduce its debt by selling stake in the airports holding company. It owns and operates airports in Mumbai and Bangalore.

“We already got two binding term sheets from two investors,” said George, without revealing the names due to a confidential agreements that they have with them. The amount of investment and the extent of equity dilution too is under discussions, he said.

Police meet citizens at Kandivali

Afternoon Voice

February 6, 2014

Police had a meeting with Kandivali residents at Vrindavan society, Kandivali. The meeting was organized by New Saibaba Nagar Welfare Association and was presided by Prof. DP Mehta.

D.C.P B. K Rajput (Zone XI) presided over the meeting. A.C.P. Kandivali Division, A.C.P. Borivali division, officer from Crime branch unit XI, Sr. P.I. Borivali, P.I. (L & O), Kandivali, Sr. P.I. traffic attended the meeting .

Residents have put forward several questions before the police officials as they replied them. Crimes like chain snatching, theft, house breaking, eve-teasing were discussed at length.

D.C.P. Rajput had asked people to remain vigilant and urged them to install CCTV cameras at housing societies. He assured to strengthen patrolling in remote and sensitive locations where risk of chain snatching is more.

He stated that “Police is for the Public” and any complaint filed by citizen will be addressed promptly. Large number of residents attended the meeting and there was a healthy interaction between police and citizens.

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