'Target' Sonia Gandhi, her advisers to bag VVIP chopper deal, middleman allegedly told AgustaWestland

February 2, 2014

VVIP_chopperNew Delhi, Feb 2: An alleged middleman allegedly involved in the Rs. 3600-crore VVIP chopper deal had asked Anglo-Italian defence manufacturer AgustaWestland to "target" UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her "closest advisers" to bag the 12-helicopter contract, a document submitted in an Italian court suggests.

The alleged middleman, Christian Michel, had sent a fax in this regard to Peter Fullet, who was working with AgustaWestland's India office, official sources said quoting the document that was recovered by the Italian police and produced before a court there in early January.

Michel reportedly wanted Fullet to convey his suggestion to the High Commissioner of his country.

The document lists (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh, (President) Pranab Mukherjee, Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes, M K Narayanan and Vinay Singh as Mrs Gandhi's "closest advisers".

It reportedly also quotes Michel as saying that Mrs Gandhi "would not be flying anymore in the Mi-8 choppers" and that "she was the driving force behind the VIP". It, however, did not elaborate any further.

The note has been shared by the Italian authorities with their Indian counterparts.

Last month, the Indian government terminated the Rs. 3600-crore deal alleging that AgustaWestland, the British subsidiary of an Italian company contracted to supply the choppers for use by the President, Prime Minister and other VIPs, had breached an integrity pact by allegedly paying bribes to Indian officials.

India is also seeking repayments worth more than Rs. 5200 crore over the scrapped deal.

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News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: A total of 12 special evacuation flights from across the globe will bring home stranded Indians on the sixth day of 'Vande Bharat Mission' on Tuesday.

The special flights include Air India flight from Manila to Ahmedabad, London to Hyderabad, Newark-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, AI flight from Singapore to Delhi, AI flight from Dhaka to Srinagar, Dammam to Kochi, Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai, Manila to Delhi, Muscat to Chennai, Dubai to Kannur, Dubai to Mangalore and Singapore-Bengaluru-Kochi.

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, India is conducting 'Vande Bharat' Mission -- its biggest ever repatriation exercise since independence -- to bring back stranded Indians from abroad, including from the US, the UAE and the UK.

On the fifth day of Vande Bharat Mission, as many as 1,667 Indian nationals were repatriated from different countries in eight special flights.

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News Network
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: As the counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly polls began, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday raised doubts on EVMs, alleging that no machine having a chip is tamper-proof.

He called upon the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to take a fresh look at the use of EVMs in the country.

"No machine (which) has a chip is tamper-proof. Also please do for a moment think, why no developed country uses EVM," Singh said in a tweet.

"Would CEC and Hon Supreme Court please have a fresh look on EVM voting in India? We are the largest democracy in the world, we can't allow some unscrupulous people to hack results and steal the mandate of 1.3 billion people.

"If they match the votes in the counting unit. Declare the result. If they don't match then count the ballots of all polling booths in the assembly. It would convince everyone and save time also as this has been the consistent argument of CEC in favour of EVM," the Congress leader said.

Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly polls was held on Saturday.

The Election Commission on Sunday announced that the final voter turnout was 62.59 per cent, five per cent less than 2015.

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February 4,2020

New Delhi, Feb 4: Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Tuesday attacked the BJP over Anantkumar Hegde's controversial remark on Mahatma Gandhi and termed the party as "Ravan ke aulad" (children of Ravana). "Aaj ye Mahatma Gandhi ko gaali dete hain. Ye Ravan ke aulad hain. Ram ke pujari ka ye apmaan kar rahe hain (Today, they abuse Mahatma Gandhi. They are children of Ravan. They are insulting Lord Ram's devotee)," Chowdhury said.

Later, BJP lawmakers object to Chowdhury's statement. Hegde, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Uttara Kannada, had on Saturday said that the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi was a "drama".

"None of these so-called leaders were beaten up by the cops even once. Their independence movement was one big drama. It was staged by these leaders with the approval of the British. It was not a genuine fight. It was an adjustment freedom struggle," Hegde had said while addressing a public event in Bengaluru. While several Congress leaders, including Karti Chidambaram and BK Hariprasad, have condemned Hegde's remark, BJP leaders too have distanced themselves from it.

Top leadership in BJP is unhappy with Anantkumar Hegde over his controversial remark on Mahatma Gandhi, party sources had said on Monday, adding that he has been asked to issue an unconditional apology.

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