PC used position to benefit son, alleges Swamy

April 27, 2012

Subramanian_SwamyNew Delhi, April 27: Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy on Thursday made fresh allegations against Home Minister P Chidambaram, accusing him of delaying permission for the sale of Aircel to Malaysia-based firm Maxis in 2006 when he was the Finance Minister so that his son Karti financially benefited.

In his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Swamy demanded Chidambaram's resignation and wanted a direction to the CBI to include the names of the Minister and his son in the FIR on Aircel-Maxis deal along with former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran.

Swamy alleged that Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited, a company controlled by Karti Chidambaram, entered into a financial transaction with Malaysian businessman Sivasankaran’s Aircel Televenture in March 2006.

In May 2006, FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) approved the Malaysia’s firm Maxis investment of around Rs 4,000 crore in Aircel (where Maxis purchased 74 per cent share in Aircel).

Soon after the deal between Aircel and Maxis was completed, Rs.1,300 crore went out of Aircel in the form of loan without mentioning mandatory specification, he charged.

Swamy alleged that the reason Advantage Strategic Consulting partnered Aircel was to share Rs 4,000 crore invested by Maxis in Aircel.

Sources close to Karti Chidambaram dismissed the allegations as “baseless”.

Suspecting that entire transactions were dubious, he charged Chidambaram with using his position as finance minister and ensuring that FIPB would clear the Aircel-Maxis deal only if his son Karti controlled company got share in Sivasankaran’s Aircel Televenture Limited to get the booty from Maxis.

Swamy further alleged that the monthly report of RBI’s Overseas Investment Division on outward FDI from India showed that Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited has a wholly owned subsidiary (WSO) with a similar name in Singapore - Advantage Strategic Consulting Singapore PTE Limited.

The monthly reports from 2006-2012, show that several millions of US dollars were transferred each month from India to the company’s Singapore subsidiary.

According to RBI report, the Singapore subsidiary’s major activities are in Financial, Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services.

“Till 2008 December, Chidambaram was Finance Minister and here question arises how his son indulged in financial and insurance business in India and Singapore,” Swamy said. None of the transactions by Karti’s companies with entities abroad were shown in the financial statements filed with Registrar of Company in Chennai, Swamy said.

He said he had already written to the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and the Registrar of Companies regarding "dubious financial transactions" during the period of the deal.

Swamy alleged that CBI and ED were limiting their probe to the role of Marans, Dayanidhi and Kalanidhi, in the matter. The Congress party refused to react to the allegation against one its most important ministers.

"How am I am responsible for answering to allegations about Karti Chidambaram's business deals? He can himself reply to Swamy's allegations," party spokesperson Renuka Choudhary told reporters.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Jammu, Jan 25: People in Jammu and Kashmir expressed happiness over the restoration of mobile data services and internet access through fixed-line across the Union Territory on Saturday.

Speaking to ANI Jitendra Sharma, a resident of Jammu said, "The government has taken a good decision. People had been facing hardship for a long period and I think it will improve further."

"It is a big relief to people. People can finish their pending work. I hope that 4G services will also be resumed soon," said a resident of Kashmir.

The internet speed is restricted to 2G only.

"Access shall be limited only to whitelisted sites and not to any social media applications allowing peer to peer communication and virtual private network applications. Directions shall be effective from January 25 and will remain in force till January 31," the statement by the government read.

Earlier on January 15, 2G services were reinstated in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, and Udhampur for white-listed sites.

The Central government had suspended the internet in the region following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 last year, which conferred special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and its bifurcation into two Union Territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

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News Network
February 1,2020

New Delhi, Feb 1: Activist Sharjeel Imam's mobile phone and laptop along with some anti-CAA posters have been seized from his house in Bihar's Jehanabad and rented flat in Vasant Kunj, police said on Friday.

Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch from Jehanabad in a sedition case and he is being questioned by police for his alleged inflammatory speeches in Aligarh and at the Jamia Millia Islamia University here.

During investigation, a laptop and a desktop belonging to Imam were recovered from his rented flat at Vasant Kunj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said.

His mobile phone was recovered from his house at his native place in Jehanabad's Kako area on the instance of his brother, he said.

Imam had prepared anti-CAA and anti-NRC pamphlets with "misleading and intimidating facts" and then distributed them in various mosques, the copy of which have been recovered, police said.

The shop from where he made photocopies of the pamphlets has also been identified, they added.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday. He was brought to Delhi on Wednesday and produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak in the evening amid tight security after which police were granted his five-day custody.

The PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked for sedition and other charges in several states after videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches, made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), were circulated on the social media.

An FIR was registered against Imam by the Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Sunday questioned the Prime Minister on how much money has been given to labourers from the PM-CARES Fund.

"I would like to ask Prime Minister Modi, 'Can you tell us how much money did you give to labourers from your PM-CARES Fund?' I request him to answer this question. Many people died during this period, some died while walking, some died in the train, some died of hunger," Sibal said while addressing a virtual press conference.

The senior Congress leader further asked how much ex gratia did the Prime Minister give to the labourers who died in the corona crisis while negotiating the lockdown.

"I refer you to Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act. It says that ex gratia assistance on account of the loss of life and also assistance for the restoration of livelihood should be provided by the government. Did the government give ex gratia assistance to people who died in the crisis? The act also mentions special provisions for widows and orphans. The government should clarify how much assistance they gave to such people," he said.

Sibal said that the government should keep aside its agenda for the last six years and concentrate on making pro-poor policies.

"In the coming days, our economy is going to go into the negative territory as also confirmed by RBI. There are 45 crore labourers in our country. What will be their state? We have to look at our future. That is why we want to request the government that the agenda that they have run over the last six years should be kept aside and that government should care about the poor and draft policies for them," the Congress leader said.

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