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Black money: Indian agencies get Swiss banks’ data of hoarders
SC to hear PILs against judicial Bill today
UP BJP rewords ‘love jihad’ in resolution
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Tigers in stress have little breeding success: Study
Govt to upgrade six UP hospitals to AIIMS level
Over 4.5 lakh appear in civil services exam
Colonel misbehaves with junior’s wife, sacked
Hasina seeks early inking of Teesta deal with India
India, B’desh to increase joint border patrolling
Assam Govt to institute award
named after girl killed by ultras FM turns
down Mamata’s pleas on loan repayment Fire
damages paintings, records at Jaipur palace Women relieving out in
open risk rape, says govt Ram
Temple to come up after SC verdict: VHP Businessman
arrested in Saradha case
1 killed in Kanpur clash
CJI should be appointed on merit, says Katju
No politics over ragging: Manjhi
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Black money: Indian agencies get Swiss banks’ data of hoarders
New Delhi, August 24 The tax effect in these cases could be about Rs 50-80 crore, according to sources. Faced by non-cooperation from Switzerland owing to the alpine nation’s “domestic legal barriers” and “treaty limitations”, the Finance Ministry’s probe wing under the Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) confronted people who were named in the secret list of at least two Swiss banks that was provided to them “through both official and unofficial channels” during the last financial year, the sources said. The CBDT later asked sleuths of the Income Tax Department to pursue these suspect account holders with the bargain that they would be charged under tax evasion laws and not under the “wilful tax evaders” category, thereby saving them from harsher penal action, if they approach their banks for details of their personal balances and submit them to Indian agencies. Over 100 such account holders, according to an official note, spread in Delhi, Mumbai,
Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh and Banglaore among others agreed to the new mechanism which helped India crack some of the tough cases of black money and illicit funds stashed abroad. “The tax effect in these cases could be around Rs 50-80 crore and this instance is one of the few where secret bank data of an Indian client was obtained despite strict secrecy laws of Swiss authorities in force in this regard,” sources privy to the development said. The report was also shared by the agencies with the special investigation team (SIT) on black money which has now submitted these cases in a report format to the Supreme Court. The Income Tax department, the note said, has begun prosecution action in these over 100 cases and they will be charged for evasion of taxes on the hidden income. The taxman, simultaneously, has also initiated action to know the “source of income” of these entities so that any other instance of tax evasion linked to these accounts could be unearthed. While bank authorities in Switzerland did not extend help when names of these account holders were sent to them under existing protocols of tax information exchange treaties, information was readily available when the account holder was himself or herself motivated to approach the bank to obtain his transactions history and balances, sources said. The Swiss Government has been refusing to share details about Indians named in the so-called ‘HSBC list’, which was stolen by a bank employee and later found its way to tax authorities in various countries, including India. There are similar instances with other banks too and successive finance ministers of the country have written to the Swiss Government on concerns over this development. Despite repeated requests from India, Switzerland has said its local laws prohibit administrative assistance in matters where information has been sourced illegally, including through stolen lists. India is one of the 36 countries with which Switzerland has signed treaties to provide administrative assistance in tax matters in accordance with international protocols as mandated by the Paris-based global economic body, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD). — PTI
Action against 100 such account holders
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Sushma in Vietnam to give push to ‘Look East’ policy
The Modi government will give a new thrust to India’s Look East policy by turning it into “acting East” policy, said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Sunday shortly after arriving in Vietnam on a three-day visit.
Addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora and Indians Heads of Mission (HoMs) here, she said the new BJP-led government “would not disappoint” the people of India. The minister also said India would seek to cooperate with Vietnam in rice exports. India has helped Vietnam with its know-how in rice cultivation through a rice centre set up here. The minister will hold talks with the Vietnamese leadership on Monday on a range of issues, including bilateral defence and economic cooperation and the situation arising from escalating tension between China and its neighbours over the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. The visit comes close on the heels of Vietnam renewing India’s lease of two oil blocks in the disputed sea for another one year in a move which could upset Beijing. The Indian minister will also do the groundwork for President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Vietnam in mid-September. She will also chair a meeting of the HoMs to give a boost to India’s ‘Look East’ policy and promote India in the region as an attractive destination for investment. She will also inaugurate the third Round-Table of the ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks. The visit to Vietnam is Swaraj’s first stand-alone visit to Southeast Asia. Secretary General of Vietnamese Communist Party Nguyen Phú Trong visited India last November. During Trong’s visit, Vietnam had invited India to hunt for oil and gas in the disputed South China Sea. India had also made Hanoi the offer of US$100 million line of credit for the purchase of four offshore patrol vessels. The two countries also have fairly robust economic ties and the bilateral trade stands at $8 billion, of which Indian exports to the country is about $5.4 billion. Focus on defence, trade
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SC to hear PILs against judicial Bill today
New Delhi, August 24 A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha will take up the petitions at 2 pm. The other judges on the Bench are Justices Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph, while the petitioners are SC Advocates-on-Record (AORs) Association and five individual lawyers. In its PIL, the association has contended that Parliament had passed the NJAC Bill earlier this month despite the fact that as of today it did not have the power to do so as a nine-member SC Bench had delivered a verdict in 1993 virtually stripping the government of its role in the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The AORs said the government could have introduced the NJAC Bill only after completing the process for amending Constitutional provisions on the appointment of judges. The amendment process involved four stages. First, the relevant amendment Bill would have to be passed by both Houses of Parliament. Second, the amendment should get the approval of at least half of the state Assemblies. Third, it would require the President’s assent. Finally, the amendment required to be notified. Only after the entire process was gone through, would the SC verdict stand nullified, empowering the government to move the NJAC Bill in Parliament for consideration and passage, the AORs pleaded in their PIL, vetted by eminent jurist Fali S Nariman. But in its haste the government gave a go-by to the due process by getting both the NJAC Bill and the amendment Bill passed simultaneously which was not constitutionally valid, they contended. Further, the proposed six-member NJAC — comprising the CJI, two SC judges, the Union Law Minister and two eminent persons — “takes away the primacy of the collective opinion” of the judiciary and affects its independence, which was an integral part of the basic structure of the Constitution, it was contended. Under the provisions, any move on the appointment of judges would fall through if just two members were against it, irrespective of the fact that it had the support of all the three SC judges and the fourth member as well, the PIL explained.
Govt overlooked 4-stage process: Petitioners
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UP BJP rewords ‘love jihad’ in resolution
Lucknow, August 24 The saffron party, however, mentioned the concept in its resolution. “People from a particular community were involved in rape of women of another community either by coincidence or design,” mentioned the BJP resolution passed on the concluding day of the two-day state executive meeting at Vrindavan. The resolution did not contain any directives or action points to address it. Sources said the resolution was watered down following an objection from the highest level within the BJP. There was reportedly strong opposition to the use of the word “jihad”. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was to be the chief guest today, decided to stay away much like national president Amit Shah and UP in-charge. Six Union Ministers from UP and almost half of the party’s 73 MPs from the state also chose not to attend the state executive raising a question mark on its credibility. “Love jihad” — a term coined by extreme Hindutv indicating that Muslim youths were entering into relationships with Hindu women and forcing them to convert — was on the saffron party's agenda of the two-day meeting. The term did find a place in state BJP president's address yesterday. But
it did not find a place in the official resolution released today. "The resolutions that have been passed are here. Interpret it as you wish,” said the state BJP president when asked if the party's decision to use it as a political tool had been diluted. However, the resolution did charge the Samajwadi party in the state of failing to check the law and order and blamed it of taking action against criminals in the state only after taking their caste and religion into account. SP spokesperson Rajendra Chadhury said the BJP was back to singing its old “raga” charging the SP of Muslim appeasement. “This time they have come up with the term “love jihad” to polarise society on the basis of religion and caste, and rupture its very social fabric,” Chadhury said.
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Tigers in stress have little breeding success: Study
Dehradun, August 24 The Wildlife Institute of India in 2008 had introduced tigers to the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan after the reserve lost all its tigers over a period of time due to poaching, habitat loss and prey depletion. The first tiger census conducted in the country revealed that there were no tigers in the Sariska Tiger Reserve. Thereafter, the National Tiger Conservation Authority took a strong note of development and directed the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to make a tiger re-introduction plan for Sariska which was first such tiger shifting exercise in the country. Subsequently, the WII with assistance of a helicopter brought few tigers from Ranthambore and introduced them into the Sariska reserve. But now more than five years down the line, the Sariska tiger re-introduction plan has come up with interesting findings. After re-introduction till June 2012, the reintroduced tigers did not show breeding success. Investigations revealed that Sariska tigers were in stress. The stress hormone “cortisol” was high in these striped cats. This was all due to vehicular traffic and villages in vicinity, which caused them a regular
disturbance. “This stress level is related to the time spend by these striped cats in disturbed areas and reveals that anthropogenic disturbances stimulate stress response in tigers,” disclosed Senior WII scientists Dr K Sankar and Dr K Ramesh in their research paper, “Reintroduction of large mammals in India”. The research paper was presented at the annual research seminar in the institute. “The evaluation of stress parameters in Sariska reveals anthropogenic disturbances stimulating stress response in tigers”, they observed. The female tigers in Sariska were more stressed than male tigers.
Vehicular traffic, villages in vicinity the reasons
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Govt to upgrade six UP hospitals to AIIMS level
New Delhi, August 24 “Six government medical college hospitals in UP are to be modernised and converted into super-specialty institutions along the lines of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),” a Health Ministry note said today. During his trip to Kanpur today, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government had added two more colleges to the already cleared list of government medical colleges, which would be upgraded under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), due to the high disease burden on UP. “I was a medical student in Kanpur and happen to know that the need of the hour is to expand the infrastructure at an unprecedented rate because we have to make up for many years of neglect,” Vardhan said. Kanpur’s Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College, Vardhan’s alma mater (he was a MBBS and MS student here between 1974 and 1983), is also set for a makeover along with Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra. Four government medical colleges of UP are already being upgraded under the PMGSY. These are at Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Meerut and Jhansi. Earlier, the Institute of Medical Sciences at Varanasi, Sanjay Gandhi PGI Lucknow and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College at Aligarh were upgraded under the scheme. The cost-sharing ratio for upgrading hospitals will be 80-20 between the Centre and states.
Makeover for Harsh Vardhan's alma mater
Kanpur's Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College — Vardhan's alma mater — is to be modernised along with Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra
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Over 4.5 lakh appear in civil services exam
New Delhi, August 24 The examination, comprising two papers ( Paper I and Paper II) of two hours duration each was held without any hassle. Over 4.5 lakh, half of the total applicants, turned up for the exam. As per the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), about nine lakh had applied for the exam, but 4,51,602 candidates turned up, about 1.27 lakh more than the last year, at 2,137 centres in 59 cities. Protests were witnessed recently over the new pattern of in the Civil Services Aptitude Test. Starting from Delhi, which has nearly 200 centres for the examination, the agitation spread across the country after the UPSC displayed the information of admit cards on its website last month. But as protests continued, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh had on August 4 said inside Parliament that marks of the English section questions, asked in Paper II, will not be included for gradation or merit. The Department of Personnel and Training, and UPSC had issued separate instructions not to attempt questions of English language comprehension skills asked in Paper II of the examination as their marks will not be included in the gradation or deciding on merit.
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Colonel misbehaves with junior’s wife, sacked
Chandigarh, August 24 The Army has convened a court of inquiry to investigate the matter. The husband of the woman had called up the brigade commander after the incident and submitted a written complaint along with the statement of his wife, sources said. The Colonel has been attached with another formation for the conduct of the court of inquiry. The battalion of the Sikh Regiment in which the incident took place is located close to the Punjab-Rajasthan border and comes under the aegis of the Jaipur-based South Western Command. Sources said that complaints of harassment and misconduct against the Colonel have also been submitted by four other ladies. There have been cases of such misconduct in the past and the Army has dealt with them sternly. Several officers, including those of flag rank, found culpable of personal misconduct or misbehaving with women, have faced trial by court martial.
Army convenes CoI
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Hasina seeks early inking of Teesta deal with India
Dhaka, August 24 “Teesta water-sharing deal should be inked as soon as possible as Bangladesh needs more water in the lean period,” Hasina’s press secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhury quoted her as telling VK Singh, who called on her last night at her residence. She also hoped India would implement the Land Boundary Agreement
(LBA) which the two sides signed three years ago. VK Singh, also the Minister of State with independent charge for the North-East Region, arrived here yesterday with a high-profile delegation of North-Eastern states to attend a day-long business conclave. India Chamber of Commerce
(ICC), Kolkata, and India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) with the help of the Indian High Commission have organised the conclave titled ‘A New Phase in Bilateral Economic Relations’. The Indian delegation included Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and Commerce and Industry Minister of Tripura Tapan
Chakraborty. — PTI
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India, B’desh to increase joint border patrolling
New Delhi, August 24 India, during its meeting with top Bangladeshi security officials here, also handed over a list of 71 insurgent camps and those of their cadres which it suspects are based in the neighbouring country. “Border killing instances along the Indo-Bangla border have reduced, I would say. The BSF is very sincere and they have worked in bringing down this figure. It (killings) is coming down but we are working on a situation where these killings come down to zero,” Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) chief Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed told reporters after the conclusion of a five-day meeting with their counterparts in the BSF. Directors General of both the forces meet twice every year, with one meeting held at either location. Border Security Force chief DK Pathak said both the forces have decided on a new and improved patrolling plan where troops from both the sides come together for vigil. “It is working well,” DG Pathak said. The BGB DG said he was sure that none of the fake Indian currency notes (FICN) caught at this border was being produced in Bangladesh and his country was being used as a “transit” route by smugglers. “We have made adequate measures to seize this type of currency. We will work with the BSF to curb it further,” Ahmed said while talking to mediapersons at the BSF headquarters here. Ahmed refuted that any “illegal migration” was taking place at this border and called these cases as only “illegal crossing” instances.
— PTI Myanmar to act against NE militants
Nay Pyi Taw: Promising all possible support to India’s fight against terrorism, Myanmar has said it will bust training camps of North-East militant groups on its soil if India provides specific inputs about their existence.
— PTI
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Assam Govt to institute award named after girl killed by ultras Guwahati, August 24 Gogoi also announced that the state government would institute a bravery award after Priya Basumatary and directed the police to make all efforts to nab the killers of the girl student. A Class-X student, Priya was shot dead in front of her community at Dwimuguri forest village in Chirang district of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) areas by militants of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Sangbijit). The NDFB-S termed it an avenge killing in the wake of killing of five of its cadres by the police which were taking shelter in the village on August 19. The ultras accused the slain girl of being a police informer and warned villagers that anyone who dared to provide a tip-off to the police would meet the same fate. Gogoi called upon all sections of society to rise in unison against such reprehensible acts. “Our government will perpetuate the hallowed memory of the little brave girl who defied the dictates of the killers. Her valour and sacrifice will continue to inspire and motivate the young generation for years to come,” he added. The All-Assam Students Union (AASU) has termed the killing of the young girl as ‘shame’ on the Assam government and the Centre and raised doubt over the efficiency of the state police in tackling militancy. On the other hand, All-Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) president Promode Boro asked the Chief Minister to clarify on what basis the bravery award was being instituted on Priya’s name and was she being used as an informer by the police. The ABSU leader said if the police had used the young girl as an informer they were definitely violating law.
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FM turns down Mamata’s pleas on loan repayment Kolkata, August 24 After his meeting with Mamata Banerjee at the state Secretariat last evening, Jaitley told mediapersons that he was handed over a letter in this regard. He invited state Finance Minister Amit Mitra to Delhi for discussing the issue with him in the presence of his departmental officers. The Finance Minister was on a two-day visit to the city to attend several meetings with the officials of the finance department and the defence department. He also held a meeting with BJP state party leaders. Yesterday after reaching the city, he made a courtesy call on the CM at the Secretariat. After her meeting with Jaitley, the CM made no comment. But TMC sources said the CM told the FM that her government were not legally and morally responsible for repaying past loans of the Left Front government. But the Centre and the RBI were deducting Rs 28,000 crore from the state exchequer annually against the loans. She told Jaitley that it was the duty of the Centre to either write off the loan or at least grant moratorium on repaying the interest.
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Fire damages paintings, records at Jaipur palace
Jaipur, August 24 Additional SP Sunil Vishnoi said some records and other material in the administrative office got burnt. The fire broke out around 8.45 am and 13 fire tenders were sent to douse it, senior fire officer Ishwar Lal Jat said. “Important ancient documents, facets art and library material of historical importance were gutted,” he said, adding “the fire broke out in an area in which an office and museum (Maharaja Bhawani Singh Gallery) were located”. Forty shops selling tourism material on the ground floor were unaffected by the fire, he said. City Palace sources said the office where the fire broke out was on the first floor and the flames spread to a commercial art gallery ‘Friends of Museum’ located on the ground floor. “There was no damage to the museums of the City Palace and to the residential area,” the sources said. The Friends of Museum is a space where artists and craftsmen display their skills and crafts. City Palace is a palace complex in the Pink City and was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur. One of its part now houses a museum but the greater part of it is the residence of the members of Jaipur’s erstwhile royal family. “A detailed assessment of the likely losses of administration related papers, records, IT equipment, museum laboratory, museum stores, equipment (housed in the same building) and to the building is being carried out,” City Palace administrator Col HS Jatran (retd) said. The administrator clarified that the fire was not in the buildings where the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum artifacts are displayed.
— PTI
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Women relieving out in open risk rape, says govt
New Delhi, August 24 “Sexual harassment and rape are a risk for many women who without a household toilet have to wait until nightfall to seek the privacy of darkness outside to relieve themselves,” says the Centre’s note on ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ distributed to state ministers for discussion as they meet here tomorrow. The note prepared by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation emphasised the need for sanitation, saying while having a toilet is important for everyone, access to safe, clean toilets brings particular benefits to women and girls. “Freed from the need to defecate in the open, they no longer have to suffer the indignity, humiliation and often verbal and physical abuse when relieving themselves,” it says. The government says it becomes more traumatic for women during menstruation, pregnancy and postnatal periods. “Women and girls don’t need toilet facilities just for defecation; they also need privacy and dignity when menstruating. The need for sanitation facilities within homes and in public places, which meet women’s physical and psychological demands cannot be over-emphasised,” it says. The ministry has prepared the note after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, stressed “dignity of women” and pitched for making provisions for building toilets wherein women should not defecate in open. The note says separate toilets at school mean more girls are likely to attend and continue even after puberty to complete their education. “There is an immediate need to provide adequate number of toilets separately for boys and girls in all schools of the country,” it says. Noting that about 590 million persons in rural areas defecate in the open, the note says the mindset of a major portion of the population habituated to open defecation needs to be changed.
— PTI Need for sanitation
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Ram Temple to come up after SC verdict: VHP
Jaipur, August 24 The Hindu outfit, however, asserted that it has not given up Ayodhya Ram Mandir issue and would raise it during its “Ramostav” celebrations in March-April next year. “We have not given up Ram Mandir issue. We will not leave this issue, though during VHP’s golden jubilee celebrations. The VHP is busy on other social issues too,” VHP’s senior functionary Vinayak Rao Deshpande said. “Kacha (temporary) Ram temple is very well there in Ayodhya. Permanent temple’s shape would come up after the Supreme Court judgment. “However, the High Court had given its verdict in Hindus’ favour. The VHP will hold Ramotsav from March-April, 2015 to raise it voice for Ram Mandir,” the outfit’s joint general secretary said. On BJP’s move to raise the issue of “love jihad” in Uttar Pradesh, he said: “We welcome BJP’s step. This affects over one lakh girls every year in the country. “The VHP has saved over 10,000 girls after counselling in the past, and many of them got remarried with Hindu boys.” Deshpande said there was a need to inculcate “Hindu” values in the youth and raise awareness on the issue. “This problem needs a better awareness programme and ‘hindu sanskar’ should be inculcated in growing kids,” the VHP functionary said. ‘Love jihad’ is a term coined by some Hindu groups for alleged efforts to get non-Muslim girls to convert to Islam through love affairs.
— PTI
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Businessman arrested in Saradha case
New Delhi, August 24 Sources said Agarwal, a prominent businessman well connected in political and business circles, was taken into custody late last evening. They said his arrest assumes significance since he was alleged to have protected Sen from the action of regulatory bodies like SEBI using his connections. Agarwal is suspected to have acted as middleman with SEBI and other regulatory bodies and saved Sen from their action, CBI sources said. Sen is believed is have told the Central Bureau of Investigation that Agarwal had allegedly taken a substantial fee in crores of rupees for helping him prevent SEBI and other regulatory bodies from acting against him, they said. The sources said it was felt during the probe that Agarwal’s custody was important for further investigation. There are four FIRs against Saradha Group in which it is alleged that thousands of investors were allegedly duped by the company officials and their associates who swindled their deposits. Besides, there are 44 FIRs in Odisha against ponzi companies.
— PTI
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1 killed in Kanpur clash
Kanpur, August 24 A mob barged into the house of the minor boys and assaulted them badly and some even set fire to houses and shops in which four persons received severe burn injuries. One shop owner succumbed to burn injuries sustained during the violence, DM Roshan Jacob said. The police have arrested 13 persons and started the probe, SP (Rural) Anil Mishra said. The boys have been admitted to a hospital and their condition was stated to be serious, he added. The District Magistrate has announced Rs 50,000 relief to the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 to those who suffered minor injuries. Those people whose houses and shops were gutted in the arson will also be provided adequate compensation. Police force has been deployed in the area and senior officials are monitoring the situation on the spot.
— PTI Tension in Mainpuri after communal clash
Mainpuri: Tension prevailed in Alipur Khera town of the district on Sunday when members of two communities clashed and set some shops on fire. The police said tension started after a girl and a boy belonging to different communities were allegedly found in a compromising situation in a shop. Some residents, however, claimed the girl was dragged inside the shop and raped while she had gone there for mobile recharge. A mob assembled and set the shop and some other kisoks on fire. District Magistrate Govindraju NS said he was monitoring the situation The SP, District Magistrate and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, along with a large posse of police personnel, rushed to the scene to control the situation, but the agitated mob pelted bricks and stones at their vehicles and tried to set them
ablaze.
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CJI should be appointed on merit, says Katju
New Delhi, August 24 He said there was no constitutional provision or statutory rule of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court being appointed as Chief Justice and therefore “outstanding” chief justice of a High Court can directly be appointed as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Katju felt the convention of appointment of CJI at present was leading to “undesirable results” causing great harm to the judiciary. In this context, he questioned the integrity of some former CJIs and the issue of mediocrity. “The Chief Justice of India is head of the judicial family, and an undeserving appointment can cause great harm which may last for several years,” he said in his blog posting today. His suggestion comes ahead of the retirement of CJI Justice RM Lodha on September 27.
— PTI
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In an apparent climb down by the BJP, the party’s state executive dropped the
term “love jihad” in its final resolution today. BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit president Laxmikant Bajpai clarified that it wasn’t a U-turn by the party on its stand.
The controversial civil services preliminary examination was held today across the country as per the schedule, even as many aspirants boycotted the exam a day after the Supreme Court refused to put a stay on it.
Many aspirants left the exam midway pointing out errors in the translations in the question papers.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has requested India to immediately sign the much-awaited agreement for sharing waters of the Teesta river during a meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh
(retd) here.
huge
debt from her government’s shoulders. He also rejected the CM’s
demand for granting a three-year moratorium on the payment of interest,
amounting to Rs 28,000 crore every year, against those loans. But he
assured that he would certainly consider her request for releasing the
arrears payable to the state on various central projects, if these were
legitimate.
A
fire broke out in the administrative office at the City Palace complex
and spread to an art gallery, damaging some records and paintings today.
“The fire damaged the office and some portion of the art gallery. Some
items and paintings in the gallery have also been damaged,” DCP
(north) Ashok Gupta said. He said the flames were controlled by fire
tenders and no one was injured in the incident.
PM undergoes check-up at AIIMS
