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Tag: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

  • Irani, Chowdhury spar over use of word ‘gentleman’ in Lok Sabha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury indulged in a spat in Lok Sabha on Friday over the use of the word ‘gentleman’.

    While responding to a supplementary question by Chandra Sekhar Sahu of the BJD on fortified food for children, Irani referred to him as “gentleman” which was objected to by Chowdhury who said that as per parliamentary procedures she should have referred to him as “honourable member”.

    Irani said Chowdhury was interrupting her reply to impress his “political masters”.

    Chowdhury was supported by another Congress member, K Suresh.

    Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was also present in the House.

    “I would request the member who stands here trying to ensure that I do not speak to score political brownie points. For him to presume that the gentleman is not a gentleman is an issue to deal (with) between the gentleman and the so-called member,” Irani said.

    NEW DELHI: Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury indulged in a spat in Lok Sabha on Friday over the use of the word ‘gentleman’.

    While responding to a supplementary question by Chandra Sekhar Sahu of the BJD on fortified food for children, Irani referred to him as “gentleman” which was objected to by Chowdhury who said that as per parliamentary procedures she should have referred to him as “honourable member”.

    Irani said Chowdhury was interrupting her reply to impress his “political masters”.

    Chowdhury was supported by another Congress member, K Suresh.

    Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was also present in the House.

    “I would request the member who stands here trying to ensure that I do not speak to score political brownie points. For him to presume that the gentleman is not a gentleman is an issue to deal (with) between the gentleman and the so-called member,” Irani said.

  • Tiff with government cost Tharoor House panel post: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Days after losing the chairmanship of key Parliamentary Committees, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the Union government’s differences with Shashi Tharoor led Information Technology (IT) Parliamentary panel might have triggered the decision to remove him from the post. During Tharoor’s tenure as IT panel chief, he had locked horns with BJP members in the committee, besides taking up several controversial issues such as Pegasus, Data Protection Bill and ‘summoning twitter officials’.

    On Tuesday, in a reconstitution of Parliamentary Committees, the BJP and its allies held sway over chairman posts of key panels such as — Home Affairs, Information Technology,  Defence, Health and Family Welfare, External Affairs and Finance. While Congress lost the chairmanship of both the Home affairs panel and (IT) Parliamentary panel, TMC, the second largest opposition party didn’t get any.  The move had triggered strong protests from both parties.

    In the rejig, BJP MP Brij Lal has been appointed at the helm of Home Affairs panel replacing Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.  Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav as the new chairman of the IT panel.  Jadhav belongs to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction. Speaking to this daily, Chowdhury described the move as another attempt to muzzle the voice of the Opposition. “The government’s differences with the Tharoor-led IT panel might have triggered the decision. The posts were taken away from the party because they are scared that Tharoor will create more problems for them,” he said.

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was retained as the chairperson of the committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, the party nominated RS MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi as chairman of the Standing Committee on Commerce. Though chairmanship for the panel on chemicals and fertilisers was offered to Congress, the party is yet to make a decision. Chowdhury said though he met the Speaker and wrote two letters over the arbitrary action of the government, he didn’t receive any favourable response.

    Sena MP replaces Tharoor in IT panelLok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav as the new chairman of the IT panel.  Jadhav belongs to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction. 

    NEW DELHI: Days after losing the chairmanship of key Parliamentary Committees, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the Union government’s differences with Shashi Tharoor led Information Technology (IT) Parliamentary panel might have triggered the decision to remove him from the post. During Tharoor’s tenure as IT panel chief, he had locked horns with BJP members in the committee, besides taking up several controversial issues such as Pegasus, Data Protection Bill and ‘summoning twitter officials’.

    On Tuesday, in a reconstitution of Parliamentary Committees, the BJP and its allies held sway over chairman posts of key panels such as — Home Affairs, Information Technology,  Defence, Health and Family Welfare, External Affairs and Finance. While Congress lost the chairmanship of both the Home affairs panel and (IT) Parliamentary panel, TMC, the second largest opposition party didn’t get any.  The move had triggered strong protests from both parties.

    In the rejig, BJP MP Brij Lal has been appointed at the helm of Home Affairs panel replacing Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.  Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav as the new chairman of the IT panel.  Jadhav belongs to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction. Speaking to this daily, Chowdhury described the move as another attempt to muzzle the voice of the Opposition. “The government’s differences with the Tharoor-led IT panel might have triggered the decision. The posts were taken away from the party because they are scared that Tharoor will create more problems for them,” he said.

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was retained as the chairperson of the committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, the party nominated RS MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi as chairman of the Standing Committee on Commerce. Though chairmanship for the panel on chemicals and fertilisers was offered to Congress, the party is yet to make a decision. Chowdhury said though he met the Speaker and wrote two letters over the arbitrary action of the government, he didn’t receive any favourable response.

    Sena MP replaces Tharoor in IT panel
    Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav as the new chairman of the IT panel.  Jadhav belongs to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction.
     

  • ‘Rashtrapatni’ row: Smriti Irani calls on President Murmu as Congress raises heat against the Union Minister

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday met President Droupadi Murmu here, a day after leading the charge against the Congress over party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s ‘rashtrapatni’ remark.

    Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Friday amid uproar over Chowdhury’s comments and other issues.

    ““Had the privilege of calling upon the Honourable President of India Droupadi Murmu Ji along with MOS,” Irani said in a tweet.

    A major political row broke out on Thursday over Chowdhury’s ‘rashtrapatni’ remark.

    The BJP launched an all-out offensive against Congress and accused Chowdhury of hurling a “deliberate sexist insult” at President Murmu and demanded an apology from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

    Chowdhury, who is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said he never intended to disrespect the President and his ‘rashtrapatni’ remark was a “slip of the tongue”.

    The visit comes amid the backdrop of Congress stepping up its attack against the Union Minister for having a face-off with Sonia Gandhi earlier in the lower house over Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s “rashtrapatni” remark and demanded action against her.

    Congress MPs staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex demanding an apology from the government for Irani’s confrontation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

    The Congress MPs met in the Parliament and decided on their strategy at a meeting of Congress Parliamentary Party chaired by Sonia Gandhi, after which they caused disruption in both houses of Parliament with slogans against Irani and demanding her sacking as a minister.

    The Congress has accused Irani of “heckling” Sonia Gandhi inside the lower house.

    The party has already complained against Irani to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with a demand that the matter be referred to the privileges committee for action against her.

    The Congress also took strong objection to the manner in which Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal made references to party chief Sonia Gandhi in the Rajya Sabha.

    Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge sought to raise the issue in the house, but was not allowed to speak during the ‘zero hour’ under Rule 258.

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “Leader of the Opposition Kharge ji not allowed to raise a legitimate point of order in the Rajya Sabha because of hungama by BJP MPs and Ministers. Adjourned till 12 noon.”

    Referring to Sitharaman and Goyal’s remarks in Rajya Sabha, Kharge said that it is a time-honoured convention that reflections or critical remarks should not be made on the other House or members of the other House.

    He also said that no person who is not a member of the House can be referred to in a derogatory manner or in any other way afflicting his or her reputation.

    On Thursday, the row that began with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury calling President Droupadi Murmu “rashtrapatni”, went notches up when the party accused BJP MPs of subjecting its president to “brutal heckling, verbal assault and physical intimidation” in the Lok Sabha.

    Congress MPs, protesting against the alleged misbehaviour with Gandhi, were joined by their colleagues from the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

    Chowdhury’s remark on India’s first tribal president has drawn a fresh battleline between the Congress and the BJP, which too has demanded an apology from Sonia Gandhi.

    As the Lok Sabha adjourned soon after 12 noon on Thursday, Gandhi walked across to the treasury benches and sought to know from BJP member Rama Devi why she was dragged into the issue.

    Irani intervened and was seen gesturing towards Gandhi and apparently protesting against Chowdhury’s remark.

    Gandhi tried to ignore Irani’s protestations, but was soon seen gesturing towards the minister and speaking angrily.

    NEW DELHI: Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday met President Droupadi Murmu here, a day after leading the charge against the Congress over party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s ‘rashtrapatni’ remark.

    Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Friday amid uproar over Chowdhury’s comments and other issues.

    ““Had the privilege of calling upon the Honourable President of India Droupadi Murmu Ji along with MOS,” Irani said in a tweet.

    A major political row broke out on Thursday over Chowdhury’s ‘rashtrapatni’ remark.

    The BJP launched an all-out offensive against Congress and accused Chowdhury of hurling a “deliberate sexist insult” at President Murmu and demanded an apology from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

    Chowdhury, who is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said he never intended to disrespect the President and his ‘rashtrapatni’ remark was a “slip of the tongue”.

    The visit comes amid the backdrop of Congress stepping up its attack against the Union Minister for having a face-off with Sonia Gandhi earlier in the lower house over Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s “rashtrapatni” remark and demanded action against her.

    Congress MPs staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex demanding an apology from the government for Irani’s confrontation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

    The Congress MPs met in the Parliament and decided on their strategy at a meeting of Congress Parliamentary Party chaired by Sonia Gandhi, after which they caused disruption in both houses of Parliament with slogans against Irani and demanding her sacking as a minister.

    The Congress has accused Irani of “heckling” Sonia Gandhi inside the lower house.

    The party has already complained against Irani to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with a demand that the matter be referred to the privileges committee for action against her.

    The Congress also took strong objection to the manner in which Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal made references to party chief Sonia Gandhi in the Rajya Sabha.

    Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge sought to raise the issue in the house, but was not allowed to speak during the ‘zero hour’ under Rule 258.

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “Leader of the Opposition Kharge ji not allowed to raise a legitimate point of order in the Rajya Sabha because of hungama by BJP MPs and Ministers. Adjourned till 12 noon.”

    Referring to Sitharaman and Goyal’s remarks in Rajya Sabha, Kharge said that it is a time-honoured convention that reflections or critical remarks should not be made on the other House or members of the other House.

    He also said that no person who is not a member of the House can be referred to in a derogatory manner or in any other way afflicting his or her reputation.

    On Thursday, the row that began with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury calling President Droupadi Murmu “rashtrapatni”, went notches up when the party accused BJP MPs of subjecting its president to “brutal heckling, verbal assault and physical intimidation” in the Lok Sabha.

    Congress MPs, protesting against the alleged misbehaviour with Gandhi, were joined by their colleagues from the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

    Chowdhury’s remark on India’s first tribal president has drawn a fresh battleline between the Congress and the BJP, which too has demanded an apology from Sonia Gandhi.

    As the Lok Sabha adjourned soon after 12 noon on Thursday, Gandhi walked across to the treasury benches and sought to know from BJP member Rama Devi why she was dragged into the issue.

    Irani intervened and was seen gesturing towards Gandhi and apparently protesting against Chowdhury’s remark.

    Gandhi tried to ignore Irani’s protestations, but was soon seen gesturing towards the minister and speaking angrily.

  • Slip of tongue, will apologise to President not to ‘pakhandis’: Adhir on ‘rashtrapatni’ remark

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, in the soup for the ‘rashtrapatni’ remark which he claimed was a “slip of tongue”, on Thursday said he will apologise to President Droupadi Murmu but not to “this pakhandis” (hypocrites).

    He also accused the BJP of making a “mountain out of a molehill” over the issue. Chowdhury said the term was used only once by mistake and he never intended any disrespect to the President even as the BJP stalled both Houses of Parliament and asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to apologise to the nation.

    “I inadvertently used the word ‘rashtrapatni’ just once and it was a slip of the tongue. I never meant any disrespect to the President,” he told reporters outside Parliament. “What should I do? I said it and realised I uttered a wrong word. I even looked for media persons to request them to not focus on it. However, I couldn’t find them,” Chowdhury said, a day after making the remark.

    ALSO READ | ‘Slip of the tongue’: Adhir on ‘rashtrapatni’ row as BJP protests against Congress leader

    He later said, “I am a Bengali and not used to Hindi. I made a mistake, I agree.” The Congress leader said he has sought time from the President the day after tomorrow and will apologise to her if she has been offended by his inadvertent comments.

    “I have sought time from the President and will apologise to her, but not to these ‘pakhandis’,” the Congress leader said, referring to the BJP.

    Chowdhury’s remarks came after he held a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi in her office in Parliament over the issue.

    WATCH HERE:

    Some ruling party members are “deliberately trying to make a mountain out of a molehill”, Chowdhury alleged. In a video message later, he said India’s president, be it Brahmin or tribal, is respected by all.

    “Yesterday, when we were holding a protest at Vijay Chowk, journalists asked where we wanted to go. I said ‘rashtrapatni’ only once by mistake. I urged the journalists not to show my video where I committed a mistake. The BJP is creating a row over it now,” he said.

    According to Chowdhury, the BJP does not have anything on the Congress and is finding “masala” against it. “The issue is being blown out of proportion…I do not have the remotest intention of humiliating the highest chair of our country,” Chowdhury said.

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, in the soup for the ‘rashtrapatni’ remark which he claimed was a “slip of tongue”, on Thursday said he will apologise to President Droupadi Murmu but not to “this pakhandis” (hypocrites).

    He also accused the BJP of making a “mountain out of a molehill” over the issue. Chowdhury said the term was used only once by mistake and he never intended any disrespect to the President even as the BJP stalled both Houses of Parliament and asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to apologise to the nation.

    “I inadvertently used the word ‘rashtrapatni’ just once and it was a slip of the tongue. I never meant any disrespect to the President,” he told reporters outside Parliament. “What should I do? I said it and realised I uttered a wrong word. I even looked for media persons to request them to not focus on it. However, I couldn’t find them,” Chowdhury said, a day after making the remark.

    ALSO READ | ‘Slip of the tongue’: Adhir on ‘rashtrapatni’ row as BJP protests against Congress leader

    He later said, “I am a Bengali and not used to Hindi. I made a mistake, I agree.” The Congress leader said he has sought time from the President the day after tomorrow and will apologise to her if she has been offended by his inadvertent comments.

    “I have sought time from the President and will apologise to her, but not to these ‘pakhandis’,” the Congress leader said, referring to the BJP.

    Chowdhury’s remarks came after he held a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi in her office in Parliament over the issue.

    WATCH HERE:

    Some ruling party members are “deliberately trying to make a mountain out of a molehill”, Chowdhury alleged. In a video message later, he said India’s president, be it Brahmin or tribal, is respected by all.

    “Yesterday, when we were holding a protest at Vijay Chowk, journalists asked where we wanted to go. I said ‘rashtrapatni’ only once by mistake. I urged the journalists not to show my video where I committed a mistake. The BJP is creating a row over it now,” he said.

    According to Chowdhury, the BJP does not have anything on the Congress and is finding “masala” against it. “The issue is being blown out of proportion…I do not have the remotest intention of humiliating the highest chair of our country,” Chowdhury said.

  • Adhir’s ‘rashtrapatni’ remark on President Murmu: BJP demands apology from Sonia

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday slammed Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for his remark against the President, saying the entire country is upset over it.

    Both Houses of Parliament witnessed uproar over the remark with BJP leaders demanding an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

    “The entire country today is upset over Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s remark on the President. Congress has been insulting tribal leaders,” Goyal, who is the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, told reporters.

    Referring to President Droupadi Murmu as ‘rashtrapatni’ was a “slip of the tongue”, Chowdhury said on Thursday and accused the BJP of making a “mountain out of a molehill” over the issue.

    The term was used only once by mistake and he never intended any disrespect to the president, Chowdhury said.

    BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Thursday said Congress president Sonia Gandhi must apologise to the nation over party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s “derogatory” remark against President Droupadi Murmu.

    BJP members stalled both house of Parliament on Thursday as they protested against Chowdhury, the party’s top leader in Lok Sabha, for calling Murmu “rashtrapatni”.

    They too sought an apology from the Congress president over Chowdhury’s remark.

    Sonia Gandhi has appointed Chowdhury as the leader in Lok Sabha to speak and he has made a “derogatory” remark against President Murmu.

    Therefore, the Congress chief must apologise to the nation, Patra told reporters here.

    Reacting to Congress’ stand that Chowdhury has already apologised for the comment, Patra said the MP needs to be “punished” for demeaning the country’s highest constitutional post.

    NEW DELHI: Union minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday slammed Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for his remark against the President, saying the entire country is upset over it.

    Both Houses of Parliament witnessed uproar over the remark with BJP leaders demanding an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

    “The entire country today is upset over Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s remark on the President. Congress has been insulting tribal leaders,” Goyal, who is the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, told reporters.

    Referring to President Droupadi Murmu as ‘rashtrapatni’ was a “slip of the tongue”, Chowdhury said on Thursday and accused the BJP of making a “mountain out of a molehill” over the issue.

    The term was used only once by mistake and he never intended any disrespect to the president, Chowdhury said.

    BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Thursday said Congress president Sonia Gandhi must apologise to the nation over party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s “derogatory” remark against President Droupadi Murmu.

    BJP members stalled both house of Parliament on Thursday as they protested against Chowdhury, the party’s top leader in Lok Sabha, for calling Murmu “rashtrapatni”.

    They too sought an apology from the Congress president over Chowdhury’s remark.

    Sonia Gandhi has appointed Chowdhury as the leader in Lok Sabha to speak and he has made a “derogatory” remark against President Murmu.

    Therefore, the Congress chief must apologise to the nation, Patra told reporters here.

    Reacting to Congress’ stand that Chowdhury has already apologised for the comment, Patra said the MP needs to be “punished” for demeaning the country’s highest constitutional post.

  • ‘Didn’t use force’: Delhi cops dismiss claims of ‘atrocities’ against Congress leaders, workers

    By Online Desk

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Monday detained 459 Congress workers and senior leaders, including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, K C Venugopal and Mallikarjun Kharge, for not following police directions for the maintenance of law and order in the national capital, officials said.

    They also said that allegations of manhandling, injuries to protesting Congress leaders during police action will be diligently looked into.

    Hundreds of Congress workers in Delhi took to the streets and several senior leaders were detained amid a massive show of strength by the party which had called for the Satyagraha march against the ED’s questioning of Rahul Gandhi in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper.

    The opposition party alleged that some of its leaders were manhandled by the police and lashed out at the government for “not allowing” peaceful protests.

    Despite being denied permission, Congress gathered for the protest in different parts of Delhi on Monday.

    They were detained from the Akbar Road, where the Congress headquarter is situated, Q Point APJ Kalam Road and Man Sing Road and taken to the Mandir Marg, Tughlak Road and Fatehpur Beri police stations respectively.

    However, police said that entry of 100 senior leaders and staff of the All India Congress Committee was allowed into the party headquarters through the Akbar Road and Maulana Azad Road roundabout whose list was to be provided in advance.

    ALSO READ | National Herald case: Top Congress leaders, workers march in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi

    The Delhi Police said 15 Lok Sabha MPs, including Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, 11 Rajya Sabha members, including K C Venugopal and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, five MLAs of different states and party functionaries were among the 459 people detained in the New Delhi district for not following lawful directions of police for maintenance of law and order.

    All woman workers and functionaries of the Congress detained by the police have been released and suitable legal action is being taken against those who violated orders promulgated under CrPC section 144, a senior police official said.

    “Complaints have been received about injuries to Congress leaders and workers during police action. But no such incident of use of force by police took place as per our knowledge and no MLC case has been reported so far,” said Sagar Preet Hooda, the Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Zone -II Delhi).

    “Still, if there are allegations of some manhandling during the detention the same will diligently be looked into for appropriate action,” he said.

    According to the police statement, adequate arrangements were made over apprehensions that a huge gathering of Congress leaders and workers may disturb the security and safety of the VIPs, ED office its officers, neighbouring offices, residences and the public, etc.

    “CrPC section 144 is already in force with effect from May 24 this year in the area thereby prohibiting the holding of any public meeting, processions and demonstration,” it said.

    The AICC secretary, in a letter to the police, had assured that a crowd will not accompany Rahul Gandhi to the ED office.

    But as soon as Gandhi left 24 Akbar Road for the ED office, Congress leaders, functionaries and workers accompanied him in the form of a procession, the statement said.

    Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over nine hours by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper and was called to depose again on Tuesday, as his party protested across the country, alleging that the Centre was targeting the Opposition by misusing agencies.

    Gandhi, who appeared before a central probe agency for the first time for questioning, arrived at the ED office at 11.10 am on Monday accompanied by a battery of leaders including sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and escorted by armed CRPF personnel.

    He was given an 80-minute break in the afternoon and was at the ED office till past 10 pm.

    Hundreds of Congress workers in Delhi and state capitals took to the streets and several senior leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Randeep Surjewala and K C Venugopal, were detained here amid a massive show of strength by the party which had called for the Satyagraha march against the ED summons.

    The principal opposition party alleged that the Delhi police made a “murderous attack” on its leader Venugopal and others, with former home minister P Chidambaram and Pramod Tiwari sustaining hairline rib fracture.

    ALSO READ | ‘Congress welcomed ED grilling of Abhishek Banerjee, it should do so for Rahul’: Trinamool

    Lashing out at the government for “not allowing”‘ peaceful protest, Congress leaders said they would not kowtow to the Modi government and vowed to continue their agitation.

    The BJP hit back at the Congress, accusing its leaders of putting pressure on the ED, supporting corruption and protecting the alleged assets worth Rs 2,000 crore of the Gandhi family.

    Noting that nobody is above the law “not even Rahul Gandhi”, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani claimed that never before such a blatant attempt was made by a political family to hold a probe agency to ransom to protect its “ill-gotten” assets.

    Gandhi, 51, went from the party headquarters on Akbar Road to the ED office in central Delhi a few kilometres away in a convoy of seven cars after walking for some distance with his supporters.

    After about two-and-a-half hours, he left the ED office for a lunch break during which he met his mother Sonia Gandhi at the Gangaram Hospital, where she has been admitted, and returned at 3.30 pm.

    Officials said the questioning on Monday continued well past 9 pm and he has been asked to appear before the ED again on Tuesday.

    The former Congress president, a Z+ category protectee of the CRPF after the Union government withdrew the Gandhi family’s SPG cover in 2019, is expected to write down his statement, official sources said.

    Prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of central Delhi that were heavily barricaded.

    The ED is recording the statement of the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad in Kerala under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

    The probe is related to alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper, published by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

    Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian.

    Rahul Gandhi is expected to be grilled about the incorporation of the Young Indian company, the operations of the National Herald and the fund transfer within the news media establishment.

    “We are not scared. The Modi government should be ashamed that they have turned central Delhi into a fortress just because our leader is going to the ED with his supporters,” Indian Youth Congress President Srinivas BV told PTI near the ED office just before he was detained by the police.

    Tempers rose as the day progressed with scenes of slogan shouting and Congress workers jumping barricades and resisting attempts by police to detain them.

    Slogans such as “down down BJP”, and “we want justice” rang out in cities such as Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Guwahati, Jammu, Dehradun and Jaipur.

    The party claimed it was starting Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Satyagraha’, peaceful resistance, again with the march against the Modi government.

    A host of Congress leaders spoke out on the alleged harassment.

    In a statement, the Delhi Police said that 15 members of Lok Sabha including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, 11 members of Rajya Sabha including KC Venugopal and leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, five MLAs of different state assemblies and other functionaries were among the total of 459 detained in the New Delhi district for not following lawful directions of police for maintenance of law and order.

    All woman workers and functionaries detained by police have been released, it said.

    “Some complaints have been received at Tughlak Road police station of New Delhi regarding injuries to congress leaders and workers during police action but no such incident of use of force by police took place as per our knowledge and no MLC case has been reported so far,” said Sagar Preet Hooda, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Zone -II Delhi).

    “Still, if there are allegations of some manhandling or so during the detention, the same will diligently be looked into for appropriate action,” he said.

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot alleged that the government was misusing central probe agencies and this was nothing but “political vendetta”.

    “All leaders from Kerala to Kashmir are being targeted. Democracy is being throttled and we oppose it strongly,” Baghel said.

    Asked whether the party would stage a similar show of strength on June 23 when Sonia Gandhi has been asked to appear before ED, Gehlot said, “The Congress is competent to deal with the situation”.

    “This is a fight for democracy. The government is trying to muzzle the voices of opposition leaders,” added former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat.

    “Now, a satyagraha will take place at every corner,”” he added.

    Surjewala said Congress leaders had done nothing wrong and alleged that “Godse’s descendants fear from the truth and they will not be able to suppress the truth”.

    Ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s appearance before the ED, brother-in-law Robert Vadra came out in his support and expressed confidence that he would be exonerated from all “baseless accusations”.

    “I believe the truth will prevail and this harassment of the prevailing dispensation will not have the effect they desire,” he added.

    The Congress party said in a press conference in the morning that all fund movements in this case were legitimate.

    In April, the agency questioned senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation.

    ALSO READ | ‘ED’s questioning of Rahul Gandhi is political vendetta’: Top Congress leaders hit out at Centre

    The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials had said.

    The ED recently registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

    Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds with Young Indian Pvt Ltd paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress.

    The Delhi High Court in February last year issued a notice to the Gandhis for their response to Swamy’s plea seeking to lead evidence in the matter before the trial court.

    The Gandhis had secured separate bails from the court in 2015 after they furnished personal bonds of Rs 50,000 and one surety.

    They contended in the Delhi High Court that the plea by Swamy was “misconceived and premature”.

    The other accused in the case filed by Swamy are close Gandhi aides Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appeals to Shah to withdraw CAA in next Parliament session

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and appealed to withdraw Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the next Parliament session.

    A large number of Pakistani Hindus who had come to India from Pakistan in order to escape religious persecution had to return to Pakistan because they were unable to secure Indian citizenship, Chowdhury said in his letter.

    “We have always raised our voice for the marginalized and neglected lot irrespective of religion, caste, creed or nationality,” he wrote to Shah.

    This come after Shah, during his West Bengal visit earlier this month, that the Central government will implement it once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

    Chowdhury further said, “It is more than two years now that you have passed the ill-thought-out legislation called CAA. But still, you are not able to implement it because of its inherent and manifest unconstitutionality.”

    “That is why Pakistani Hindu returnees are going back to Pakistan out of sheer frustration and hopelessness. This draconian legislation cannot be implemented because it is legislation targeting a particular community. It is against the basic tenets and fundamentals of our constitutional ethos. The underlying value of our constitution is “to live and let live”. I am sure this targeted legislation against a particular community will not stand judicial scrutiny.”

    “Perhaps you know it well and that’s why despite the passage of the act of more than two years, you have not been able to frame even the rudimentary rules of CAA,” he said.

    “In view of the above, I appeal to you to withdraw the CAA legislation in the impending monsoon session of Parliament like the three controversial farm laws,” the letter read.

    The CAA allows persecuted minorities belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to avail Indian citizenship.

  • BJP MP moves privilege notice against Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury over remarks targeting PM Narendra Modi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: BJP MP Vinod Sonkar has given a privilege notice against Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for his “indecent and inappropriate” remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Sonkar alleged that Chowdhury has made baseless claims that Prime Minister Modi has bought two planes with swimming pools in them at a cost of Rs 1,300 crore.

    Sonkar further said Chowdhury had alleged that Prime Minister Modi enjoys swimming while travelling to foreign nations.

    “He has made indecent and inappropriate remarks against Prime Minister Modi. Such remarks amount to breach of privilege. So please consider my notice and start proceedings against him,” Sonkar wrote to the speaker.

  • ‘SIT probe would yield nothing but rubbish’: Adhir questions Mamata’s silence on Anis Khan’s death

    By PTI

    KOLKATA:  Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Saturday questioned the silence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the mysterious death of student activist Anis Khan and said that she has forgotten the Muslims who had reposed faith in her since her party’s win in the state election.

    Chowdhury, who is also the WBPCC president, alleged that the state government is trying to hide the truth behind the incident and stop investigation into it.

    Chowdhury, who met the the student activist’s family members at their house at Amta in Howrah district during the day, claimed that the special investigating team formed by the state government to probe the death “would yield nothing but rubbish”.

    He raked up the death of Rizwanur Rahman, a graphics trainer, who according to the CBI probe was driven to commit suicide in 2007.

    “Didi (Banerjee) had spearheaded the movement following Rizwanur’s death because she had no option then. Now because the elections are over, the Muslims have been dumped by her.”

    Rizwanur was found dead near the rail track in Kolkata in Sptember 2007, a month after his marriage to the daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi.

    The Supreme Court had in March 2011 had asked CBI proceed with the case as suicide.

    The death had rocked the state and Banerjee had spearheaded a movement against the then Left Front government of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and demanded the CBI probe into it.

    “Why is the chief minister silent in this case? Why hasn’t she sent any of her ministers to meet Anis’ family members? The people of Bengal want to know the mystery behind his death.

    But it seems that the state government is trying to stop the investigation as the chief minister and the TMC government are trying to hide the truth behind the death.

    We will not let them succeed in that,” Chowdhury told reporters.

    “There will be no investigation done by the SIT. Nobody will believe that a civic police man would kill somebody unless he was ordered”.

    A civic police man was among the four police personnel who had reportedly forced their way into Anis’ house on the night of February 18 and took him to its second floor.

    His body was later found by his family members from outside the building.

    Chowdhury alleged that Anis’s family members are being given death threats to force them withdraw their demand for a CBI probe.

    He said that Congress will move the National Human Rights Commission in the case.

    “We will continue with our protests and if needed help Anis’ family to meet President Ram Nath Kovind and take the case to the National Commission for Minorities”.

    Chowdhury also was critical about the state government’s Deucha Pachami coal project and questioned its “commercial viability”.

    “Nobody is willing to invest here. This is a concealed coalfield and several hundred metres have to be dug to get coal. Nobody knows whether this will be a viable project or not,” he said.

    The the state government is yet to publish any notification with regard to the project though it has already planned to evacuate around 21,000 people from the area, he said.

    The state government is investing about Rs 35,000 crore in this project which is spread across 3.

    04 lakh acres and Banerjee has announced jobs for one member of each family that donates land, besides increasing the compensation package.

  • My name is Jyotiraditya Scindia: Minister on Adhir’s ‘maharaj’ dig

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday took exception to being referred to as ‘maharaj’ by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and said “my name is Jyotiraditya Scindia”.

    This came after Chowdhury addressed the Civil Aviation Minister as ‘maharaj’ twice in the Lok Sabha while asking a question pertaining to some airport projects in West Bengal during the Question Hour.

    “The matter is that one ‘maharaj’ is a minister, another ‘maharaj’ Air India, now privatisation is happening,” the Congress leader, subsequently, said taking a dig at Scindia, who joined BJP quitting Congress in 2020.

    In his reply, Scindia first thanked the Congress leader for asking the question.

    “And, I want to inform him that my name is Jyotiraditya Scindia. Perhaps, he has some misunderstanding, and keep talking about my past again and again. But I want to inform him,” the minister said.