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Saradha scam snowballs into political controversy,CM announces Rs 500 cr relief

April 25, 2013

CM_announcesKolkata, April 25: A letter bomb by the prime accused in the multi-crore chitfund scam alleging blackmail by two Trinamool Congress MPs blew in the face of the ruling party on Wednesday, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a Rs 500 crore relief fund for the duped investors.

Scurrying for cover, the Trinamool supremo rejected allegations against the party in the Saradha chitfund scam and promised to take action against anyone found guilty.

The scam snowballed into a major political controversy with the names of two TMC MPs-- Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose-- figuring in a letter purportedly written to CBI by the collapsed company's Chairman Sudipto Sen, now in police custody.

In more trouble for Saradha group, the Income Tax department will also probe its investments and finances. Showcause notices for production of documents and recording of statements of promoters, investors and prominent agents in this case could be issued soon, top IT department sources said.

Congress and CPI(M) mounted a fresh attack on the TMC accusing the party of having links with the Saradha group whose Chairman had alleged in the letter to CBI that the two MPs had blackmailed him into parting with huge funds. A number of other politicians, officials and lawyers have been accused of milking the company for money

Obliquely referring to Ghosh who had recently resigned as the CEO of the Saradha Media Group, which had owned a TV news channel and Bose, editor of a Bengali daily, Banerjee said, "One journalist is being targetted ... There are so many journalists ... there is no use of identifying one channel and one newspaper.

"If any MP of Trinamool Congress has committed an offence, the law will take its own course," she said, accusing the CPI(M) of politicking over a people's issue.

Rejecting allegations against him, Bose said his paper did have a professional tieup with 'Channel 10' TV in 2010 for providing editorial support, but not with the Saradha chit fund company or any other ancillary.

Asked about the antecedents of the Saradha Group chairman, he replied, "We did not know that the man was a fraud." Bose also said that there was no relationship between his party and the Saradha Group.

Meanwhile, Sudipta Sen and two other Saradha officials were flown to Kolkata after the West Bengal police were granted four days transit remand by a court in Ganderbal in Jammu and Kashmir following their arrest yesterday.

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News Network
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: Delhi recorded 1,366 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, taking the tally to 31,309, while the death toll mounted to 905, authorities said on Wednesday.

According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government's health department, there are 18,543 active cases, while 11,861 patients have either recovered, been discharged or migrated.

No health bulletin was issued on Tuesday.

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Agencies
May 18,2020

India is among 58 nations, including 27 European Union members, who have moved a draft resolution demanding evaluation of the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s response towards the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The European Union-led draft resolution on global COVID-19 response is set to be tabled at the upcoming World Health Assembly on Monday.

The draft resolution demands initiation "at the earliest appropriate moment to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19".

"We are deeply concerned by the morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the negative impacts on physical and mental health and social well-being, the negative impacts on economy and society and the consequent exacerbation of inequalities within and between countries," read the draft.

"We express solidarity to all countries affected by the pandemic, as well as condolences and sympathy to all the families of the victims of COVID-19," it added.

The resolution says timelines are to be evaluated regarding "recommendations the WHO made to improve global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacity".

The WHO on January 23 declare a global health emergency, but did not declare it and waited for a week for its director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to return from China.

By that time, COVID-19 cases increased 10 times and the virus entered 18 countries.

According to Health Policy Watch, till as late as February, the WHO did not support countries for imposing travel restrictions to China.

"When countries began evacuating their citizens from Wuhan, the COVID-19 epicentre, the WHO said it did not favour this step".

The WHO finally declared it a pandemic on March 11.

The global health body has come under criticism not just from the US for its response being "China-centric".

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday that overly focusing on what sovereign rating agencies think can take one's eyes off what needs to be done for the economy.

"It is also important to convince both domestic and international investors that after the crisis associated with the pandemic is over, we will return to fiscal responsibility over the medium term, and the government should do more to convince them of that," Rajan told the Global Markets Forum.

India was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March for more than two months to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but cases have continued to rise steadily since the government eased restrictions in June, stymieing hopes of an economic recovery.

The government has announced several initiatives to help the poor and small- and medium-size businesses, but actual cash outgo from the government's measures has been estimated at just about 1% of GDP.

Several attribute the fiscal prudence to fear of a downgrade after Moody's cut India's rating and outlook in early June followed closely by a change in outlook from Fitch.

The central bank on its part too has reduced the key lending rate by 115 basis points on top of the 135 bps last year and is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 bps later on Thursday.

"The RBI and government have certainly been cooperating, but it seems like it is elsewhere, the ball is in the government's court to do more," Rajan said.

He said the RBI needs to focus on whether credit is reaching the stressed areas of the economy and also if the viable firms were able to access credit and not the unviable ones.

"And I think that's where it has to focus its attentions, because resources, as you well know, are limited in India today."

Recently analysts, however, have cited the growing possibility the RBI may prefer to pause and cut rates only at its October meeting.

Government officials too have suggested the possibility of any more fiscal stimulus being announced, would only come in the second half of the fiscal year, once a recovery has taken root and coronavirus cases have peaked.

"What India should focus on at this point is protecting its economic capabilities, so that when it has dealt with the virus it can go resume activity in a reasonable way. That should be the focus," Rajan said.

"And if it does that, there is no reason why the rating agencies will not see that as an appropriate policy".

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