Mega Opposition alliance filled with 'hollow' people with no ideology: Yogendra Yadav

Agencies
January 21, 2019

Kolkata, Jan 21: Casting apprehensions on the agenda of the grand alliance stitched together by opposition parties, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav on Sunday said the 'Mahagathbandhan' is a "big joke" and filled with "hollow people" with no ideology.

He said all the leaders in the grand alliance, who are portraying themselves as anti-BJP or anti-Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi), were equally anti-democracy and corrupt.

"There was a huge gathering (in Kolkata). But, where is the ideology? What is your agenda. There was no discussion on that. You had no talks on the problems the farmers are facing, and on unemployment. I believe this coalition lacks vision," Yadav said agency.

The politician-activist was referring to Saturday's mega rally organised by the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata, where leaders from over a dozen opposition parties came together, vowing to put up a united fight in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and oust Modi from power.

"They are saying that Narendra Modi is anti-democracy, but what about (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee? She is also the same. She has not allowed the panchayat elections to take place peacefully. She does not allow the opposition to host any rally here. You are carrying out rowdyism in your state."

"And (NCP leader) Sharad Pawar, (SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav and (BSP chief) Mayawati all are claiming of saving the country from corruption. This is a big joke. This grand alliance is full of hollow people," he said.

Yadav said the grand alliance is only an opposition but not an alternative to the BJP government at the Centre.

"The country at the moment requires an alternate government instead of opposition. I think national politics is under threat," he said.

The former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader wondered where were the leaders of the 'Mahagathbandhan' in the last five years, when there were many incidents of farmer suicides and movements organised by unemployed youths.

"These politicians were sitting in Parliament all these years, while the struggles were led by farmers, youths and dalit organisations. They are the ones who fought on the streets. We need to form their (farmers, youths) coalition," he said.

Yadav said his party is focusing on coming up with an alternative of a strong opposition by the people against the government.

"People have to build up a strong opposition against the current government, which can be sustained for a long time. We are trying to build that alternative. We need a coalition of social movement," he said.

Launching Swaraj India's '#iCan19' - Indian Citizens' Action for Nation, 2019 - an initiative for citizens to intervene in electoral politics, Yadav said he is hopeful that his party would have an effect on the electoral process.

"We have no capacity of fighting hundreds of seats. We would make a very limited intervention in a select few seats. That is our effort," Yadav added.

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News Network
July 24,2020

New Delhi, Jul 24: India reported the highest single-day spike of 49,310 coronavirus cases on Friday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total COVID-19 positive cases stand at 12,87,945 including 4,40,135 active cases, 8,17,209 cured/discharged/migrated.
With 740 deaths in the last 24 hours, the cumulative toll reached 30,601.

Maharashtra has reported 3,47,502 coronavirus cases, the highest among states and Union Territories in the country. A total of 1,92,964 cases have been reported from Tamil Nadu till now, while Delhi has recorded 1,27,364 coronavirus cases.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 3,52,801 samples were tested for coronavirus on Thursday and overall 1,54,28,170 samples have been tested so far. 

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News Network
March 16,2020

Mar 16: An investigation into Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd., initiated by its board after the death of founder V.G. Siddhartha, is likely to conclude that at least Rs 2,000 crore is missing from its accounts, according to people familiar with the matter.

The months-long probe following the suicide of Siddhartha in July examined the financial transactions of India’s largest coffee chain and its dealings with dozens of private companies owned by the entrepreneur. The draft report, running more than a hundred pages, points to thousands of rupees that have gone missing, said the people, asking not to be named because the details aren’t public. It also details hundreds of transactions between the founder’s listed and personal businesses that were not conducted at arm’s length, they said.

Though the report is in its final stages, the precise details could change before its release, expected as early as this week, the people said. The missing funds could total more than Rs 2500 crore, one person said.

“The investigation report is still a work in progress, and not finalized,” a spokesman for the company said. “The board of directors and the company are unaware of its content at this point of time. Hence it would be premature to speculate on the investigation findings.”

The priority for management and Siddhartha’s family “is to keep the business running in a challenging environment and meet all stakeholder commitments, including 30,000 jobs associated with the group,” the spokesman added.

The disappearance of the 59-year-old founder last year stunned India’s business community. He had last been seen telling his driver he was going for an evening walk along a bridge in southern India; his body was found by local fishermen two days later. A letter delivered to Coffee Day’s board and employees, which appeared to be signed by Siddhartha, described massive debts and complained of pressure from lenders and tax authorities. It claimed he bore sole responsibility for the company’s financial transactions.

The probe began about a month later when the company brought in Ashok Kumar Malhotra, a retired senior official from India’s federal enforcement agency, to investigate. A senior lawyer practicing in India’s top court is assisting, the company said in a regulatory filing at the time.

The publicly traded Coffee Day was supposed to be India’s answer to Starbucks Corp. More than 1,500 of its Café Coffee Day outlets blanketed cities and highways, with affordable options for the country’s aspiring middle classes. The chain’s tagline: “A lot can happen over coffee.”

But the empire has been battered since the founder’s death. Its shares plummeted about 90% and its market value dropped to about $80 million. Trading was suspended in February.

India’s regulators are tracking the situation and may use the company’s final report as part of a deeper dive into its internal affairs, the people said. Coffee Day showed about Rs 2400 crore in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet as of March 2019, the most recent figures the company has issued.

After the death of Siddhartha however, the company faced a severe liquidity crunch and had “zero cash in the bank,” according to one of the people. It struggled with day-to-day expenses and paying salaries has been a strain, the person said.

The draft report details personal guarantees by Siddhartha for loans taken by Coffee Day, and his unsecured loans at high interest rates from local money lenders, the people said. It also probes Coffee Day’s defaults to coffee growers and other vendors, they said.

A related issue is that coffee estates owned by Siddhartha and several employees had been used as collateral for bank loans. The report found that valuations for properties were inflated to get the loans, one person said.

Investigators have examined several theories about what happened to the company’s money, including whether Coffee Day was manipulating its finances to show cash and profit and whether Siddhartha was taking cash out of the listed company to pay off a large investor to whom he had guaranteed a return, the person said. From the filings of his listed and private companies, the entrepreneur’s loans had totaled more than Rs 10,000 crore, and he had been squeezed by borrowing to repay interest on earlier loans, the person said.

In the letter purportedly from Siddhartha, the entrepreneur said he had tried his best but failed as an entrepreneur. “I am solely responsible for all mistakes,” the letter read. “Every financial transaction is my responsibility. My team, auditors and senior management are totally unaware of all my transactions. The law should hold me and only me accountable, as I have withheld this information from everybody including my family.”

As the report nears release, Coffee Day is finalizing a deal with Blackstone Group Inc. for real estate assets. A large tranche of the payment is due in about a week, one person said.

Coffee Day said it is working to reduce its debt load by divesting non-core enterprises.

“The aim is to save employment and preserve this iconic Indian brand,” the spokesman said.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Mumbai, Jan 18: Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Friday said shops, restaurants, malls and pubs will remain open 24 hours on an experimental basis in a few areas of Mumbai from January 26.

The areas where these establishments will remain open all night are Fort and Kala Ghoda in south Mumbai and Bandra Kurla Complex in the west.

Thackeray had batted for all-night-open eateries and other establishments in the city during the earlier BJP-Shiv Sena regime too.

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