RTI activist rejects Modi's claim of 1880 cr spent on Sonia's foreign tours

October 2, 2012

Modi_Claim_fake

Ahmedabad, October 2: At a rally in Gujarat today, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said that the Centre has spent 1880 crores on foreign trips made by Sonia Gandhi, the Congress president.

The Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadia retaliated by saying that Mr Modi should get a Nobel Prize for lying. And the RTI activist whose information was cited by Mr Modi has also refuted the Chief Minister's conclusion.

"He should apologise for false and baseless statement," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.

"I do not know where he got this information from. As far as Narendra Modi is concerned, vitriol and untruth come naturally to him. This is his mindset. As the Gujarat election is approaching, he feels the groundswell of support (is) in our favour, and he his losing his sense of balance," Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said.

At his rally, two days before Mrs Gandhi's scheduled visit to Gujarat, the chief minister said, "To those Congress friends, who are accusing our government of uncontrolled expenditure, I want to ask: is it not true that on the foreign travels of the President of the Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, in the past three years, Rs 1,880 crore has been spent from the public exchequer."

He added, "This clearly means that more than the total yearly budget of Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Rajkot Municipal Corporation combined has been spent only on the foreign trips of Sonia Gandhi and on her luxury hotel stays."

Mr Modi cited a report in a local vernacular paper that said the expenditure on Mrs Gandhi's trips had been revealed through a Right to Information applicant based in Haryana. However, the activist, Ramesh Verma, told NDTV that the chief minister has incorrectly attributed the details to him. Mr Verma said that in June, the Central Information Commission, based on his appeal, asked the Prime Minister's Office to reveal expenses on Mrs Gandhi's official tours; however, he said, those documents have still not been shared.

"I never got any information from the RTI. I don't know where Narendra Modi got this information. I did not give any interview and facts to anyone. Nobody has contacted me yet. I think Modi should give clarification on it," Mr Verma said.

Mr Modi has claimed that the Congress is trying to suppress facts by not releasing the information and that if he is proven wrong, he will apologise.

Gujarat votes later this year; Mr Modi is on a pre-election state-wide tour. Mrs Gandhi will launch the Congress campaign in the state by addressing a rally of farmers in Rajkot.


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Agencies
July 13,2020

Jaipur, Jul 13: Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Monday unanimously passed a resolution supporting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led government and accusing the BJP of destabilising the government by indulging in horse-trading of MLAs.

The CLP also condemned all "undemocratic" acts to weaken Congress party and its government and demanded action against any Congress office-bearers involved in anti-party activities.

"Feared by exemplary works and public service of Congress government, BJP-led conspiracy is trying to destabilise Congress' state government, horse-trading of MLAs and trying to murder democracy by using money and political power," read the resolution.

"It is unfortunate that BJP did not learn lessons from the defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections and are trying to destabilise Congress government using corrupt means. 

This ripping off of democracy by BJP is an insult to 8 crore people of Rajasthan, they will not accept it. CLP meet expresses its confidence in Congress President Sonia Gandhi and leader Rahul Gandhi, and unanimously supports the government led by Ashok Gehlot," it said.

"This meet urges that strict disciplinary action be taken against any office-bearer or member of Legislative Party who indulges in activities against the Congress government, party or gets involved in any conspiracy," read the resolution.

As many as 107 MLAs attended the CLP meeting, which begun in the afternoon and now has been concluded.

"107 MLAs are present at the CLP meeting in Jaipur," Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's media advisor confirmed to media.

The crisis in Rajasthan Congress intensified with Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot at loggerheads. While Gehlot is blaming BJP for trying to destabilise the state government by poaching MLAs, Pilot is camping in Delhi to speak to the party leadership regarding the political turmoil in the state.

BJP has claimed that the Ashok Gehlot-led government has lost the majority in the state.

"Sachin Pilot was the rightful candidate for the post of Rajasthan Chief Minister but Ashok Gehlot took the charge; a conflict in the party began since then. What is happening today is the result of that conflict. The state government has lost the majority," Rajasthan BJP President Satish Punia said today.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: The income tax department has notified forms for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2019-20.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified Sahaj (ITR-1), Form ITR-2, Form ITR-3, Form Sugam (ITR-4), Form ITR-5, Form ITR-6, Form ITR-7 and Form ITR-V for the assessment year 2020-21.

The department has revised the I-T return forms for the financial year 2019-20 to allow assessees to avail benefits of various timeline extension granted by the government following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The government has extended various timelines under the Income Tax Act, 1961, through the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020.

Accordingly, the time for making investment or payments for claiming deduction under Chapter-VIA-B of IT Act that include Section 80C (LIC, PPF, NSC etc.), 80D (Mediclaim) and 80G (Donations) for the financial year 2019-20 had been extended to June 30, 2020.

ClearTax founder and CEO Archit Gupta said, "The new forms require a separate table to disclose tax saving investment made in the first quarter of 2020 for availing them in FY 2019-20. Taxpayers must assess their tax liability for FY 2019-20 and make sure they are maximising their Section 80C benefits if not already done so."

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News Network
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: As the NDA government completes one year of its second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi listed several achievements and initiatives taken by his government in the past year in an audio message addressed to the people of the country.

PM Modi said, "This day last year began a golden chapter in the history of Indian democracy. It was after several decades that the people of the country voted back a full-term government with a full majority."

"Your role has played a pivotal role in creating this chapter. In such a situation, this day is an opportunity for me to bow to the citizens of the country and the democratic ethos of our nation," said PM Modi.

"Had the situation been normal, I would have got the chance to meet you. Your affection and active support in the past year have given me new energy and inspiration. During this period, the way you have shown the collective powers of democracy, they have become an example for the whole world," he added.

PM Modi talked about several important initiatives taken by his government in 2014 as well as India's demonstration of its mettle through the surgical strike and airstrike.

"Six years ago in 2014, the people of this country voted to bring a major change in the country. You voted to change the country's policy and manner. During that tenure where surgical strike and airstrike took place, one rank one pension, one nation one tax GST, and better MSP for farmers were also fulfilled. That period was dedicated to fulfilling many needs of the country."

He further said that in these years the country has seen systems coming out of the quagmire of inertia and corruption. The country has seen governance change to make life easier for the poor.

"During that period, India's stature in the world increased. By opening bank accounts of poor people, by giving them gas connections, by providing free electricity connections, by building washrooms, by building houses, the dignity of the poor has also been increased," said PM Modi.

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