Moin Qureshi case fall out

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Exclusive report

Moin Qureshi case fall out

Govt seeks pay offs to top CBI officials from abroad

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 28

The government is seeking specific information from various countries including Dubai (UAE), Singapore, Hong Kong, UK and other world destinations whether huge payments have been made to certain officials.

The government has specific information, based on investigations done by its agencies including Income Tax that controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi had paid crores of rupees through hawala operator Sathish Babu Sana and Sukesh Gupta of Hyderabad.

These payments have been made through hawala channels over a period of six years since the days when A P Singh was CBI director. Singh was asked by the Modi government last year to step down from the UPSC as inquiries are on against him. Even his successor Ranjit Sinha is also under the scanner. Now the allegations of huge pay off s surfaced against exiled CBI director Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana. Alarmed by series of bribery allegations against the directors of the anti-corruption watch dog, the government has decided to play tough. It decided to send

Letters Rogetory (LRs) to several countries containing names of at least 10 officials who served the government or retired. These sources refused to confirm the names of these officials mentioned in the LR s. None of them was willing to say whether the name of exiled director of CBI figures in the LR. But they confide that the Modi government is determined to cleanse the CBI and other such probe agencies with a heavy hand now.

It has emerged that Sathish Babu Sana was the conduit of channeling the illegal gratification on behalf of Moin Qureshi and channelised extorted money on his behalf. The Prasad brothers in Dubai were also part of this operation. Qureshi & his family members held several bank accounts in various countries. The agencies have given a list of 55 foreign bank accounts into which proceeds of crime were found transferred in seven countries. These were in the US France, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy and the UAE. .

Qureshi has been extorting and obtaining illegal money from various persons for getting their work done through public servants, said a source in the CBI.

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Tough steps against corrupt Mps, MLAs in sight,

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Tough steps against corrupt Mps, MLAs in sight,

regular monitoring of their assets under consideration

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 26

In an unusual move, a judgment of the Supreme Court regarding creation of a permanent institutional mechanism to “monitor the assets and sources of income of Legislators and their associates” on a continuous basis was discussed.

It transpires that senior officials of the secretariats of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Department of Personnel, Election Commission of India and about 20 state legislatures attended the meeting.

The meeting was held in the Parliament House to discuss various aspects of implementation of the SC order. Obviously, the presiding officers of the two houses, the Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu and Speaker Sumitra Mahajan strongly felt that the SC judgment be followed up in letter & spirit.

In its judgment, the apex court had said in February this year in the Lok Prahari Vs.Union of India, that a permanent institutional mechanism be created to continuously monitor the assets and sources of the income of the Legislators. As if this was not enough, the SC had ordered that the assets of their associates including spouses and dependents be also included. As if this was not enough, the SC said the body should take appropriate action in case of disproportionate increase in their assets during the tenure of the membership, including disqualification from membership of the Legislatures’.

It emerged during the discussion that there are different rules and norms in different legislatures for members to declare their assets and liabilities soon after their election. There is no provision to ensure compliance of the same. Besides, there is no provision requiring such periodic declaration of assets once they are elected on a regular basis. Strangely, there is no provision under any Act of Parliament or Rules of respective legislatures to disqualify members from the Legislatures on account of acquisition of disproportionate assets.

It was felt that the implementation of the direction of the apex court may require necessary amendment in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 making such disproportionate acquisition of assets a ground for disqualification from the membership of the Legislatures. It was also pointed out that this Act is applicable only to the elected MPs in respect of requiring disclosure of assets and liabilities under Section 75 A of the Act. Invoking Sub-section 2 of this Section, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and Speaker of Lok Sabha have issued the ‘Members of Rajya Sabha/Lok Sabha (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Rules,2004’. Under these Rules, MPs need to make such declarations within 90 days of their election to Parliament.

Discussions will further continue.

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CBI's Director of Prosecution appointment in Limbo

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Special report

CBI's Director of Prosecution appointment in Limbo

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 23

With the uncertainty over the fate of the CBI director continuing, the functioning of its vital prosecution wing has also been hit hard. The appointment of a full time Director of Prosecution (DoP) has been held up despite the government advertising for the post months ago. The government was forced to extend the tenure of the retiring Director of Prosecution, O P Verma for two months in the wake of dog fight between exiled CBI director Alok Verma & his deputy Rakesh Asthana.

The tenure of O P Verma, Director of Prosecution, was to end on October 23, 2018 after two years' tenure. But due to infighting, the appointment of a new DoP got delayed.

The government issued a special corrigendum to extend his tenure. Even he came into the controversy as reports said that Alok Verma sent the IRCTC case file to DoP instead of giving permission to arrest the suspects. The matter is under the probe.

The delay in the appointment of full time Director of Prosecution has also hampered legal work in the agency as he is under the administrative control of the probe agency's Director. Though the Central Vigilance Commission and a Parliamentary panel had recommended that the DoP should be independent of the Director CBI. The panel had suggested in December last year that the post of DoP in CBI should be of the rank and status of the Director CBI in order to ensure its independent functioning.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had stated that it would be prudent to set up an independent Director of Prosecution rather than DoP working under the Director CBI.

But Modi government bestowed all powers to the CBI director and rejected the suggestions.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had issued new rules for recruitment to the post under which civil servants, meeting eligibility criteria, working in various ministries, may also apply for the post. "An officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India are eligible to apply. The government has sought names from all ministries/departments to provide the names of the eligible and willing officers for the post. Advocates who practiced for not less than ten years as a Special Public Prosecutor, are also eligible.

The government delayed the full time appointment of the new DoP as it was wanting the Director of CBI Alok Verma to retire on February 1.

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Enthused Congress pitches Sonia in Telangana poll campaign

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Enthused Congress pitches Sonia in Telangana poll campaign

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 21

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi may have stayed away from poll campaign in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. But she has decided to address at least two major rallies in Telangana.

Enthused by the internal surveys conducted by two professional agencies and ground reports emanating from the state, Sonia Gandhi has given nod to campaign. Though she has been keeping away from active politics ever since Rahul Gandhi took over as Congress president. But there is a growing demand for the “Amma” from the Congress candidates. The Congress candidates argue that Telangana was carved out as a separate state by Sonia Gandhi when UPA was in power and her appeal is greater than that of Rahul Gandhi in the state.

Secondly, the newly forged ‘grand alliance’ comprising of the TDP, CPI, Telangana Jana Samithi headed by KCR’s former ally Kodandaram and Congress, is clawing its way up despite the ruling party’s early start to the campaign. These parties contested separately during 2014 Assembly polls and the TRS emerged victorious with 63 seats in the Assembly of 119.

The Congress secured just 21 while the TDP bagged 15 seats. The TDP was then, however, partner with the BJP, which secured 5 seats. The All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) secured seven and others 8. The grand-alliance can take solace from the fact that the vote share of the TRS in 2014 polls was only 34.30% while the Congress got 25.20% and TDP polled 14.70%. The coming together of Congress-TDP-CPI-TJS will give State Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao run for the money.

It is this assessment of the Congress that made Sonia Gandhi to campaign in the state. The fact that more and more leaders are deserting the TRS including the sitting Lok Sabha MP, Vishweshar Reddy indicates that all is not well in the state for the ruling TRS.

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Sushma shocks BJP, Not to contest Lok Sabha polls

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Sushma shocks BJP, Not to contest Lok Sabha polls

Health reasons cited, no one convinced

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 20

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj dropped a political bomb when she declared that she won't contest the next Lok Sabha elections. The sudden announcement on the while interacting with reporters in Indore where she had gone for campaigning, shocked political circles across all hues.

Sushma Swaraj cited health reasons for not contesting the next Lok Sabha polls. The 66-year-old Sushma Swaraj, who underwent a kidney transplant in 2016, said she had conveyed her decision to the party. “Candidates are decided by the party. But I have made up my mind that I won't be contesting in the next elections.This is in keeping with my health,” she added.

Sushma Swaraj's announcement made the party leadership speechless as it came at a time when the BJP is engaged in bitter battle with Congress in Madhya Pradesh which goes to polls on November 28.

Once touted as a prime ministerial candidate in the BJP, Sushma Swaraj had to settle for the External Affairs Minister's post when Modi came to power. But she was relegated in the background as her services were not utilized for political affairs. Rather, an impressions was created that the PMO is running her ministry. Secondly, a couple of new women leaders like Textiles Minister Smriti Irani and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are used more often for political work. Yet she made

Yet she did did at 66 what veterans shudder to even think to hang boots of electoral politics.

The tweetrati were out immediately after the announcement saying 66 years is “Too Young to Retire”.  Her husband who is a former Mizoram Governor and senior counsel of Supreme Court Swaraj Kaushal came up with a fitting and amusing response to her decision, saying “there came a time when even Milkha Singh stopped running.”

While some questioned whether Swaraj’s decision reflected “her dissatisfaction” with the Modi government, others speculated if this meant her political career was over.

Some even said, “Doesn’t Mean Her Political Career is Over”. Obviously, she has only announced that she will not be contesting the Lok Sabha polls after remaining Lok Sabha MP for four terms. It is felt that she may come to the Rajya Sabha later and continue her parliamentary career.

She served as Union Cabinet Minister for Information and Broadcasting with additional charge of the Ministry of Telecommunications and Health Minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee's second government. She became External Affairs Minister in the Modi government in May 2014.

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No carpet bombing this time by BJP

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

No carpet bombing this time by BJP

Fever rallies of PM in MP, Chhattisgarh & Rajasthan

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 19
Contrary to earlier practice of carpet-bombing poll-bound states by the BJP's Central leadership, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are witnessing a strange situation; that Prime Minister Modi is addressing fever number of rallies and incumbent chief ministers are given fulsome praises.

As against 34 rallies in Gujrat and 24 rallies in Karnataka, PM Modi is likely to address only 12-odd rallies in Madhya Pradesh. He has already visited the state twice and addressed five rallies. With polling taking place on November 28, the campaigning will end on November 26. It is said that Modi will visit the state for two days during the next one week. It simply means the number of rallies in Madhya Pradesh will be another six and won't touch the dozen mark. This was despite the fact that the three term chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan is facing anti-incumbency and needs extra support.

Even in Chhattisgarh, the prime minister chose to address five rallies only. Though its a small state. But still the Chief Minister Raman Singh is facing an uphill task to retain the state fourth time.

Another interesting feature of campaigning in poll-bound states so far shows that incumbent chief ministers in all three states have been given extra importance. BJP chief Amit Shah praised Shivraj Singh Chouhan showered praises on him saying that he had not seen a more hard-working chief minister than him. He even termed Chouhan as a symbol of development. This puzzled many in the BJP. As neither Shah nor Modi have a reputation of giving other leaders in the party credit for good work.

There is a feeling in the BJP that leadership is not inclined to project these elections as PM vs the Opposition. The Prime Minister is not the face of the ruling party’s campaign in any of the three states and rather chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan dominate the party’s billboards. This is a complete departure from the campaigning seen in Assam, Manipur, Goa, Karnataka, Gujrat and other states where the PM took upon himself to swing the polls.

In respect of Rajasthan, Amit Shah has taken control of the campaigning and given a free hand to Vasundhararaje Scindia. The PM may address not more than 10-12 rallies in Rajasthan, sources say. It transpires that after polling ends in Madhya Pradesh, Amit Shah will camp at Jaipur and monitor the poll campaign.

The BJP has also changed campaign strategy in this round and focus is more on technology and social media. The focus is poll booth management and concentrating on “Panna Pramukh” (voter's list incharge for each page) and house-to-house campaigning. It is realized that mega rallies may not be possible during the short period. The social media units in Madhya Pradesh is connecting to 45 lakh electorates and 30 lakhs in Rajasthan. The social media units focus in Chhattisgarh was 20 lakh voters. The leadership feels that carpet-bombing may better be reserved for the Lok Sabha polls.


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by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Vacancies galore at CIC, Govt. Apathy for RTI visible,

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 18

With the exit of four Information Commissioners including the Chief Information Commissioner, country's RTI watch-dog will virtually become defunct.

The 11-member body was already down to seven as the government chose not to fill vacancies for some strange reasons. Now the CIC R K Mathur is retiring on November 24, Yashovardhan Azad and M Sridhar Acharyulu completing their five year term on November 21 and Amitava Bhattacharya demiting office on December 1.

This will leave the body with only three members; namely Sudhir Bhargawa, Bimal Julka and D P Sinha.

The Information Commissioners including the CIC are chosen by a committee of three members comprising of Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition or the single largest party in the Opposition and a Cabinet Minister chosen by the PM. No meeting of the committee has been scheduled as Assembly polls are underway in five states.

This was despite the fact that the government had assured the supreme court in July this year that it would take immediate steps to fill the vacancies of the ICs. In order to mollify the SC, the government hurriedly issued the advertisement in newspapers inviting applications. But neither there was a mention of how many vacancies exist and what would be the terms & conditions of the ICs.

It is no secret that the Modi government has not been very enthusiastic towards strengthening the Right to Information Act (RTI). Rather, it is diluting the powers of the Commission by amending the RTI Act itself. It doesn't want CIC members to have the rank of the Minister of State and perks and salaries higher than that of Cabinet Secretary. In fact, the advertisement in the newspapers seeking applications for the post was silent on its terms of service and pay & emoluments.

There is a strong possibility that amendments moved by the government during the monsoon session of parliament may not be carried as there is hardly any time left to pass such amendments in s short session. ' in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passage during the current session of Parliament, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

According to the proposed amendment of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018' the salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of the CIC and ICs "shall be such as may be prescribed by the central government". The tenure of information commissioners at the centre and the states is proposed to be amended from "a term of five years" to "terms as may be prescribed by the central government".

Many RTI activists have strongly opposed amendments to the RTI Act saying they are aimed at lowering the stature of Information Commissions from equivalent to the Election Commission (EC) and to do away with their five years fixed tenure.

The argument is that the EC is a constitutional body established by clause (1) of Article 324 of the Constitution, while the CIC and state information commissions are statutory bodies established under the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005, it said.


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As tensions between RBI-Govt. Ease,

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

As tensions between RBI-Govt. Ease,

Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia retires

Ahia was Modi's most loyal man in Finance Ministry

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 17

In a sudden development, the government today announced that Finance & revenue Secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia will retire this month end.

The announcement was made by none other than the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley in his blog under whom he worked for nearly four years. While lauding Dr Adhia's role in

various policy initiatives inluding fight against black money and the GST, Jaitley revealed that the government wanted to use his capability and experience in some alternate capacity. “But he informed me earlier this year that he would not work for a single day after the 30th of November 2018.” Jaitley also disclosed that he would devote his time to his “favourite passion and of course his son” and wished him “all the best for his post retirement life. Thank You Dr. Adhia.”

Sources say that Adhia was peeved with the government for not rewarding him with the post of Cabinet Secretary in June this year when the post fell vacant when he was senior most and particularly after his immense contribution in running the affairs at the North Block.

It may be mentioned that Dr Adhia is personally very close to the PM as he had worked with him in Gujrat when Modi was Chief Minister.

It was also speculated that Adhia may take over as RBI governor in the event of Dr Urjit Patel resigning after a face-off with the government.

With tension between the Government and the Reserve Bank of India easing before the crucial meeting of the full RBI board on Monday in Mumbai, the prospects of Urjit Patel resigning also receded. It transpires that the Finance Ministry and Reserve Bank of India are working hard to find a middle ground. Arun Jaitley will travel to Mumbai tomorrow to participate in a function and may connect with those handling the issue. There are already signs of softening of stance on the part of both the players.

The vexed issues of fixing norms for the surplus reserves, (Read Rs 3.50 lakh crores extra fund government is eyeing lying with the RBI), easing of Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) provisions for public sector banks, liquidity support for the NBFCs and improved lending and restructuring of loans to MSMEs.

There is no move now to invoke Section 7 of the RBI Act forcing the bank to give up or RBI governor to quit. Urjit Patel had earlier this month also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to discuss some of these contentious issues.

Sources in the government say that with Adhia going, the posts of Finance & Revenue Secretaries will be split again and two separate officers will chip in.

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CVC grilled Sana for 8 hours in Bribery case

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Special report

CVC grilled Sana for 8 hours in Bribery case

Hyderabad business Sana allegedly paid bribes to CBI officers

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 14

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) grilled Hyderabad businessman Sathish Babu Sana for more than eight hours, a key player in the Verma-Asthana feud in CBI,

The 8-hour grilling, spread over for two days, was held under the supervision of Justice A K Patnaik at the CVC headquarters. The CVC wanted to get at the bottom of the truth as Special Director Rakesh Asthana had alleged that he paid Rs 2 crores to CBI Director. Alok Verma countered it saying that Sana paid bribed to Rakesh Asthana.

Highly placed sources say that prima facie, the CVC report found no significant evidence against Verma. The CVC report raised some questions that require a separate and detailed probe and wanted more time to complete the probe.

The CVC felt that Sana was using one CBI officer against the other to wriggle out of the Moin Qureish case in which he was a conduit in hawala operation.

Asthana was the officer incharge in the Moin Qureshi case. Verma alleged that Asthana was extorting money from Sana since the very beginning. Later, Sana complained to Verma of extortion which led to registration of FIR against Asthana.

The CVC grilled Alok Verma for two days, Rakesh Asthana once and other officers who were dealing with the Moin Qureshi case. The CVC probe also focused on IRCTC Hotel case of Lalu Prasad Yadav and cattle smuggling case involving a senior BSF officer caught with unaccounted for cash in Kerala.

When Justice Patnaik asked Verma why Satish Babu Sana, was not booked under charges of giving bribe, he said the amended provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act gave protection if a person is forced to give bribe. The protection is available if he reports the extortion within seven days. Verma explained that though Sana had started paying bribe in December last year, giving bribe became an offense only in July 2018. Since Sana paid another bribe through Hawala and reported it to the CBI within seven days, action was taken.

Asthana had alleged that Sana paid Rs 2 crores to Verma on October 1, 2018 and signed the confessional statement on October 4, 2018.

But in a strange twist, Sana switched sides and made a counter allegation that he paid bribes to Asthana. Verma registered an FIR against Asthana and others for allegedly taking more than Rs 3 crores to scuttle probe against him. The money was paid over a 10-month period -- starting from December 2017.

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Tension mounts between RBI & Govt.: Hasmukh Adhia as RBI Governor ?

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Tension mounts between RBI & Govt.

Hasmukh Adhia as RBI Governor ?

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov. 8

As the tensions between the central bank and the Modi government refusing to ease, there is considerable speculation that the South Block is ready with a contigency plan in the event of RBI governor Urjit Patel putting in his papers.

Though RBI Governor Urjit Patel is on record to say that all issues will be discussed at the RBI board's meet in Mumbai on November 19, controversies refusing to die. Ut got a fillip when a leading newspaper reported that the Finance Ministry wants the RBI to part with over Rs 3 lakh crores in dividend. This is a record any government has sought from the RBI and has added fuel to the fire. The government and the RBI have not denied the report. Normally, the RBI has been giving dividend to the government to the tune of Rs 25000-30000 crores every year. But the Finance Ministry wants this amount to recapitalize the public sector banks who are facing a huge cash crunch. The government has already come out with a plan to fund these bank with Rs two lakh crores. But it is facing acute cash shortage due to surge in demand from the NFBCs, infrastructure sector and bank recapitalization.

Urjit Patel has maintained a studied silence despite provocative statements being made by some non-official and part-time members of the RBI Board. But Urjit Patel has sent a clear signal that he is a tough guy and unlikely to relent when comes to the independence of the RBI. The prospects of Patel resigning had receded as some sort of truce has been achieved. But after non-official member S Gurumurthy blasted the RBI and Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash garg attacked Viral Acharya, RBI Deputy governor, the war may escalate further. Garg attacked Acharya and mocked him asking him where is “Wrath of the Markets?”. Acharya had said if the government interfere, it will have to bear the wrath of the markets. The government is demanding that RBI relax norms for loans to power sector and relaxing norms for SMEs. Urjit Patel was in no mood to do so. The board of RBI was unwilling to relent also.

Highly placed sources say that the government is fed up with professionals who are not aware of the ground realities of the economy; be it Raghuram Rajen or Urjit Patel. It will now have bureaucrats as next RBI governor. It is in this regard that the name of Hasmukh Adhia is being mentioned.

He is retiring on November 26 this year. At one point, he was tipped to be cabinet secretary. But Modi decided to give extension to incumbent P K Sinha for a year. Adhia is from the Gujarat cadre and said to be one of Modi’s handpicked and trusted officials. Many in the bureaucracy believe that the government would like to retain his services in an important capacity after he retires. In the event of Urjit Patel choosing to stay put, Adhia may also be given an extension until the next General Election.

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Alok Verma to appear before CVC tomorrow

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Alok Verma to appear before CVC tomorrow

Inquiry has to be completed before November 12

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 4

The exiled CBI Director, Alok Verma will appear before the 3-member Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) tomorrow. Verma has been summoned by the CVC to probe into the allegations of administrative misconduct, delaying probe into certain sensitive cases including one relating to IRCTC land in Patna for hotel benefiting Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The CVC is undertaking this probe as per the directions of the Supreme Court given on October 26. The probe is being supervised by a retired judge of the Supreme Court A K Patnaik. Interestingly, Justice Patnaik has been regularly visiting the office of the CVC to scrutinize documents pertaining to nine allegations leveled by his number two Rakesh Asthana. Incidentally, Rakesh Asthana has also been divested of his duties following an FIR registered against him for bribery.

The CVC is racing against time to complete the probe against Verma within 14 days. This will be first time Verma will be appear before the CVC comprising of K V Chowdhary, Sharad Kumar and Dr T M Bhasin tomorrow. Patnaik monitored probe by CVC is confined to allegations of misconduct and corruption by Alok Verma. The CVC will not look into the issue of government’s decision to send Verma on forced leave. The SC may hear that case separately later.

It may be mentioned that Alok Verma was removed as CBI director on October 23 by the government and M Nageshwar Rao, a junior officer was given the charge. Verma challenged his removal. But the SC decided to hear the case of misconduct and corruption against him first. The SC said the other issues will be heard later.

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RAW Chief told PM: Sir, better we shut down ! We are exposed by CBI in Public

Dragging RAW sealed Verma’s fate 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Dragging Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), country’s premier external intelligence agency, in the turf war dug CBI Director Alok Verma’s grave on the early hours of October 23. It transpires that an angry RAW chief Anil Dhasmana rushed to the Prime Minister on Sunday - October 21 and told him “Our entire operation system in Dubai has been exposed. We have been exposed by our own agency, our men are in danger ! How can we function ?” As if this was not enough Dhasmana who is a very cool, calm and composed officer, went to the extent of saying, “Sir, if this goes on its better we shut down the RAW.” Dhasmana told the PM that Samant Kumar Goel who is number two in the RAW, was once Dubai’s RAW'sstation director in Dubai. He also told that Mahesh Prasad and Somesh Prasad are the sons of former RAW top officer. He was once head of RAW operations in Dubai. Mahesh Prasad is an Investment banker while Somesh Prasad runs his own company. Both brothers used to help RAW whenever needed and provide vital information. They were in touch with  Samant Kumar Goel who  was RAW’s operations head in Dubai once.

Angry Doval told Verma to quit, not PM  

The Prime Minister was seething with anger with Alok Verma after Anil Dhasmana complained and gave details of what's happening. The PM summoned Alok Verma the same day – Sunday October 21 and heard his side of the story. However, it was clear that the PM was unhappy. But he refrained from telling him to quit. He curtly told Verma to meet Ajit Doval. It was National security Adviser Ajit Doval who told Verma to put in his papers. Doval had a long meeting with Verma during which he told Verma that he had badly let him down. “I brought you into the CBI and you did it (referring to dragging RAW's name). He also took him to task for naming Samant Kumar Goel in the FIR against Rakesh Asthana. Though Goel was not named as an accused or as a witness, still the FIR named him. Though thegovernment was upset with Alok Verma for the past many months for declaring an open war against Asthana. It was Verma who wrote a letter against Asthana way back in October 2017 to the CVC leveling allegations of corruption. The feud continued for throughout the year between the two officers and the agency was a divided house and government shut its eyes hoping that Verma will retire on February 1, 2019 without doing any damage to the institution. But Verma, humiliated by his junior all through, booked him in the corruption case and lodged an FIR against him on October 15, 2018. Even then the government was not unduly worried. But Verma's fate was sealed the moment he made RAW’s number 2  Goel's name public in the Asthana case.

Verma sacked for defying Doval

When Ajit Doval told Verma on October 21 evening to send resignation, he said he would send it and got up to leave. A sharp former IB chief who is now most powerful man in the PMO, told him to send the resignation on the email and also by fax immediately. But instead of going to office Verma went home. It transpires that Verma did not send the email until midnight. Doval expected that he will send the resignation by Monday after reaching office on October 22. But Verma didn't. When Doval called him over the mobile phone, Verma didn't take his call either. It was at this moment that decision to sack the “rouge” Director was taken by the PM after consulting Doval. The CVC was told to complete the process of inquiry the same day. The inquiry against Verma was already going on after Cabinet Secretary wrote to the CVC to look into the allegations against him. It can now be told that the CVC office remained oopen until 11.30 pm and eight page report was sent back to the Cabinet Secretary who was also waiting in his office. Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha consulted the Secretary, Personnel Dr C Chandramouli, Secretary Home Rajiv Gauba were in toe. A recommendation of action was sent to the Principal secretary to the PM, Nripendra Mishra who was also sitting in the office. P K Mishra was also there and PM was also awake. It took almost two hours to complete the process and sack order to Verma was sent at 2 am in the morning. 

Verma VS Asthana saga

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Verma VS Asthana saga

Mystery behind Missing seven Mobile phones

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov. 1

The ugly battle between exiled CBI director Alok Verma and number 2 Rakesh Asthana took a new turn as seven mobile phones crucial to the probe have mysteriously vanished into thin air.

These seven mobile phones were confiscated from the office and residential premises of Devender Kumar, Deputy SP in the CBI, in raids by a special CBI team on October 22.

There was shock and disbelief in the CBI when the news of the recovery of such a large number of mobile phones from a DSP rank officer came to light. Inquiries revealed that Devender Kumar was the most trusted Investigating Officer of Asthana and was handling all sensitive cases. It is said that while one phone was dedicated for talks with Asthana, the other was international operations, third for CBI's official work, fourth for the family and others for being in touch with others.

Highly placed sources in the CBI say that Devender Kumar's telephones were under surveillance by the CBI's technical unit under Alok Verma after a case of bribery was registered against him and others on October 15-16. The CBI also obtained the Call Detail Records (CDRs) of all the telephones used by Devender Kumar and recorded certain sensitive information which may have some serious political ramifications in the days to come. The Verma faction in the CBI is disinclined to share details of tapping of phones of Devender Kumar, Asthana and others by his technical unit at this stage. It is said that Verma faction will disclose more details in the weeks to come.

A clue came yesterday when the CBI told the court that it had recovered only one mobile phone and not eight. This led to protests from Devender Kumar who pleaded that other telephones be returned as well. The CBI said it had seized only one mobile telephone. When Devender Kumar was arrested on October 22, CBI said that it had seized eight mobile phones, one laptop, electric items and documents etc.

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"Asthana Apna Aadmi Hai”

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

"Asthana Apna Aadmi Hai”

Taped conversations blow the lid off in CBI

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Oct. 30

"Asthana Apna Aadmi Hai” this is how Somesh Prasad, a Dubai-based businessman told his father-in-law who had gone to collect money from Satish Babu Sana. The money was to be paid to the CBI' special Director Rakesh Asthana as Sana was facing CBI cases and wanted the help of the agency to dilute the same. The father-in-law who is a prominent Delhi lawyer was somewhat scared. But Somesh Prasad told him not to worry as “Asthana is our man”.

One of the WhatsApp messages found in January 2018 in these telephone intercepts says “he can't take panga (Mess ) with them”. The messages were exchanged between the two brothers and Somesh was impressing that Sana should not take “Panga” with Asthana.

None of the players realized that someone in the CBI was listening to this telephonic conversation. Somesh Prasad was sitting in Dubai and monitoring the entire payment plan and his brother Mahesh Prasad was camping in Delhi to complete the deal. Hyderabad-based businessman knew d Prasad brothers as he had businesses in Dubai too. Sana had sought their help to get out of the CBI cases and Prasad brothers were using their clout in the agency.

But they had no clue that their telephone conversations are being tapped Asthana's rival and CBI director Alok Verma. Verma had deputed A K Bassi, head of the anti-corruption unit of the CBI, to investigate the link between Sana and Prasad brothers and he tumbled upon this conversations.

The lid was blown off in the Supreme Court today when Bassi appealed against his transfer to Andaman and Nicobar Islands on October 24. He said this was "malafide and derails a sensitive probe" and added that allegations against Asthana are "grave". He also produced evidence in support of his statement before the apex court. AK Bassi has submitted in court details of WhatsApp messages and calls that he alleges prove Mr Asthana took bribe from a businessman, Sathish Sana, who wanted to be spared CBI summons in an investigation. He further sought an urgent hearing on his plea against the transfer on November 2. The top court said it will look into it.

Though Bassi did not share the evidence, it transpires that phone conversation tapes between Somesh Prasad and Asthana, Asthana's phone conversations with Mahesh Prasad and couple of other players are part of it.

The time-line of phone conversations between Asthana and RAW's number two Sumant Kumar Goel has also been submitted.

The leaking of these conversations and time-line of phone tapes are aimed at exposing how the CBI's number two was involved in taking bribes from Hyderababd businessman Satish Babu Sana through Mahesh Prasad. Sathish Sana has said in a statement to the court that Rakesh Asthana demanded a bribe of Rs. 5 crore from him. More dirt will come out in the days to come from the closet of CBI as war is taking a turn for the worse.

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by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Modi wants all CMs at Patel Statue Unveiling Event 

BJP rushed to placate Nitish Kumar 

Efforts to bring Naveen Patnaik too  Uddhav Thackeray disincline : 20 BJP CMs in toe 

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Oct 29

Prime Minister Narendra Moi is working hard to ensure the presence of Chief Ministers of all the states at unveiling of 'Statue of Unity' dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, on October 31 in Gujrat.

Modi wants to tout the ceremony as symbol of unity of the country and is in touch with every chief minister and top leaders of parties to be present when the statue is unveiled.

So keen was Modi to ensure the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the venue that he directed BJP Chief Amit Shah to seal the Lok Sabha seat sharing deal with JD (U). Shah rushed to Delhi cutting short his election campaign and made huge concessions.

As Modi wanted that all the NDA CMs be present at the statue of unity-- the BJP has its own band of 20 and it wanted nitish kumar, KCR, Palaniswamy and even. Nitish was unwilling to come.

Gujrat's senior-most Minister Saurabh Patel sought time from Nitish Kumar to invite him for the unveiling ceremony 20 days ago. But Nitish Kumar excused saying that he was traveling. The BJP was informally conveyed if the presence of Nitish is required, the seat sharing issue be settled. Similar efforts are on the persuade Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to travel to Gujrat to be part of this unity.

Modi is also keen to ensure the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the venue. The BJP leadership has also conveyed to Patnaik that its not keen to disturb his apple cart.

PM Modi made it clear to the Chief Ministers of non-BJP states that is not a party function and its dedicated to the country’s tallest leader who unified India 70 years ago.

The efforts are also being made to ensure the presence of Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray at the venue. When contacted, Sanjay Raut, Shive speokeman and Rajya Sabha MP said, “We are busy in the Ram Temple movement beginning November 25.  

Barring Capt Amrinder Singh (Punjab), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), V Narayansami (Puducherry) Chief Ministers and Governor of Jammu & Kashmir are expected to attend the ceremony.

The statue touted to be the world’s tallest statue, will have a viewing gallery at the height of 193 metres from the sea level which can accommodate 200 visitors at a time. The security & intelligence agencies are making every effort to check the safety of all the VVIPs together at one place at such a height.

Nearly 3,400 labourers and 250 engineers worked round-the-clock at the site of the statue at Sadhu Bet island on Narmada river. The 182-metre tall statue will be unveiled on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. The statue has been built at a cost of Rs. 2,389 crores. Modi had laid the foundation stone for the project on October 31, 2013 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

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Modi sends 8 top officers to Maharashtra, Goa

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Pre-poll push for PM's schemes

Modi sends 8 top officers to Maharashtra, Goa

Officers to camp at 8 districts

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Oct 27

Eight senior officers of the rank of additional secretaries and joint secretaries are being deputed shortly by the Prime Minister to Maharashtra & Goa to camp in eight clusters to over-see welfare work 8 clusters.

These officers have been identified and will be sent to these eight districts after under-going training program. These officers will be deputed Pune, Nashik, Dhule, Sangli, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Thane and North Goa. These senior IAS officers will camp in these aspirational districts to over-see the implementation of Prime Minister Modi's welfare schemes.

The PM plans to depute nearly 750 officers of the Centre who will be tasked in coming months to cover 45,000 villages in 115 ‘aspirational districts’ with seven government schemes. The scheme is being closely monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office.

An officer has been designated for every 75 villages and each has been tasked to undertake at least three visits to the village spanning four seven days. While each district has been assigned a ‘prabhari officer’ in a joint or an additional secretary role, 322 directors and deputy secretary officers and another 322 under-secretaries have been assigned the jobs of ‘nodal officers’. Four to 10 such nodal officers have been tagged with each prabhari officer, who will assign villages for tour scheduling and coordinate the visits of nodal officers. In the first phase, 80 officers have been chosen who will visit 80 districts spanning over several states.

The government is also set to announce a package of benefits for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) spread across these 80 districts. They will monitor social security benefits for workers

The scheme is part of Modi's pre-election push for the MSME sector which employs over a 120 million people in over 6 crores units. The list of clusters range from food processing units to steel ancillary, to Pharma and other sectors in these seven districts of Maharashtra and one in Goa. They will work with officers from banks, EPFO, ECIS, SIDBI to ensure that targets are met. The officers will see whether these units have been trained to get the benefits of government's e-marketplace (GeM) portal.

This will help them to ensure that government and its agencies can buy directly from the small units.

Dragging RAW sealed Verma’s fate

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Dragging RAW sealed Verma’s fate 

RAW Chief told PM: Sir, better we shut down ! We are exposed by our own agency

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Oct 28

Dragging Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), country’s premier external intelligence agency, in the turf war dug CBI Director Alok Verma’s grave on the early hours of Tuesday last.

Highly placed sources say that the Prime Minister was seething with anger with Alok Verma after he exposed RAW’s secret operations in Dubai to settle scores with his Special Director Rakesh Asthana.

No doubt, the government was upset with Verma for the past many months for declaring an open war with  Asthana and even registered an FIR against him.

But his fate was sealed the moment he made RAW’s number 2  Sumant Kumar Goel's name public  in the Asthana case . All hell broke in the top echelon of the Modi government as Sumant Kumar Goel is a highly rated officer. He is in the line of being made RAW chief after current chief retires in December. Verma named Goel in the FIR though not as an accused. An angry RAW chief Anil Dhasmana rushed to the Prime Minister on Sunday -October 21 and told him “Sir its better we shut down the RAW. Our entire operations in Dubai have been exposed by our own agency, our men are in danger ! How can we deliver?”  Dhasmana told the PM that Sumant Kumar Goel was once Dubai’s RAW head. He also told that Mahesh Prasad and Somesh Prasad are the sons of former RAW Director R R Prasad. He was once head of RAW operations in Dubai. Mahesh Prasad is an Investment banker while Somesh Prasad runs his own company. Both the brothers used to help RAW whenever needed and provide vital information. They were in touch with  Sumant Kumar Goel who  was RAW’s operations head in Dubai once.

The problem began when Asthana recorded a statement of a Hyderabad businessman Satish Babu Sana to allege that he had paid a bribe of Rs 2 crores to Alok Verma to go-slow in the Moin Qureshi case. He sent the complaint to the CVC against Verma. But Sana took a U-turnsoon and confessed  before a Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC that he paid a bribe of Rs 2.95 crore to Asthana’s middlemen Manoj Prasad and Somesh Prasad to get relief in the Moin Qureshi case. Sana is an accused in the Moin Qureshi case. 

The government avoided any precipitated action and tried to solve the  issue with dialogue even at this late stage. But the moment Verma named Sumant Kumar Goel in the FIR and said that  Mahesh Prasad is being probed for his alleged hawala links as well as connections with certain R&AW officials, all hell broke. The naming of RAW's  number 2 sealed Verma's fate.

 

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