Paradise Papers leak: BJP mum on its leaders’ black wealth

News Network
November 7, 2017

New Delhi, Nov 7: The BJP on Monday left its leaders Jayant Sinha and Ravindra Kishore Sinha to defend themselves on news reports that mentioned the duo in the latest leaked Paradise Papers.

The papers showed that the rich and the famous used two global companies to move their money abroad.

A news report stated that Minister of State Jayant Sinha worked as managing director (India) of Omidyar Network for 39 months from September 2009. The company had invested in US-based D Light Design having a subsidiary listed in Caymen Islands. Leaked offshore legal firm Appleby's records pointed out that Jayant had served as a director of D Light Design, too.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ravindra Kishore's private security firm SIS, said the news report quoting Malta registry records, is linked to two offshore entities. Ravindra Kishore has a minority stake in SIS's subsidiary SIS Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd (SAPHL), which is registered in Malta, it said.

His wife Rita Kishore Sinha is a director of SAPHL. The BJP parliamentarian has just one share in another concern SIS International Holdings Ltd (SIHL), which is incorporated in Virgin Islands.

Jayant and Ravindra Kishore reportedly did not declare their respective financial details to the Election Commission of India during the 2014 elections.

While Jayant disclosed his links with the private concern two years after he was elected to the Lok Sabha, Ravindra Kishore did not open up his links with SAPHL during his nomination to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP refused to comment on the reports that have sought to drag the two party leaders into the controversy. A spokesperson dismissed the reports by saying that there is hardly anything in the story to comment.

Through multiple tweets, Jayant gave his version on the leaked Paradise Papers, which has revealed the names of 714 Indians.

"These were bonafide and legal transactions undertaken on behalf of highly reputed world-leading organisations in my fiduciary role as Partner at Omidyar Network and its designated representative on the D.Light Board. All these transactions have been fully disclosed to relevant authorities through all necessary filings as required. After leaving Omidyar Network, I was asked to continue on the D Light Board as an Independent Director," he clarified.

"It is crucial to note that these transactions were done for D Light as an Omidyar representative, and not for any personal purpose," he added.

Ravindra Kishore chose an interesting way to remain mum on the embarrassing revelations against him. When a wire agency reached out to the MP who was seated in a car, he did not utter a word and instead gestured to a reporter to give him a pen.

Ravindra wrote on a sheet of paper in Hindi," 7 din ke bhagwat yagna ke liye maun vrat hai (on a vow of silence for 7 days for the bhagwat yagna)".

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Agencies
July 24,2020

Lucknow, Jul 24: The Congress in Uttar Pradesh on Friday protested against what it dubbed as deliberate and systematic deletions of chapters dealing in freedom struggle and the party's role in it from the syllabi of Classes 10 and 12 of the Secondary Education Board.

Congress leader Anugrah Narain Singh said: "The deletions effected in Class 12 syllabus clearly has political overtones. Chapters dealing with the freedom movement and the Congress role in it have been cut out. The BJP has no role of its own in the country's history and, therefore, wants that the new generations should not learn about the Congress contribution as well."

A Congress delegation submitted a memorandum to UP Eduction Board Secretary Divya Kant Shukla to demand restoration of the deleted chapters and topics.

BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi accused the opposition Congress of "turning every occasion into a political opportunity during the pandemic".

"The Congress is unnecessarily making an issue out of this. Only some portions have been deleted from the syllabi due to shortening of the academic session due to the nationwide lockdown. People already know about the Congress and the cut in the syllabi is only temporary. The Congress is unnecessarily trying to create a political controversy," she said.

Prof Yogeshwar Tiwari of the History Department in the Allahabad University dubbed the changes made in the syllabi as "unfortunate". "The history is not of the Congress alone -- it is the history of the nation and every student must know about it," he said.

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News Network
June 22,2020

New Delhi, Jun 22: With an increase of 14,821 new cases and 445 deaths, India's COVID-19 count reached 4,25,282 on Monday.

According to the latest update by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), 13,699 deaths have been recorded due to the infection so far in the country.

The rise in confirmed cases today is lower than the highest spike of 15 thousand plus cases registered on Sunday.

The count includes 1,74,387 active cases, and 2,37,196 cured/discharged/migrated patients.

Maharashtra with 1,32,075 confirmed cases remains the worst-affected by the infection so far in the country. The state's count includes 60,161 active, 65,744 cured, discharged patients while 6,170 deaths have been reported due to the infection so far.

Meanwhile, the national capital today became the second-worst affected region in the country with the number of confirmed cases in Delhi reaching 59,746 as opposed to Tamil Nadu's 59,377 cases.

While 2,175 deaths have been reported in Delhi due to the infection so far, the toll in Tamil Nadu stands at 757.

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News Network
January 10,2020

New Delhi, Jan 10: An IPS officer's thumb was bitten by a woman protester when he was pushing back agitators, who were trying to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan here on Thursday, police sources said.

The protesters had gathered after a call was given by JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh to march towards President's House to demand the removal of University's Vice Chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar.

Ingit Pratap Singh, a 2011 batch officer, who is currently posted as the additional deputy commissioner of the southwest district, was injured in the attack.

According to sources, Singh was trying to pull a male protester when the woman, in a bid to shield her friend, bit Singh's left thumb.

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