Rahul Gandhi threatens to sue after Subramanian Swamy accuses Gandhis of 'fraud'

November 2, 2012
rahul_gandhi_sonia_gandhi

New Delhi, November 2: Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy today accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul of "a stinking deal" where they floated a private company which then went on to illicitly acquire a public limited company which has valuable property in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. He alleged that the Congress gave an unsecured loan of Rs. 90 crores to the company that was acquired by the Young Indians, a firm that he says is controlled by the Gandhis.

Mr Gandhi's office has threatened legal action. A letter to Mr Swamy describes his charges as "scandalous abuse" and "as utterly false, baseless and defamatory."

Sam Pitroda, technocrat and adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also threatened legal action against Mr Swamy. "There are lots of legal options against this motivated and irresponsible content. To be frank and fair, I am surprised that these things are going on in India today. I don't know how else to respond. I would rather spend time and energy worrying about development."

Mr Swamy's Janata Party belongs to the NDA, the coalition of opposition parties led by the BJP. He has asked for an inquiry by the CBI and the Corporate Affairs Ministry.

Mr Swamy said that the Gandhis together owned 76% of a company named Young Indians, which was incorporated in November, 2010, and allegedly went on to acquire the Associated Journals, which was founded by Jawaharlal Nehru and others in 1938 to publish newspapers that would offer Indians an option to British publications. The National Herald was published first in 1938; it closed down in 2008.

Mr Swamy claims that Associated Journals was given an unsecured loan of 90 crores from the Congress party - illegal under the Income Tax Act because a political party cannot give loans for commercial purposes.

He also alleged that the Young Indians wrote off the loan for 50 lakhs, and by a board resolution, the Associated Journals was sold by transferring its shares to Young Indians. Through this, Mr Swamy said, a public firm morphed into a private company.

The deal, Mr Swamy alleged, was a conspiracy to grab prized property owned by Associated Journals in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, including the Herald House (See pic) in the capital, which Mr Swamy says is worth 1600 crores.
Among his flurry of charges is that the Young Indians' shareholders meeting "was held in Sonia Gandhi's Government allotted 10, Janpath. This is violation of the law since the 10, Janpath, New Delhi Government accommodation cannot be used for commercial purposes and business."

The Congress was dismissive of Swamy's allegations, saying that there are some characters who utter "anything, anytime". "In every society and country, you have some characters. The person you are referring might be one of them who could speak anything, anytime," Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said.

"The government should immediately order a probe into the allegations," senior BJP leader Balbir Punj said.


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News Network
April 1,2020

Amaravati, Apr 1: All the 43 patients who were tested positive for COVID-19 in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday have returned after attending the event at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz, said Chief Minister's Office, Andhra Pradesh.

With 43 new COVID-19 positive cases, the total number of coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh has reached 87, informed the state Nodal Office earlier today.

The 43 new coronavirus positive cases were reported between March 31, 9 pm and April 1, 9 am. A total of 373 samples were tested during this time period and of these samples, 330 were negative and 43 came out to be positive.

There has been an increase of 240 COVID-19 cases in the last 12 hours across the country.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases have reached 1637 in India, including 1466 active cases, 133 cured/discharged/migrated people and 38 deaths.

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Agencies
April 14,2020

Mumbai, Apr 14: The Shiv Sena and NCP said Prime Minister Narendra Modis address to the nation on Tuesday lacked substance as he did not suggest ways to strengthen the economy or a relief package for the poor and those worst hit by the lockdown.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande also took a dig at the prime minister, saying he thankfully did not give any activity to people this time like clanging utensils or lighting lamps.

Modi on Tuesday announced that the lockdown across the country will be extended till May 3, saying the measure has produced a significant outcome in containing the infection.

He said implementation of the lockdown will be strictly ensured in its second phase and detailed guidelines will be brought out on Wednesday to ensure that outbreak does not spread to new areas.

Some relaxations may be allowed after April 20 in places where there are no hotspots, he said.

Kayande said Modi could have announced extension of the lockdown on Wednesday itself along with the new guidelines, instead of declaring it separately.

"He could have elaborated steps to be taken to tackle the coronavirus, relaxing restrictions on movements in different areas (depending upon threat posed by the disease)," she said.

"His speech normally is more of a rhetoric than substance. Thankfully, he did not give any other event to the people like lighting up lamps or clanging utensils. There was nothing substantial (in the address), the only takeaway was that the lockdown has been extended, she added.

Maharashtra Minister and NCP national spokesman Nawab Malik noted that Modi talked about helping the poor.

"But, he could have announced a package on behalf of the central government to help the poor, those working in the unorganised sector who are the worst hit due to the lockdown.

There was no mention of it anywhere," Malik said.

Another NCP spokesman Mahesh Tapase said it was expected that the prime minister would address the economic concerns being faced by the country.

"The least to expect was the announcement of a slew of measures to kick-start the economy in a phased manner as and when the restrictions are lifted, he added.

Tapase said the employers and employees wanted to know from the government how recession and unemployment will be tackled in the time to come.

"Access to capital for business, especially for MSMEs and agriculture, is a big concern. Supply and logistics is the cornerstone of economic activity which has come to a virtual standstill," he said.

The 2020-21 fiscal looks grim and hence, the right stimulus from the government coupled with a renewed zeal by the industry will only bring the economy back on track, he suggested.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Noida, Jul 16: A key aide of 1993 Mumbai blasts case convict Abu Salem who worked in his illegal property business in NCT of Delhi has been arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police, officials said on Thursday.

Gajendra Singh, who was also close to gangster Khan Mubarak, was nabbed in Mumbai late Wednesday night by the Noida unit of the STF, they said.

"Gajendra Singh had taken Rs 1.80 crore from a Delhi-based businessman in 2014 in a property-related case. When he was pressured to return the money, Singh had Khan Mubarak's shooters open fire at the businessman in sector 18 of Noida," Additional Superintendent of Police, STF, Raj Kumar Mishra said.

The businessman was in his car when the attack took place, and he narrowly escaped, the officials said.

Mishra said Singh had paid the shooters Rs 10 lakh, and the agency has cracked the money trail of the transaction.

"Gajendra Singh also invested Abu Salem and Khan Mubarak's money into properties in Delhi-NCR," the officer added.

Singh was wanted in a couple of cases registered at a police station in Noida where he has been lodged now for further proceedings, the STF said. 

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