L A T E S T      N E W S

Allegations utterly false, defamatory: Robert Vadra

NEW DELHI: Robert Vadra on Sunday dismissed as “utterly false, entirely baseless and defamatory” allegations over his property dealings with DLF and said he was saddened by attempt of activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan to malign him and his family to “gain cheap publicity“. 

“I am a private law abiding citizen who has been engaged in business over the last 21 years. The allegations levelled against me by Kejriwal and Bhushan are utterly false, entirely baseless and defamatory”, Vadra, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, said in a statement, two days after charges made by the civil society activists at a press conference here created a political storm. 

The 43-year-old Vadra said he was “saddened by the attempt of Kejriwal and Bhushan to deliberately misrepresent numbers contained in my financial statements, manufacture lies against me and malign me and my family in order to gain cheap publicity for themselves and for the launch of their political party”. 

He said, “My business transactions are fully reflected in financial statements filed before appropriate government authorities in compliance with the law. They are available in the public domain to anyone interested in knowing the truth.” 

His statement came a day after he broke his silence over the controversy surrounding his property dealings, saying he could “handle all the negativity”. 

Kejriwal earlier on Sunday described as “half truths and lies” the clarifications of reality major DLF on the allegations that Vadra was given property at throw away prices for government favours. 

“DLF has issued a response. It is full of half truths and lies. A lot of information has been suppressed,” he tweeted. . 

“We will issue a detailed response tomorrow. But does Vadra stand by DLF response or does he have another version. Would appreciate his version,” Kejriwal said. 

DLF has rejected the allegations that it had given unsecured loans to Vadra as a ‘quid pro quo’ for favours and said it had transparent dealing with him as an individual entrepreneur. 

In a statement on Saturday, the company had said it had given Rs 65 crore as “business advances” out of which Rs 15 crore was fully refunded and Rs 50 crore was used for purchase of land. 

Rejecting the allegations made by activists Kejriwal and Bhushan that the company favoured Vadra, DLF had said it neither received any undue benefit from any state governments nor was it allotted any land by Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan governments. 

DLF had also dismissed the charge that the company sold properties to Vadra and his companies at a throwaway price. 

Vadra had said on Saturday in his post on a social networking site, “Thank you so much for your concern. I am fine and can handle all the negativity. I have lost people I loved, what can be worse.” 

The Congress has already dismissed opposition demands for a probe into the matter. 

“An inquiry into what? Is a business transaction between two private entities duly reported to the statutory authorities illegal? Is it a crime,” party spokesman Manish Tewari had said while terming the activists as ‘B’ team of the BJP. 

He was asked about demands for a probe into the affairs of Vadra as also how his business has grown to a level of Rs 300 crore from a tiny capital base. 

The refrain of AICC as also several Union Ministers was that all the information about the business of Vadra had been regularly filed with the statutory authorities. 

Besides, the Congress has maintained that the charges made by “B team of BJP” were nothing but “baseless and unsubstantiated”. — PTI

Kingfisher has to satisfy DGCA on all issues: Ajit Singh

Hyderabad: Troubled Kingfisher Airlines would have to submit a “concrete” plan for running the carrier to aviation regulator DGCA and satisfy it on all aspects like safety and payment of salaries before it is allowed to resume flights, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Sunday.

“The DGCA has issued a show-cause notice to the Kingfisher Airlines to let us know what are their concrete plans and not just that we will get investments from here and there. Tell us a concrete plan on how will you pay salaries and how will you make arrangements to run the airlines,” he told reporters.

Singh said the airline will have to satisfy the DGCA that “there will be no safety issues and there will be no problems due to the financial crisis.”

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued a show-cause notice to Vijay Mallya-owned carrier on October 5 asking why its flying license should not be suspended or cancelled as it had grounded its entire fleet and failed to offer safe, efficient and reliable service.

It has given the airline 15 days to reply.

Asked whether his ministry will initiate any action in the matter, Singh said, “DGCA has served the notice. It is up to Kingfisher to reply and satisfy DGCA on all issues, including operational safety, and how it will solve its financial problems and pay the salary dues of employees.”

“It (license cancellation) will depend on what reply Kingfisher gives and DGCA will decide that,” he said.

Referring to the alleged suicide by the wife of a Kingfisher employee apparently over financial stress due to non-payment of salary to her husband, the minister said “it was a sad and unfortunate that such a thing happened.”

“...if they (Kingfisher employees) don’t get salaries for seven months, it is natural that it will definitely lead to problems. Despite that they were working as they had hoped that the airline may get revived and their jobs may be retained... but the developments in the last few days have been such that their hopes are fading away,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, industry experts have said the notice could have been issued four months ago when the then aviation regulator chief had made a similar recommendation to avoid the present situation.

Bhushan was abruptly shunted out mid-July to Steel Ministry for taking a tough stand against Kingfisher, a charge that was denied by the government.

Bhushan had then recommended that a notice be served on Kingfisher indicating that the DGCA would be constrained to suspend their operations as operational safety was being compromised, the airline had huge liabilities regarding salaries and the dues of its vendors, oil companies and airport operators. — PTI

Decision on FDI taken by consensus: Anand Sharma

CHENNAI: With several states strongly opposed to FDI in multi-brand retail sector, the Centre on Sunday made it clear the decision was taken by consensus and no state could decide for another or deprive them if they chose to go ahead with the reform measure.

“No state of the union can decide for another state or deprive the state which wants it. Only those 10 states who have wanted it in writing have been notified. The others can join,” Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

He was replying to a question on how the Centre proposed to pass it in Parliament with some states opposing it.

“.. Consensus must never be confused with unanimity. What we have done is fair, democratic and respecting the very spirit of the Constitution,” he said.

Noting that there are states which have reservations over FDI, he said implementation of the decision has been left entirely to them.

“Those states which do not want to implement, it is their decision and we will respect that. Similarly, those states which are keen to implement it, including fruit and vegetable producing states, border states, agrarian states, their right has to be respected. Each state can decide for itself.”

He said government had taken a considered view after consulting all stakeholders and looking at ground realities.

“The aspirations and needs of farmers, the realisation to create an integrated value chain, creating the necessary infrastructure in rural India by ensuring investment, both Indian and foreign investment, the government did consult in a transparent and democratic manner,” he said.

“This is a decision, which has received, like any other major decisions, a mixed response. The government sincerely tried to being about a consensus and we have a consensus,” he added. — PTI

Attackers of Brar to be brought to justice: Britain

NEW DELHI: Britain has assured India of its determination to bring the perpetrators of attack on retired Lt Gen KS Brar to justice and said it will continue updating Indian officials about the investigations in the case.

In a letter to External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office William Hague conveyed his "shock" at the attack on Brar in London on September 30 and hoped for his "quick recovery".

Following India taking the matter of the attack strongly with the UK authorities through diplomatic channels, Krishna has received a communication from Hague, official sources said in New Delhi.

"Secretary Hague assured the External Affairs Minister of the determination of the UK Government to bring the perpetrators of this attack to justice and also informed him that UK officials will continue to keep Indian officials up to date, as the investigation progresses further," the sources said.

Brar, who had led 'Operation Blue Star' in 1984 to flush out pro-Khalistan militants from the Golden Temple, was stabbed in an attack by four unidentified men in Old Quebec Street near Oxford Street in London last Sunday. Following the attack, he was taken to hospital with a neck wound and has since been discharged.

Brar was on a private visit when he was attacked by the four men, suspected to be Khalistan sympathisers. Brar's wife, who was present at the time of the attack, was not injured.

The four men who attacked Brar were described as being of Asian appearance, all with long beards, and were wearing dark clothing and long black jackets.

Brar has since left London and is in Mumbai.

12 arrests have also been made in connection with the attack and of these, barring three men, the Scotland Yard has released on bail nine persons, including two women. — PTI

BrahMos missile successfully test-fired

Panaji: The Navy on Sunday successfully test-fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg, from a warship off the Goa coast. 

“The cruise missile was test-fired from guided missile frigate INS Teg — the Indian Navy’s latest induction from Russia off the coast of Goa early morning,” sources told PTI. 

They said the missile performing high-level manoeuvres successfully hit the target ship, which was still on fire. 

The INS Teg, which has been built at the Yantar shipyard in Russia, had fired the missile successfully during pre-induction trials in Russia last year. 

The two remaining warships of the project namely INS Tarkash and INS Trikand will also be armed with the lethal missile in vertical launch mode. 

The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has already been inducted into the Army and Navy, and the Air Force version is in final stage of trial, a defence official said. 

While induction of the first version of Brahmos missile system in the Indian Navy commenced from 2005 with INS Rajput, it is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army. 

The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress, he said. — PTI

Paes-Stepanek lose in Japan Open final

TOKYO: Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek faltered at the final hurdle as they suffered an upset straight set defeat at the hands of Alexander Peya of Austria and Brazil’s Bruno Soares to finish runners-up at the Japan Open on Sunday.

The fourth seeded Austrian-Brazilian pair defeated top seeds Paes and Stepanek 6-3 7-6 (5) in an hour and 46 minutes in the USD 1,280,565 hard court event to win their second ATP World Tour doubles titles in as many weeks.

But Paes and Stepanek have clinched their first team berth at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London next week, after they booked a place in the Tokyo final. — PTI