Government to probe foreign funding for Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party

November 11, 2013

Aam_Aadmi_PartyNew Delhi, Nov 11:  The Centre has ordered a probe into the source of foreign funding received by Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which will make its political debut in the December 4 Delhi state election.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today said, "Whatever the source of funding is, which country it is coming from, to probe this we have given it to the ministry. We had got complaints about foreign funding and we are investigating. It takes some time."

Mr Kejriwal shot back, "The Congress is scared of AAP. Let them probe us. Finish a probe in 48 hours. But let them also probe how Congress got funds worth Rs. 2000 crore. Let them also investigate the BJP's funding."

The AAP alleges that it is being targeted as opinion polls had predicted better prospects for the first-timers than earlier believed.

According to reports, Mr Kejriwal's fledgling outfit claims to have collected around Rs. 19 crore as donations from 63,000 people, ranging  from rickshaw pullers, to traders, industrialists and overseas Indians.

Last month, the Delhi High Court had asked the Centre to look into the accounts of AAP and investigate their source of funding. The government had been asked to file a status report by December 10.

The court's order came on a petition by ML Sharma asking for a probe into the finances of Mr Kejriwal's party. The AAP has so far fended off criticism by saying that their donations are detailed on their website and every rupee is accounted for.

On Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had lashed out at Mr Kejriwal for repeatedly targeting her, with a counter-question on his funding.

"Where do you (AAP) get all the money from? You can call me a liar or I can call you a thief. But is there any proof to say that I am a liar? But there is proof to say that you are a thief," the 75-year-old Chief Minister was quoted telling PTI in an interview.

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News Network
February 26,2020

Feb 26: In his first reaction to incidents of violence in Delhi which have left at least 20 people dead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed for peace and brotherhood, and said he has held an extensive review of the prevailing situation in various parts of the national capital.

He also said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored at the earliest.

“Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy,” Modi tweeted.

Stressing that peace and harmony are “central to our ethos”, Modi said, “I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times.”

At least 20 people have been killed since Sunday in communal violence in Northeast Delhi, triggered after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protestors over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

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News Network
April 13,2020

New Delhi, Apr 13: India's tally of positive COVID-19 cases rose to 9,152 following an increase of 796 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Monday.

Out of the total number of cases, 7,987 patients are active cases while 857 cases have been cured/discharged and migrated.

With 35 deaths in the last 24 hours, the death toll mounted to 308.

According to the ministry, Maharashtra remained at the top with the total cases at 1,985, including 217 patients who have recovered/discharged and 149 patients died.

Delhi's tally of positive COVID-19 cases rose to 1,154 cases, including 27 recovered and 24 patients succumbing to the virus.

Tamil Nadu too reported 1,075 cases, including 50 recovered and 11 patients dead.

Meanwhile, four states have crossed the 500 mark with regards to the total number of cases as Rajasthan recorded 804 cases, Madhya Pradesh with 532 cases, Gujarat with 516 cases and Telangana with 504 cases, as per the ministry.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: A litre of diesel on Wednesday was more expensive than a litre of petrol after the price of the former was hiked by 48 paise on the 18th successive day of fuel price revisions. While petrol price remained unchanged for the first time since June 7, diesel prices maintained upward trajectory to touch new highs.

It is for the first time in Delhi that diesel has become more expensive than petrol. A litre of the fuel now costs ₹79.88 as against ₹79.76 for a litre of petrol, as per a report in news agency ANI.

While surging fuel prices may generate much-needed revenue for governments, it would also have a detrimental impact on household budgets. The spike in diesel prices also has a wider impact on the transport and agricultural sectors which are largely dependent on the fuel.

The widest gap between the prices of the two fuels was on June 18 of 2012 when a litre of petrol was at ₹71.16 in Delhi while diesel was at ₹40.91. On June 28, the gap between the two fuels was 31.17 per litre in Mumbai. Around that time, there was a spurt in sales of diesel passenger vehicles while demand for such vehicles has come down significantly in current times. This has also led many manufacturers to ditch diesel engines completely.

The current trend of fuel price hikes are unlikely to do demand for petrol vehicles much good either.

Daily price revisions of the two fuel had been temporarily halted for 83 days till it was resumed on June 7.

India's demand for fuel doubled in May and has been steadily rising in June with the easing of restrictions. Indian refineries have already scaled up crude processing with Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, looking to operate its plants at about 90% capacity in June.

The rising fuel prices, however, have resulted in political uproar with Congress leading the charge against the central government and accusing it of penalising consumers by imposing high taxes. A demand for including fuel prices under Goods and Services Tax (GST) has also been renewed by many but it is highly unlikely that it would happen. With oil companies looking to cut back on their previous loses and governments - central as well as states - aiming to generate revenue after tumultous weeks of lockdown, fuel price hikes are likely to stay till at least the end of June.

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