BJP will eliminate any remnants of corruption in its second term: Swamy

Agencies
April 9, 2018

New York, Apr 9: The BJP is "well set" to get a majority in the 2019 general elections and will eliminate any remnants of corruption in its second term, party leader Subramanian Swamy has said.

Swamy, who was in the city to address the 14th Annual India Business Conference at Columbia Business School hosted by the South Asia Business Association at the school, said in its second term in power the BJP will build a strong and "united" India.

"We are very well set to get a majority in 2019," Swamy told PTI here.

"We came to power for three reasons - Narendra Modi's reputation as a man of governance, the fight against corruption and persuading people, particularly Hindus to rise above their caste loyalties and vote for that party which will safeguard the interest of the Hindus, he said.

He said going into the 2019 national elections mode, the BJP will campaign on the promise to "eliminate whatever corruption we could not (eliminate) in the last five years".

"We want to build a strong and united India. We are not against the minorities, he said.

Addressing the conference, attended by students, academicians, entrepreneurs and executives, Swamy spoke at length about India's political and economic landscape.

He acknowledged that the BJP government's economic performance is still a long way off from the governance it had promised when it came to power in 2014, with demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) further complicating the situation.

Swamy termed demonetisation as a "failure" and said the public, however, did not seem to mind it as it felt that by this move, the rich people were being brought to book.

On GST, he said, "we were totally unprepared for it. At the moment the GST is a nightmare, adding that the GST should not have been implemented before the 2019 elections.

At the moment, it (GST) is a nightmare. The lack of compliance is very very high. It is a failure, we have to admit that. There is definitely a feeling among businesses that there is tax terrorism and this needs to be corrected," he said.

Swamy, who has also called for abolishing Income Tax, said he is confident of the BJP coming back to power in 2019 and implementing more reforms that will put India on a 10 percent growth trajectory annually for the next 10 years, making it a major global economic power.

On the issue of multi-crore frauds at major banks, Swamy said this is due to the "collusion" of the politician with the businessmen.

"It is fundamentally a corruption issue. In my opinion, rather than catching the bank clerk and prosecuting him, we should concentrate on catching the people at the highest level and that will filter down to removing corruption, he said.

Swamy added that most of the corruption in the banks are clearly due to the "political patronage" and appointment system of banks' chairmen that are happening not only in the public sector but also in private sector banks.

Comments

angel of death
 - 
Tuesday, 10 Apr 2018

his daughter was married to MUSLIM, his hindu family generation ended LOL.

 

may be one day his grand child will ask who this scumbag you hate muslim with core.

 

Sur
 - 
Tuesday, 10 Apr 2018

LAUGH LOUDLY...HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH

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News Network
May 22,2020

New Delhi, May 22: Air India on Friday started booking for domestic flights amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

"We have started bookings for domestic flights," said Air India in a statement.

The airlines will operate a total of 8,428 flights each week for the next three months from May 25 to August 25 as the Central government has announced the resumption of domestic flights.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that a minimum and maximum fare for three months has been set for the domestic flight services, which resume from May 25.

In the case of Delhi, Mumbai the minimum fare would be Rs 3,500 for a journey between 90-120 minutes. The maximum fare would be Rs 10,000.

"This is operative for three months -- till one minute to midnight on August 24," said Puri at a press conference here.

Puri said that guidelines have been issued for the passengers and airports, which are to be followed during flight operations.

He also said that self-declaration or Aarogya Setu App status on a compatible device would be obtained to ensure that a person does not have COVID-19 symptoms.

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News Network
May 11,2020

May 11: Saudi Arabia will triple its value-added tax rate and suspend a cost of living allowance for state workers, it said on Monday, seeking to shield finances hit by low oil prices and a slump in demand for its lifeline export worsened by the new coronavirus.

Historic oil output cuts agreed by Riyadh and other major producers have given only limited support to prices after they sank on oversupply caused by a war for petroleum market share between the kingdom and its fellow oil titan Russia.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is also being hit hard by measures to fight the new coronavirus, which are likely to curb the pace and scale of economic reforms launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"The cost of living allowance will be suspended as of June 1, and the value added tax will be increased to 15% from 5% as of July 1," Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in a statement reported by the state news agency. "These measures are painful but necessary to maintain financial and economic stability over the medium to long term...and to overcome the unprecedented coronavirus crisis with the least damage possible."

The austerity measures come after the kingdom posted a $9 billion budget deficit in the first quarter.

The minister said non-oil revenues were affected by the suspension and decline in economic activity, while spending had risen due to unplanned strains on the healthcare sector and the initiatives taken to support the economy.

"All these challenges have cut state revenues, pressured public finances to a level that is hard to deal with going forward without affecting the overall economy in the medium to long term, which requires more spending cuts and measures to support non-oil revenues stability," he added.

The government has cancelled and put on hold some operating and capital expenditures for some government agencies, and cut allocations for some reform initiatives and projects worth a total 100 billion riyals ($26.6 billion), the statement said.

Central bank foreign reserves fell in March at their fastest rate in at least 20 years and to their lowest since 2011, while oil revenues in the first three months of the year fell 24% from a year earlier to $34 billion, pulling total revenues down 22%.

"The reforms are positive from a fiscal side as greater adjustment is essential. However, the tripling of VAT is unlikely to help that much in 2020 revenue wise with the expected fall in consumption," said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

She said she kept unchanged her deficit forecast of 16.3% of GDP for this year, which already factors in a greater than previously announced spending cut.

About 1.5 million Saudis are employed in the government sector, according to official figures released in December.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia's King Salman ordered a monthly payment of 1,000 riyals ($267) to every state employee to compensate them for the rising living costs after the government hiked domestic gas prices and introduced value-added tax.

DIFFICULT TIMES

A committee has been formed to study all financial benefits paid to public sector employees and contractors, and will submit recommendations within 30 days, the statement said.

In late 2015, when oil prices fell from record highs, the kingdom slashed lavish bonuses, overtime payments and other benefits once considered routine perks in the public sector.

In a country without elections and with political legitimacy resting partly on distribution of oil revenue, the ability of citizens to adapt to such reforms is crucial for stability.

"Tripling the VAT will test the limits of the balance between revenues and consumption as the economy dives into a deep recession. The move will impact consumption and could also lower the expected revenues," said John Sfakianakis, a Gulf expert at the University of Cambridge.

"These are pro-austerity and pro-revenue moves rather than pro-growth ones," he said.

Hasnain Malik, head of equity strategy at Tellimer, said the VAT rise could bring about $24-$26.5 billion in additional non-oil fiscal revenue. The rise would hit consumer spending further but was a needed step towards fiscal sustainability, he said.

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Agencies
February 16,2020

New Delhi, Feb 16: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal was on Sunday sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third time in a row at Ramlila Maidan here, after his party registered a massive victory in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly polls.

Kejriwal was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

The sprawling Ramlila Maidan reverberated with sounds of thousands of people cheering for the AAP leader.

Kejriwal who received a hero's welcome here had extended an invitation to the people of Delhi urging them to attend the swearing-in ceremony to witness "the son of Delhi" taking oath today.

The AAP nearly repeated its 2015 performance in the elections, sweeping the Assembly polls winning 62 seats in the 70-member Assembly, in the face of a high-voltage campaign by the BJP, which fielded a battery of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers in its electioneering spearheaded by Home Minister Amit Shah. 

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