“Corruption in 5 Years of BJP Govt in Jharkhand is an Issue,” says JMM president Hemant Soren.

Source – economictimes.indiatimes.com

What is the feedback that you have got from the ground after the first round of voting?
We are doing very well. In fact, you can ask BJP if they can name four seats which they are sure of winning in the first phase. On our part, we are confident and stronger on every seat. Wait for the results.

Would dilution of Article 370 and Ayodhya issue have an impact on Jharkhand polls? How important are national issues in this election?
BJP leaders are talking about Kashmir in Jharkhand. My question is: If you talk about Kashmir in Jharkhand, where would we talk about the unemployment, lower industrial growth and corruption in Jharkhand. People have given their mandate on national issues in Lok Sabha elections. Now, this is about Jharkhand, and 370 or Ayodhya is not an issue here.

What are the issues in the state?
The issue is rampant corruption in five years of BJP government. Right from Lokpal to development commissioner to other senior government officials, they all have flagged corruption and scam in the current government. The issue is slowdown in industrial areas which has resulted in major job losses. The issue is how this government is trying to grab the lands of tribals in the state.

Your party has a limitation in that it has influence in only certain parts of the state and the BJP has made inroads into the tribal segment as well…
We are going to surprise you with our performance this time, be it urban or rural region. We are getting support from all corners of the state. BJP is plotting with independent candidates in each constituency to divide votes. But voters this time are determined to topple the BJP government.

Despite being in alliance, the Congress and JMM came up with separate manifestos…
Every party has a right to bring out its manifesto. But when it comes to government formation, we will work out a common minimum programme.

Your party has extended support to rebel BJP leader Saryu Roy while Congress has put up a candidate against him…
In the alliance the seat has gone to the Congress and I can’t force them to leave the seat. My support to Roy is on moral grounds. He is not fighting against the CM but against corruption. At the same
time I am part of the grand alliance and am campaigning for alliance candidates across the state.

Why is Babulal Marandi not part of the alliance?
The state has only 81seats and every party has its specific requirement. We tried hard to convince him. However, he has the right to decide about his party and seats he would contest.

Lok Sabha question: Uttar Pradesh tops chart in PDS corruption, Bihar 2nd, Delhi 3rd.

Source – cnbctv18.com

As many as 807 complaints of corruption in the public distribution system (PDS) were received across the country till October 31, 2019, of which Uttar Pradesh reported maximum number of complaints, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Raosaheb Danve-Patil has said.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Union Minister said that UP has topped the list in PDS corruption cases with 328 complaints, while Bihar comes next with 108 complaints.

Significantly, UP has hit the headlines many times earlier for PDS scams. In 2014, a Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the land of the then cabinet minister of the state, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, in a multi-crore food grains scam in the state.

Ravi Kishan, MP from Gorakhpur and Dr Ramshankar Katheria, MP from Agra sought details of these complaints as well as the steps taken to curb it.

Delhi ranks third in corruption cases in PDS with 78 complaints been received. Whereas West Bengal has received 48 complaints in such cases.

However, the states from which no complaints have been received include Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim. Apart from this, no complaints have also been received from the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadar Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.

The minister said that for the offence of violation of the provisions of the PDS (Control) Order 2015, there is a provision of punitive action under the Essential Commodities Act 1955. Under this order, the state and union territory have the power to take punitive action.

At the same time, to make the system more transparent under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, an institutional arrangement for monitoring it has been done by vigilance committee, District Grievance Redressal Officers, State Food Commission.The minister said that to improve the public distribution system, the ministry is computerising the PDS operation in collaboration with all states and union territories. Under this scheme, supply-chain management is being computerised by digitising ration cards/beneficiaries and efforts are being made to bring transparency in it, besides, the ration shops will be automated using electronic point of sale (e-POS) devices.

No compromise on corruption, communalism: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Independence Day

Source: indiatoday.in

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday asserted that there would be no compromise on “crime, corruption and communalism” under his rule, which has been characterized by “nyay ke saath vikas” (development with justice) and “sampradayik sauhardra” (communal harmony).

In his hour-long address at Gandhi Maidan here on the occasion of Independence Day, Kumar said a new system of policing was being introduced in the state for effective maintenance of law and order.

“We are never going to compromise on crime, corruption and communalism. ‘Nyay ke saath vikas and sampradayik sauhardra’ have been and will always remain our priority.

“From today, we have introduced a new system of policing wherein maintenance of law and order and investigation shall stand separated so that personnel engaged in either are not distracted by other demands of duty,” Kumar said after unfurling the tricolour.

The chief minister also inspected the tableaux depicting the various schemes launched and the measures taken during his 14-year-long rule in the state.

“Our crackdown on corruption will continue. Bribery, amassing of wealth disproportionate to assets and through misuse of public office will be severely dealt with. None of those who are involved in earning money through illegal and immoral means will be spared,” the chief minister said.

Kumar pointed out that a Public Service Grievances Redressal Act is in place which guarantees resolution of complaints in a transparent manner and a mechanism has been devised for deciding service-related issues of government servants in a time-bound manner.

“People must be made aware that ill-gotten wealth may bring momentary pleasure, but its long-term impact is perilous. We must always keep in mind the words of Mahatma Gandhi that we must consume only as much as we need, giving up greed in any form,” he maintained.

Recalling that he had ordered a complete ban on sale and consumption of alcohol three years ago, in line with the demand of women in the state, Kumar said it had evoked enthusiasm, with people forming a massive human chain on the theme of prohibition, though “many who think it is their right to drink, seem to be unhappy over this move.”

People must realize that consumption of alcohol cannot be a matter of rights, he asserted.

“I would also like to draw the attention of youth towards a report of World Health Organization which has done a study on the ill effects of consuming liquor,” he added.

The CM also spoke at length about the measures taken by his government to improve education scenario in the state, including the proposed launch of “Unnayan Bihar” programme next month which aims to emulate across the state a successful e-learning experiment carried out in Banka district.

He said that his government was committed to providing people with better health care facilities and that the expansion and upgrading of premier hospitals at Patna, Muzaffarpur and Gaya have been approved.

Kumar mentioned that his government was taking steps to boost agriculture, including the setting up of a separate power feeder for farmers.

He lamented that the effects of climate change are being felt in Bihar, where there has been a decline in average rainfall over the years, while untimely showers have caused flash floods.

“We are doing our bit to reverse the damage. Our Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali drive, launched recently, is a step in this direction”, he added.

The CM, after attending the Independence Day ceremony, visited the Rajdhani Vatika adventure park in the city where he tied a thread around a tree in presence of cabinet colleagues, including his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi.

The state government is observing the festival of “Rakshabandhan”, which falls on this date, as “Vriksh Suraksha Diwas” (Day for protection of trees).

110 raids, 19 states, 30 FIRs: CBI’s nationwide crackdown against corruption, arms smuggling

Source: indiatoday.in

In a nationwide crackdown, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday conducted searches at around 110 places in 19 states and Union Territories.

Sources have told India Today TV that CBI has registered around 30 new separate cases relating to corruption, criminal misconduct, arms smuggling and others.

This comes after the July 2 crackdown by CBI against bank fraud cases where the agency had conducted raids at over 50 locations in 50 cities across 12 states and Union Territories.

According to CBI, the raids were conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Thane, Valsad, Pune, Palani, Gaya, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Surat, Kolar and many other cities. The fraud amount in the 16 cases are over Rs 1100 crore which may rise during the investigation.

The newly registered 30 FIR’s have been lodged against the accused including various companies, firms, their promoters, directors, bank officials and private persons.

India Today TV has learnt that few of the raids are being conducted in Mumbai, Delhi, NCR, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Sources say that the government’s major agenda during the election was corruption cases in light of Rs 13,000 crore bank fraud by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.