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No raids on NDTV, promoters have to stand scrutiny: Venkaiah

[email protected] (Agencies)
June 7, 2017

New Delhi, Jun 7: There were no raids on NDTV with the CBI not entering any office of the channel, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said today while dimissing allegations that the searches were an infringement on press freedom.venkaiah

The Central Bureau of Investigation's raids on the properties of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy on June 5 on allegations of bank fraud had drawn criticism from several political parties as well journalist groups such as the Editors' Guild of India, Press Club of India and All India Newspaper Editors' Conference.

"There is no raid on NDTV. The CBI has not entered the premises of the newsroom or TV studio or any other related offices of the media channel. The management and promoters have to stand scrutiny and answer to the people instead of blocking it and then making allegations," Naidu said on the sidelines of a function here.

Rubbishing claims of a vendetta against the channel, Naidu said the promoters of NDTV, Prannoy and Radhika Roy, should submit to due process of the law as there were questions on their operations that needed disclosures.

"Those disclosures will be enquired into," the minister said, indicating that the troubles for the channel are unlikely to end soon.

Naidu said the media house cannot presume itself to be above the law. "This is especially true when ownership of most media today is defined by a vertiginous web of cross-holding involving corporate and entities for whom media is not a primary business," he said.

CBI had in a statement earlier cited a Supreme Court order of 2016 to assert that the agency has jurisdiction to take up investigation of cases of corruption concerning private banks as well.

It also refuted the charge that its move against the news channel was an infringement of freedom of speech, emphasising that searches, carried out in the basis of warrants issued by court, covered only the premises and offices of promoters.

Lashing out at the Congress for alleging that the government was misusing CBI, Naidu said, "I am surprised that the Congress party is talking about the misuse of CBI. My PM was grilled for eight hours when he was Gujarat CM during UPA regime and our party president was foisted with a false case and spent time in jail. Now these people are talking about misusing CBI."

The minister was referring to Modi being grilled in 2010 by a Supreme Court-appointed probe panel over his alleged complicity in not doing enough to stop the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat and Shah's stint in jail in the same year in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday that overly focusing on what sovereign rating agencies think can take one's eyes off what needs to be done for the economy.

"It is also important to convince both domestic and international investors that after the crisis associated with the pandemic is over, we will return to fiscal responsibility over the medium term, and the government should do more to convince them of that," Rajan told the Global Markets Forum.

India was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March for more than two months to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but cases have continued to rise steadily since the government eased restrictions in June, stymieing hopes of an economic recovery.

The government has announced several initiatives to help the poor and small- and medium-size businesses, but actual cash outgo from the government's measures has been estimated at just about 1% of GDP.

Several attribute the fiscal prudence to fear of a downgrade after Moody's cut India's rating and outlook in early June followed closely by a change in outlook from Fitch.

The central bank on its part too has reduced the key lending rate by 115 basis points on top of the 135 bps last year and is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 bps later on Thursday.

"The RBI and government have certainly been cooperating, but it seems like it is elsewhere, the ball is in the government's court to do more," Rajan said.

He said the RBI needs to focus on whether credit is reaching the stressed areas of the economy and also if the viable firms were able to access credit and not the unviable ones.

"And I think that's where it has to focus its attentions, because resources, as you well know, are limited in India today."

Recently analysts, however, have cited the growing possibility the RBI may prefer to pause and cut rates only at its October meeting.

Government officials too have suggested the possibility of any more fiscal stimulus being announced, would only come in the second half of the fiscal year, once a recovery has taken root and coronavirus cases have peaked.

"What India should focus on at this point is protecting its economic capabilities, so that when it has dealt with the virus it can go resume activity in a reasonable way. That should be the focus," Rajan said.

"And if it does that, there is no reason why the rating agencies will not see that as an appropriate policy".

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News Network
May 20,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, May 20: As COVID-19 count surges to 666 with 24 new cases reported on Wednesday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that if cases keep increasing in this manner, then the State will be in a 'serious situation.'

Out of 24 new patients, 12 have returned from abroad, 11 others from other States and one has been infected by a contact. Now, total positive cases in the State stand at 666 including 161 active cases, Chief Minister Vijayan said at press meet.

"If the number of COVID-19 cases increases like this, then the State will be in a serious situation. We have given more relaxations in lockdown guidelines. We need to have more strict measures in some areas," he said.

Speaking about the people who are coming to Kerala from other States, he stressed that all people coming from outside are "not carriers." However, the State has to tighten the security as some among those people are "carriers."

The Chief Minister while clearing that there is no restriction for the people to come back to Kerala, said: "Lakhs of people residing in other states cannot come together."

"There is no relaxation in containment areas. Those who came from outside have to be in quarantine. This is their moral responsibility. The State has implemented home quarantine successfully. Various level committees like ward committee, neighbours and residential associations are monitoring the people in quarantine," he said.

Chief Minister Vijayan has directed the police to visit people under home quarantine to take their report and district panchayat to make sure that all panchayats are working in a proper manner.

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News Network
January 31,2020

New Delhi, Jan 31: Slamming the BJP over the Jamia firing incident, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said such incidents were possible with the ruling party's leaders inciting people to shoot, and asked Prime minister Narendra Modi to answer whether he stands with violence or non-violence.   

Her attack on the government comes a day after tensions in the Jamia area spiralled on Thursday after a man fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters, injuring a student, before walking away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting "Yeh lo aazadi" amid heavy police presence in the area.

"When the BJP government ministers and party leaders incite people to shoot, give provocative speeches, then all this becomes possible. The Prime Minister should answer what kind of a Delhi he wants to build?" Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Does the PM stand with violence or non-violence, she asked.

"Does he stand with development or with anarchy?" the Congress general secretary said.

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