News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Tax raid on Dainik Bhaskar: Opposition hits out at Modi government; media group says readers’ will is supreme

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL/LUCKNOW: Tax sleuths knocked on the doors of Bhopal-headquartered Dainik Bhaskar group and Uttar Pradesh-based Bharat Samachar in the wee hours on Thursday, raiding their premises across various states for alleged tax evasion. 

    Multiple teams of the I-T department from Delhi and Mumbai conducted the searches under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act at business premises owned by the two media groups in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and UP, following specific inputs about tax evasion by these firms.

    The Bhaskar group, which runs around 65 daily newspaper editions in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati, had run a series of stories on the alleged cover-up of casualties in MP, Gujarat and UP as well as the vaccine wastage in Rajasthan. After the authorities denied reports of mass graves on the banks of Ganga, it sent an army of reporters to document the same. 

    The raids drew sharp criticism from Opposition leaders as both the media groups had done numerous stories and programmes highlighting the failure of authorities in managing the pandemic. “The attack on journalists and media houses is yet another BRUTAL attempt to stifle democracy,” tweeted West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. 

    “Their message is clear that whoever will speak against the BJP government… will not be spared,” said Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, adding that the searches are an “attempt to scare the media”. However, government sources said the group evaded huge amounts of tax by claiming bogus expenses and purchases using shell entities. 

    The media group said that it was “independent” and the readers’ will was supreme for it.

    “I am independent because I am Bhaskar. Only readers’ will prevails at Bhaskar,” a message in Hindi on the group’s digital news website under the headline “Swatantra Bhaskar” said.

    It claimed that the IT department teams also raided the houses of its employees, seized their mobile phones and did not allow them to leave.

    ALSO READ | Looked at only financial transactions of Dainik Bhaskar group, not editorial content: IT department

    Even night-shift staff were not allowed to leave the offices, it said.

    Income Tax officials said it was part of the procedure, and the staff were allowed to leave after legal formalities, it said.

    The group’s digital media team was allowed to go home at 12.30 pm on Thursday, it added.

    The group’s digital news site had put out reports, along with pictures, on dead bodies of suspected coronavirus patients floating down the river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which had led to nationwide consternation.

    As the Income Tax raids unfolded, Dainik Bhaskar also ran a readers survey on social media, asking “Are you with the fearless journalism of Dainik Bhaskar? Answer 1 Yes, 2 No.”

    When contacted, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax for MP and Chhattisgarh Lekha Kumar said, “No comments, please.”

    Attempts to contact Parneet Sachdev, Director General of IT, Bihar and Jharkhand who has additional charge of MP and Chhattisgarh for comment failed.

    Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath said the tax raids on Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar media groups on charges of tax evasion were an attempt by the Union government to suppress the “fourth pillar of democracy” and prevent truth from coming out.

    Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Twitter that tax officials “are present” at half a dozen premises of the group, including at its office at Press Complex in state capital Bhopal where it is headquartered.

    ALSO READ | ‘Brutal attempt to stifle democracy’: Mamata Banerjee reacts to I-T raids at Dainik Bhaskar premises

    State CPM secretary Jaswinder Singh said the raids were not only an attack on the freedom of expression but a clear sign of a situation worse than the Emergency.

    The action came at a time when the government was in a tight spot in Parliament over the Pegasus snooping case and coronavirus deaths, he said.

    It also proved that the Narendra Modi government was trying to stifle the voice of democracy, the CPM leader said.

    Flaying the government, the Uttar Pradesh Congress in a tweet said, “Kamal’ wale, kalam se darte hain (People with lotus are afraid of the pen)”.

    The Congress termed the raids on both the media houses as an “attack on democracy”.

    The Samajwadi Party (SP) on its Twitter handle said when a “coward” government is “afraid”, it uses central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, IT Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against those opposing it.

    “With the ink of truth, the government’s corruption, mismanagement during the Covid pandemic, false claims and hollow announcements were exposed by Dainik Bhaskar. Countrywide raids on it are condemnable,” the party tweeted.

    Later, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav in a tweet said, “It is clear from the raids on the media in UP that the BJP is affected by the possibility of its defeat in the 2022 elections. It shows the desperation of the losing BJP. This has proved that the truth that under the oppressive rule of the anti-people BJP those who shoe truth will which be crushed.”

    Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati in her tweet said, “Income Tax raids on Dainik Bhaskar Media Group and Bharat News Channel prima facie appeared to be an act of vindictiveness. It brings back the dark memories of the Congress Emergency of 1975. It is very sad and highly condemnable.”

    SP spokesperson Ashutosh Verma too said the raids were the result of the BJP’s “fear”.

    “It showed that the BJP is so afraid of its defeat in the 2022 state elections that it is targeting media houses for exposing its failure,” Verma said.

    “Institutions like the IT Department, CBI and the ED have been made a tool by the BJP to create fear among those opposing it,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Tax raids on Dainik Bhaskar attempt to scare media: Arvind Kejriwal 

    The leader further said his party’s fight is against politicisation of these institutions.

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday slammed the Income Tax raids at the offices of media houses, terming them as an attempt to suppress their voice.

    Civil rights group PUCL also condemned the raids on media house, saying it was an attempt to “threaten” and suppress media.

    Gehlot charged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government cannot tolerate even the slightest criticism.

    “Income Tax raids on the offices of Dainik Bhaskar newspaper and Bharat Samachar news channel is an attempt to suppress the media.

    The Modi government cannot tolerate even the slightest criticism.

    This is the fascist mentality of the BJP, which does not like to see the mirror of truth in democracy,” he tweeted.

    The chief minister charged that by taking such action, the Modi government wants to send a message to media houses that if they are not in their favour then their voices will be crushed.

    People Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Rajasthan strongly condemns the nationwide raid of the Income Tax Department on Dainik Bhaskar newspaper, PUCL president Kavita Srivastava said in a statement.

    She alleged that the raids are a “clear message” from the central government and it is a “malicious attempt” to teach a lesson to journalists and editors and to “suppress and intimidate” all other print and electronic media.

    Srivastava said that the media organisation had raised various issues, including Pegasus snooping, Ram Janmabhoomi land controversy, oxygen scarcity during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Meanwhile, Union minister Anurag Thakur said the agencies are doing their work and there is no interference in it.

    He also asserted that “one should take complete information and in its absence sometimes many issues come up that are far from the truth.”

    The Information and Broadcasting Minister was responding to a question on the opposition Congress’ charge that the raids were intended to throttle the voice of democracy.

    “Agencies are doing their own work and there is no interference. One should take complete information and in its absence sometimes many issues come up that are far from the truth,” he told reporters at a cabinet briefing.

    There was no official word from the Income Tax Department or its policy-making body, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), on the raids.

    These raids triggered a widespread criticism, including from the opposition parties with Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala earlier accusing the government of attacking the freedom of the press and throttling the voice of democracy through these raids.

    “Raid-jeevi ji, Cowardly attack on the freedom of the Press! Income tax raids on Dainik Bhaskar’s Bhopal, Jaipur and Ahmedabad offices now.

    You cannot suppress the voice of democracy with “Raid Raj”,” he tweeted in Hindi using the hashtag “#RaidOnFreePress”.

    “How much more will you strangle the media? How much more pressure will the media accept? How long will the powers-that-be fetter the truth,” he also said in another tweet, questioning why the TV is still not debating the issue.

    “No pressures. Now the flood of truth will come,” Surjewala said.

    Another Congress leader Kapil Sibal tweeted, “Bhaskar Group published two days ago scathing piece on phone tapping and snooping and also referred to a past incident in Gujarat. IT raids in Ahmadabad , Bhopal etc. Aap chronology samajhiye.”

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Pegasus snooping story ‘concocted, fabricated, evidence-less’: BJP 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday claimed that the story on the alleged snooping through Israeli spyware Pegasus is “concocted, fabricated and evidence-less” and that the news reports based on it call for “defamation”.

    Union minister and BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi cited reports to claim that Amnesty International, the human rights group associated with Pegasus Project, has denied the existence of a list of potential targets of the alleged snooping.

    Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, she alleged that the “fake” list is like a collection of mobile numbers drawn from yellow pages and those have been used for “yellow journalism”.

    She was referring to news reports about the suspected snooping of people, including politicians and journalists, in India and several countries.

    Amnesty International, however, said in a statement that it “categorically stands” by the findings of the Pegasus Project and asserted that the data is irrefutably linked to potential targets of Israel-based NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.

    The comments by Amnesty International came after some media reports quoting a few Israeli journalists said that the human rights group has claimed that it never said that the recently leaked phone numbers were specifically a list of numbers targeted by Pegasus spyware.

    ALSO READ | TMC’s Shantanu Sen snatches Pegasus statement from minister, tears it in Rajya Sabha 

    Lekhi told reporters that 10 countries have been named as places where this spyware was used and hit out at opposition parties, including the Congress and TMC, suggesting that rival parties other countries have not behaved the way they have in India.

    Opposition parties have stalled proceedings in Parliament, alleging the Modi government’s involvement in the alleged snooping, following reports that nearly 300 mobile phone numbers including of journalists, activists, opposition leaders and even two ministers from India figured in this list of potential snooping targets by NSO which sells its Pegasus spyware only to “vetted” governments and government agencies.

    She claimed, “This is not a story. This is a non-starter across the globe because based on a concocted, fabricated, evidence-less story, nobody does story. Because that story itself calls for forgery and defamation. Leaked data is an offence and that leads to further complications for people who base their stories on leaked data. It only happens in India.”

    “The published story is based on a list of numbers available in any directory. Second, Amnesty International has denied this. The company (NSO) which manufactures Pegasus has said that these claims are uncorroborated and do not tally with their customer base,” she said.

    Claiming that the Pegasus row is linked to the report of a parliamentary committee, which was headed by her and examined the Personal Data Protection Bill, she said it has been submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker and is ready to be adopted by Parliament.

    “Data protection is going to become the law of the and. This is directly related to that. This is to undermine Indian institutions that such kinds of stories are being floated,” she said.

    ALSO READ | ‘Worse than the Watergate scandal: Mamata Banerjee on Pegasus snooping row

    NSO, the Israeli firm behind the spyware, has denied such a list, Amnesty International has “denied” this and yet opposition is disrupting Parliament, she said, claiming that such a narrative is built repeatedly to damage India.

    The government is creating a “new ecosystem” to secure the data and rights of Indians, and the row is meant to damage it, she added.

    “These kinds of stories are floated to undermine Indian institutions and stop data protection that is set to become the law of the land. This is to desensitize the public about the credibility of the structures and to malign the image of our country,” Lekhi alleged.

    Asked about the opposition’s query if the government has used the spyware, she said any such security information is classified as the government has to deal with terrorists and Maoists.

    “I cannot tell you about what software I am working with. It will amount to assisting terrorists. The Congress should first clarify if it is with terrorists,” she said.

    Asked if the previous government might have bought it, she said these things are “beyond her pay grade”.

    The onus to prove is on those who have created such a list, she said in reply to another question.

    The BJP leader also condemned the opposition for snatching papers from Communications and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Rajya Sabha and tearing them when he was about to make a statement on the alleged snooping row.

    The Congress and the TMC have “stooped” to a new low, she said.

  • 2024 Lok Sabha polls: Mamata urges Opposition parties to get united to dethrone Modi

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Giving a clarion call to dethrone the BJP in the 2024 general elections, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged the Opposition to unite against the Narendra Modi government keeping aside all other interests. 

    Taking her ‘Khela Hobe’ pitch to the national stage, she said ‘Khela’ (game) will happen in all other states in the 2024 elections until the BJP government is derailed. She requested all non-BJP parties to start planning from now as only two-and-a-half-year is left.

    Referring to her party’s stupendous victory in the 2021 Assembly elections, Mamata, while addressing virtually on the occasion of the party’s annual Martyr’s Day event, said, “Khela ekhono sesh hoy ni. Khela hobe ebar onno shob state e jotodin na BJP utkhat hochhe kendro theke (the game is not over yet. The game will continue until the BJP is uprooted from the Centre).”

    ‘Khela Hobe’ slogan was coined by Mamata ahead of the last Assembly polls in Bengal when she lashed out at the BJP in public rallies. The TMC organises its Martyr’s Day event on July 21 every year to observe commemorate the death of 13 party workers who were gunned down during a protest march led by Mamata in 1993 under the banner of Youth Congress.

    ALSO READ | Pegasus row: Mamata says Modi govt wants to establish ‘surveillance state’, calls for Opposition unity

    Aiming to unite all oppositions under one umbrella, Mamata said, “Not even three years, only two-and-a-half-year is left. We have no time to waste planning for the general elections. We should be united. Forget your all other interests. Now we should focus on one interest which is saving the country. If we form an alliance shortly before the elections, it may not work. I will be in Delhi shortly. I propose Sharadji (Sharad Pawar) and Chidambaramji (P Chidambaram) call a meeting of opposition leaders. I will act as a worker and follow the instructions given by the leaders of the alliance.”

    Mamata’s call to unite the opposition parties on Wednesday is said to be her first move to venture into national politics ahead of the 2024 general elections.

    She also hinted at a mega rally in Kolkata in the coming months. “I could not organise a meeting in Bengal because of the pandemic situation. I will organise an event at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata in the coming winter inviting all leaders of opposition parties,” she tweeted.

    For the first time, the TMC organised the screening of Mamata’s virtual address in Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and other states showcasing her as a face of anti-BJP. Underlining the national emphasis of her speech, Mamata spoke for 45 minutes in Bengali, Hindi, and English.

    At the beginning of her speech, Mamata thanked Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Digvijay Singh, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena, Jaya Bachhan of Samajwadi Party, and representatives Akali Dal, DMK, and other parties for attending the event at the Constitution Club in Delhi.

  • Opposition-ruled states claimed no death due to oxygen shortage, now doing politics: BJP 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Noting that opposition-ruled states claimed in courts that there was no death due to shortage of oxygen during the second COVID-19 wave and made similar assertions in their response to the Centre, the BJP on Wednesday hit back at its rivals amid a row over the Modi government’s reply in Parliament on the matter.

    The government had told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states and UTs during the second COVID-19 wave, drawing sharp criticism from opposition leaders.

    Deaths of patients in hospitals due to lack of life-saving gas were reported from several states during the peak of the second wave in April-May as the demand for medical oxygen zoomed.

    BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra noted that the central government’s reply was based on the figures provided by states and UTs as health is a state subject.

    No state sent any data about patients dying due to oxygen shortage, he asserted.

    He accused opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party, of doing politics on the matter, and said the states where these parties are in power have claimed that no one died there due to lack of oxygen.

    Hitting out at Gandhi, he said, “You have acted as a Twitter troll throughout the pandemic by writing two-line lies frequently.

    It is painful that a former president of one of the largest parties has behaved so irresponsibly.”

    ALSO READ | ‘Completely false’: Delhi Health Minister hits out at Centre’s ‘no one died due to oxygen shortage’ remarks

    With the AAP also targeting the Modi government over its reply in Rajya Sabha, Patra noted that a Delhi government committee had told high court that there was no evidence to suggest that around 21 people had died due to shortage of oxygen in Jaipur Golden hospital on April 23-24 night after the hospital management reported the matter.

    The Maharashtra government also told Bombay High Court that no one died due to the oxygen shortage and Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo has also made similar claims, the BJP spokesperson said.

    Gandhi should speak to the chief ministers in the states where his party is in power instead of “lying” on Twitter and spreading confusion, he said.

    These opposition-ruled states had spoken about patients dying due to the oxygen crisis when the second wave was peaking as they wanted to target the Modi government but have taken a different stand in writing and their submission to courts, he said, adding that it shows they want to politicise the whole issue.

    ALSO READ | Shiv Sena hits out at Centre’s ‘no oxygen shortage deaths’ remark, Sanjay Raut wants people to move court

    It is not that the central government has tied their hands, and they should have spoken truth when they were asked to submit their response in writing, he asserted.

    To a question about the BJP-run states, Patra said people might have suffered there too but they neither levelled allegations like the opposition-ruled states nor the issue was taken to high courts there in this manner.

    Shortly after the statement in Rajya Sabha was made in a written reply by Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar on Tuesday, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal accused the minister of having “misled” the house.

    Describing the statement as “condemnable”, Venugopal, a Rajya Sabha MP to whose question the reply was given, said he will move a privilege motion against the minister.

  • Congress, Left that oppose BJP nationally shouldn’t fight Trinamool in Bengal: Partha Chatterjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Congress and the Left, which oppose BJP nationally, should not work against the TMC in West Bengal, and efforts should be made for a broadbased alliance of opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee has said.

    He said TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee will be a pivotal anti-BJP force in the general elections and play a crucial role in ousting the BJP from power.

    Chatterjee, an influential minister in the Banerjee cabinet, also said the TMC is undergoing a generational change so it can have a perfect balance of the old and the young.

    Talking about a torrent of TMC deserters wanting to return to the party after its triumph over the BJP in the assembly elections, he said, the decision on their reinduction will be made on a “case to case basis” but wondered whether they would have bothered to return if the party had not become victorious.

    “Mamata Banerjee is the most credible and dependable anti-BJP face in the country. It is my appeal that all anti- BJP forces should come together. Some parties like the Left and the Congress are opposing BJP nationally but are working against us in Bengal. This should not be the case.”

    “Mamata Banerjee and the TMC will be the pivotal anti-BJP force in 2024 and play a very vital role in ousting the BJP,” Chatterjee told PTI in an interview.

    Responding to a question about the recent elevation of young leaders such as Lok Sabha MP and Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, he said the party was going through a generational shift.

    Abhishek was appointed TMC national general secretary soon after the party’s victory in the assembly elections in May.

    “We started our journey in 1998. Now we are undergoing a generational shift. This is being done with an eye on the future. to groom the next generation that can take over the mantle in times to come,” he said.

    Chatterjee said Mamata Banerjee is herself overseeing this generational shift to prepare the party for future battles.

    “Abhishek is a very popular youth leader and is shaping well,” he said.

    “There has to be a perfect balance of the old and the new. You have to bring in young blood as it is required for future. Now, what will be the ratio of the young to the old is for our party supremo to decide,” he said.

    The TMC veteran rejected suggestions of a possible conflict between the old guard and the young leaders during such change.

    “We go through the process of discussion, conciliation and consensus before arriving at any decision. Above all, we have Mamata Banerjee, who is our guiding force and takes the final call,” the 68-year old leader said.

    The issue of reinduction of the turncoats will be decided by Mamata Banerjee on a “case to case” basis, one of the main troubleshooters of the West Bengal chief minister said.

    “We won the elections without these turncoats. They deserted the party on the eve of elections as they felt we might not return to power. But our party returned to power, and these turncoats have made a beeline (for return).”

    “My question to these turncoats is why are you now so desperate to return? I wonder whether these leaders would have bothered to come back to the party had we not returned to power,” he said.

    BJP national vice president Mukul Roy, who had quit the TMC in 2017, returned to the state’s ruling party last month, and many more were said to be keen on re-joining Banerjee’s outfit.

    About the possibility of the return of former minister Rajib Banerjee, who had joined the BJP just before the polls, the TMC secretary general said disdainfully,” He is not such a big leader who we need to discuss.”

    “When we wanted to retain him, held meetings with him, he was not willing to stay back. He was desperate to take a chartered flight to Delhi to join some other party. What happened suddenly that he is so desperate to take a return chartered flight to Kolkata?” Chatterjee said derisively.

    Rajib Banerjee and a few other TMC leaders had flown to New Delhi just ahead of the assembly elections and joined the BJP.

    Banerjee, after the saffron party’s loss and his own defeat from his tradition seat, has been criticising the BJP and sending feelers to his former party in order to return to its fold.

    Chatterjee said while TMC workers who had crossed over to the BJP are free to return, Mamata Banerjee will personally take a call about leaders.

    Responding to a question with regard to the the row over appointment of Mukul Roy as the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, Chatterjee said there was nothing wrong about it.

    “Roy is still an MLA of the BJP,” he quipped and referred to the practice of appointing an opposition legislator the head the important assembly panel.

    The BJP has vehemently opposed Roy’s selection as the head of the PAC, insisting he had crossed over to the ruling party and demanding his disqualification.

  • Decriminalisation of polity: ‘Nothing is ever done and nothing will ever be done’, rues SC

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: “Nothing is ever done and nothing will ever be done and we have to put our hands up,” observed the Supreme Court on Tuesday while ruing over the non-compliance of its directions aimed at decriminalising the polity in “letter and spirit” by political parties.

    The remarks of the apex court came while reserving its verdict after hearing arguments on a plea seeking contempt action against several political parties including BJP and Indian National Congress for non-compliance of its directions of February 13, 2020 during Bihar assembly polls.

    A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman had said that “the political parties were to publish the criminal antecedents of their selected candidates within 48 hours of their selection or not less than two weeks before the first date for filing of nominations, whichever is earlier.”

    Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the poll panel, elaborated on the specifics of non-compliance of apex court’s directions.

    He said in Bihar assembly polls, the filing of nomination papers for first phase commenced on October 1, 2020 and the political parties mostly finalised their candidates very late.

    This led to filing of nominations by candidates in the last few days and hence, the apex court’s directions to decide candidates two weeks before the nomination and disclosing their criminal records, if any, were not complied with, he said.

    He also referred to the figure and said 469 candidates, having criminal antecedents, were fielded by 10 political parties in recently held Bihar assembly polls.

    While the submission was being made, the bench, also comprising Justice B R Gavai expressed its displeasure over the non-compliance of its directives on decriminalisation of politics.

    “Nothing is ever done and nothing will ever be done. We have to put our hands up,” the bench observed.

    This led senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Nationalist Congress Party, to urge the bench to enter into the legislative domain to set the house in order.

    Sibal referred to Article 324 (superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission) of the Constitution and rued the fact that political parties are flouting the poll panel and its directives.

    “When directions are issued, candidates, parties do not follow them. Parties show contempt for them. Parties which openly disregard should face consequences. Question arises as to what the consequences should be and who should set the house in order,” Sibal said.

    Responding to the submission, the bench said “How do we implement this? A five-judge constitution bench (judgement) says that we cannot do this. Would this not amount to entering the domain of legislature.”

    The bench further said it may consider the suggestion to refer the case to a seven-judge bench.

    The NCP along with Communist Party have been in complete defiance of the apex court’s directives during Bihar polls, the election commission submitted.

    Senior advocate Harish Salve , also appearing for the poll panel, advocated the graded approach to rein in political parties saying the winnability seemed to be the criteria and this malady is afflicting all the political parties.

    “There is a larger concern also with too many parties being thrown out of the arena. It has come step by step, but the value system needs to be shoved down the throat,” he said.

    In India, Mr Palkhivala had once also said “We do the right thing after exhausting all our options’,” the senior lawyer said evoking reaction from Justice Nariman that “We do not do the right thing, we stumble upon it.”

    The court was suggested that that heavy fines be imposed on political parties and fund be created for the poll panel to make citizens aware of their electoral rights.

    Earlier, the top court had issued a slew of directions including asking political parties to upload on their websites and social media platforms the details of pending criminal cases against their candidates and the reasons for selecting them as also for not giving ticket to those without criminal antecedents.

    It had said these details should be published within 48 hours of the selection of the candidate or at least two weeks before the first date for filing of nominations, whichever is earlier.

    The details should also be published on official social media platforms of the political parties, including Facebook and Twitter, and also in one local vernacular and one national newspaper, the apex court had also directed.

    The reasons for selecting candidates having pending criminal cases should be with reference to their qualifications, achievements and merit and not merely on “winnability” at the polls, it had said.

    In September 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench had unanimously held that all candidates will have to declare their criminal antecedents to the Election Commission before contesting polls and called for a wider publicity, through print and electronic media about antecedents of candidates.

  • Parliament’s Pegasus paralysis: Opposition steps up attack on Modi government; BJP launches counter offensive

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  A united Opposition on Tuesday decided to continue paralysing Parliament demanding that the Modi government come clean on Israeli spyware Pegasus, following an expose on its possible use to snoop into smartphone conversations of loads of politicians, journalists and other prominent persons.

    Leaders of Opposition parties in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha met before Parliament’s proceedings began and agreed to keep up the pressure on the Centre to reveal whether it is part of Peagsus’ clientele, since the NSO group, which owns the spyware, claims it sells it only to vetted governments.

    With new revelations suggesting that Pegasus could have been used to topple the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka led by H D Kumaraswamy, the Congress felt the matter will resonate in the House.

    Congress Chief Whip in Lok Sabha K Suresh said the Opposition will collectively continue to protest inside both Houses from Thursday. Parliament is closed on Wednesday to mark Bakrid.

    While the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the second successive day without transacting any business following protests from the Opposition, there was consensus on Rajya Sabha taking up a short discussion on the management of the pandemic.

    “Discussion in Rajya Sabha was agreed upon under special circumstances keeping in mind the importance of the matter. Non-participation would have been projected as the Opposition being unsympathetic to people who have suffered due to the pandemic,” said a senior Congress leader.

    Also, when the Business Advisory Committee meeting convened by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu agreed to take up the Covid debate, the expose on the possible destabilisation of the Kumaraswamy government had not been revealed, the leader said.

    ALSO READ | Pegasus row: Karnataka Congress goes all guns blazing at Modi govt

    “We will not allow Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to function till the Pegasus issue is discussed in the House. Today is different as Rajya Sabha took up discussion on Covid-19 as the Centre does politics on the issue. Pegasus is the Number 1 issue and it is a national security issue, so no compromise on that,” said Derek O’Brien, Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha floor leader. He said the repeal of three farm laws is also topmost on the party’s priority list, adding they would continue pressing it in Parliament. 

    Meanwhile, the BJP Tuesday fielded its senior leaders across the country including state chief ministers to blunt the Opposition attack.

    BJP chief ministers including Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (MP), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Vijay Rupani (Gujarat), Jai Ram Thakur (Himachal Pradesh) and Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand) were among those who addressed the media to hit back at the Congress and other Opposition parties which have slammed the Modi government over the snooping row.

    Senior BJP state leaders, including its state presidents and leaders of opposition, also targeted the Opposition.

    The Congress has demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah.

    Lashing out at the opposition Congress and international organisations for alleging the use of the Pegasus spyware to snoop upon on politicians, journalists and others in India, Shah had Monday said such “obstructers” and “disrupters” were only aiming to humiliate India at the world stage.

    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday demanded a ban on human rights organisation Amnesty Internationals activities in India for its role in the Pegasus snooping controversy.

    The BJP leader also claimed that the entire controversy was an “international conspiracy by the Left-wing organisations, including Amnesty International,” to defame the Narendra Modi-led Central government.

    “Various Left-wing organisations throughout the world, including Amnesty International, are part of the conspiracy theory”, Sarma said.

    ALSO READ | Won’t allow Parliament to function till Pegasus issue is discussed: Opposition parties

    “It is clear that they want to defame Indias democracy. I demand that activities of Amnesty International be immediately banned within India”, he said.

    There were evidences earlier, but with this recent expose, it is now clear that Amnesty can go to any extend to defame Indias democratic fabric, Sarma added.

    He criticised newspapers like the Washington Post which does not write about how many people are dying of COVID in which state or how America is controlling it but is more interested in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing.

    “I outrightly condemn Amnesty International and caution them not to try this. They will be exposed if they try to disrupt the unity and integrity of our country,” he said.

    The chief minister further alleged that a “large international conspiracy” in going on to defame India and damage its democratic set-up and the Pegasus controversy is a part of that larger plot.

    “There was a hue and cry over the oxygen issue and when India managed to control the second COVID wave effectively, they moved on to this Pegasus controversy. In between there was the toolkit controversy,” he alleged.

    He pointed out the Parliament should have been discussing how the country can be saved from the third wave or how the economy can be saved, but on the eve of the sitting, the Pegasus controversy came to the forefront.

    Questioning the timing of making public the Pegasus controversy just a day before Parliament session began, the chief minister said, “whenever India approaches some milestone, international conspiracy both from outside the country and within starts immediately”.

    He demanded that the people involved in this conspiracy should be examined and brought before law.

    On those accusing the government of snooping on the basis of the Pegasus controversy, Sarma said the people whose name appear on the purported list can get their devices checked through forensic and establish whether their devices were hacked or not.

    “Congress Rahul Gandhi could have filed a police complaint and could have got his device checked through forensic experts. But, nothing like it was done,” he said.

    Sarma alleged that the track record of the Congress was bad when it comes to phone tapping and snooping and a reply under the RTI Act in 2013 had revealed that 5000 phone numbers and 500 emails were under surveillance during the Congress-led UPA government.

    The Congress government in Rajasthan had also faced criticism over phone tapping charges and intruding privacy, he further claimed.

    ALSO READ | Pegasus spyware: French prosecutors open probe into alleged media spying

    BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said Maharashtra government did not avail of the services the private Israeli firm NSO, which licenses its military-grade Pegasus spyware to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals, as long as he was the state chief minister.

    Fadnavis, Maharashtra chief minister during 2014-19, and now Opposition leader in the state Assembly, was speaking to reporters following claims that the Pegasus software, that can infect phones without a click, was used in attempted and successful hacks of smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists and business executives in India and many other countries.

    “The Maharashtra government did not avail of any services from NSO till I was the chief minister,” Fadnavis said.

    “A team of DGIPR (the state government’s publicity department) went to Israel after the (2019 Assembly) elections and before the next government was formed, but that trip was for agriculture development purposes,” the BJP leader said.

    The Central government has already rubbished reports on the alleged snooping using Pegasus, Fadnavis said, adding “There is only legal interception, there is no illegal hacking.”

    Later in the day, the Maharashtra Congress countered Fadnavis over his claim on a DGIPR team visiting Israel to study agriculture development.

    State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant, whose party is a constituent of the Shiv Sena-led MVA government, claimed the visit in question was about discussing issues related to cyber crime and new ways of social media, among others.

    In a series of tweets, Sawant, who is also the state Congress general secretary, published a photo of the itinerary of the DGIPR delegation’s visit to Israel.

    Sawant said, “Here is a list of topics for the study of the DGIPR delegation (when Fadnavis was CM). The ‘agriculture’ word is not there. And if it was there, why no officials from agriculture department were sent to Israel?” “For his information, the subject of the tour was to study new trends in Government outreach programs and new ways of utilising social-web media,” he said.

    The photo tweeted by Sawant lists nine topics covered under the tour.

    They were about utilising web media, educating citizens about cyber crime, use of new media in reaching out to rural and the unreachable population and emerging social media platforms, among others.

    The issue of snooping using Pegasus spyware has snowballed into a massive political row in Parliament and outside as various parties demanded a thorough investigation and sacking of Home Minister Amit Shah, while the government maintained it had nothing to do with it.

    Fadnavis alluded to the surfacing of the Pegasus controversy as a plan to defame India.

    “We noticed that one or two media (outlets) got Chinese funding and carried out propaganda,” he said.

    The Pegasus issue is part of a design to derail the ongoing Parliament session, Fadnavis said.

    “There are some international forces that are trying to malign the image of the country, especially when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking the country on the path of progress. He has formed the most inclusive government with ministers from SCs and OBCs. The opposition deliberately brought out this story ahead of the session,” Fadnavis said.

    “The Central government has denied having snooped on any person with the help of NSO. One should trust it,” Fadnavis said.

    He was responding when asked about claims by a British newspaper that there were traces of hacking in the phone used by political strategist Prashant Kishor, who as Mamata Banerjee’s chief political strategist, is credited with Trinamool Congress’ big win against BJP in this year’s Assembly elections in West Bengal.

    Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Sawant had on Monday asked if the ‘Pegasus scandal’ happened during the tenure of the Fadnavis-led government in the state.

    “Was any IPS officer sitting in Mantralaya working on this? With whose permission did the DGIPR officers go to Israel? What training did they receive? Did they come back and report? Is it related to Pegasus? It is surprising and suspicious that such tours have taken place during the election period”, Sawant had said.

    “How many times did some officers go to Israel? Were there any government meetings with NSO? What was the correspondence with NSO? It should all come to the fore,” the Congress spokesperson had sought to know.

    Congress behaviour irresponsible: Modi

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday criticised the Congress for its ‘irresponsible behaviour’ of disrupting Parliament because of its negative mindset, while urging members of the BJP Parliamentary Party to proactively combat the Opposition.

    Kapil Sibal demands SC-monitored probe, white paper in Parliament by government

    Former IT minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal Tuesday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe in the Pegasus snooping matter and a white paper by the government in Parliament explicitly stating whether the Israeli spyware was used by it or not.

    Addressing a press conference at his residence here, Sibal also hit back at Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks on Monday that allegations of surveillance were only aimed to humiliate India at the world stage, saying the “nation is not being maligned, but due to your government’s actions, the government is being maligned”.

    Referring to Shah’s ‘Aap Chronology Samajhiye’ comment, the Congress leader said, “We are understanding the chronology. I want to say to Amit Shah ji ‘Aap iski chronology samajhiye (You should understand the chronology of this issue), this was done between 2017-2019.”

    “This (the Pegasus issues) is a very serious matter. We want a Supreme Court-monitored probe with a continuing mandamus, like in the Jain Hawala matter,” he said, referring to situations when the Court keeps close watch on certain cases during the probe.

    He also demanded that an independent investigation be conducted, saying “we cannot trust the agencies of this government”.

    Sibal also said that the proceedings should be in-camera so that everyone gets to know the truth.

    Asked about his party demanding a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, he said it could be in addition to the Supreme Court-monitored probe, and added that he was speaking as a concerned citizen of India.

    The government should also present a white paper in Parliament and clearly state whether it or its agencies deployed the spyware Pegasus.

    “The government should say that we have never used Pegasus but they have not said that. A big problem arises if the government has not done it or its agencies have not done it, then who has done it. NSO (the Israeli technology firm which created the spyware) says it does not sell to anyone except government agencies,” Sibal said.

    He said Home Minister Shah should tell Parliament that the government has not used the spyware.

    “You say that you are bringing private data protection but you are doing data collection through Pegasus. This is a national security threat for having leaked data to an agency which has nothing to do with India,” he said.

    Sibal also asked, “Who prepared the list of telephones to be tapped and why the list was prepared?” If the government or its agencies have intercepted a minister’s phone by introducing malware in his phone then it is a violation of the Official Secrets Act, Sibal said, in an apparent reference to Prahlad Singh Patel’s number listed among the potential targets for hacking through the Israeli spyware.

    He also hit out at IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for his statement in Parliament that similar claims were made in the past regarding the use of Pegasus on Whatsapp and they were categorically denied by all parties, including in the Supreme Court.

    “He also said there was a hearing in the Supreme Court and in that all parties said that no such thing happened. I was the lawyer for WhatsApp, the chief justice asked orally when someone alleged that this was happening through Pegasus ‘if this was happening’ and I said, ‘ask the government’,” narrated Sibal, who was the Minister of Communications and Information Technology between January 2011- May 2014.

    The government has not stated till now whether such a thing was happening and the minister says all parties denied it, Sibal asserted, adding this amounts to breach of privilege as it is “false”.

    “The statement of IT minister in Parliament is also false,” he alleged.

    The government on Monday categorically rejected in Lok Sabha allegations of snooping on politicians, journalists and others using Pegasus software, asserting that illegal surveillance was not possible with checks and balances in the country’s laws, and alleged that attempts were being made to malign Indian democracy.

    Trinamool says will continue to disrupt Parliament till government comes clean on snooping charges

    The Trinamool Congress Tuesday said it will continue to disrupt Parliament proceedings till the government comes clean on the charges of snooping and surveillance using the Pegasus spyware and discusses it in both Houses.

    The party said it will, however, not halt any discussion on the coronavirus situation or aspects related to it.

    “This (Pegasus spyware) is a serious issue and the TMC will not compromise on it. We will not let either House run till this government comes clean on the charges of snooping and surveillance. The government has spent millions to hack into phones at a time when the country is dealing with a pandemic,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said.

    Opposition members raised uproar in both houses and demanded a thorough probe into the charges of snooping on journalists, politicians, ministers, judges and others using the Israeli spyware.

    One of those listed as being allegedly snooped upon is (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

    TMC Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra said, “We are saying on record that the IT minister lied on the floor of the House. We just want the PM, HM and the IT minister to answer if India is a client of NSO (Israeli firm that makes the Pegasus spyware) or not? We have a list of questions for the government and we will not allow Parliament to run unless these questions are answered.”

    Moitra then listed some questions — has any department under the government of India purchased Pegasus? Is the spyware being used currently? Which agency has requisitioned this data and where is it being retained? IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had Monday dismissed media reports on the use of Pegasus software to snoop on Indians, saying the allegations levelled just ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament are aimed at maligning Indian democracy.

    In a suo motu statement in Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said that with several checks and balances being in place, “any sort of illegal surveillance” by unauthorised persons is not possible in India.

    On the Union health secretary’s scheduled briefing to all parties on Covid this evening, O’Brien said TMC floor leaders will attend the presentation as it does not want to politicise the issue.

    The Congress has announced that it will boycott the presentation.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Seers, even Congress leaders, warn BJP of backlash if CM Yediyurappa is replaced

    By PTI
    BENGALURU: Amid heightened buzz within a section of the ruling BJP that the exit of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was on the cards, community factor seems to have come to the fore, with prominent Veerashaiva-Lingayat political leaders across party lines and seers throwing their weight behind him.

    Several seers and leaders of the dominant community, which is estimated to form about 16 per cent of the state’s population, have cautioned the BJP against any move to dislodge the 78-year-old Lingayat strongman from the Chief Minister’s post. The Veerashaiva-Lingayat community is considered to be the BJP’s core support base.

    With a new round of speculation on whether replacement of Yediyurappa is round the corner, senior Congress leader and the head of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, said the community is behind the Chief Minister.

    “They (BJP leadership) should remember history– S Nijalingappa, Veerendra Patil, J H Patel and S R Bommai (all former Chief Minisyers). They will destroy themselves if they attempt such a thing,” Shivashankarappa said in response to a question on reports that BJP is mulling replacing Yediyurappa.

    Stating that the community wants him to continue as the Chief Minister, he said Yediyurappa has built the party from scratch.

    “Veerashaiva Mahasabha is behind him as long as Yediyurappa is there, they (BJP) will be there. If Yediyurappa is disturbed, things will end there,” he said.

    Another prominent Congress leader from the Lingayat community and former Minister M B Patil has warned that the BJP may face the wrath of Lingayats, if they “ill treat” a tall leader like Yediyurappa.

    “BJP should value the contribution of Yediyurappa and treat him with dignity. This is my personal opinion, understanding that the proposed changes may be internal matters of the BJP,” he said.

    However, the statement by senior Congress leaders, coming out in the open, in support of Yediyurappa is seen as an attempt to enhance their clout in the community by attracting his Veerashaiva-Lingayat support base towards themselves.

    Several prominent seers from the community like Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, head of the Chitradurga-based Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Mutt, Sri Veera Someshwara Shivacharya Swami of Rambhapuri Peetha of Balehonnur, and Srisaila Jagadguru Channa Siddharama Panditaradhya have also favoured Yediyurappa’s continuation, while warning the BJP. Veera Someshwara Shivacharya Swami said any move to replace Yediyurappa will have “big consequences” for the BJP.

    “Friction is common in politics, let anyone say anything, but we have confidence that B S Yediyurappa will continue as the Chief Minister and complete the term. If there are any shortcomings in this, it will have big consequences for the party,” he said.

    Yediyurappa has support from people across parties and communities for his efficient work during floods and COVID, even at this age, the seer said.

    “I have confidence that the national leadership (of BJP) will not allow it (CM replacement),” he added. Murugha Sharanaru said Yediyurappa is among the great statesmen-politicians that the state has seen, and he is a force.

    “Yediyurappa may be Lingayat by birth, but he is a mass leader who can take all the communities together. Nothing should happen that affects the dignity of a tall Lingayat leader like him.

    He has grown from grassroot level and functioned effectively during COVID, and his continuation is the wish of various pontiffs, people, organisations and political leaders across party lines,” he added.

    Siddharama Panditaradhya said, “Yediyurappa may be old, but he’s still working. He should be allowed to continue.” Yediyurappa is known for having provided generous grants to mutts and religious institutions during his previous term as Chief Minister, and thereby has earned their trust, according to some analysts.

    Recently amid speculation about his replacement, Yediyurappa’s younger son and state BJP Vice President B Y Vijayendra had held a series of meetings with prominent Veerashaiva-Lingayat seers, which had raised eyebrows in political circles.

    Siddharama Panditaradhya swamiji and Veera Someshwara Shivacharya Swami had even paid a visit to Yediyurappa’s home in Shivamogga, recently. However, Yediyurappa’s main detractors are also from within the community.

    Disgruntled BJP MLAs Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and Arvind Bellad, who are said to be among those at the forefront of the efforts that have been on for some time now seeking for CM’s replacement, belong to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.

    The community, which owes allegiance to the 12th century social reform movement initiated by Basaveshwara, has a substantial population in Karnataka, especially in the northern parts of the state.

    The politically influential community is considered to have a significant presence in about 140 of the total 224 assembly constituencies in the state, and decisive in about 90 seats, according to political observers.

  • Pegasus snooping row: Delhi Congress leaders take out protest demanding judicial inquiry

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress leaders and workers staged a protest near BJP headquarters here on Tuesday, demanding a judicial inquiry into the reported use of Pegasus spyware against journalists and politicians.

    The protesters led by Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar marched raising slogans and carrying placards from their party office on DDU Marg to the nearby BJP headquarters. They were stopped at a barricade by the police.

    Addressing the protesters, Kumar alleged the government had a role in the snooping row and termed it as a national security threat.

    An international media consortium on Sunday reported that more than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of business persons and activists in India could have been targeted for hacking through the spyware.

    The central government, however, dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying it “has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever”.

  • Covid pandemic not political but humanitarian issue: PM Modi to BJP MPs

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Covid crisis is not a political but a humanitarian issue and asserted that the government has ensured no one goes hungry during the pandemic.

    Such a pandemic has been witnessed by the world after a very very long time, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi quoted the prime minister as telling MPs at the BJP’s parliamentary party meeting.

    The prime minister also said that it was ensured not a single poor person “sleeps” hungry, Joshi told reporters.

    Modi stressed that despite the pandemic, a huge population got ration, and told BJP MPs that providing relief to the people was their responsibility and not a favour, according to Joshi.

    He said the prime minister asserted that the pandemic is a humanitarian issue and not a political one.

    The prime minister expressed concern about the attitude of the opposition, especially the Congress, and said it still believes, it has the right to be in power, Joshi quoted Modi has saying at the meeting.

    He also told BJP MPs that the government was willing to hold discussions in both Houses of Parliament, but the opposition was showing a most irresponsible behaviour, Joshi said.

    Sources said that in the meeting, Modi asked BJP MPs to be effectively counter the allegations of the opposition about the government’s Covid response and the availability of vaccines.

    He also told the MPs that considering the anticipation of a third wave of the Covid pandemic, they should prepare and be ready to put boots on the ground, the sources said.

    On the Covid vaccination drive, Modi emphasised that BJP MPs should ensure that the drive in their respective constituencies is carried out without glitches.

    Taking on the opposition, the prime minister pointed out that in Delhi nearly 20 per cent of frontline workers are not till now vaccinated against Covid, they said.

    The opposition has been attacking the government, alleging “mismanagement” in handling of the second wave of the pandemic.

    It has also demanded a statement in Parliament on the issue.

    Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said if PM Modi wants to give a presentation on COVID then the discussion on the matter should be held first in the House.

    “First discussion and then presentation. If Prime Minister wants to give a presentation on COVID, then he should give it in the Central Hall separately. MPs should be allowed to discuss COVID-related issues in their constituencies,” he said.

    The Congress leader’s comment comes in light of Modi asking leaders of the parties if they can take out some time so that he can brief them about the COVID situation on Tuesday evening.

    “I have urged all floor leaders that if they can take out some time tomorrow evening then I would like to give them all detailed information regarding the pandemic. We want discussion inside the Parliament as well with the floor leaders outside the Parliament,” the Prime Minister said on Monday.

    On Pegasus Project media report, Kharge said, “We will raise Pegasus issue…Nobody is obstructing the nation’s development. It is the BJP that has obstructed it. They have earned lakhs and crores of money by imposing cess, hiking fuel price, wasting money on projects.”

    Kharge’s remarks came against the backdrop of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s tweet regarding the matter.

    “Late last evening we saw a report which has been amplified by a few sections to humiliate India globally. Disruptors will not be able to derail India’s development trajectory through conspiracies. Monsoon session will bear new fruits,” reads Shah’s tweet.

    The development comes after the names of over 40 Indian journalists appeared on the leaked list of potential targets for surveillance by an unidentified agency using Pegasus spyware, according to a report published in The Wire on Sunday.

    According to the report, the journalists who were targeted work for some news organisations in the country including Hindustan Times, The Hindu, India Today, Indian Express and Network18. Many of them cover matters related to Defence, Home Ministry, Election Commission and Kashmir among others.

    (With ANI Inputs)