Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday chaired the first security review meeting with Chief Ministers of five states bordering China, and enhanced the Central Assistance for Border Area Development Programmes (BADP) from Rs 990 crore to Rs 1,100 crore.

Terming the India-China border undemarcated, extremely cold and with very difficult terrain, he said it it is all the more important that impetus should be given to boost up infrastructure and peace in the border areas.

Singh also brought up the issue of connectivity in border areas and stressed the need to overcome these challenges.

Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti (Jammu and Kashmir), Virbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh), Trivendra Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), Pawan Kumar Chamling (Sikkim) and Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh) attended the meeting.

A Home Ministry official said the objective of the meeting was to strengthen coordination between the Ministry and the five states to improve overall border security.

Border infrastructure work undertaken by the Home Ministry, border area development programme, and coordination issues between the states and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police came up at the meeting.

The ITBP is responsible for the security of the 3,488 km India-China border stretching from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Home Minister said that the Ministry, in the first stage, is building 27 roads near the border which will be completed by 2019-20. “Approval is being given for 48 other roads.”

He also stressed the need to strengthen basic infrastructure in the border areas in view of “thinning population and migration” from the border and also advocated development of model villages in border districts, asking the states to send more proposals to the central government in this regard.

He said that the states should remove obstacles in border infrastructure development and that the problems pertaining to land acquisition and clearances need to be resolved.

He advised the Chief Ministers to send senior officers every six months to border areas in their respective states to review and implement the developmental work done in the villages.

Earlier in the day, the Home Minister visited Nathula Pass and an ITBP border post at Lachung, where he met troopers deployed on the Sino-Indian border.

Book               :  RAGE OF THE RIVER : The Untold Story of KEDARNATH DISASTER.

Author            :  Hridayesh Joshi.

Publisher        :  Penguin Books.

Pages               :  209.

Price                :  Rs 399/-.

The book — RAGE OF THE RIVER : The Untold Story of the KEDARNATH DISASTER — was waiting to happen in Uttarakhand. This calamitous and frightening reprisal on June 16/17, 2013 had been building for days because of torrential rains and when all hell broke loose the inept administrative machinery headed by a clueless the then chief minister Vijay Bahuguna remained a floundering lot at the height of the tourist season. 

Survivors stuck at considerable heights were left to fend for themselves without food or water for days. The heroism of the people helped save adequate number of people from drowning or being washed away. They made available cooked food for the starving pilgrims along with providing as much succour as they could in the trying circumstances. 

Thousands of people perished and lakhs lost their employment. The normally calm Mandakini came crashing down from the hills and destroyed everything in its path: houses, bridges, dams and the town of Kedarnath. 

The government continues to remain in denial. The Kedarnath valley continues to haunt us — though the temple has been restored, given its religious importance and centrality in the local economy. Woven into this haunting and nerve wrecking narrative of the travails of the people from the most remote parts of the state including areas cut off from the rest of the world. 

Author Hridayesh Joshi, senior editor, National Affairs in NDTV India was among the first to reach when disaster struck Kedarnath. He stayed there for weeks travelling the length and breadth of Uttarakhand covering the calamity. This is his first hand account of those caught in the middle of nature’s fury. The book has been written in Hindi and translated by Vandana R Singh, who is head, English language dissemination, in an organisation involved in skill development, capacity building and upscaling the employability quotient of youth. 

It was in the evening on June 17 that a captain of a private airline was asked by the union government to assess the situation in the Kedar valley. After seeing all the destruction from the air it become difficult for him to maintain his composure. From 9000 ft to 12000 the pilot informed a senior official of the civil aviation ministry that thousands of people were stuck. Many had been swept away by the river and countless were buried under the debris. 

The next few days saw many lives in balance. It was obvious that the biggest ever air rescue mission would be carried out at such a height for the first time in the history of the world.

Joshi and his colleagues were on a ” journey without a path” as the violent tributary of the Ganges had left a sorded saga of destruction which had already been scripted on the hills of Uttarakhand and signs of disaster could be seen all around. The last few days had seen Mandakini at its destructive worst right from its source to its confluence with Alaknanda. 

Massive chunks of the road to Kedarnath had been washed away. Even though H S Rawat as a minister in the then Bahuguna government took graphic pictures of the disaster during an aerial tour, it was shocking that despite a minister being aware of the extent of damage caused the state government was trying to cover up the tragedy. 

This was specially true regarding the number of casualties and people stuck or stranded. They heard in Srinagar town 36 hours after the tragedy that the administration tried to close the chapter by offering a princely sum of Rs 2700 as compensation to each affected family. The author saw that all the roads had been damaged and the mountains had been stripped bare by the repeated landslides. 

A priest and survivor in Kedarnath Ravindra Bhatt recalled on June 16 a huge sheet of water gushed down from the upper reaches and the area around Kedarnath was flooded. “Bhaiji, we were face to face with death–it was as though Yamraj was actually in our midst. We tried to calm down people saying have courage…this dark night will end…soon it will be morning…we will survive this,” Bhatt said. 

The next morning on June 17 morning Kedarnath was filled with water and dotted with huge boulders. “To save myself I had to jump into the swirling waters. I was in the water for nearly 15 minutes. And then miraculously the water deposited me on a side and I lay there for a long time. The next day rescue workers found me and brought me to safety,” Bhatt said.  

After hearing several first person accounts Joshi and his colleagues were convinced about the gravity of the situation. The first helipad that they came across was on the morning of June 21 belonging to a private airline five days after the disaster had struck. Pilots doing sorties to get people out of Kedarnath disclosed that there were at least 1000 people stuck there and it would take a whole day of clear weather to bring them all back. This kind of a rescue job required large helicopters like the ALH or the Mi 17 which remained conspicuously absent even four days after the tragedy. 

The pilots in their small helicopters showed tremendous grit and will power in ferrying the affected to safe places. This facilitated mediapersons to meet the stranded pilgrims and hear their harrowing tales. When an elderly person was approached he initially chocked with emotion but gathered courage to say….”twelve of my family members were swept away. My relatives, friends, children, wife…all are gone, I have no one left.” This story had shaken “each one of us to the core”, recalled the author. They needed a helicopter to go to Kedarnath. Ethics did not allow them as it would block two people from being rescued. 

They decided that at such a critical time they could not obstruct rescue work in any way. Every pilot involved in the rescue mission was angry that the attitude of the government was extremely lax and had it been more pro active, many more lives could have been saved. 

Finally on reaching Kedarnath Joshi found it in ruins. “It was hopelessly trapped in a deathly silence. Armed with pictures of death and destruction Joshi and and his team were on their way back to Delhi. We could not help wondering how terrifying that day of destruction must have been.” 

The government shamelessly spread lies and Joshi and his colleagues decided to counter it vociferously and expose those making such claims. What has come to the fore is the country’s unpreparedness to handle calamities of this scale. “We need to rise from our stupor,” stresses Joshi. 

The phenomenon of climate change can no longer be seen as a piece of fiction or fantasy anymore. There are clear indications of an increase in extreme weather events and this is going to have a very disastrous impact on society. “Time is running out. Can we begin the task of course correction immediately — before talking about our noble plans of adaptation, mitigation and disaster management” emphasises the author. A must read book unmasking the shameful role of the political busy bodies in Uttarakhand.  

The country’s oldest Congress party which was in the vanguard of the independence struggle is at the crossroads once again. Its image has taken a severe drubbing and heir apparent and party vice president Rahul Gandhi has failed to galvanise the slumbering giant. 

This is the youthful leader’s single biggest challenge. The party is in a shambles because of the leadership’s unimaginative and lack lustre approach apart from the intense factionalism causing a leadership vacuum in the states. 

The only saving grace for it since the last general elections in April-May 2014 has been the victory in Punjab, thanks largely to the anti-incumbency against the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine and in great measure to Capt Amarinder Singh being made the helmsman in the sensitive border state.  

The nonchalance and arrogance of the party’s central leadership has cost it dear with certain key leaders in the East and Northeast abandoning ship due to frustration for which the Congress has had to pay a heavy price. 

Assam in particular where a frustrated Hementa Biswal Sarma ditched the Congress to join the BJP succeeded in winning the assembly elections handsomely considered the gateway to the Northeast. This was a major breakthrough for the Lotus party. 

The party high command’s penchant for parachuting hand picked individuals loyal to the leadership to govern states has cost the old Lady of Bori Bunder dearly. This has led to a disquiet and the Congress being shorn of mass leaders in the states.

There is no doubt that the Congress has to undertake serious course corrections to put its house in order. Winning the confidence of the people requires thinking out of the box for building a rapport reminiscent of the late Indira Gandhi. 

Rahul Gandhi and all the opposition leaders including the regional satrapsenjoying their spheres of influence have failed to make any dent on the phenomenon called Modi who has bashed on regardless steamrolling the opposition. 

Modi will be completing three years in office next week on the 26th of May. Since the later half of 2013 when Narendra Modi led the campaign as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial nominee, it became evident there was no stopping him in occupying the seat of power in the majestic South Block on the Raisina Hill in the national capital. 

Single handedly a tireless Modi unleashed a campaign blitzkreig securng for the saffron brigade a majority for the first time in the Lok Sabha.The Hindi heartland voted overwhelmingly for Modi and the Lotus party in the April-May 2014 general elections. 

He continues to enjoy the top spot in the popularity ratings with no other leader anywhere close to him. He has emerged as the undisputed strongman of the BJP. 

Compared to this the Congress which has ruled the country for nearly six decades is literally in the dumps and at a loss how to revive the party along with infusing confidence among its die hard supporters. It desperately needs to reinvent itself to catch the imagination of the people sooner than later. 

BJP strategists particularly Modi and party president Amit Shah have managed to remain several steps ahead of the entire opposition. Their runaway victory in the recent assembly elections in the most crucial state of Uttar Pradesh has set the stage for the next general elections in 2019. 

Even as Shah is on a 95-day yatra all over the country in the runup to the 2019 elections, celebrations are afoot to highlight the achievements of the Modi government in the 36 months that he has been in office. 

President Pranab Mukherjee, a Congress veteran who completes his term in Rashtrapati Bhawan two months later on July 25, advised the young leader not to be unnerved by defeat but to act decisively. 

The first citizen was speaking last weekend at the release of a book — India’s Indira, A Centennial Tribute — with Rahul Gandhi all ears sitting on the podium. He recalled when the Congress was defeated in 1977, Indira Gandhi had told him: “Pranab, don’t get unnerved by defeat. This is the time to act.” 

Mukherjee recalled when the party split in 1978, Indira was elected President of the party and within 20 days she constituted the working committee, the parliamentary board, state committees and readied the party for polls in the states. She won decisively in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and emerged as the single largest party in Maharashtra, forming the government there too. 

He emphasised “she took decisions quickly and changed the fortunes of the party.” It was apparent the President felt concerned about the current state of affairs in the Congress and impressed upon Rahul to learn from his grandmother. 

Congress insiders attributed the current indecisiveness to the internal power tussle in the party. In the circumstances Sonia Gandhi remains the final authority which has been welcomed by the non-BJP parties. 

Mukherjee said Indira Gandhi would never hesitate and underlined the need for quick and bold decision making. That the Congress requires is a radical overhaul is not in doubt. It is in this context that Rahul Gandhi has begun consultations with state unit presidents and others from the organisation before unleashing a sweeping organisational revamp. 

The endeavour is to end the prevailing disunity and strive for consensus based decisions. He realises one of the factors keeping the Congress out of power in most of the states including Odisha is the bane of factionalism. 

Sources expressed confidence that restructuring in the states as well as the AICC will be completed within the next few months before Rahul Gandhi hopefully takes over the reigns of Congress president from his mother Sonia Gandhi. 

( T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.) 

NEW DELHI: TOP DECISION MAKING BODY, THE DEFENCE ACQUISITION POLICY, MET ON SATURDAY UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF DEFENCE MINISTER ARUN JAITLEY AND FINALISED THE BROAD CONTOURS OF A POLICY WHICH AIMS AT ENGAGING PRIVATE SECTOR IN MANUFACTURE OF HIGH-TECH DEFENCE EQUIPMENT IN INDIA.   

THE DAC HELD COMPREHENSIVE DISCUSSION WHILE GIVING FINAL TOUCHES TO THE SHAPE OF THE NEW DEFENCE POLICY. 

“The policy is aimed at developing the defence industrial eco-system in the country through the involvement of both the major Indian corporates as well as the MSME sector,” a statement of the Defence Ministry said here. 

The policy, which was developed through extensive stakeholder consultations with Indian industry, envisages the establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with qualified Indian industry majors through a transparent and competitive process wherein the Indian industry partners would tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to seek technology transfers and manufacturing know-how to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains.  

The policy will give a boost to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet ‘Make in India’ policy in the Defence sector and set Indian industry on the path to acquiring cutting-edge capabilities which will contribute to the building of self-reliance in the vital sector of national security requirements.

The policy is expected to be implemented in a few selected segments to begin with, namely, fighter aircraft, submarines and armoured vehicles.  In future, additional segments may be added. Appropriate institutional mechanisms will be set in place to implement the policy. 

NEW DELHI : Yet again seeking to demonstrate that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) cannot be tampered, the Election Commission on Saturday dismissed the possibility of manipulating the functioning of the machines either during manufacturing, polling and transportation stages or when they are stored.
Addressing a press conference after a public display of the functioning of the machines, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said those who had raised doubts about the functioning of the machines in the mind of the people have not been able to give any credible information that the machines can be hacked to support their claim. 
He said there is no chip or data stored in the machines that can be tampered with by any external device like mobile phone, bluetooth and external wireless, wi-fi and internet connection. 
The CEC then said that even the results cannot be changed through any coded signal. 
Zaidi said: “No tampering can be carried out by any Trojan horse malware in its software.”
He also ruled out any manipulation in the EVMs during its manufacturing stage. “There is no manipulation possible either during manufacturing stage nor can its security software be tampered with,” he said.
“There cannot be manipulation in a planned manner in the manufacturing stage in advance as the numbers of the candidates are not known to the manufacturers,” Zaidi said.
“Even the EC does not have these details in advance. It can’t be known about the candidates, their names or their numbers in advance,” he said. During counting of votes, he said no manipulation was possible. 
Zaidi then said that the EC has already announced that all future elections will be mandatorily held with VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) and orders have been issued for manufacturing these machines. 
“The manufacturer will start manufacturing the EVMs with the VVPAT in August this year and it will deliver the new machines to the commission in September 2018,” Zaidi said, adding that this would restore the faith of voters in transparent elections. 
He said all the safety measures along with other factors should put an end to all doubts about the possibility of manipulating or tampering with the EVMs. 

TEHRAN : Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has won a second term in office, state news agency reported on Saturday.

Rouhani defeated his conservative challenger Ebrahim Raisi in the Presidential election on Friday in a victory for the reformist camp in the predominantly Shia nation, IRNA reported.

Rouhani won 23,549,616 of the total 41,220,131 votes while Raeisi, a principlist candidate, received 15,786,449 ballots, said Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli.

Two other hopefuls — Mostafa Mirsalim and Mostafa Hashemi Tab — won 478,215 and 215,450 votes respectively.

Over 40 million people took part in the polls and Rouhani received more than half of those counted, with some areas still to declare, officials said.

“The National Media (IRINN) congratulate the victory of Hassan Rouhani in the Presidential election,” state media channel IRINN announced.

Rouhani, a moderate, was a key architect of the 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. He seeks to normalise ties with the West.

Rouhani’s rival Raisi complained about alleged voting irregularities and accused Rouhani’s supporters of hundreds of acts of propaganda at voting booths, banned under electoral law, the BBC reported.

Voting time was extended by five hours on Friday, until midnight, amid an unexpectedly high turnout of about 70 per cent.

Election officials said the extensions to voting hours were due to “requests” and the “enthusiastic participation of people”.

President Rouhani will now have a bigger mandate to push through his reforms, put an end to extremism, build bridges with the outside world and put the economy back on track, said the report.

Every incumbent President has been re-elected in Iran since 1985, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself won a second term, reported the BBC.

Calcutta High Court Judge Chinnaswamy Swaminathan Karnan, who was sentenced to six months jail on contempt charges by the Supreme Court, is evading arrest by having gone underground. The allegations of Justice Karnan prompted contempt action — the first in the history of Indian courts against a sitting judge. 

This episode brings to the fore the lacunae in the collegium system of appointing judges which needs to be changed as it lacks transparency. The question is can there be a middle path between the National Judicial Appointments Commission, 2014, and the Collegium system needs to re-examined. 

Justice Karnan filed a mercy petition before President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday seeking suspension of sentence.

Those who recommended elevation of Karnan as a judge have erred proving that the collegium system, which was devised by the judges themselves in 1993, suffered from serious infirmities.  

There is no doubt Justice Karnan’s actions have eroded the dignity of the judiciary. A case in point is Justice Chelameshwar Rao boycotting the collegium proceedings on the ground that it lacks transparency. What is bewildering is that the records of these meetings are never kept. 

The CJI cannot recall the records of such meetings. In these circumstances the appointment of Justice Karnan requires a thorough probe. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill which provides disciplinary action against erring judges needs to be enacted as the in-house mechanism has failed to deliver probity and accountability. 

The Supreme Court could have sought the impeachment procedure to remove Justice Karnan instead of contempt action. The decisions taken at the collegium is not always unanimous to elevate a particular judge to the Supreme Court. 

It is shocking that dissenting voices are suppressed and secrecy leads to partiality giving a go by to transparency. It is widely believed that Justice Karnan must accept responsibility for the difficult situation that he has created for himself. He is now seeking leniency from the Apex court. 

The Supreme Court had directed that Justice Karnan be examined by a panel of Doctors in the Eastern metropolis which he refused on the specious plea that there was nothing wrong with him physically or mentally. 

The Kolkata police is on the lookout for him to take him into custody as directed by the Supreme Court. There is a police jeep parked in front of his residence in Chennai along with a close watch being kept in Kolkata. 

Having cooked his own goose by carrying things to absurd lengths, initial reports suggests Justice Karnan travelled from Kolkata to Chennai in his home state of Tamil Nadu and then to Andhra Pradesh. There have been suggestions he might have crossed over to Nepal or Bangladesh. 

This is in the wake of Justice Karnan’s unprecedented ordering of non-bailable warrants against the Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and six other judges of the Apex court on the second of May. 

It is rather late in the day now to regret what he has done and if he finds the atmosphere conducive there are indications he might tender an apology to the Supreme Court. He claimed he was being victimised being a Dalit and that was the reason for his transfer from the Madras High Court to the Calcutta High court. Countering the order of the seven-judge bench headed by CJI Khehar, Justice Karnan filed an affidavit explaining his remarks and allegations against fellow judges. He accused the seven judge bench of robbing him of his mental and physical balance. He also accused the bench of depriving him of his dignity and stripping him of his judicial powers. He went on to order five years rigorous imprisonment for all the seven judges including the CJI inviting the wrath of the Apex court. 

It did not end there. Justice Karnan contended that the Supreme Court had no powers to arrest him. The 62-year-old judge demanded an investigation into the corruption charges against 20 judges of the Madras High Court whom he had named. 

CJI Kehar said they would examine Justice Karnan’s plea to recall its order sentencing him to six months imprisonment. “We will consider it and take a decision,” the CJI told Mathew Nedumpura, appearing for Justice Karnan. 

It is also speculated Justice Karnan will come overground only when the President gives him an appointment to seek pardon.

NEW DELHI : The 14^th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council Meeting, chaired by the Union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley, was held at Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir yesterday. The fitment of rates of goods were discussed during the Council meeting. The Council has broadly approved the GST rates for goods at nil rate, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% to be levied on certain goods. The Council has also broadly approved the rates of GST Compensation Cess to be levied on certain goods.

With the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council deciding the tax rate on 1,211 goods on Thursday, there is cheer for the common man as 81 per cent of the goods are below 18 per cent, though people will have to shell out more even for small segment cars with additional cess levied on them.

Milk, eggs, salt, fresh vegetables, fruits, contraceptives, organic manure, earthen pots, coconut, prasadam supplied by religious places like temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and dargahs have been exempted under GST.

Live animals, fruit juices and meat will call for a 12 per cent tax while fish has been put in the 5 per cent tax rate.

Butter and cheese have been placed under the 12 per cent tax rate and condensed milk under 18 per cent. 

Beverages such as coffee (not instant), tea and groundnut, coal, hand pumps will attract 5 per cent tax under GST.

While jaggery is exempt under GST, cane sugar and beet sugar are in the 5 per cent tax slab. Bio gas plant, wind mills and kerosene lantern will also be under the 5 per cent tax rate.

Mobile phones, fountain pen ink, tooth powder, incense sticks, feeding bottles, Braille paper, children’s colouring books, umbrellas, pencil sharpeners, tractors, bicycles, contact lenses, spectacle lenses, utensils, sports goods, fishing rods, combs, pencils and hand paintings have been placed under the 12 per cent tax rate under GST.

Bindi, vermilion, glass bangles, handlooms, hearing aids and handmade musical instruments have also been exempt under GST. A total of 7 per cent of items have been kept zero rated.

The goods which will fall under 18 per cent tax rate include helmets, LPG stoves, nuclear reactors, clocks, military weapons, electronic toys and plastic buttons.

The items which have been put in the highest tax slab of 28 per cent include aerated drinks, perfumes, after-shave lotions, deodarants, clothing of furskin, razor blades, cars, revolvers, pistols, 

More than 200 products appear in the 28 per cent tax slab. 

“Ideally, few products should have been put in 28 per cent bracket and 18 per cent should have been a miscellaneous schedule (to cover all balance products). The temptation of putting more products under 28 per cent bracket will certainly complicate the Indian GST structure,” GST expert Pritam Mahure told IANS.

Compensation cess: 55 products will attract compensation cess. 

The cess on small cars ranges from 1-3 per cent, 3 per cent on motorcycles with 350 cc engine, personal aircraft and yachts while mid-segment and large cars will attract a cess of 15 per cent. 

All goods, other than pan masala containing tobacco ‘gutka’ will have to bear a cess of 89 per cent while tobacco and tobacco products will call for a cess in the range of 12.5-290 per cent. Cess of 5 per cent has been levied on cigarettes and 60 per cent on pan masala. Aerated drinks will attract a cess of 12 per cent.

Mahure says that it is expected that a few classification disputes may continue like whether groundnut chikki should be classified as ‘sweetmeat’ attracting 5 per cent GST rate or sugar confectionery attracting 18 per cent GST rate. 

Now, the manufacturers/traders will have to quantify the impact of the GST rates on their product prices and update their tax masters/registers with these rates. This is a complex exercise for traders who are not very conversant with tariff codes and classification, he added.

The rate structure for the remaining goods – bidi wrapper leaves, biscuits, bidis, textiles, footwear, natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, imitation jewellery, power driven agricultural, horticultural, forestry, poultry keeping or bee-keeping machinery and harvesting machinery is expected to be decided on Friday in the GST Council’s meeting on the second day in Srinagar.

NEW DELHI : A court here on Friday convicted former Coal Secretary H.C. Gupta and others in a coal block allocation case involving Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Limited (KSSPL).

Central Bureau of Investigation special Judge Bharat Parashar convicted Gupta, two former coal ministry officials K.S. Kropha and K.C. Samria, accused firm KSSPL and its Managing Director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia, under various charges involving criminal conspiracy and under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court will deliver order on quantum of sentence on May 22.

Chartered Account Amit Goyal, who was also facing trial in the case, was acquitted from all the charges.

The court was hearing a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the allocation of Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to KSSPL.

The CBI had lodged an FIR accusing the company and others of allegedly misrepresenting facts, including inflated net worth, to acquire the coal block.

NEW DELHI : Suspended AAP leader Kapil Mishra on Friday alleged a nexus between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and those involved in hawala transactions.

The sacked minister asked the Chief Minister to step down to ensure a fair probe into the allegations.

“A false video was retweeted by Kejriwalji yesterday (Thursday) claiming that (Delhi businessman) Mukesh Kumar gave Rs 2 crore as donation to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2014,” Mishra told the media.

Mishra’s remarks came a day after Kejriwal retweeted a news report of Mukesh Kumar who claimed to have donated Rs 2 crore to AAP in 2014.

Showing the letterheads of four companies — Skyline Metal and Alloys Pvt Ltd, Glodmine Buildcon Pvt Ltd, Infoline Software Solution Ltd and Sunvision company — from which the AAP received Rs 2 crore donation in 2014, Mishra said he has evidence to back his claims.

Mishra “challenged” the AAP national convenor to tell the Income Tax department that his party received donation of Rs 2 crore from Mukesh Kumar.

He claimed the letterheads of the companies which made donations to AAP were fake.

He also raised questions regarding the identity of Mukesh Kumar, and asked, “Why is Mukesh Kumar being made a scapegoat by Kejriwal? Who is Kejriwal trying to save?”

Mishra alleged that Mukesh Kumar became CEO of one of the companies days before the Delhi civic polls, though the donations were made in 2014.

Launching an attack on Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Mishra said, “Mukesh Kumar was a VAT defaulter with the Delhi government, and his company was sent notices, yet this company was given tenders by the government.”

He claimed Kejriwal and Sisodia were aware of the “corruption activities”.

He questioned Kejriwal’s silence in the matter.

Mishra revealed the name of one more person Hem Prakash Sharma, whose signatures were on two letter heads and said that he was the Additional Director of the companies alongwith Mukesh Kumar — Skyline Metal and Alloys Pvt Ltd and Goldmine Buildcon Pvt Ltd.

The sacked minister said that Hem Prakash Sharma was also Director in a company alongwith lawyer Rohit Tandon, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in December last year for converting black money into white.

“This is the biggest proof of hawala nexus against Kejriwal,” Mishra said.

“The man who donated Rs 2 crore to AAP is wanted by CBI, ED and the IT officials,” Mishra said.

“But he meets Kejriwal,” Mishra added.

“This is the reason why Kejriwal was shouting so much after the government’s demonetisation move and was coming out on the streets against it. If Kejriwal has any shame left he must step down,” Mishra demanded, adding that he has submitted the balancesheet of AAP signed by Kejriwal to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

He said he has also given the details of Rohit Tandon to the CBDT.

He termed Kejriwal a “mafia” and said he fears for his life as he can be attacked.