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Make expenses for Air India charter flights for PM Modi’s foreign trips public: CIC

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7 years ago

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Make expenses for Air India charter flights for PM Modi’s foreign trips public: CIC - APN Live

In an order that could cause much discomfiture to the BJP and give the Opposition some ammunition to target the Centre, the Central Information Commission has directed the Union External Affairs Ministry to disclose records related to the expenses incurred on chartering Air India aircraft for foreign visits of the prime minister from 2013 to 2017.

Though the period covered under the CIC order includes the last year of Dr Manmohan Singh’s prime ministerial tenure too (April 2013 to March 2014), the Opposition as well as Modi’s critics among common citizens would be keenly looking forward to the MEA’s response as the expenditure incurred on these chartered flights is expected to run into several crores of rupees. The likely narrative that Modi bashers would want to build, if and when these details are indeed made public, would be of the lavish spending that the Prime Minister has done of the exchequer’s money through his seemingly endless foreign visits and the corresponding monetary return – or lack of it – that this expenditure has brought for India’s economy.

Passing the order, Chief Information Commissioner RK Mathur rejected the contention of the MEA that details of the amount, reference numbers, dates of bills raised by Indian Air Force and Air India for the foreign visits undertaken by the Prime Minister(s) are scattered across various records and files and that collation of this information would involve searching of voluminous records by a significant number of officials.

The CIC order came against an application filed by one Commodore Lokesh Batra (Retd) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Commodore Batra had sought details of bills, invoices and other records related to foreign visits of the prime ministers between financial years 2013-14 and 2016-17.

Ever since assuming the office of Prime Minister in May 2014, Modi has been criticised for spending more time visiting countries than being in India. As of February 2018, Modi has visited 53 countries spread across six continents and 35 foreign trips.

Modi has visited USA on five occasions in the past four years and made three visits each to China, Germany, France and Russia. His robust international travel itinerary has also featured visits to countries like Afghanistan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, UAE, Uzbekistan (twice each) and Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the UK and Vietnam (once each), among others.

The order of the CIC comes after Batra, who had sought these details on several earlier occasions from various Indian high commissions abroad and the MEA, approached the Commission in appeal and claimed that he had either denied information or was provided with only selective details. He submitted before the CIC that he was seeking the said information in public interest, so that the common taxpayers can be informed of how their money was be spent by the Prime Minister and at what stage or with which public authority these bills and invoices for the foreign trips of the prime ministers were pending for payment.

“Air India is a cash-strapped airline that does not make money. Therefore, delay in settling these bills would also include sizable interest figure(s), which needs to be paid at the expense of tax payers money,” Batra had said. He had also insisted that denial of this information on the grounds of compromising national security – a clause often cited by public authorities to deny requested information – was incorrect as details sought by him are in the nature of the liabilities of the consumer(s) to pay back for the services rendered by Air India.

The CIC concluded that payment of outstanding dues would ultimately require collating of these bills and invoices and rejected the argument of the MEA that collation would disproportionately divert its resources. The Chief Information Commissioner said even if payment was made against these bills, it would have been done after compiling of bills/invoices.

“Further, whatever payment is to be made, it needs to be done after collecting the bills/invoices. In view of this, the Commission is of the opinion that the respondent (MEA) should provide to the appellant (Batra) travel bills relating to ‘Air India’ from FYs. 2013-14 to 2016-17,” the CIC order says.

—With Agency inputs, India Legal Bureau

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Rahul Gandhi is right, Gautam Adani should be arrested: RJD president Lalu Yadav

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

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November 22, 2024

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RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday spoke in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand for immediate arrest of Gautam Adani, after the Industrialist was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on Thursday that Gautam Adani should be arrested immediately, and his protector Madhabi Puri Buch should be investigated

The former Congress chief claimed that the recent developments vindicate his long-standing allegations against Gautam Adani. He took a sharp dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that Modi is protecting Adani, and is also involved in corruption. 

Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar, was responding to queries from journalists here about Gandhi’s statement on the previous day, in the backdrop of charges of bribery and fraud against the Adani group in the US.

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

The RJD supremo, who incidentally has been convicted in several fodder scam cases and is on bail, was also asked about prospects of the INDIA bloc, of which his party is a part, in Jharkhand, where the counting of votes for assembly polls is scheduled on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI, the ailing septuagenarian replied, “I would like to remain focused on my statement that Adani must be arrested. I am not worried much about a new government (in Jharkhand) where we are already in power.” Jharkhand witnessed a straight battle between the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA, which included the JD(U) headed by Nitish Kumar, Prasad’s arch-rival and the current Chief Minister of Bihar.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Gandhi further said that Chief Ministers have been jailed for scams of Rs 10-15 crore, but Adani, who has committed a scam of Rs 2000 crore is walking free.

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Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

The BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions.

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13 mins ago

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November 22, 2024

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Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

BJP leader Vinod Tawde, accused of distributing cash to influence voters, has sent a legal notice to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Supriya Shrinate and Rahul Gandhi over the controversy. The BJP leader has demanded their apologies or face a Rs 100-crore defamation case.

Vinod Tawde’s legal notice came after regional party Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur on Tuesday accused him of distributing Rs 5 crore at a hotel in Virar in Palghar district, 60 km from Mumbai, to woo voters.

In the legal notice, the BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions. He claimed that he demanded an apology from the three Congress leaders for their remarks against him in the cash-for-votes row or he would be forced to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

Just a few hours before the Assembly Elections, a video went viral on Tuesday showing BVA workers storming into the hotel in Palghar during a meeting between Vinod Tawde and Rajan Naik, the BJP candidate from the Nalasopara seat. The BVA workers alleged that Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore cash.

In the viral video, the BVA workers were seen taking out bundles of cash from a bag, while Tawde was sitting at a distance. The BVA workers also took pictures and videos of him on their phones. Amid these allegations, BVA leaders said that Rs 5 crore cash was distributed, an election official on Tuesday said Rs 9.93 lakh cash was recovered from the hotel rooms.

However, Vinod Tawde denied the allegation, saying he was only providing guidance to party workers on poll procedures and said he was not stupid enough to distribute money at his opponent’s hotel. Speaking to the media, he said that the Vivanta Hotel is owned by the Thakurs, and he is not stupid to go to their hotel and distribute money there.

The Police registered two FIRs against Tawde, BJP candidate Naik and others in connection with the controversy. Additionally, the Election Commission filed three FIRs against Tawde.

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3 dead, 9 hospitalised after gas leak at fertiliser plant in Maharashtra

According to police, the explosion released toxic chemical fumes.

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1 hour ago

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November 22, 2024

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Three individuals, including two women, lost their lives and nine others were hospitalised following a gas leak caused by an explosion in a reactor at a fertiliser plant in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, an official said on Friday.

The incident occurred at approximately 6:30 PM on Thursday at the Myanmar Chemical Company, located in Shalgaon MIDC within Kadegaon tehsil.

Sangli Superintendent of Police Sandip Ghuge stated that the gas is suspected to be ammonia.

According to police, the explosion released toxic chemical fumes. “Approximately 12 people in the facility were affected and subsequently taken to the hospital. Tragically, two female workers and a security guard have died, while nine others are currently receiving treatment,” stated Sangram Shewale, Senior Inspector at Kadegaon police station.

Seven of the injured individuals have been admitted to Sahyadri Hospital in Karad, with five of them in critical condition in the ICU.

The deceased women have been identified as Suchita Uthale (50) from Yetgaon in Sangli district and Neelam Rethrekar (26) from Masur in Satara district, PTI reported.

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