01-15 March 2020 The Asian Independent

4
01-03-2020 to 15-03-2020 ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Mayawati writes to
President, seeks judicial
probe into riots
Lucknow : Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) President Mayawati on Friday
wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind
on the violence in northeast Delhi, in
which more than 40 people have been
killed so far, demanding a judicial
probe into the riots.
She stated that the violence in the
national capital that
began on Sunday and
continued for four
days was a failure of
the Bhartiya Janata
Party-led government.
"Delhi, which
is the capital of
India, has once again
been hit by deadly
riots like the 1984
Sikh riots and there
has been a massive
loss of life and property,"
she wrote in
the letter. The riots
and the loss of lives and property
were "very serious, extremely sad
and worrisome", she said.
The violence, she said, had attracted
the world's attention to India and
the country has become a subject of
negative discussions. "It is the duty of
the ruling BJP and its government to
see that they do not do anything that
would damage the prestige of the
country nor tolerate any statement by
its party members or let them indulge
in any activity that would lead to
anarchy and violence," Mayawati
said. She pointed out that "People
have seen and felt that the BJP and its
government have been a failure to a
large extent in living up to its constitutional
responsibilities. Over three
dozen people have lost their lives,
over 200 were
injured, and in these
times of price rise,
poverty, and unemployment,
a massive
loss to businesses
and trade has happened."
The BSP chief
said a high-level
judicial probe under
a Supreme Court
judge must be
ordered into the violent
clashes in Delhi
for a meaningful
outcome of the investigations to
"wash away the blot" on the national
capital, like that of the anti-Sikh riots.
Mayawati also slammed the Delhi
Police, saying the force and the
administration were negligent in
tackling the riots.
She also urged the President to
direct the Delhi government and
Centre to provide relief and assistance
to those affected by the riots in
the best possible manner.
CBI books two Delhi
firms in Rs 681-cr scam
Will Rajini's stand on DELHI
violence pitch him against Stalin?
Chennai : Superstar Rajinikanth's
tough talk on the Delhi violence has
demolished the notion that he is prosaffron
and would be pitted against
DMK's MK Stalin when the Assembly
elections are held in Tamil Nadu in
2021, a political observer said on
Saturday. On the other hand, a senior
DMK leader said that the ruling
AIADMK will not allow the 2021
polls in the southern state to become a
fight between Stalin and Rajinikanth,
but an AIADMK versus DMK affair.
"For a long time, Rajinikanth's
detractors termed him as a 'Sanghi'.
But with one media interaction, he
demolished such notion. For him, the
primary rival in the 2021 Assembly
polls will be DMK President Stalin,
who is banking on anti-BJP sentiments
in Tamil Nadu enjoyed an edge over
others till now," the political analyst
told IANS on the condition of
anonymity. "Rajinikanth's statement
blaming intelligence failure and Home
Ministry failure for the Delhi violence
has blunted the opposition edge," he
added. During his media interaction
here on February 26, the superstar also
said that the Centre should deal sternly
with violence in Delhi and resign if
this is not done. The actor has earlier
said that he would take a plunge into
active politics and fight the 2021
Assembly polls. "The 2021 elections
are all about settling the leadership
issue in Tamil Nadu politics following
the demise of AIADMK's J
Jayalalithaa and DMK's Karunanidhi,"
another political commentator Jhon
Arokiasamy told IANS. He said that if
Rajinikanth maintains a non pro-BJP
or even a neutral stance, he holds better
prospects to form a formidable
alliance in the Tamil Nadu elections.
Arokiasamy said that he could draw
towards him political parties that are
now aligned with either the ruling
AIADMK or the opposition DMK and
thus disrupt the winnability of whoever
now holds a relatively advantageous
position. Minutes after Rajinikanth's
media interaction actor turned politician
Kamal Haasan had tweeted:
"Kudos, friend... this way is a good
option. It is not a separate path, but a
royal race. Welcome, congratulations."
Arokiasamy said that Rajinikanth's
party's positioning before his entry in
the poll areana would be key to transfer
his brand value as a popular actor
to the political field. "There is an
attempt to make the 2021 Assembly
polls as a fight between Stalin and
Rajinikanth. But the ruling AIADMK
will not allow this to happen. The ruling
party will try to make it as
AIADMK versus DMK," DMK
spokesperson and MP TKS Elangovan
told IANS. Elangovan said he did not
see any difference between Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's views and
that of Rajinikanth. "Rajinikanth
should ask the central government to
talk to the anti-CAA protestors.
Rajinikanth will be used as a propaganda
tool by the BJP," Elangovan
added. According to him, an electoral
victory is not decided by an actor's
fans. "In the case of AIADMK founder
MG Ramachandran, his fans were
members of the DMK. When MGR
broke away from the DMK, his fans
also went away. But in the case of
Rajinikanth and others, their fans are
in different parties and it is up to them
to decide to vote for the party or for the
movie actor," Elangovan said.
On political parties gravitating
towards Rajinikanth, the DMK leader
said that the actor has not spelt out his
economic and other policies yet.
Political commentator Maalan
Narayanan said: "The Congress,
MDMK and the left may not leave the
DMK and join hands with Rajini. But
others might do. The anti-
AIADMK/DMK votes may go to
Rajini. There is one segment of voters
who want an alternative to these two
parties for a long time," Narayanan
added.
New Delhi : The Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
has registered separate cases
against two Delhi-based private
companies and their directors for
causing a huge loss to banks of
over Rs 681 crore by availing
credit facilities, the agency said
on Friday.
Both the cases were filed by
the central probe agency this
week following complaints from
the banks. In the first case, the
Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) lodged a FIR against Shree
Bankey Behari Exports Ltd, its directors
Amarchand Gupta, Shakuntala Devi, Ramlal
Gupta, Rajkumar Gupta, and other unidentified
public servants.
The firm and its directors have been booked
for cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery
under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a
complaint from the State Bank of India on behalf
of the consortium banks. It was alleged that the
company availed credit facilities to the tune of
Rs 625 crore and cheated members of the consortium
banks by way of forgery and using
forged documents as genuine. This caused an
alleged loss Rs 604.81 crore to the banks. The
consortium banks consisted of seven banks,
namely State Bank of India, Punjab National
Bank, Vijaya Bank (now Bank of Baroda),
Andhra Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce,
Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank.
Searches have been conducted at the premises
of the directors of the borrower company in
Delhi which led to the recovery of various
incriminating documents, said a CBI official.
The other case has been registered against
Rajesh Gems and Jewels Pvt Ltd, its Promoter
and Director Rajesh Kumar Luthara, Parveen
Luthara, unidentified public servants and private
persons on a complaint from the Indian Overseas
Bank, Delhi.
It was alleged that the promoters and directors
of the company availed various loans and credit
limits from the Indian Overseas Bank during
2003 to 2015 against "hypothecation" of jewellery
stocks and collateral securities. It was also
alleged that the loan amounts were siphoned off
through related parties in violation of lending
conditions stipulated by the Bank, the official
said. It was further alleged that the books of the
company were manipulated and forged to camouflage
illegal siphoning-off of funds and misappropriation
of hypothecated stocks. The Bank
has suffered an alleged loss and declared an
amount of Rs 77.51 crore as Non Performing
Assets (NPA) on September 29, 2015. Searches
have been conducted at three places in Delhi at
the premises of accused, the agency said.