Kerala govt tables solar scam report in assembly amidst uproar

Agencies
November 9, 2017

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 9: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday tabled the judicial commission report on solar scam and said it has found that his predecessor Oommen Chandy and his staff provided all help to accused Saritha S Nair and her company to dupe people.

Vijayan presented the four-volume report by Justice G Sivarajan and a Memorandum of Action taken by the government in this regard on the floor of the House during the special session.

It is for the first time in the history of the Kerala Assembly that a special session was convened to table the report of a judicial panel.

Detailing the content of the report, he said the Commission had found out that former chief minister Chandy and his personal staff had provided all help to Solar Scam accused Saritha S Nair and her company to dupe their customers.

The Commission also recommended a probe into various allegations raised in a letter written by Saritha under CrPC, IPC and other related rules, Vijayan said.

Besides bribery charges against various opposition leaders, the Commission report also found that they had got "sexual pleasure" from the accused, he said.

"The Commission has pointed out that this (sexual pleasure) comes under the ambit of illegal gratification pointed out in the Prevention of Corruption Act," he said.

Vijayan said the government would initiate legal proceedings, including under the Prevention of Corruption Act, against all persons, who are found by the Commission as having indulged in corruption.

An order has been issued forming a Special Investigation Team to probe various aspects of the solar scam based on the findings and recommendations of the Commission, the left leader said.

"The government's policy is that justice should be equal to all...That is why the government has taken the stand that further proceedings will be initiated only after receiving clear legal opinion in this regard," Vijayan added.

As soon as the Chief Minister stood up to table the report, Opposition members protested stating that Vijayan had committed a breach of privilege of the House by briefing the media last month about the content of the Commission's report before tabling it in the Assembly.

However, the Chief Minister denied the charges and said he did not go into the merit of the report during the media brief and the panel report became a public document when it was presented in the cabinet.

"It may be for the first time in the history of the state Assembly that the report of an enquiry commission is being tabled here within such a short span of time," Vijayan said.

He said the government decided to table it fast as it had received a number of requests to get a copy of the report from various persons including opposition leaders.

The state government had also sought a legal opinion from Supreme Court former judge Justice Arijit Pasayat before issuing further orders based on the report, the Chief Minister added.

Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala said they would oppose any move by the government to use the Judicial report as a weapon for "political revenge".

He also alleged that Vijayan's media briefing on the report amounted to "disrespect" to the House and "violation" of its code of conduct.

Justice G Sivarajan had submitted his report to the government on September 26, four years after the previous UDF government constituted the commission when charges surfaced about duping of several persons of crores of rupees by Saritha S Nair and her accomplice Biju Radhakrishnan by offering solar panel solutions.

The commission, set up in October 2013, had held 353 sittings, examined 214 witnesses and 972 documents.

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News Network
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for an all-party meeting to be held on June 19 to discuss the situation at the border areas with China.

The virtual conference meeting, presided by PM Modi, will be attended by presidents of various political parties in the country.

"In order to discuss the situation in the India-China border areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an all-party meeting at 5 PM on 19th June. Presidents of various political parties would take part in this virtual meeting," a tweet by the PMO India read.

At least 20 Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel rank officer, had lost their lives in the violent face-off in the Galwan valley area of Ladakh on June 15.

The violent face-off happened on late evening and the night of June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan Valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on June 16.

The Chinese side also suffered casualties, including the death of the commanding officer of the Chinese Unit involved in the violent face-off with Indian troops, sources confirmed to news agency.

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Agencies
June 20,2020

New Delhi, Jun 20: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there are no foreign incursions into India, China has once again claimed that Galwan valley of Ladakh union territory is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In an official statement on the step-by-step account of the Galwan face-off where 20 Indian soldiers were killed, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian has said the Galwan valley is located on the Chinese side of the LAC in the west section of the China-India boundary.

"For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region," Zhao said alleging that since April this year, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley.

China has lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations, Zhao said.

By the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops, who had crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China's territory, built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops, Zhao said adding that they deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management.

The Chinese border troops, he said, were "forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas."

In order to ease the situation, China and India have stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels, he said. "In response to the strong demand of the Chinese side, India agreed to withdraw the personnel who crossed the LAC and demolish the facilities, and so they did.

On June 6, the border troops of both countries held a commander-level meeting and reached consensus on easing the situation. The Indian side, he said, promised that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities and the two sides would discuss and decide phased withdrawal of troops through the meetings between commanders on the ground.

"Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, India's front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties."

"The adventurous acts of the Indian army have seriously undermined the stability of the border areas, threatened the lives of Chinese personnel, violated the agreements reached between the two countries on the border issue, and breached the basic norms governing international relations," the spokesperson said.

Beijing, he said, hopes that India will work with China, follow faithfully the important consensus reached between the two leaders, abide by the agreements reached between the two governments, and strengthen communication and coordination on properly managing the current situation through diplomatic and military channels, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the border areas.

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: With 1,594 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the last 24 hours and 51 deaths, India's total count of coronavirus cases surged to 29,974, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.

The total cases are inclusive of 7,026 cured and discharged patients, one migrated and 937 deaths.

At present, there are 22,010 active COVID-19 cases in the country.

Addressing a press conference here, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, said that in the last 28 days, 17 districts have had no new Covid-19 cases. "This means we need to maintain constant vigil," he added.

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