The Adani group tried to enter Delhi's power sector but was stopped by then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh claimed Thursday and stressed the need for accountability after industrialist Gautam Adani was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud. The billionaire industrialist has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay over USD 250 million (about Rs 2,100 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange of favourable terms for solar power contracts. This was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani group raised billions of dollars for the project, the prosecutors have alleged. The Adani group denied the charges, saying the allegations by US prosecutors are baseless and the conglomerate is compliant with all laws. It also said that all possible legal recourse will be sought. In a press conference, Singh claimed that Adani Green Energy secured power supply contracts in several states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, through unethical means. "Adani even attempted to enter Delhi's electricity market but failed because then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal stopped them,¿ he said while warning people that if the BJP gains power in Delhi, electricity costs could surge. "We will not keep quiet and will raise this matter with full force in the upcoming session of Parliament," Singh added. Reacting to the charges made by the US prosecutors, a spokesperson of the Adani group said, "The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied." The spokesperson pointed to to US Department of Justice statement that said, "The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty." "The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations. We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws," the spokesperson added. The issue is expected to dominate discussions as Parliament's Winter Session begins on Monday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 November,2024 06:45 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIBillionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay USD 250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts, reported news agency PTI. US prosecutors charged Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over USD 250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts on terms that could potentially bring in more than USD 2 billion in profit, reported PTI. This, they alleged, was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani group raised billions of dollars for the project, reported PTI. US law allows pursuing foreign corruption allegations if they involve certain links to American investors or markets. The Adani group did not immediately respond to requests for comments. "The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars," Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which brought the case, said in a statement, reported PTI. Billionaire Gautam Adani, chairman of the ports-to-energy Adani Group, his nephew Sagar R Adani, who is an executive director at the conglomerate's renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy Ltd, and its former CEO Vneet Jaain were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. The Adanis were also charged in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case, reported PTI. The five-count indictment also accuses Sagar and Jaain of breaking federal laws. The US authorities also charged three former employees of a large Canadian pension fund, CDPQ, in connection with the alleged scheme, saying they obstructed an investigation into the bribes by deleting emails and agreeing to provide false information to the US government. CDPQ, which invests in infrastructure projects, is a shareholder in Adani companies. The indictment may throw the conglomerate again in a turmoil just as it rebounded from US short seller Hindenburg Reseach's damning fraud allegations. Hindenburg allegations of "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud" in January 2023 had led to the conglomerate seeing USD 150 billion wipeout in market value at its lowest point. The group stocks have since recovered most of the losses, reported PTI. Adani Group had denied all allegations made by Hindenburg. A school dropout, Billionaire Gautam Adani founded his namesake group in 1988 as a commodities trading firm, and built a business empire that now spans airports, shipping ports, power generation, energy transmission and mining companies. "Specifically, on or about March 17, 2023, FBI special agents approached Sagar Adani in the United States and pursuant to a judicially authorised search warrant, took custody of electronic devices in his possession," the court document said. Some conspirators, according to the documents, referred privately to Gautam Adani with the code names "Numero uno" and "the big man," while his nephew allegedly used his cellphone to track specifics about the bribes, reported PTI. "On or about March 18, 2023, the defendant Gautam S Adani emailed himself photographs of each page of the search warrant executed and grand jury subpoena served on the defendant Sagar R Adani," it said, reported PTI. Others who were criminally charged include Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, respectively a former CEO and former chief strategy and commercial officer of Azure Power Global, which authorities said agreed to pay some of the bribes, reported PTI. The complaint charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars. During the alleged scheme, Adani Green raised more than USD 175 million from US investors and Azure Power's stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the SEC said in a statement, reported PTI. Simultaneously, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed criminal charges against Adani and Sagar Adani, Cyril Cabanes, and others linked to Adani Green and Azure Power. The federal indictment unsealed in a federal court in Brooklyn charges five others with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the bribery scheme, involving one of the world's largest solar energy projects. (With inputs from PTI)
21 November,2024 06:44 PM IST | New York/New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentBillionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay USD 250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts. US prosecutors charged Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over USD 250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts on terms that could potentially bring in more than USD 2 billion in profit. This, they alleged, was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani group raised billions of dollars for the project. US law allows pursuing foreign corruption allegations if they involve certain links to American investors or markets. Here's the full statement of the US Justice Department A five-count criminal indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, executives of an Indian renewable-energy company (the Indian Energy Company), with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions based on false and misleading statements. The indictment also charges Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a renewable-energy company with securities that had traded on the New York Stock Exchange (the U.S. Issuer), and Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, former employees of a Canadian institutional investor, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with a bribery scheme also perpetrated by Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, involving one of the world’s largest solar energy projects. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Lisa H. Miller, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the charges. “As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “My Office is committed to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets.” “This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice,” stated Deputy Assistant Attorney General Miller. “These offences were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of U.S. investors. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively prosecute corrupt, deceptive, and obstructive conduct that violates U.S. law, no matter where in the world it occurs.” “Gautam S. Adani and seven other business executives allegedly bribed the Indian government to finance lucrative contracts designed to benefit their businesses. Adani and other defendants also defrauded investors by raising capital on the basis of false statements about bribery and corruption, while still other defendants allegedly attempted to conceal the bribery conspiracy by obstructing the government’s investigation,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy. “The FBI maintains its steadfast mission to expose all corrupt agreements, especially with international governments, and protect investors from related harm.” As alleged in the indictment, between approximately 2020 and 2024, the defendants agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, which were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over an approximately 20-year period (the Bribery Scheme). On several occasions, Gautam S. Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the Bribery Scheme, and the defendants held in-person meetings with each other to discuss aspects of its execution. The defendants frequently discussed their efforts in furtherance of the Bribery Scheme, including through an electronic messaging application. The defendants also extensively documented their corrupt efforts: for example, Sagar R. Adani used his cellular phone to track specific details of the bribes offered and promised to government officials; Vneet S. Jaain used his cellular phone to photograph a document summarizing various bribe amounts the U.S. Issuer owed the Indian Energy Company for its respective portion of the bribes; and Rupesh Agarwal prepared and distributed to other defendants multiple analyses using PowerPoint and Excel that summarized various options for paying and concealing bribe payments (Bribery Analyses). During this same period, Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain allegedly conspired to misrepresent the Indian Energy Company’s anti-bribery and corruption practices and conceal the Bribery Scheme from U.S. investors and international financial institutions in order to obtain financing, including to fund those solar energy supply contracts procured through bribery. As alleged, Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain caused the Indian Energy Company and certain of its subsidiaries to raise capital on the basis of false and misleading statements in connection with (i) two U.S. dollar-denominated syndicated loans totalling more than $2 billion from lender groups comprised of international financial institutions and U.S.-based investors; and (ii) two Rule 144A bond offerings for more than $1 billion underwritten by international financial institutions, which were marketed and sold to investors in the U.S., among other places. In addition, Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain caused the Indian Energy Company to make false statements in their consolidated financial statements and to the market and investors regarding the Bribery Scheme. The indictment further alleges that Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal conspired to obstruct the grand jury, FBI and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations into the Bribery Scheme. Among other things, those four defendants agreed to delete electronic materials related to the Bribery Scheme, including emails, electronic messages and Bribery Analyses; caused the U.S. Issuer’s Board of Directors to initiate an internal investigation into the Bribery Scheme and then withheld material information from that investigation; and falsely denied their participation in the Bribery Scheme to representatives of the FBI, DOJ and SEC at meetings in Brooklyn, New York. For this conduct, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. In July 2022, Mr. Peace was selected as the Chairperson of the White Collar Fraud subcommittee for the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). As the leader of the subcommittee, Mr. Peace plays a key role in making recommendations to the AGAC to facilitate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of various financially motivated, non-violent crimes including bribery and fraud. The investigation was conducted by the FBI New York’s Corporate, Securities and Commodities Fraud and International Corruption Units. The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah M. Evans, Matthew R. Galeotti and Jessica K. Weigel of the Eastern District of New York, Shy Jackson of the Criminal Division, Fraud Section’s FCPA Unit and Andrew Tyler of the Fraud Section’s Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit are prosecuting the case with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Liam McNett, Angelina Tyler and Nadiya Singh. The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the SEC’s New York Regional and Boston Regional offices provided valuable assistance during the investigation.
21 November,2024 06:44 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe Delhi High Court has rejected a plea seeking to de-register the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM by the Election Commission of India. Justice Prateek Jalan dismissed the plea observing it was without any merit. The high court further noted the petitioner's arguments amounted to interference with the fundamental rights of the members of AIMIM to constitute themselves as a political party espousing their political beliefs and values. The petitioner, Tirupati Narasimha Murari, assailed the registration of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musalimeen (AIMIM) on the ground that as a political party, its constitution intended to further the cause of only one religious community, i.e., Muslims. The plea, therefore, argued it was against the principles of secularism which every political party must adhere to under the scheme of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act. Such a consequence, the court said, cannot lightly be countenanced. The court said AIMIM fulfilled the requirement of Section 29A of the Representation of People Act, which mandated that the constitutional documents of a political party should declare it "bears true faith and allegiance to the Constitution, and to the basic tenets of socialism, secularism, and democracy". "On the facts of the present case, this requirement has been fulfilled by AIMIM. The petitioner himself has annexed to the writ petition, a letter dated 9.8.1989, submitted by AIMIM in support of its application for registration, stating that its constitution had been amended in terms of Section 29A(5) of the Act," the judge wrote in a verdict passed on November 20. The judgment subsequently held the plea to be sans merits. The petitioner filed the petition in 2018 when he was a member of the undivided Shiv Sena. During the course of the hearing in the matter, the court was informed that the petitioner was now a member of the BJP. In a 17-page judgement, the court observed that subject to the exceptions provided by the Supreme Court, the Election Commission had no power to review its decision to register a political party. "The argument of (the petitioner) that the aims and objectives of the political party must be critically examined to assess whether it in fact adheres to the principles enumerated in Section 29A(5) of the Act, invites a substantive review of the original decision to register the party. This is exactly what, the Supreme Court has held, cannot be done," it observed. The judgment went on to note the petitioner's arguments amounted to interference with the fundamental rights of the members of AIMIM to constitute themselves as a political party. "Such a consequence cannot lightly be countenanced and has been specifically proscribed in the judgments," it added. While noting the submission of the AIMIM counsel that the petitioner had misread the party's aims and objectives, the court clarified it did not consider it necessary to examine the issue as the relief sought by the petitioner was "beyond the jurisdiction of the ECI". It also said the provisions of Section 123 (corrupt practices) of the Act were not relevant to the requirements for registration of a political party. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 November,2024 06:35 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIThe murder of a 58-year-old Indian academic who had been living in the United States (US) for close to four decades has stunned the natives of Tulsipur Majha village, his birthplace. Dr Shriram Singh, a native of Gonda, was gunned down by some unidentified people in Georgia's capital city Atlanta on Wednesday when he was on his way to attend a programme in his car, Tulsipur Majha village head Lalji Singh said. According to news agency PTI, the news of his murder was borne by his son Amit. Lalji Singh said the academic had joined Atlanta Agricultural University in the US in 1990 as a professor. He had started some business recently in the country which was his home for 37 years. Dr Singh's younger brother Shivaji, who lives in the village, said his brother had done his postgraduate from Acharya Narendra Dev Agricultural University Kumarganj in Ayodhya before leaving for the US. After joining Atlanta Agricultural University, he had been living in the US with his family, he added. His elder son Amit is an engineer in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), while the younger son Ankur is a cancer specialist in the US, Shivaji said, adding that his brother had made a deep inroad in the western country with his social skills. "Two years ago, he left his job and turned to business in partnership. His business was expanding rapidly in a short time. Along with a shopping mall, he ventured into the business of petrol pumps and hotels. He started many works in partnership with businessmen of Punjab and Gujarat origin," he said. "Some time ago, some businessmen of Pakistani origin also joined him. In a short time, the scope of his business spread all over the US. Due to this, some rivals started getting annoyed with him," he said. Lalji Singh said the academic was very social and used to meet all the villagers whenever he would visit Gonda. He had last visited the village about two years ago and was scheduled to visit again in March next year, PTI reported. "The people of the village are saddened by his murder. They have demanded security for his family and strict punishment for the culprits by investigating the murder," said Lalji Singh. (With PTI inputs)
21 November,2024 06:17 PM IST | Gonda | mid-day online correspondentElectricity Minister V Senthil Balaji on Thursday asserted that Tamil Nadu government run electricity corporation has no commercial relationship with Gautam Adani's company and that the state has an understanding to buy power only from a Central government firm. The minister, speaking to reporters here, said he noticed references to states including Tamil Nadu in some news reports and social media posts regarding industrialist Gautam Adani, who has been charged in the US regarding solar power contracts. "I would like to first clarify that as regards TANGEDCO (TN Generation and Districution Corporation), there has been no kind of commercial relationship with Adani's company during the past three years (after the DMK assumed power in May 2021)," he said. Taking into account the electricity requirements of the state, Tamil Nadu inked a pact for procurement of 1,500 MW, with the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited, a Central government company, at a very competitive price of Rs 2.61 (per unit), he said adding "there is no direct contact with Adani firm." The industrialist has been charged by prosecutors in the US for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange of favourable terms for solar power contracts. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 November,2024 05:59 PM IST | Karur (Tamil Nadu) | PTIOpposition members on Thursday demanded extension of the tenure of the Joint Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, contending that they need more time to study the changes to the draft legislation. At a huddle of the committee, Chairman and BJP member Jagdambika Pal announced that Thursday's meeting would be the last sitting of the panel and a draft report would be circulated to the members shortly. This led to protests by the Opposition members who resorted to sloganeering and some of them called Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and sought his intervention in the matter. The committee has been asked by the Lok Sabha to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the winter session of Parliament beginning Monday. The government has already listed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill for consideration and passage in the Winter session "after the report of the joint committee is presented to the Lok Sabha". In the past too, opposition members on the panel have accused Pal, a BJP MP, of doing the government's bidding. They had earlier even threatened to disassociate themselves with the panel's work. Their main concern was the frequent day-long meetings of the panel which did not allow them to prepare adequately and had accused Pal of "bulldozing proceedings" by not consulting them in picking on whom to call to depose. Several opposition members of the committee had earlier too approached Speaker Birla against Pal. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 November,2024 05:40 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIThe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday announced its first list of 11 candidates for the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, dropping three sitting legislators and fielding six leaders who switched over from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress recently. According to PTI, the names of the candidates were declared after a meeting of AAP's political affairs committee, headed by party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal. Elections in the national capital are due in February to elect 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. AAP, which is ruling Delhi since 2015, is the first party to release a list of candidates. The party had won 62 seats in the 2020 assembly polls. Delhi AAP convener Gopal Rai made the announcement of the names at a press conference in the national capital, reported PTI. During the press conference, Rai said the party made the early declaration because eight of the 11 constituencies are not held by AAP. Six of these eight constituencies are currently held by BJP. He also refuted claims that outsiders who recently joined AAP were given tickets at the cost of party leaders. Talking to reporters, Rai said the tickets were given strictly based on performance, surveys and public opinion as was promised by Kejriwal. Sitting AAP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) who were denied tickets include Rituraj Jha from Kirari, Gulab Singh Yadav from Matiala and Abdul Rahman from Seelampur. Both Jha and Gulab Singh are two-term MLAs. The party fielded Brahm Singh Tanwar from Chhatarpur, Anil Jha from Kirari and BB Tyagi from Laxmi Nagar. All three recently quit the BJP and joined AAP. Former Congress leader Choudhary Zubair Ahmed has been fielded from Seelampur, while ex-MLAs Veer Singh Dhingan and Somesh Shokeen have been given tickets from Seemapuri and Matiala, respectively. Ahmed, Dhingan and Shokeen joined AAP after resigning from the Congress. Meanwhile, AAP's Chhatarpur legislator, Kartar Singh Tanwar, quit the party and joined BJP. He was disqualified as MLA by the Speaker. Another MLA, Rajender Pal Gautam from Seemapuri, resigned from the membership of the Delhi Assembly to join the Congress. Former AAP legislator Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar), Ram Singh Netaji (Badarpur), Gaurav Sharma (Ghonda), Manoj Tyagi (Karawal Nagar) and Deepak Singhal (Vishwas Nagar) are the other candidates whose names figure in the first list of the party. AAP has also fielded Sarita Singh and Ram Singh Netaji again from Rohtas Nagar and Badarpur, respectively. They lost to their BJP rivals in the 2020 Assembly polls with narrow margins. Rai said that the party has paced its campaign for Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 with the release of these 11 names, adding that in the coming days, AAP will start a new campaign.
21 November,2024 05:04 PM IST | Delhi | mid-day online correspondentKarnataka's Food and Civil Supplies Minister, KH Muniyappa on Thursday, addressed concerns regarding the cancellation of Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards, reported the ANI. He confirmed that families still meeting eligibility criteria will not lose their BPL cards amidst a state review process aimed at assessing cardholder eligibility. The statement comes in response to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has demanded the resignation of the minister over the BPL card cancellations. Muniyappa emphasised that the government's review is intended to identify and retrieve cards from ineligible holders. He reported that only one to two percent of BPL cards have been converted to Above Poverty Line (APL) status. "Today we have decided (that there is) no question of cancelling (the BPL cards). Every card is eligible. They will get the rice after one week. We have got enough money to disburse for the DBT (direct bank transfer). There is no money-related problem. The only thing is that while we are doing this one or two per cent of BPL cards have been converted to APL (Above Poverty Line). That's why today we have decided, the honourable Chief Minister has taken a decision that all the (BPL) cards must be restored except for government employees and income tax payers," Muniyappa told ANI. Reacting to BJP demanding his resignation over the issue, he said that BJP was an opposition party and it was their duty to ask (for resignation). "It is not required," stated ANI. "We have decided to convert BPL cards belonging to taxpayers and government employees. 4,036 government employee cards have been revised. 1,02,509 cards are being reviewed and 8,647 BPL cards have been cancelled," Muniyappa said. In response to the BJP's accusations of the government depriving people of food, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar defended the government's actions, stating, “We are not taking anyone's food away. BJP has no other business than politicising. The percentage of BPL card holders in many constituencies is around 90%. My constituency has 90%, and Holenarasipura has 92% BPL card holders. Hence, we need to ensure that genuine and needy people get BPL cards. Some BPL cards have been cancelled after review.” (With inputs from ANI)
21 November,2024 02:52 PM IST | Bengaluru (Karnataka) | mid-day online correspondentMaharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday attributed the rise in the voting percentage in the Maharashtra elections 2024 to "pro-incumbency" and the feeling of "affinity" the voters had towards the Mahayuti government, reported news agency PTI. The increase in the voter turnout would benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ruling allies, he said, expressing confidence that the Mahayuti alliance would form the next government in the state. An estimated 65 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the Maharashtra elections 2024 held on Wednesday. The figures are provisional, election officials said, adding that 61.74 per cent of polling was recorded in the 2019 assembly elections in the state, reported PTI. In the assembly polls, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance made a determined bid to retain power, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition hopes to continue its good showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Talking to reporters at the Nagpur airport, Fadnavis said, "The voting percentage in Maharashtra has increased, and whenever this happens, it favours BJP and alliance parties. We expect that it will benefit us and we will form a government," reported PTI. When asked about the possible reasons behind the rise in the voter turnout, he said, "I feel the percentage of voting increased due to pro-incumbency and the feeling of affinity that voters have for the government," reported PTI. Also, it cannot be ignored that the rise in the turnout of women voters was possibly due to the Ladki Bahin scheme, he added, reported PTI. When asked about most exit polls predicting victory for the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra while some gave an edge to the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, Fadnavis said party spokespersons and not leaders talk on the subject of exit polls. Replying to a query on the chief minister's post, the senior BJP leader said all three Mahayuti constituents - BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP - will discuss the matter together and take an appropriate decision. On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement in which he demanded immediate arrest of industrialist Gautam Adani after the latter was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud, Fadnavis said Gandhi speaks everyday and there was nothing big in it. (With inputs from PTI)
21 November,2024 02:51 PM IST | Nagpur | mid-day online correspondentThe Delhi Police directed social media and e-commerce platforms to immediately cease the online sale and delivery of firecrackers within the National Capital Territory (NCT) amid rising Delhi air pollution, reported news agency ANI. According to an official statement issued on Wednesday, the directive comes in a bid to protect the health and well-being of citizens directly due to increasing pollution and to prevent the sale of firecrackers through e-commerce platforms. "As a crucial step in protecting the health and well-being of citizens getting directly affected due to increasing pollution and to prevent sale of firecrackers through e-commerce platforms, providing delivery options to addresses within NCT of Delhi, e-Commerce Websites/Social Media Platforms have been directed in writing through an e-mail, yesterday dated 19.11.2024," Delhi police said in its statement on the Delhi air pollution, reported ANI. Platforms have been instructed to remove firecracker listings, disable services for customers in Delhi, implement location-based restrictions to block sales and deliveries within the city, publish notices informing users about the prohibition in compliance with legal orders, and ensure delivery partners do not accept, transport, or deliver firecracker-related consignments during the ban period, reported ANI. The platforms have also been requested to provide written confirmation of their compliance. The Delhi Police underlined that the steps are crucial to addressing the critical issue of air pollution and protecting public health. The directive is expected to ensure strict enforcement of the ban and prevent violations through digital platforms. The action comes in compliance with the Supreme Court's recent order dated November 11, in the case of 'MC Mehta vs Union of India & Ors', which directed the implementation of a ban on firecrackers to combat rising air pollution levels. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Environment Department of the Delhi Government had earlier imposed a blanket ban on the manufacture, storage, and bursting of all categories of firecrackers in the city from October 14, to January 1, 2025. According to Delhi Police this latest initiative is with the aim to curb online sales, which undermine the effectiveness of the ban, reported ANI. The Air Quality Index in the national capital was recorded at 379 on Thursday morning as per the data issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This falls in the 'very poor' category. Delhi has been grappling with severe to severe plus levels of air pollution for the last few days. (With inputs from ANI)
21 November,2024 02:05 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
