Subramanian Swamy asks Modi again to sack Raghuram Rajan

NEW DELHI, May 26: BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Thursday fired another salvo at RBI governor Raghuram Rajan levelling six allegations against him and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately terminate his services.

This is the second time in two weeks that Subramanian Swami has written to Prime Minister Modi seeking immediate removal of Raghuram Rajan. In the first letter, written on May 17 , Swami had called Rajan 'mentally not fully Indian'. In his second letter, Swami once again accused Rajan of raising interest rate to the detriment of small and medium industries. Swamy said the governor should have known the "inevitable consequence of rising and high interest rate and his policy was wilful and thus anti-national in intent".

Rajan, the BJP leader also claimed, has been sending confidential and sensitive financial information using unsecured Chicago University email id and publicly disparaging the BJP government.

Swamy said that six allegations levelled by him against RBI governor were "prima facie true" and require termination of Rajan's services "immediately" in the "national interest".

In his second letter to Modi within a fortnight, Swamy alleged that despite holding a sensitive and very high government post, Rajan has been making mandatory trips to the US to renew his Green Card.

RBI governor's post, Swamy added, "is very high in the Warrant of Precedence and requires a patriotic and unconditional commitment to our nation".

Rajan, he further alleged, is a member of US dominated Group of 30 which is engaged in defending America's dominant position in the global economy.

Swamy said Rajan's insistence on high interest rate led to recession in the domestic small and medium industries causing not only sharp decline in output but also massive unemployment of semi-skilled labour.

Recalling how the crisis in Japan and East Asia led to strong dominance of the US in the region, Swamy said, "this seems now also the modus operandi of Dr Rajan in his strangulating the small and medium industries by untenable high interest rates".

Accusing Rajan of sending "confidential and sensitive" financial information to various persons around the world on his Chicago University unsecured personal email address, Swamy said: "This is a reckless disregard of the national security interest of India".

He said that despite being a government official, Rajan has been publicly disparaging the BJP Government.

"He (Rajan) has by innuendos in effect held our government responsible for climate of intolerance in the country," Swamy said, adding that the Governor in Washington had disparaged the growth rate of India as being equal to a "cockeyed" person in the land of blind.

"Such pejorative sarcasm against the government is a violation of the rules governing public officials and conduct unbecoming of such an official," Swamy said.

Even after becoming RBI Governor in September 2013, Rajan has continued to hold US Green Card which is essentially a transitional visa arrangement for acquiring US citizenship and also requires performing US military duties if called for by the US government, Swamy said.

"Despite holding a sensitive and very high government of India post, he has continued annually to renew his Green Card by making the mandatory trip for at least one day residence in the USA," he said.

He further said that Rajan insisted on permitting Sharia compliant financial institutions although there is no such provision in the RBI Act.

Swamy in his letter on May 17 to the Prime Minister had urged him to sack Rajan immediately claiming he was "mentally not fully Indian" and alleged that he has "wilfully" wrecked the economy.

India Assembly poll results: 33% MLAs have criminal cases against them

NEW DELHI, May 20: Every second legislator in Kerala who has been elected in the just-concluded assembly elections has a criminal case against them, almost twice the proportion of lawmakers with such records in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

In all, one in three members of legislative assembly (MLA) elected in the four states - Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam and Union territory Puducherry - have at least one criminal case against them, a quick analysis of the affidavits filed by the candidates has revealed.

Of the 822 winning candidates, 270 or 33% had a criminal case against them. There were a combined 1,043 criminal cases against all the candidates or about 1.4 cases per candidates.

The percentage of newly-elected legislators with at least one criminal case was the highest in Kerala where 83 of the 140 members of the legislative assembly – 59% – had a case against them. In all, the new assembly has members with 485 cases against them, an average of 3.5 case per legislator.

In contrast, 30% of West Bengal’s 294 newly-elected legislators have at least one criminal case against them. Between them, the 88 legislators have a total of 270 cases or 1.1 case per MLA.

In Tamil Nadu, 75 of the 232 winning candidates (32%) have a criminal case. This comes to an average of 1.2 criminal case per legislator.

The proportion is a little higher in neighbouring Puducherry where 11 of the 30 MLAs or 37%, have a case against them.

Assam has the lowest proportion of legislators with a criminal case. Only 13 of the 126 MLAs have a case lodged against them.

Among parties which won 10 or more seats, the parties w/ the highest percentage of MLAs with criminal cases are:

CPM 84 seats 62 MLAs w/ cases (74%) 418 total cases
CPI 20 seats 13 MLAs w/ cases (65%) 41 total cases
DMK 92 seats 45 MLAs w/ cases (49%) 166 total cases
INC 117 seats 43 MLAs w/ cases (37%) 129 total cases
AITMC 210 seats 57 MLAs w/ cases (27%) 181 total cases
BJP 64 seats 8 MLAs w/ cases (12.5%) 13 total cases

The states, in order of percentage of MLAs with criminal cases, are:
Kerala 140 MLAs 83 w/ cases (59%) 484 total cases
Puducherry 30 MLAs 11 w/ cases (37%) 16 total cases
Tamil Nadu 232 MLAs 75 w/ cases (32%) 254 total cases
West Bengal 294 MLAs 88 w/ cases (30%) 270 total cases
Assam 126 MLAs 13 w/ cases (10%) 19 total cases

According to statistics compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms, there were fewer candidates with criminal cases in Assam this year as against 2011 when 10% of the 955 candidates had declared at least one criminal case against them. In 2016, only 7% of the 1,062 candidates had a criminal case.

BJP did their worst. We did our best. Democracy won in Uttarakhand: Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI, May 12: Upbeat over the party’s victory in the Uttarakhand trust vote, the Congress on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding an “apology” from him for imposition of the President’s rule in the hill state.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is indisposed and has been advised bed rest for a few days, was the first to attack the PM after the Centre informed the Supreme Court that ousted Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat had the legislative majority and his government will be restored soon.

“They (BJP) did their worst. We did our best. Democracy won in Uttarakhand!” Gandhi tweeted.

“Hope Modiji learns his lesson. People of this country and the institutions built by our founding fathers will not tolerate the murder of democracy!” he said in another tweet.

The victory in Uttarakhand is seen as a “moral” victory for the Congress, which had a few months earlier lost Arunachal Pradesh due to rebellion within the organisation and is struggling to contain dissidence in other party-ruled states.

At the same time, it is an embarrassment for the NDA government that had dismissed the Congress government and invoked Article 356 after nine ruling party legislators sided with the BJP on the Appropriation Bill.

Rawat, 68, is now set to be reinstated as the Uttarakhand CM as he bagged 33 out of the 61 votes in the floor test on Tuesday. Nine Congress rebels could not vote as they had been disqualified by the Speaker.

“Prime Minister should apologise in Parliament and sack the minister who advised him to impose President’s Rule in Uttarakhand,” senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said at a party press briefing.

Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal also took to twitter to attack the Centre. “Modi Govt shud apologise to the nation for acting in unconstitutional and undemocratic manner in Uttarakhand,” he tweeted.

The CPM termed it a “big setback” to the “anti-constitutional conspiracy hatched by the BJP of trying to topple” the government in Uttarakhand.

“The BJP should learn that its resort to such methods at subterfuge to remove democratically elected state governments headed by opposition parties will not succeed,” it said.

Sonia, Manmohan, Rahul detained; Released

NEW DELHI, May 5: Top leaders of the Congress party, including President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, were detained by the police here on Friday after the party had taken out a 'Loktantra Bachao March' (Save Democracy March) against the BJP government, starting from Jantar Mantar.

Party workers protested the arrest outside the Parliament Street Police station, climbing over police barricades.

Before the march, the party leaders collectively slammed the Narendra Modi government at a rally at Jantar Mantar, asking them where their promised 'Achhe Din' were and accused them of "attacking democracy".

Sonia Gandhi alleged that the Congress-led governments in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh were dislodged by the Modi regime with use of money power. “Do not make the mistake of thinking that the Congress party is weak. We will not allow democratic institutions to be weakened or destroyed,” she said.

She said, "Today, Uttarakhand's jungles are burning but nothing is being done about it because there is no government. The BJP government is murdering democracy by taking down democratically elected governments. No matter how much they try to fight democracy, we will not let you succeed."

Sonia Gandhi asked Congress wokers to “unmask” the Modi government in a democratic way and said they would not buckle under any form of injustice. "We will take detractors head on. Do not try to frighten or defame us. Life has taught me to struggle, we have faced a lot of challenges. They don't know what we are made of," she said.

“Today those who do not agree with them are harassed,” she said and warned “Inke din ab poore hogaye hai” (Their days are over now). People can teach them a lesson if they continue to indulge in it.”

Targeting RSS, Ms. Gandhi said, “We have to send a message so strong that people sitting in Raisina Hill and Nagpur sit up and listen.” Accusing the Modi government of “murdering democracy and destroying democratic institutions”, she said, “I want to say clearly that whatever effort you make to destroy democracy, we will not allow it to happen. We are used to waging struggle and we have faced many challenges in the past.

“Congress is not new to struggle. We have shed blood for the cause of the nation. We are the people who have given blood and laid down our lives to protect the basic principles. We will not withdraw from it.”

Addressing the rally, Rahul Gandhi said "Modiji talked about 'Achhe din' when he came to power. But today, almost 40% of the country is affected by drought and he has nothing to say."

The party vice-president said "they destabilized the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, removed elected leaders and broke all laws."

“Where are the 2 crore jobs that PM Modi offered,” asked Rahul Gandhi.

"Today in this country, there is talk of only two people - Narendra Modi ji and Mohan Bhagwat Ji. And whoever stands in their way or speaks against them, there are false accusations made about that person," he added.

Rahul said "Mohan Bhagwat and PM Modi are ruining India.”

Dr Manmohan Singh said "Congress is like a flowing river, no matter how many false allegations you level against it, it will not divert from its path."

"Congress has always made sacrifices and taken steps to ensure that democracy is safe and we will continue to do so," said Dr Singh.

He said "by destabilising Congress governments in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh, Modi ji has attacked democracy. Now they are eyeing other Congress governments."

DLF City RWA to install high-tech security cameras to monitor DLF Phase 1, 2 & 3 in Gurgaon

By Deepak Arora

GURGAON, May 3: Thieves and rogue elements beware! The Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of DLF City is upgrading the security surveillance system in the posh DLF Phase 1, 2 and 3 by installing high tech CCTV cameras, according to Sudhir Kapoor, General Secretary of the DLF City RWA.

Sudhir Kapoor said the DLF City RWA has procured 29 high-tech night vision zoom cameras that would be installed two each on seven gates in Phase 1 and six gates in Phase 2 and two gates in Phase 3.

Two cameras would be installed on each gate and would keep hawk eye on the undesired elements to secure the areas.

He said security is the main concern of the residents. He said the move comes after DCP (East) Deepak Saharan met the RWA members two weeks ago and requested them to strengthen the surveillance system in the area.

DCP Deepak Saharan has been constantly reviewing the security of the are with the RWAs with the idea to improve the quality of life of the hard working people of Gurgaon.

The DCP has been emphasising on tenant verifications, gurards on every gate and sufficient street lighting in the area.

DCP Deepak Saharan said "I had requested RWA members to increase the number of cameras. The upgraded cameras will ensure that entry and exit points are properly monitored."

Keeping the residents concern, Sudhir Kapoor said "we felt the need to upgrade security at the gates. Therefore, we decided to bring in more efficient cameras."

Sudhir Kapoor said the cameras are full HD having night vision with 3 mega pixel IP and have a range of 30 metres (100 feet).

The cameras have IR illuminators for enhancing the vision. The cameras also have intelligent video analytics, number plate recognition and needless to say detection of entry and exit movements.

Sudhir Kapoor said the RWA will also be installing three UPS for uninterrupted power supply. There will also be 3 feet long customised stand for the polls.

Security Chief of DLF City Commandant (Retd) Anil Sharma said the cameras are being manned and monitored 24x7 at a centralised control room on Arjun Marg in DLF City Phase 1. A well-trained team of DLF SOs and Supervisors monitor the control rooms at DLF Phase Two and Three and the centralised control room in Phase One.

He said the localised control room of Phase 2 is in L Block and of Phase 3 is in V Block and is being manned by SOs and Supervisors. The main control room at DLF Phase 1 is also monitored by a Supervisor and a Security Guard 24x7. They watch the feed from all the three DLF phases.

Commandant Anil Sharma said the control rooms in Phase 2 and 3 each have a 16 channel Network Video Recorder (NVR) and a 32 inch LED TV. The centralised control room has a 16 channel NVR along with 32 inch LED TV to monitor Phase 1 cameras and a TFT screen each to monitor feed from Phase 2 and 3. He said all the cameras are connected with an optical fibre cable (OFC).

Verify facts before calling me a defaulter: Vijay Mallya

NEW DELHI, May 3: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya whose passport has been revoked by the government, said on Tuesday that facts needed to be verified first before he was branded as a ‘defaulter’.

However he admitted that Kingfisher Air owes money to banks but added that he was neither a borrower nor a judgement debtor. “Why am I a defaulter inspite of a settlement offer ?” he added.

The flamboyant businessman had earlier expressed disappointment over being labelled as a wilful defaulter despite his willingness to settle all financial disputes.

On Monday, Mallya resigned as a Rajya Sabha MP a week after the Rajya Sabha’s ethics committee decided to unanimously expel him from Parliament, and a day before the committee was to meet to seal his fate with a final approval.

Mallya, an Independent member from Karnataka, sent his resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Hamid Ansari, a source close to the chairman said.

He also sent a letter to Rajya Sabha Ethics Committee chairman Karan Singh.

The panel gave him a week’s time, that was to end Tuesday, to put in his papers.

Mallya in his letter has claimed innocence, the sources added.

Mallya, wanted for defaulting in repayment of bank loans to the tune of Rs.9,000 crore, offered to pay part of the debt to the consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India, which had advanced loans to his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.

According to parliament sources, during his tenure of almost 10 years as member of the Rajya Sabha, Mallya had been declaring his assets and liabilities as “nil”.

The union government too had revoked Mallya’s passport after he failed to turn up for a probe into the bank default. This set in motion the process for the billionaire’s possible deportation from Britain, where he is staying at present.

Mallya’s case was referred to the ethics panel by the Rajya Sabha Chairman, after he fled from the country.

The liquor baron, known for his flamboyant lifestyle, was serving his second term at the upper house and was to retire on June 30.