AAP leader Vijay Nair, arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy case, received Rs 100 crore in 'kickbacks' from the 'south group' controlled by some businessmen and politicians, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has informed a local court.
A string of populist promises, including extension of the free ration scheme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Mahadev betting app issue and the Hindutva card are among key factors that have catapulted the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Chhattisgarh after five years.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was 'party to the criminal conspiracy' of the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy since the beginning, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged in its latest supplementary charge sheet in the case.
The federal agency had arrested 46-year-old Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, from her Banjara hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15.
Hours after the AAP announced its night-long sit-in against the Lieutenant Governor, BJP MLAs also started an overnight dharna on the assembly premises demanding the sacking of ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain over alleged corruption.
Officials said the CBI has not felt the need to issue LOCs against public servants so far because they cannot leave the country without intimating the government.
Responding to the notice, Kavitha said that she has informed the authorities that they can meet her at her Hyderabad residence.
Sources claimed 48-year-old Soren was "evasive" in his replies during his questioning and hence was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ED will probe if there were alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy unveiled in November last year.
The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) had issued a whip, asking its 10 legislators to remain absent from the House during voting on the confidence motion. However, when the issue of trust vote was taken up, five of its MLAs left the House.
Gahlot says he has no knowledge of Nair living in his official accommodation, AAP's Goa activities
The Enforcement Directorate questioned Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot for about five hours on Saturday and recorded his statement in connection with a money-laundering investigation linked to the Aam Aadmi Party government's now-scrapped excise policy, officials said.
The scam-ridden Congress government in Chhattisgarh has become a model of misrule and people have decided to root it out in the upcoming assembly elections, he said.
"Remember, the IT Department and the ED implement the Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana. The State Bank of India implements the #ElectoralBondScam. And at the end of the day, all of these institutions report to the same person: the Finance Minister," Ramesh alleged.
The ED also alleged that Kejriwal, during his questioning, said AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair 'did not report to him' but to his cabinet colleagues Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj and that his interaction with Nair was 'limited'.
Kejriwal was produced in the court by the CBI after the end of his three-day custodial interrogation.
The two federal agencies came in for some sharp criticism over the "fairness" of their investigation, with the apex court observing "Sorry to see this state of affairs".
Statements of five 'Angadiya' firm operators have also been recorded by the ED to establish the "money trail" of this alleged Rs 45 crore bribe amount.
In a blistering attack on the BJP, Kejriwal on Friday alleged that the opposition party's 'Operation Lotus' to topple his government failed as it could not poach any of the AAP MLAs.
The AAP alleged that 40 of its Delhi MLAs were targeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party with an offer of Rs 20 crore each to switch sides, even as all the 62 of its legislators were accounted for during a meeting at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence.
The CBI had sought three more days of custody of Sisodia after producing him before the court on expiry of his three-day remand granted earlier.
During the arguments, the Kejriwal's counsel told the court that the entire case upon the CM rests on statements.
The application was filed before special judge MK Nagpal, who posted the matter for hearing on Saturday, his advocate Rishikesh said.
Two empty chairs -- one each for jailed Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal former and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren -- were kept on stage as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) organised a mega rally in Ranchi on Ranchi.
What are the political equations, the challenges, and the threats?
'It could backfire on the BJP and boost the Opposition parties.'
Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia 'conspired' with others to frame a faulty excise policy in order to generate kickbacks and proceeds of crime to the tune of more than Rs 290 crore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged before a court in New Delhi on Friday.
'Kejriwal could have easily deputed someone to step in as chief minister, but being the authoritative and self-centered personality that he is, he chose not to do it.' 'If the AAP loses Delhi, where it has a huge majority, the only one to blame would be Kejriwal,' asserts Ramesh Menon.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan noted that Kavitha has been in custody for around five months and the probe against her by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was complete in these cases.
The Delhi services bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Monday with 131 MPs voting in its favour and helping the government complete the parliamentary procedure for the proposed legislation that saw the opposition parties join ranks.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday once again passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to exempt the state from National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and allow it to admit students to medical courses based on Plus Two exam marks.
Abhishek Boinpally who was allegedly lobbying for certain liquor businessmen based in southern India was called for questioning on Sunday.
In a relief to former Aam Aadmi Party communication in-charge Vijay Nair, the Supreme Court on Monday granted him bail after nearly 23 months of incarceration in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, observing that liberty is 'sacrosanct' and needs to be respected in cases involving even stringent laws.
The agency had alleged in its earlier charge sheets that at least 36 accused, including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Kumar, "destroyed, used or changed" 170 phones to conceal evidence of "kickbacks" worth thousands of crores of rupees in the alleged scam.
Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the same case and later by the CBI which was probing corruption charges, stepped out after spending 155 days in Tihar jail. The AAP supremo, who was earlier granted three-week interim bail in the ED case, was given a resounding welcome by his party leaders and supporters who were drenched in heavy rain. Addressing party workers from the top of an SUV, Kejriwal, sporting a half-sleeve blue shirt, raised 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Mataram' slogans.
Rajshekhar detailed his complaints in a report to the lieutenant governor's office, joint secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the additional commissioner of police of Delhi's anti-corruption branch.
The police also moved an application seeking court's permission to produce Sisodia only via video conference, after he levelled the allegation.
Special Judge M K Nagpal, who had dismissed Sisodia's bail application on Friday saying he was 'prima facie the architect' and played the 'most important and vital role' in the alleged scam, extended his custody after he was produced before the court.
Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh.
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