BJP will win 150 seats in next assembly polls; I will be CM: Yeddyurappa

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday wrote letters to 11 Chief Ministers including Arvind Kejriwal--Delhi and Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal-- pointing out apprehensions that had arisen among large sections of society consequent to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) - 2019.

In his letter, the Chief Minister said "the need of the hour is unity among all Indians who wish to protect and preserve our cherished values of democracy and secularism."

People from various cross-sections of the society irrespective of any difference they might have, need to stand united in preserving the basic tenets of our polity which form the cornerstone of Indian democracy, he added.

"We are sure that our unity in diversity, which has stood the test of times will ultimately emerge stronger. Kerala has decided to address the apprehensions about NRC and that preparation of NPR will lead to NRC by staying all activities relating to NPR in the State," Mr Vijayan said.

In this regard, the Kerala Legislative Assembly had passed the resolution on December 31, 2019, expressing its concern regarding the impact the CAA will have on the nation's secular credentials, he said.

"The resolution requested the Central Government to repeal the CAA, 2019. States, which have the opinion that CAA should be repealed can also consider similar steps so that it will be an eye-opener to the proponents of the CAA and the NRC," the Chief Minister pointed out.

Bengaluru, Jun 26: Karnataka's Commercial Taxes Department has sealed off an undeclared warehouse with imported goods worth Rs 4 crore in Bengaluru and found 60 GST registrations linked to a Chinese national from Wuhan.

The tax department officials found 25,446 China-made electronic and fast-moving consumer goods worth Rs 4 crore stored in the warehouse which was not declared to the tax authorities.

Commissioner of Commercial Taxes MS Srikar said in a statement that the officers noticed that one person from Wuhan City, China, got the premises in Bengaluru on lease.

They also found that about 60 registrations (both central and state jurisdictions) under the GST Act, in the name of a number of persons for online trading of imported China-made goods, had a single address which was vacant.

Most of the registrations were found irregular in the filing of returns and payment of tax. Majority of the firms either filed nil returns or were non-filers. The registration data showed that one business was registered in 2017-18, 43 in 2018-19, 14 in 2019-20 and two in 2020-21. Most of the 60 firms were private limited companies and 24 persons were interchangeably directors in 58 firms.

At the time of raid, neither the lessee, the Chinese national, nor any of the other 59 registered taxable persons were available at the business premises and no one came forward to participate in the proceedings in spite of providing sufficient time.

It is learnt that the Chinese national is operating the business from Wuhan City since January 2020 with the assistance of some of his agents/employees in Bengaluru.

It has also been learnt that multiple registrations are being taken for a better rating on e-commerce platforms, Srikar said.

The raids were led by Nitesh K Patil, Additional Commissioner, Enforcement, South Zone.
The Commercial Taxes Department is closely watching the genuineness of newly registered persons and conducting post-registration verification visits.

Any registration taken with mala fide intention of evading taxes will be dealt with seriously, the Commissioner said. 

Mangaluru, Jul 26: Rubbishing reports about cancellation of institutional quarantine for international passengers in Mangaluru, local health authorities have clarified that 14 day isolation including first seven day institutional quarantine must for international passengers. 

For past couple of days rumours were doing rounds on social media that the government has done away with quarantine for international passengers. A few Mangaluru-based news portals also had published it as news without quoting any reliable sources. 

Meanwhile, district health officer in his clarification message said that neither Karnataka government nor Dakshina Kannada district administrant has revised the quarantine norms for international passengers. 

“Those who arrive from overseas must remain in isolation for 14 days. Out of this, seven days have to be spent in institutional quarantine (in hotel or lodge). During this period, the throat swab sample of the person will be sent for covid-19 testing. If the report is negative, then they will be sent to home quarantine for another seven days."

He said that concession in terms of number of days has only been given for people with other health conditions, children and the elderly. "For children below 10 years, pregnant women, elderly above the age of 60 years and other with other ailments, the throat swab will be collected on the second day of institutional quarantine. If the report turns negative, they will be sent to home quarantine for 14 days."