National
FairPoint: From anti-graft crusader to 'kingpin' of liquor cartel, Kejriwal betrays the 'jhadu'
New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, once a prominent anti-corruption crusader, is now the ‘kingpin’ of liquor cartel as per the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the case.
The downfall is not shocking as one by one, his close associates have fallen in the net. The denial of any relief by the courts has added to the public perception that there is ‘something’ sinister. Questions are being raised about his commitment to fight corruption and his betrayal of the ‘jhadu’ (broom).
The ‘jhadu’ is the election symbol of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). According to the party, it signifies “dignity of labour” and commitment to “clean the filth which has permeated the government and legislature”. But today, many of the party leaders and its supremo have been arrested on charges of doing the exact opposite.
His supporters and the Opposition leaders are crying foul. His guru, Anna Hazare, however, had raised the red flag a long time ago. In 2022, Hazare wrote a letter to CM Kejriwal saying that he was “intoxicated by power.” The guru was pained by the AAP government’s liquor policy and he knew that his protégé was taking a wrong turn.
A massive mandate in Delhi Assembly, not once but twice — 2015 (with 67 seats) and 2020 (with 62 seats) — can be any politician’s dream. Absoluteness has its own hazards and it did create a perfect condition for Kejriwal to be the be-all end-all in his party.
While outside AAP forums, he swore by democracy and honesty, within the party, he stymied criticism. He shrewdly plucked out the contrarian voices that did not have a place in his scheme of things. Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were forced out of the party in 2015. His other partners, Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas, Kapil Mishra and others, too, were made to bow out.
In fact, Kapil Mishra, who was sacked from the post of Delhi Water Minister in 2017, accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of accepting a bribe of Rs two crore in cash at his official residence from the then Health Minister Satyendra Jain. This was the first graft allegation against Kejriwal, and that too from a former Cabinet colleague.
The Shunglu Committee formed by former L-G Najeeb Jung in 2017, accused the AAP government of “gross misuse of power”. It was on this committee’s report that Anna Hazare had expressed that Kejriwal has dashed all his hopes.
AAP’s deviation from its core principles was evident soon after Kejriwal’s second term in 2015. The party’s top 14 leaders, including the CM, Ministers and MLAs, have been arrested on different charges.
In 2015, the then Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested for allegedly submitting forged law degree while filing his nomination for the Assembly polls.
In May 2022, Satyendar Jain was arrested by ED in an alleged money laundering case.
Delhi Waqf Board chairman Amanatullah Khan was arrested in connection with a complaint alleging illegal appointments and unauthorised renting out of Waqf Board properties in the city in September 2022.
And over the years, charges of wrongdoings in many of his welfare schemes have also surfaced from time to time.
However, the biggest scam has been the excise policy case.
The then Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was arrested after an eight-hour questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case. The Enforcement Directorate, in 2023, arrested AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, in the money laundering case linked to the investigation into the liquor policy.
And now, finally the CM himself, who is said to be the ‘kingpin’ of the excise policy scam, finds himself in lock-up.
Kejriwal has no one except perhaps himself to blame for the situation that he is in today. The bid to roll-out an ultra-fast political flight to the nation’s top political post has perhaps crash-landed him badly. Soon after his Delhi win, Kejriwal wanted to quickly encroach the political space in other states. His plans to rise to the national scene instantly became clear when in 2014, he unsuccessfully fought against the then PM candidate Narendra Modi in Varanasi.
Kejriwal also put in all his efforts in Gujarat and Goa Assembly elections, but in both places, he had to eat humble pie. Punjab, however, gave him another big win.
In his 13-year political career, which began with the massive cause of delivering transparent, honest and corruption-free governance, Kejriwal has hobnobbed with all those whom he called corrupt and adopted policies that gave impetus to corruption.
He joined hands with those whom he had earlier promised to send behind bars. He even took pledges, but soon broke them when he entered into alliance with Congress in 2013. His associations with those whom he had red-flagged earlier, has earned him the title of being ‘politically dishonest’.
On March 21, late at night, when Kejriwal was arrested, his journey from an anti-graft crusader to a ‘kingpin’ of liquor scam and CM behind bars was unprecedented.
The law will take its own course, but the people who believed that the ‘Jhadu’ will do the cleaning in the system are feeling betrayed today.
(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)
–IANS
dpb/kvd
National
Search operation in J&K’s Poonch after terrorists sighted
Jammu, July 30 (IANS) After suspicious movement was noticed on Tuesday, the security forces started a search operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.
Officials said that a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) was started after information was received about the movement of two terrorists in a remote village in the district.
The two armed suspects, reportedly dressed in black were seen moving in the Salampura village near Dehra Ki Gali late Monday night.
“Police assisted by the Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF launched a joint operation immediately after getting the information. The suspected militants were seen moving towards the lower Pangai area. The search operation is underway. But there has been no contact with the suspected terrorists so far,” officials said here.
“The security forces also launched a search operation at Sanai, Jangal, Pattan and adjoining villages in the Surankote area of Poonch, and the Bangar-Saroor forest in the Drabshalla area of Kishtwar district this morning,” the officials further said.
Army has already deployed over 4,000 soldiers, including highly trained elite commandos and those trained in mountain warfare, to eradicate terrorists from the hilly districts of the Jammu division.
The step was taken after reports of a group of 40-50 hardcore foreign terrorists operating in these districts got credibility through ambush attacks carried out in Kathua, Doda, Reasi, Poonch and Rajouri.
–IANS
sq/dpb
National
India moved from 'Fragile Five' under UPA to 'Top Five' under BJP-led NDA: Piyush Goyal
New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Slamming Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s reaction to the Union Budget, Union Commerce and Industry Minsiter Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the country has moved from “Fragile Five” under the UPA government to “Top Five” in the BJP-led NDA government.
Stressing that the UPA government never talked about uplifting the poor, the Union Minister said in the Parliament that the BJP-led NDA government “inherited one of the most fragile economies”.
Attacking Congress leader P. Chidambaram, Minister Goyal said that in 2004, the former Finance Minister had said he “inherited a strong economy”.
“At that time, the growth rate was over eight per cent, inflation was around four per cent, and foreign exchange reserves were robust, compared to the size of the economy at that point of time. What did the UPA do in the 10 years when they were in government?” asked the Commerce Minister.
Minister Goyal said he read 10 speeches of the UPA government and never “once has there been a mention of bringing in a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP)” for crops.
“Never once did they speak about trying to uplift the poor by giving them free homes,” the minister added.
India’s ascent from the ‘Fragile Five’ to the fastest-growing major economy has lessons for other developing countries.
The country is now being hailed as the emerging superpower of the 21st century.
India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy with GDP crossing $5 trillion, and the goal is now to reach a $30 trillion economy by 2047 with a per capita income of $18,000 per annum, according to a key NITI Aayog document.
–IANS
na/svn
National
Aadi festival: TN govt steps up vigil in Delta districts after Mettur dam opens
Chennai, July 30 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government has stepped up vigil at the bathing ghats in delta districts of the state for the upcoming ‘Aadi Perukku’ as the water release from the Mettur dam has increased.
Aadi Perukku is a Tamil monsoon festival held on the 18th day of Tamil Aadi month, and this year it falls on Saturday (August 3).
The festival has several rituals to be done on the banks of the rivers.
The release of water from the Mettur dam is to affect the delta districts of Thanjavur, Myladuthurai, Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Ariyalur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.
The district administration has increased the police presence on the river banks to prevent devotees from taking a dip during the heavy flow of water in the rivers during the Aadi Perukku festival.
The Stanley Reservoir in Mettur was opened on Sunday after heavy rain in the catchment areas of the Cauvery river in Karnataka led to water flow into Metttur dam. On Monday, at 8 p.m., the water level in the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur stood at 118 ft, just 2 feet short of its maximum capacity of 120 ft.
As the water level crossed 118 feet at 8 p.m. on Monday, authorities increased the discharge for delta irrigation from 12,000 cusecs to 23,000 cusecs from Sunday evening.
However, the dam was not opened on the customary date of June 12 as the storage level was low.
Meanwhile, the farmers of these delta districts have urged officials to prioritise filling lakes and tanks before allowing excess water to flow into the Cauvery river and eventually into the sea.
P. Viswanathan, state president of the Tamil Nadu Tank and River Irrigation Farmers’ Association, in a statement on Tuesday, demanded that the 935 lakes in delta districts be filled first.
He emphasised the importance of using all water bodies for storing Cauvery water and ensuring the timely availability of quality paddy seeds.
The farmers’ leader also said that in 2023, heavy losses occurred due to poor-quality seeds sold by private agencies.
He said, “Officials should ensure that all farmers receive quality seeds and crop loans without having to run from pillar to post.”
Deputy secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association, Kavandampatti R Subramanian, in a statement said that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has fixed a certain quantum of water that should be released into the Cauvery every month.
He came out strongly against the Karnataka government for “using Tamil Nadu as a drainage area” by releasing excess water into the river during flood-like situations, in addition to the mandatory monthly release.
The farmer leader said that the Tamil Nadu government should raise this issue with the Cauvery Water Management Committee (CWMC), insisting that the excess water should not be counted as part of the mandatory release.
–IANS
aal/svn
National
Devastated by the news of Wayanad landslides: KC Venugopal
New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Congress General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday expressed his condolences to the families of the victims who died in Wayanad landslides.
Over 40 people were killed in a massive landslide that occurred at Churalpara in Kerala’s Wayanad on Tuesday at around 2 a.m.
Taking to the microblogging site X, the Congress MP said, “I am devastated by the news of landslides in Wayanad which have killed and injured so many people. My condolences to the families of the victims, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”
“We are constantly monitoring the situation and urge all UDF workers to assist the authorities in relief efforts in full measure. LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi ji has spoken to the Kerala CM and the Wayanad DC to address this at the earliest. We also spoke to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ji, who has given us positive assurance about providing necessary relief assistance,” Venugopal added.
The Congress leader further said that they have also requested the Centre and the Kerala Government to ensure search and rescue operations are carried out on a war footing to prevent any further loss of life.
Earlier, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also conveyed his condolences to the families affected by the landslides.
In a post on his X handle, he said, “I am deeply anguished by the massive landslides near Meppadi in Wayanad. My heartfelt condolences go out to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones. I hope those still trapped are brought to safety soon.”
–IANS
uk/
National
Kerala CM seeks Army's help in Wayanad, death toll reaches 44
Kozhikode, July 30 (IANS) With the death toll in the massive landslides at Churalpara in Kerala’s Wayanad on Tuesday rising to 44 and hundreds of people stranded, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday sought help from the Indian Army’s Bengaluru-headquartered Madras Engineering Group.
The MEG is known for setting up temporary infrastructure very quickly. The state authorities with the help of NDRF have already started work to set up a temporary bridge in Churalpara.
CM Vijayan has also asked for drones to be employed in the worst affected areas — Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Pothukalu.
According to the locals, in these areas, the destruction has been massive. Several houses were washed away and many roads collapsed. Hundreds of people waited for help to arrive after a bridge was washed away. Huge boulders rolled down the hills and hindered the path of rescue workers at several places. Vehicles washed away in floodwaters could be seen stuck in mud and tree trunks.
CM Vijayan has also asked for the Kerala Police Dog squad to reach the affected areas.
The police have set up a 24-hour control room and the phone numbers are — 9497900402, 0471 2721566.
The landslides were reported to have occurred at around 2 a.m.
–IANS
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