Met Jaitley before leaving India: Mallya

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Vijay Mallya speaks to members of the media as he arrives to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in central London on September 12, 2018, to attend the closing arguments in his extradition hearing.

Absconding bank fraud accused Vijay Mallya dropped a bomb on Wednesday by claiming that he met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before fleeing out of the country and offered to settle the amount he owed to the banks.

London, September 12, 2018:

Absconding bank fraud accused Vijay Mallya dropped a bomb on Wednesday by claiming that he met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before fleeing out of the country and offered to settle the amount he owed to the banks.

“I met the finance minster to settle matters before I left. The banks had filed objections to my settlement letters,” Mallya said outside the Westminster Magistrates’ Court where he had come for a hearing in his extradition case.

Mallya added that he had made a “comprehensive settlement” offer before the Karnataka High Court that will help in paying off all his dues.

The revelation puts the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre on the backfoot. At the time of writing, the Finance Minister or any member of the government was yet to respond to the allegation.

In 2016, Arun Jaitley had said that there is a legal process to stop somebody from going abroad.

“Either your passport is impounded or there is an order of a court. Otherwise, nobody can stop you. Banks went to court for seeking an order. In this anticipation, he (Mallya) left earlier,” Jaitley had said, adding that “it would have been better had banks started the process earlier.”

The liquor baron is facing money laundering charges in multi-crore fraud case in India, which wants him extradited from the UK where he fled to in March 2016.

Dressed in a suit and wearing his shades, Mallya appeared relaxed even as the judge is expected to review a video of the Mumbai jail cell prepared by the Indian authorities for the embattled liquor tycoon.

The 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airline boss, who has been on bail on an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year, responded to the swarm of reporters gathered outside the court in his characteristic manner, saying the “courts will decide”.

“As far as I am concerned, I have. I hope the honourable judges will consider it favourably; everybody gets paid off and I guess that’s the primary objective,” said Mallya, who is fighting extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores.

According to Mallya, he and the United Breweries Group (UBHL) have filed an application in the Karnataka High Court on 22 June 2018, setting out available assets of approximately Rs 13,900 crores. They have asked the court for permission to allow the sale of assets under judicial supervision and repay creditors, including the Public Sector Banks such amounts as may be directed and determined by the Court.

The extradition trial, which opened at the London court on 4 December last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya.

It also seeks to prove there are no “bars to extradition” and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines’ alleged default of over Rs 9,000 crores in loans from a consortium of Indian banks.

In separate legal proceedings, the businessman lost his appeal in the UK’s Court of Appeal against a High Court order in favour of 13 Indian banks to recover funds amounting to nearly 1.145 billion pounds.

The High Court order in favour of the State Bank of India (SBI) led consortium had reinforced a worldwide freezing order against Mallya’s assets. It was followed by a related enforcement order in June, granting permission to the UK High Court Enforcement Officer to enter Mallya’s properties in Hertfordshire, near London, where he has been based since he left India in March 2016.

सीपीईसी में पारदर्शिता और भरोसा चाहता है पाकिस्तान

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अगर पाकिस्तान इस डील पर नाराज है तो एक दशक पुराने इस डील को रीनेगोशिएट करना थोड़ा मुश्किल होगा

पाकिस्तान और चीन के बीच सीपीईसी यानी चीन-पाकिस्तान इकोनॉमिक कॉरिडोर पर सबकुछ ठीक-ठाक नहीं लग रहा. पाकिस्तान के नए-नए प्रधानमंत्री बने इमरान खान चीन से नाखुश लग रहे हैं. उन्हें लगता है कि चीन इस प्रोजेक्ट के जरिए पाकिस्तान का फायदा उठा रहा है. अगर इस खबर में थोड़ी भी सच्चाई है तो ये न पाकिस्तान के लिए अच्छी खबर है न चीन के लिए. लेकिन बात पहले खबर पर.

पाकिस्तान का फायदा उठा रहा है चीन?

न्यूज एजेंसी पीटीआई के मुताबिक, यूनाइटेड किंगडम के अखबार फाइनेंशियल टाइम्स ने सोमवार को ये बात कही कि पाकिस्तान ने पाकिस्तान-चीन के बीच हुए सीपीईसी डील को देश के लिए अन्यायपूर्ण बताया है. पाकिस्तान ने कहा है कि चीनी कंपनियां इस डील में पाकिस्तान का फायदा उठा रही हैं.

फाइनेंशियल टाइम्स ने एक पाकिस्तानी अधिकारी के हवाले से कहा कि पाकिस्तान और चीन के बीच एक दशक पहले बेल्ट एंड रोड इनीशिएटिव और व्यापार समझौते में पाकिस्तान की भूमिका को दोबारा आंकेगा और नेगोसिएशन करेगा.

अखबार में इमरान खान के कॉमर्स, टेक्सटाइल, इंडस्ट्री और प्रोडक्शन एंड इन्वेस्टमेंट सलाहकार अब्दुल रज़ाक दाउद के हवाले से कहा कि सीपीईसी पर पिछली सरकार ने चीन के साथ नेगोसिएशन बहुत बेकार तरीके से की है, जिससे पाकिस्तान को काफी नुकसान हुआ है.

दाउद ने ये भी कहा कि ‘चीनी कंपनियों को बहुत सारे टैक्स ब्रेक दिए गए हैं और उन्हें अनुचित लाभ मिल रहा है. ये हमारी नजर में है. ये उचित नहीं है कि पाकिस्तानी कंपनियां नुकसान उठाएं. हमें लगता है कि हमें सबकुछ एक साल के लिए रोक लेना चाहिए. शायद हम सीपीईसी को अगले पांच सालों के लिए टाल दें.’

इमरान खान का क्या है स्टैंड?

इमरान खान पाकिस्तान के प्रधानमंत्री बनने से पहले भी सीपीईसी की आलोचना करते रहे हैं. उनके हिसाब से समस्या ये है कि इस प्रोजेक्ट में पारदर्शिता की कमी और बड़े स्तर पर भ्रष्टाचार की आशंका है. हालांकि आम चुनावों से पहले एक चीनी अखबार से बातचीत के दौरान उनके सुर थोड़े नरम पड़े थे. उन्होंने कहा था कि सीपीईसी पाकिस्तान की आर्थिक व्यवस्था के लिए कई पहलुओं में सकारात्मक बदलाव लेकर आया है.

अब बात संभावनाओं और आशंका पर

सबसे पहले ये साफ कर दिया जाए कि सीपीईसी पर भले ही इमरान खान के सलाहकार के हवाले से किसी असहमति की खबर आई हो, लेकिन फिलहाल कुछ कहना मुश्किल हो सकता है.

अभी दो दिन पहले ही चीन के विदेश मंत्री और स्टेट काउंसिल वांग यी पाकिस्तान की यात्रा करके वापस गए हैं. वांग यी चीन की राजनीति में काफी ऊंची हैसियत रखते हैं. उनका कहना था कि वो चीनी सरकार की तरफ से नए पाकिस्तानी प्रधानमंत्री को ये बताने आए हैं कि वो उनके साथ काम करने को उत्सुक हैं और 50 बिलियन डॉलर के प्रोजेक्ट सीपीईसी को आगे बढ़ाने को तैयार हैं. यहां चीन और पाकिस्तान दोनों ने सीपीईसी प्रोजेक्ट को पूरा करने का इरादा जाहिर किया है.

इमरान खान ने भी चीन की दोस्ती को पाकिस्तान की विदेश नीति की आधारशिला बताया है. ऐसे में सीपीईसी को लेकर दोनों देशों का उत्साह तो काफी ऊपर है लेकिन पाकिस्तान की नाराजगी को नजरअंदाज नहीं किया जा सकता.

पाकिस्तान के लिए मुश्किल होगा बदलाव करवाना

अगर पाकिस्तान इस डील पर नाराज है तो एक दशक पुराने इस डील को रीनेगोशिएट करना थोड़ा मुश्किल होगा. साथ ही अब अमेरिका भी पाकिस्तान को लेकर काफी सख्त है, तो पाकिस्तान के लिए चीन से खुन्नस खाना भी इतना आसान नहीं होगा. पाकिस्तान को भी अच्छे से पता है कि वो अपने अकेले के दम पर चीन को झुका नहीं सकता है क्योंकि आज तक वो ऐसा कुछ नहीं कर पाया है. कभी अमेरिका तो कभी चीन उसे किसी न किसी कंधे की जरूरत पड़ती रही है. साथ ही उसे ये भी पता है कि दुश्मन का दुश्मन दोस्त होता है. इसलिए भारत से हमेशा अड़े रहने वाले चीन के साथ दोस्ती रखना उसके लिए काफी जरूरी है. इसलिए ये डील टाली जाती है या इसमें ज्यादा कुछ बदलाव किया जाता है, इसकी गुंजाइश कम है.

इसके अलावा चीन के नजरिए से देखें तो चीन के लिए पाकिस्तान भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप में काफी अहम कैंडीडेट है. चीन-भारत-पाकिस्तान का त्रिकोणीय खेल खेलने में वैसे भी चीन का काफी मजा आता होगा. पाकिस्तान को भारत के खिलाफ आगे किए रखने के लिए उसे पाकिस्तान के साथ अपने संबंध बनाए रखना होगा. हालांकि यहां वैसे भी वो दबाव में नहीं है.

इस सबके इतर चीन के लिए अपने व्यापारिक संबंध काफी अहम हैं. हो सकता है कि अगर पाकिस्तान की ओर से असंतुष्टि जताई जाती है तो शायद इस समझौते में कोई बदलाव किया जाए.

फिलहाल पूरे मामले पर नजर डाला जाए तो ज्यादा बदलाव के हालात नहीं बन रहे.

“Non-performing assets went up because of the policies of the Congress party,” Smriti Irani

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“Why is it that Mr. Rahul Gandhi who is too quick to hug Prime Minister, would run a mile away when it comes to an Income Tax officer?” asked Irani.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday slammed the Congress a day after former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said that bad loans rose during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) years.

“Non-performing assets went up because of the policies of the Congress party,” Union Minister for Textiles said at a press conference in New Delhi today.

“The Congress was exposed yesterday. Raghuram Rajan’s statement clearly proves that it is Congress who is responsible for increased NPA. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra and Sonia Gandhi wanted to sabotage the taxpayer’s money,” said Irani referring to the former RBI Governor’s statement that a larger number of bad loans originated in the period 2006-2008 when economic growth was strong, and previous infrastructure projects such as power plants had been completed on time and within budget.

Irani also questioned Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on why Young India purchased a commercial company, referring to the National Herald case in which the Delhi High Court on Monday delivered a setback to the Congress president and his mother by dismissing their plea challenging the Income Tax notice seeking tax reassessment for the financial year 2011-2012.

“Why is it that Mr. Rahul Gandhi who is too quick to hug Prime Minister, would run a mile away when it comes to an Income Tax officer?” asked Irani.

She also accused UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi of “leading a government that attacked the very core of the Indian banking system”.

In a note to Chairman of Estimates Committee Murli Manohar Joshi, Raghuram Rajan said: “A variety of governance problems such as the suspect allocation of coal mines coupled with the fear of investigation slowed down government decision making in Delhi, both in the UPA and the subsequent NDA governments”.

In his note to a Parliamentary panel, Rajan accused over optimistic bankers, slowdown in the government’s decision making process and moderation in economic growth as the major contributors to mounting bad loans.

Stating that the economy in the period 2006-2008 was strong, Rajan said that “banks make mistakes” at such times.

“They extrapolate past growth and performance to the future. So they are willing to accept higher leverage in projects, and less promoter equity. Sometimes bank sign up to lend based on project reports by the promoter’s investment bank, without doing their own due diligence,” according to Rajan.

Citing an example, the former RBI governor said, “One promoter told me about how he was pursued by banks waving chequebooks, asking him to name the amount he wanted”. This was a historic phenomenon of irrational exuberance, common across countries at such a phase in the cycle, he added.

Unfortunately, he said, growth does not always take place as expected and years of strong growth before the global financial crisis was followed by a slowdown, which extended even to India, showing how much more integrated the country had become with the world. Strong demand projections for various projects were shown to be increasingly unrealistic as domestic demand slowed down, he added.

He also pointed to loss of promoter and banker interest for rise in non-performing assets (NPAs). Over malfeasance and corruption in the NPA problem, he said, “Undoubtedly, there was some, but it was hard to tell banker exuberance, incompetence, and corruption apart”.

The Parliament’s Committee on Estimates had invited Rajan to brief it on the matter after former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian praised him for identifying the NPA crisis and trying to resolve it.

Rajan, who was RBI governor for three years till September 2016, is currently the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth School of Business.

पेट्रोल 55 और डीजल 50 रुपए लीटर मिलेगा: गडकरी

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केंद्रीय मंत्री ने कहा, ‘हमारा पेट्रोलियम मंत्रालय एथेनॉल बनाने के लिए पांच प्लांट लगा रहा है, एथेनॉल लकड़ी और नगर निगम के कचरे से बनाया जाएगा’

पेट्रोल और डीजल की बढ़ती कीमतों के बीच सड़क और परिवहन मंत्री नितिन गडकरी ने बायोफ्यूल के उपयोग का तरीका सुझाया है. गडकरी ने कहा, मैं 15 वर्षों से कह रहा हूं कि किसान और आदिवासी बायोफ्यूल बना सकते हैं. जिससे हवाई जहाज तक उड़ सकता है. हमारी नई तकनीक से बनी गाड़ियां किसानों और आदिवासियों द्वारा बनाए गए एथेनॉल से चल सकती हैं.

इसी के साथ उन्होंने पेट्रोल और डीजल के बढ़ते दामों का भी जिक्र किया. सोमवार को एक सभा को संबोधित करते हुए नितिन गडकरी ने कहा, हम पेट्रोल और डीजल के आयात पर 8 लाख करोड़ रुपए खर्च करते हैं. पेट्रोल की कीमत में लगातार बढ़ोतरी हो रही है. डॉलर की तुलना में रुपए की कीमत घट रही है.’

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ANI

 

एथेनॉल है पेट्रोल-डीजल का विकल्प

केंद्रीय मंत्री ने कहा, ‘हमारा पेट्रोलियम मंत्रालय एथेनॉल बनाने के लिए पांच प्लांट लगा रहा है. एथेनॉल लकड़ी और नगर निगम के कचरे से बनाया जाएगा. इसके बाद डीजल की कीमत 50 रुपए प्रति लीटर और पेट्रोल का विकल्प 55 रुपए प्रति लीटर पर उपलब्ध होगा.’

दरअसल पिछले कुछ दिनों से पेट्रोल और डीजल की कीमतों में लगातार वृद्धि हुई है. और फिलहाल पेट्रोल और डीजल के दाम अब तक के सबसे उच्चतम कीमत पर पहुंच गए हैं. इसके चलते सोमवार को कांग्रेस ने बंद का आयोजन भी किया था.

Court rejects the petition of Rahul Sonia in AJL case

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courtesy ANI

“The Congress knew that the High Court is going to pronounce the judgment in the ongoing National Herald case today and therefore deliberately called Bharat Bandh on Monday,” Patra said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that the Congress party deliberately called for Bharat Bandh today to divert attention from the ongoing National Herald case in the Delhi High Court.

Addressing the media in New Delhi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the order issued by the Delhi High Court today proves that the Gandhi family was hoodwinking the poor people of the country.

“The Congress knew that the High Court is going to pronounce the judgment in the ongoing National Herald case today and therefore deliberately called Bharat Bandh on Monday,” Patra said.

“The court ruling exposes how the Gandhi family has been fooling the poor people of the country and looting their hard-earned earnings,” the BJP leader added.

In a setback to Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, the Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed their plea challenging the Income Tax notice seeking tax reassessment for the financial year 2011-2012.

The order of a bench came while hearing the plea of Rahul, Sonia Gandhi and her party colleague Oscar Fernandes against the March I-T notice seeking tax reassessment.

The I-T department told the court that they have concealed facts for evading tax and have not disclosed their income earned through Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) for the year 2011-2012.

The court said that the I-T department has powers to reopen tax proceedings and that the petitioners can approach the department with their grievances.

Reacting to the ruling, Patra said, “Whole Gandhi family today is known as a family of cheats, tax evaders and corrupts.”

He said that the Sonia Gandhi and Rahul embezzled Rs 5,000 crore of people’s money in the National Herald case.

National Herald newspaper was published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which was acquired by Young Indian in which Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are major stakeholders.

Earlier in March, Young Indian requested the court to stay the recovery of tax and interest of Rs 249.15 crore raised in pursuance to a December 27, 2017 notice issued under section 156 of the IT Act for the assessment year 2011-12.

The company has submitted that it is a charitable firm and does not have any income and that Income Tax authorities have wrongly raised a demand of Rs 249 crore for the assessment year 2011-12.

On 19 March, the Delhi High Court directed Young Indian to deposit Rs 10 crore in the Rs 249.15 crore income tax proceedings against the firm.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had filed a complaint of “cheating” in the acquisition of AJL.

Swamy had accused them of allegedly conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, by which Young Indian Pvt Ltd obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore which AJL owed to the Congress.

The other accused in the case are Motilal Vora, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Young Indian.

“Choksi enjoyed the patronage, strength and support of Rahul in the party,”Narsimha Rao

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“Choksi is third son-in-law of Congress after (Priyanka Gandhi’s husband) Vadra and Vijay Mallya, who is an accused in a Rs 9,000 crore bank loan case.”

The BJP on Tuesday said that the Gitanjali Group’s Mehul Choksi, who is an accused in the multi-crore PNB fraud case, enjoyed the “patronage” of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

“Choksi enjoyed the patronage, strength and support of Rahul in the party,” Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman G.V.L. Narsimha Rao said while addressing a press conference here.

Rao alleged that it was the reason why H.S. Chandramauli, who represented Choksi in a criminal case in 2015, was given a legislator ticket from the Madikeri constituency for the Karnataka Assembly election next month.

The BJP leader said the 2015 criminal case against Choksi was later converted into a civil case.

Rao also said that Chandramauli had been a legal consultant to Karnataka minister K.J. George in the DSP M.K. Ganapathi suicide case.

Slamming the Congress’s connection with Choksi, the BJP leader said: “First Rahul had promoted Choksi’s Gitanjali Jewellery in 2013.

“Then in 2013, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had removed the Director of the Allahabad Bank for denying to restructure a loan of Rs 1,550 crore to Choksi when he highlighted the lacunae in it.

“The premises of Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Mumbai was rented to Choksi and even his wife bought jewellery worth Rs 5 crore from unaccounted cash.

“One incident can be a coincidence, but multiple coincidences is a political conspiracy.”

The BJP leader also described Choksi as the third Robert Vadra of the Congress and said: “Choksi is third son-in-law of Congress after (Priyanka Gandhi’s husband) Vadra and Vijay Mallya, who is an accused in a Rs 9,000 crore bank loan case.”

Red corner notice for Poorvi Modi by interpol

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It is alleged that Ms. Purvi helped her brother launder the funds generated through the scam.

The Interpol has issued a Red Notice against Purvi Modi, sister of absconding billionaire Nirav Modi, in connection with the ₹ 13,578-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

It is alleged that Ms. Purvi helped her brother launder the funds generated through the scam. The transactions, made through some entities in Singapore and Hong Kong, are under the scanner.

On the Enforcement Directorate’s request, the Interpol had issued a Red Notice against Modi’s close confidant Mihir Bhansali, who oversaw his U.S. operations and was also allegedly instrumental in setting up dummy firms for money laundering.

Interpol Red Notices have so far been issued against five persons wanted for their involvement in the scam, including Nirav Modi and his brother Neeshal Modi.

बढ़ते NPA UPA कि देन : रघुराम राजन

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नई दिल्ली:

भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक के पूर्व गवर्नर रघुराम राजन ने बढ़ते गैर निष्पादित परिसंपत्तियों (एनपीए) को लेकर संसद की एक समिति को दिए अपने जवाब में गत यूपीए सरकार को ही जिम्मेदार ठहरा दिया है।मिली जानकारी के अनुसार, राजन ने बताया कि घोटालों और जांच की वजह से सरकार के निर्णय देरी से लेने के कारण एनपीए बढ़ते चले गए।

उल्लेख है कि वरिष्ठ भाजपा सांसद मुरली मनोहर जोशी की अध्यक्षता वाली संसद की प्राक्कलन समिति ने राजन को पत्र लिखकर समिति के सामने उपस्थित होकर एनपीए के विषय पर जानकारी देने को कहा गया था। इसके लिए अपने जवाब में राजन ने कहा कि बैंकों की ओर से बड़े कर्जों पर यथोचित कार्रवाई नहीं की गई और 2006 के बाद विकास की गति बिलकुल धीमी हो गई । बैंकों की वृद्धि का जो आकलन था वो अवास्तविक हो गया।


उल्लेख है कि मुख्य आर्थिक सलाहकार (सीईए) अरविंद सुब्रमण्यम ने एनपीए संकट को पहचानने और इसका हल निकालने का प्रयास करने के लिए समिति के सामने राजन की बहुत प्रशंसा की थी। सुब्रमण्यम ने समिति को बताया था कि एनपीए की समस्या को पहचानने का श्रेय पूर्व गवर्नर रघुराम राजन को जाता है ।

उनसे बेहतर ये कोई नहीं जान पाया था कि आखिर देश में एनपीए की समस्या कैसे इतनी गंभीर हो गई। इसके अलावा सुब्रमण्यम ने यह भी दावा किया था कि अपने कार्यकाल के दौरान राजन ने समस्या के समाधान के लिए काफी प्रयास किए थे। इसके बाद जोशी ने राजन को पत्र लिखकर समिति के सामने आकर देश में बढ़ते एनपीए के विषय पर जानकारी देने को कहा।

Petrol prices breaking its own records touched 87/= mark at Delhi

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A day after the steepest ever rise, the prices of petrol and diesel were once again hiked on Saturday across the four Metro cities, taking the price of petrol beyond Rs 80 in the national capital.

The prices of petrol and diesel were hiked between 38 paise and 49 paise across New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, according to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

In Delhi, the price of petrol is resting at a record Rs 80.38 per litre, while it is being sold at Rs 87.77 per litre in Mumbai after a hike of 39 paisa.

Diesel, on the other hand, has been increased by 44 paisa a litre, taking its cost to Rs 72.51 and Rs 76.98 per litre in Delhi and Mumbai, respectively.

On Friday, petrol and diesel rates were hiked by about 50 paisa per litre each, which came as the steepest increase in prices since daily price revision came into effect over 14 months back, pushing the petrol and diesel prices to their highest ever levels on Friday.

Opposition calls protests against rising fuel prices

Congress has called a Bharat Bandh on September 10 to protest against the escalating fuel prices.

The Congress on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking whether petrol prices would hit the century mark under his government and if the rupee was in hospital.

Congress spokesperson R P N Singh said all political parties would take to the streets to protest against the rising prices of petrol and diesel that are hitting the common man hard and questioned the prime minister’s silence on the issue.

He said the September 10 ‘Bharat Bandh’ protest is “not of the Congress but of the common man”.

“The prime minister during the UPA’s tenure had said that the rupee is in hospital. The rupee has touched an all-time low against the US dollar, where is the prime minister now? He is neither tweeting nor giving any speech. Never has the rupee touched such low levels in the history of the country. The country wants to ask him why is he silent? Is the rupee in hospital today?” he asked.

The Congress will organise a nationwide protest on September 10 over rising fuel prices, party leaders had announced Thursday and asked other opposition parties and civil society groups to join the shutdown against the central government.

Aero Show to remain in Bengaluru

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Following the controversy over a proposed move to shift the venue of the Aero India, the Ministry of Defence confirmed on Saturday that the mega airshow will be held in its traditional venue of Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Following the controversy over a proposed move to shift the venue of the biennial Aero India show, the Ministry of Defence confirmed on Saturday that the mega airshow will be held in its traditional venue of Bengaluru in Karnataka.

“The Government has decided to hold the Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru from 20 to 24 February 2019,” the MoD said in a statement.

The Defence Ministry’s decision thus ends uncertainty over the venue of the 12th edition of Aero India. It was speculated that the venue may be shifted out of Karnataka especially after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a request to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in August to select Lucknow as the venue for the mega event.

Besides Uttar Pradesh, the Defence Ministry had indicated that it was examining requests from a number of states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha and Tamil Nadu.

Political leaders in Karnataka had protested against any move to shift the Aero India out of the state.

Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka G Parameshwara called the “plan” unfortunate and alleged that the Centre was trying to end Bengaluru’s dominance in the defence sector.

“Plan to snatch Aero India Show away from Bengaluru in favour of Lucknow is very unfortunate. We have been conducting it successfully since 1996. This comes after HAL was snubbed for Rafael deal. Centre seems to be keen on ending Bengaluru’s dominance in the defence sector,” he said on Twitter on 3 August.

After Adityanath’s argument that bringing the Aero India to Lucknow will give a fillip to the proposed defence corridor in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi arguing in favour of Bengaluru.

“Bengaluru being the hub for defence and aviation majors of the country is certainly the most suitable place to conduct the show,” he had said in the letter.

Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said that the five-day event will combine a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with public air shows.

“Besides global leaders and big investors in aerospace industry, the show will also see participation by think-tanks from across the world,” the government said.

Stating that the Aero India will provide a unique opportunity for exchange of information, ideas and new developments in the aviation industry, the government said that it will give a “fillip to the domestic aviation industry it would further the cause of Make in India”