Mamata hints at money, power & scams in presidential race

June 18, 2012

mamta

Kolkata, June 18: A day after supporting APJ Abdul Kalam as the presidential candidate on Facebook, Mamata Banerjee on Sunday raised her voice against "corruption and back-room dealings" on the social networking site. Her latest post on Facebook hinted that the last two days' hectic political activities over presidential poll had something to do with "money, power and scams".

The Trinamool Congress chief thanked people for their response to her first FB post and wrote: "I'm sure this united voice will take public issues to the next level." She asked people "to raise their voices and fight against corruption and back-room dealings".

Her posts suggest that Mamata is now using the social networking site to reach out to a larger constituency and stress on a "conspiracy theory" that there is something more other than politics that played a role in Mulayam Singh Yadav's decision to endorse Pranab Mukherjee's candidature.

"It is most unfortunate that politics in our great nation has become murky and values, public interest have been compromised through the use of money, power and scams. Ethical and principled politics has eroded today... this decay has to be reversed at all costs to return to the great traditions of this country. That is why we should raise our voices and stand by principles. Conviction, values and integrity," wrote Mamata.

Trinamool leaders said soon after Pranab's nomination by the UPA, rumours started doing the rounds that Kalam would withdraw his candidature. "We are in touch with APJ Abdul Kalam. He hasn't taken any decision yet," said a senior Trinamool leader.

Another Trinamool leader said regional political considerations and business interests played a key role in the SP's U-turn. "Mulayam returned to Lucknow and endorsed Pranab's candidature," he pointed out.

Union MoS for tourism Sultan Ahmed said, "Business houses are calling the shots. In the name of SEZ, natural resources have been handed over to corporate houses. But who pays for the profits amassed by the top 50 business houses? Didi has always championed the cause of the poor."

The Trinamool chief had written on Saturday: "Trinamool is a small party. We are not a big party with none of the resources others possess. We are led by truth and conviction. All through my life I have stood by my principles. I stand by the position I have taken."

Another Trinamool leader said, "Contrary to what is being said, former speaker P A Sangma had called Mamata on Friday after Pranab's candidature was announced. Sangma had told her that since Kalam opted out of the race Mamata should support her. Didi told him clearly that Kalam would be her choice and he should withdraw if Kalam finally contested."

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News Network
July 21,2020

Lucknow, Jul 21: Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, a veteran political figure in Uttar Pradesh where he had served as a cabinet minister, died at a hospital here early Tuesday.

The 85-year-old was admitted to the hospital on June 11 with breathing problems, fever and difficulty in urination.

He died at 5:35 am in Medanata Hospital, according to his son Ashutosh Tandon, a UP cabinet minister.

Lalji Tandon is survived by wife and three sons.

His body will be kept at his official residence in Hazratganj and later at his Sindhi Tola residence in Chowk to enable people to pay their last respects.

The last journey will start at 4 in the evening for the Gulala Ghat where his last rites will be performed later in the day, Ashutosh Tandon said in a statement.

The UP government has announced three days mourning as a mark of respect to Lalji Tandon, a former cabinet minister, a government spokesman said.

Belonging to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani era of BJP leaders, Lalji Tandon proved himself as an able administrator during his decades-long political career in Uttar Pradesh.

A former Lok Sabha MP, he was later given gubernatorial responsibility.

He took oath as Madhya Pradesh governor on July 29, 2019, when the Congress was in power in the state, after serving in the same post in Bihar for nearly 11 months. 

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Agencies
May 9,2020

New Delhi, May 9: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider a plea raising the issue of mass termination and the illegal salary cut of employees in IT/ITES/BPO/KPI by their employers during the lockdown due to the spread of the coronavirus.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, S.K. Kaul and B.R. Gavai, taking up the matter through video conferencing, agreed to examine the issue and listed it for May 15.

The petition, argued by senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, was filed by National Information Technology Employees Sena (NITES) through advocate-on-record Amit Pai, and sought implementation of directions issued by the Centre on March 29 and similar advisories issued by several other states mandating payment of wages/salaries to the employees and also directed not to terminate them during the period of lockdown.

A directive was issued by the Union Ministry of Labour and Empowerment to all Chief Secretaries of state governments to issue advisories to public and private companies to not lay off employees or implement pay cuts during lockdown.

In the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report published on April 19, it was noted that "several companies across the country have started to terminate its employees without any reasonable cause and have started withholding their salaries. It is submitted that in such testing times, the rights of the employees ought to be protected by necessary orders/directions to the companies through the Respondents to effectively implement the lockdown and to contain the spread of the virus", said the plea.

On March 29, the Centre issued an order directing all states and Union Territories to issue orders, requiring all the employers in the industrial sector and shops and commercial establishments to pay wages on the due date without any deduction during their closure due to the lockdown.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: The income tax department has notified forms for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2019-20.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified Sahaj (ITR-1), Form ITR-2, Form ITR-3, Form Sugam (ITR-4), Form ITR-5, Form ITR-6, Form ITR-7 and Form ITR-V for the assessment year 2020-21.

The department has revised the I-T return forms for the financial year 2019-20 to allow assessees to avail benefits of various timeline extension granted by the government following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The government has extended various timelines under the Income Tax Act, 1961, through the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020.

Accordingly, the time for making investment or payments for claiming deduction under Chapter-VIA-B of IT Act that include Section 80C (LIC, PPF, NSC etc.), 80D (Mediclaim) and 80G (Donations) for the financial year 2019-20 had been extended to June 30, 2020.

ClearTax founder and CEO Archit Gupta said, "The new forms require a separate table to disclose tax saving investment made in the first quarter of 2020 for availing them in FY 2019-20. Taxpayers must assess their tax liability for FY 2019-20 and make sure they are maximising their Section 80C benefits if not already done so."

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