Mumbai: Dear Mr Azmi, this cheque of Rs 2 crore will bounce

August 23, 2012

raj_takrey

Mumbai, August 23: Find Bangladeshis, get Rs 2 crore. That was Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Asim Azmi’s singular challenge to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday. While blaming ‘illegal immigrants’ to the city for the August 11 violence at Azad Maidan, Raj had alleged during his rally on Tuesday that Azmi — a Maharashtra MLA — had won the 2009 polls because of the Bangladeshi voters in his constituency.

“Raj Thackeray says there are lakhs of Bangladeshis in my constituency. I will give Rs 2 crore if he shows even one lakh Bangladeshis and Pakistanis in Bhiwandi,” Azmi said at a press conference in Mumbai. He even flaunted the Rs 2 crore cheque on the occasion. Bear in mind the cheque has been issued on a Samajwadi Party account.

On Raj Thackeray displaying a purported Bangladeshi passport at the MNS protest, Azmi said, “The throwing of passport should be inquired into. It is a serious offence.”

Where’s the money?

Even as Azmi’s grandstanding was being commended by party leaders, MiD DAY paid a visit to Citizen Credit Co-operative Bank Ltd at Colaba, where the particular account exists. While the manager wasn’t available, another officer informed us that anyone who deposits such a huge amount in an account should confirm the situation with the branch. He also claimed he has never seen Azmi entering the premises.

We then contacted Ganesh Kumar Gupta, the SP treasurer in Maharashtra, to check on the availability of funds. Also, the cheque displayed yesterday had Gupta’s signature along with Azmi’s. But, initially the treasurer appeared oblivious of any such development. In fact he was shocked to hear the amount and the person in whose name the cheque had been written.

“For the last 20 years my party has been in deficit. We do not get any funds except the membership fees. I would have to verify if any large amounts have accumulated in the last two months,” he told this reporter.

Gupta immediately called up Azmi to confirm the facts. Then his tone changed. “Yes, today at the press conference we issued a cheque. The funds do not matter, because we are sure Raj Thackeray won’t be able to prove his allegations.”

While Azmi desires to put up banners pertaining to the cheque at Shivaji Park in Dadar among other parts of Mumbai, Gupta, now extremely excited, went ahead and announced that the reward can go up to Rs 4 crore. “Let him prove that there are illegal immigrants. We will hike the prize to Rs 4 crore. We are certain Raj won’t be able to corroborate anything,” said Gupta.

Azmi speaks

When Azmi realised his party treasurer had told MiD Day too much, he called up this reporter and said, “I am someone whose cheques never bounce. If this cheque bounces, I will quit politics. Also the account has over Rs 1 crore. If needed I can arrange for Rs 3 crore within a day.”

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News Network
January 3,2020

New Delhi, Jan 3: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday said the homegrown payments technology RuPay will offer 40 per cent cashback for its international card users for transactions in select countries.

Indians travelling to the UAE, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the UK, the US, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand will be able to earn up to Rs 16,000 cashback per month by getting their RuPay International Card activated, the NPCI said in a release.

With RuPay International cards --JCB, Discover and Diners Club--customers using multiple cards can earn more cashbacks under the 'RuPay Travel Tales' campaign.

To avail the cashback benefit, customers will have to do a minimum transaction of Rs 1000 and the maximum cashback is capped at Rs 4,000 for a single transaction.

The offer can be availed by customers using RuPay International Card four times a month that can give them a chance of earning up to Rs 16,000 as cashback.

Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, "We always aim to create an end-to-end value proposition for RuPay International cardholders to make their overseas travel experience seamless and memorable. The campaign is not only providing an exciting platform for travelers to earn cashbacks but also motivating them to migrate towards digital transactions nationally and globally".

Apart from earning cashbacks, RuPay International cardholders can access to RuPay affiliated domestic/international airport lounges.

They also can avail attractive offers on booking international fights and hotels in association with Thomas Cook and Make My Trip, the release said.

RuPay has a partnership with Discover Financial Services (DFS) and Japan based JCB International, allowing RuPay users the access to across 190 countries.

As on date, there are over 1,100 banks live on RuPay platform including SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis bank, among others.

RuPay card base has crossed 600 million, half of which are in the mid and premium segments, NCPI said.

NPCI was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. An initiative of RBI and IBA under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, NPCI was initiated for creating a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country.

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News Network
March 19,2020

Mar 19: Amidst spiralling cases of COVID-19 in the country, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday advocated "absorbing sunlight" as a possible precaution against coronavirus that has claimed over 8,000 lives globally.

Speaking to reporters outside parliament, Choubey said 10-15 minutes in the sun would build immunity as sunlight provides Vitamin D.

"From 11 am to 2 pm the sun is shining brightly. We should spend at least 10-15 minutes to absorb sunlight so that we get vitamin D which improves the immunity of our body and also kills such viruses. All should be aware of (this fact)," he said when asked about the spread of coronavirus.

COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 169 on Thursday after 18 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, according to the Union health ministry.

The cases include 25 foreign nationals -- 17 from Italy, 3 from the Philippines, two from the UK, one each belonging to Canada, Indonesia and Singapore.

The figure also includes three deaths reported from Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra so far.

According to the World Health Organisation, the novel coronavirus has killed over 8,000 people globally and infected more than two lakh.

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Agencies
February 16,2020

Lucknow, Feb 16: Resident doctors at the AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital on Sunday demanded that the charges slapped against Dr Kafeel Khan under the National Security Act be withdrawn.

Dr Khan was arrested by the UP Special Task Force from Mumbai on January 29 in connection with a speech he had delivered during an anti-CAA protest at Aligarh Muslim University on December 12.

The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) held a protest march on the hospital campus against the slapping of the NSA against the Gorakhpur doctor after he was granted bail in connection with the alleged hate speech.

RDA president Dr Hamza Malik said the move was a "blatant attempt to crush dissent and a violation of the Constitution of india".

He said by targeting the doctor, the UP government had done a great disservice to the entire medical community.

The AMU Students' Coordination Committee also described the decision to charge Dr Kafeel under the NSA a "direct assault" on a member of the medical fraternity who is "known for his upright behaviour and a champion of free speech".

Committee spokesperson and former AMU Students' Union president Faizul Hasan said by charging Dr Kafeel under the NSA even after he got bail was "a direct violation of a Supreme Court ruling on such issues".

Hasan said Dr Kafeel's fate should serve as an eye-opener for the rest of the country regarding the democratic rights in Uttar Pradesh.

The doctor was earlier arrested for his alleged role in the death of over 60 children within an week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur in August 2017. Short supply of oxygen at the children's ward was blamed at that time for the deaths.

About two years later, a state government probe cleared Khan of all major charges, prompting him to seek an apology from the Yogi Adityanath government.

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