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Jaitley sat with Mallya for 15-20 minutes, check CCTV, says Congress after FM denied a meeting

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Jaitley sat with Mallya for 15-20 minutes, check CCTV, says Congress after FM denied a meeting

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In an outright rejection of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s assertion of having met the fugitive millionaire Vijay Mallya, the Congress on Thursday, September 13, said the two had a meeting and discussion in Parliament just two days before the latter’s flight to UK and challenged the government to check the CCTV footage to check the truth.

The allegation, levelled by Congress leader PL Punia, was taken up by Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Speaking to journalists, Rahul, flanked by Punia, said, “Arun Jaitley is lying, Congress leader PL Puniya witnessed his meeting with Vijay Mallya,”

A day earlier, the FM had rubbished Vijay Mallya’s claim that he had met him before leaving for London in 2016.

“It was a 15-20 minute, sit-down meeting…The finance minister has to explain to the country why he has colluded with the criminal and why was he having a meeting with a criminal, what was discussed?” Rahul Gandhi said.

PL Puniya said he had seen Mallya and finance minister Jaitley speak in the Central Hall of parliament in March 2016, days before the liquor baron left India and flew to the UK amid attempts to recover over Rs. 9,000 crore in unpaid loans from him.

“I was in the central hall of Parliament House. I saw Jaitley and Mallya standing and talking in the corner. After 5-7 minutes, they sat on the bench and started talking. Mallya had come for the first time just to meet Jaitley,”Puniya said. “It is my challenge. You can look at CCTV footage and see if I am wrong. If I am wrong, I will resign,” he declared.

“After that on March 3 – heleft for London on March 2 – myreaction was: he met Jaitley two days ago,” said Punia.

Mallya, 62, flamboyant liquor baron and former parliamentarian, is being investigated for fraud and money-laundering. In the UK for the past two years, he has been fighting India’s attempts to bring him back to face trial.

Asked whether he was tipped off about the investigations, Mallya told reporters yesterday outside a UK court hearing a case on his extradition to India: “I left because I had a scheduled meeting in Geneva. I met the finance minister before I left, repeated my offer to settle with the banks. That is the truth.”

Mallya said he had also told the minister that he was leaving for London.

Arun Jaitley, who was the finance minister in 2016 when Mallya left India, emphatically denied his claims. “Since 2014, I have never given him any appointment to meet me and the question of his having met me does not arise,” he wrote on Facebook.

“He misused that privilege (of being an MP) on one occasion while I was walking out of the House to go to my room. He paced up to catch up with me and while walking uttered a sentence that ‘I am making an offer of settlement’ …Having been fully briefed about his earlier ‘bluff offers’, without allowing him to proceed with the conversation, I curtly told him ‘there was no point talking to me and he must make offers to his bankers’,” Jaitley said.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Jaitley said: “I have never given him an appointment. Never at my office, never at my residence. Nor have I ever offered to meet him. I do remember on one occasion he misused his privileges as member of Rajya Sabha and while I was walking out of Rajya Sabha to my room, he paced up towards me in Parliament building and suggested that he was going to make some offer of settlement. I did not even bother to get any detail from him. I curtly told him he must go and make it to the bankers because I was fully aware that he had been bluffing on several occasions in the past and he had no intention of paying back the banker’s money.”

“Besides this one-sentence exchange where he literally barged on to me while I was walking and tried to make some offer or suggestion which I refused to entertain, there is no question of my having met him, spoken to him… I even did not receive any paper from him at that time. And therefore, to convey an impression that he met me with an offer of settlement and if this is what he is referring to then this is not correct and he must come out with the complete facts,” Jaitley said.

Accusing Jaitley of colluding with fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya, Rahul Gandhi said, “He (Jaitley) had not informed ED, CBI. What does it mean? He has to explain why when a criminal has told him he is running away to London, he has done nothing.”

“The finance minister talks to an absconder. He tells the minister I am going to London and the finance minister didn’t even tell the CBI or police. Why not,” Rahul Gandhi said.

He also referred to questions swirling around the dilution of a lookout notice against Mallya by the CBI. “Who changed the notice on Mallya’s arrest? If Jaitley has done it himself, then he should confess. It’s an open and shut case.”

Demanding that Jaitley resign, Gandhi said: “Finance Minister is responsible to take action against economic offenders. Finance minister himself is meeting them. Finance minister has admitted that Mallya told him he is going to London. Yet the Finance Minister took no action. Did not inform CBI, ED or other arms of the govt. Why? What was the deal? There is a notice to restrain Mr Mallya. That notice is changed from a restrain notice to an inform notice. Who did it? There are only two people – Prime Minister and Finance Minister,” he alleged.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1536840837985{border-top-width: 10px !important;border-right-width: 10px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;border-left-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #b5b5b5 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”]Not just the Congress and other Opposition parties, BJP’s Subramanian Swamy also unleashed an attack on the finance minister.

Swamy retweeted his own old tweet from 12 June 2018:

He went on tweet on Wednesday:

He further added:

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi had demanded an immediate investigation into the “extremely serious” allegations and Jaitley’s resignation.

“Given Vijay Mallya’s extremely serious allegations in London today, the PM should immediately order an independent probe into the matter. Arun Jaitley should step down as Finance Minister while this probe is underway,” Gandhi tweeted.

Party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that for the past 18 months, the Congress had been asserting that not only Mallya, but Mehul Choksi and so many others had been allowed to leave the country with impunity. And despite the hullabaloo to bring them back, the Narendra Modi government had failed to do so.

Congress media in-charge RandeepSurjewala in a tweet said that Mallya’s “consultation meetings” with the “Fiscal Management Blog Minister” makes it clear that the BJP is running “tour travels and immigration” for “loot scoot and settle abroad” brigade.

The Congress, which has since March 2016 consistently held that Mallya met the finance minister a day before he fled the country, said on Wednesday that the government’s complicity in facilitating the escape had now been established.

Within minutes of the revelation by Mallya, Congress communications chief RandeepSurjewala: “Vijay Mallya met Arun Jaitley, sought his permission and ran away with India’s money. Chowkidar nahin, bhagidarhai (Not a custodian, a partner).”

Rahul had first aimed the “chowkidar nahin, bhagidarhai” barb at Modi in Parliament, bringing up his promise to voters in 2014 that he would guard over India’s wealth and alleging that he had turned a partner in corruption instead.

On Tuesday, the Congress released the Modi government’s reply in Parliament that said the Prime Minister’s Office was aware of complaints against Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi in 2016, long before the uncle and nephew fled the country.

The Congress has been alleging a Mallya-Jaitley meeting since March 2016, the month the liquor baron escaped.

On March 14, 2016, Surjewala had told a news conference that Mallya had met Jaitley before he fled. Surjewala had said: “Mallya was present in Parliament on March 1, 2016, where he reportedly met finance minister Jaitley and had a conversation with him. We all know what happened then, while CBI, banks, SFIOs, SEBI, IT, Service Tax, etc were looking for him, yet he left on March 2.”

Surjewala had further said: “People now understand the reason for converting a CBI look-out notice of detention to information only.”

Several Congress spokespersons repeated the charge over the last two years.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said Mallya’s revelation puts the Modi government in the dock. This only reconfirms how the government enabled big defaulters to loot public money and scoot.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too questioned that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers need to explain their meetings with the economic fugitives. “PM Modi meets Nirav Modi before he flees the country. Finance Minister Vijay Mallya before he flees India. What transpired in these meetings? People want to know,” he said.

Not only Finance Minister, the entire BJP must come clean on its relations with Vijay Mallya, BJP rebel Yashwant Sinha said. Mallya was elected to Rajya Sabha with support of BJP.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

Bollywood actor Govinda joins Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena

Govinda on his official induction in the party by CM Eknath Shinde said he is joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing from God. He said he thought he would not enter politics again. Govinda said Mumbai looks cleaner and better now.

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Bollywood actor Govinda joined Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Thursday ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. In 2004 Govinda contested from Mumbai North Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket and earned the nickname of a giant slayer as he defeated BJP’s Ram Naik. He resigned from the party and said that he had decided to take a break from politics.

Govinda on his official induction in the party by CM Eknath Shinde said he is joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing from God. He said he thought he would not enter politics again. Govinda said Mumbai looks cleaner and better now. He said his parents had a good relationship with Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

Shiv Sena leader Krishna Hedge met the Bollywood actor at his residence in Juhu. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said the actor’s joining the Shiv Sena does not come with a rider. Govinda said whatever work is assigned to him, he will do it to the best of the ability. He said he was a part of the 14th Lok Sabha and has returned to politics after 14 years.

Speaking about his role in politics, the actor said he would transform the film city of Mumbai. He did not reply when he was asked about contesting elections. Govinda said everybody has seen the same level of progress in Maharashtra in the last 2 years, as it has been seen in the country in the last 10 years. He said he is going to focus on the beautification of the state and work towards the growth of art and culture.

Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora welcomed Govida into the party and said he has known the veteran Bollywood actor for almost 25 years. He recalled the 2004 election and said both of them had fought elections together.

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To browbeat, bully others is vintage Congress, says PM Modi after lawyers express concern over attempts to undermine judiciary

Lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

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PM Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party after more than 600 lawyers and some bar associations across the country wrote to the Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, expressing concerns over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity using political and professional pressure.

Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wrote that to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. He recalled that five decades ago, the party itself had called for a committed judiciary, adding that they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests, but desist from any commitment towards the nation. He concluded that no wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments followed after lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

The lawyers said the tactics used by the vested interest group are damaging the courts and threatening democratic fabric. They stated that Chief Justice Chandrachud’s leadership is crucial in these tough times and the Supreme Court should stand strong, adding it is not the time to maintain dignified silence.

Without naming, the letter also targeted a section of lawyers and alleged they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the media at night. Furthermore, they claimed that some elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on the judges to decide in a particular way.

In addition, the All Manipur Bar Association had also written to CJI DY Chandrachud highlighting the need to speak out against underhanded attacks on the judiciary on Wednesday. In its letter, the bar association said that it was extremely concerned about recent trends where vested interest groups were trying to defame the courts with frivolous logic and stale political agendas.

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Delhi Court extends ED custody of CM Arvind Kejriwal till April 1

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

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The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday has extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1. The Chief Minister will remain in custody till Monday, after which he will be presented in front of the court bench for further proceedings in the case.

The court has passed its order for the extension of the remand in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, being investigated by the ED for the last two years. Arvind Kejriwal is the fourth Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to be arrested in this case. Previously, Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were arrested in the same case. 

During the hearing today, the ED argued that Arvind Kejriwal needs to be brought face to face with some of the accused in the excise policy case. The ED further said that the data in one of the mobile phones, belonging to Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita, was extracted and is being analyzed.

Nonetheless, data from the other 4 digital devices seized during search at Arvind Kejriwal’s premises on March 21 are yet to be extracted as the arrestee has sought time to provide password/login credentials after consulting with his lawyers.

In its fresh remand plea, the investigation agency said that during Arvind Kejriwal’s custodial interrogation, his statements were recorded on five days and that he was giving evasive replies. It further said the statements of three other persons have also been recorded during the remand.

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court on Thursday, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal said on March 28 that the AAP national convener is not keeping well and is being harassed a lot while in ED custody over the past week. She asserted that the Chief Minister is being harassed a lot and his sugar levels are fluctuating.

CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and was sent to 7-days of custody. His arrest has triggered protests in the national capital and the nearby northern state of Punjab, which is also governed by AAP, over the last few days.

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