Rahul Gandhi issued notice by Parliament panel on citizenship row

Subramanian Swamy had alleged that Mr. Gandhi had declared himself a British citizen to float a firm in that country.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has been issued a notice by the Ethics Committee of Parliament chaired BJP veteran L K Advani seeking his response on allegations related to declaration of his citizenship in the United Kingdom.

“We will deal with it,” Mr. Gandhi said on Monday to queries by reporters while the Congress reacted sharply, accusing the government of trying to divert attention from pressing issues facing the country.

In the first week of January, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had forwarded to the Ethics Committee the complaint of BJP MP Maheish Girri requesting for “appropriate inquiry” into party colleague Subramanian Swamy’s allegations that Mr. Gandhi had declared himself a British citizen to float a firm in that country.

“The Ethics Committee has issued a show cause notice asking him (Rahul Gandhi) how he showed his citizenship as British when he was in London and became a Director...,” Arjun Ram Meghwal, one of the committee members, told reporters outside Parliament on Monday.

Mr. Swamy had also approached the Speaker in this regard.

Mr. Girri, who is an MP from East Delhi, had earlier maintained that it was necessary that people should get to know the reality in this issue and requested the Speaker to initiate an appropriate inquiry.

In a statement, he had also said then that many “contradictory” facts against Gandhi had come up and there was “a big mystery” over his citizenship.

After referring the matter to the Ethics Committee, the Speaker had then said that whenever an MP sends a complaint to the Speaker, it is referred to the committee as per rules.

Mr. Swamy, a former MP, had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last November raising questions over Gandhi’s citizenship.

Hitting back, Mr. Gandhi had accused the PM of indulging in mudslinging through his “cronies” and dared the government to probe the allegations against him and send him to jail if found guilty.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury on Monday alleged that the government was trying to divert attention from the “various crises” being faced by the country.

Party leader Digvijaya Singh said that the complaint did not deserve attention. “A person who is born in India and whose grandmother and father have been Prime Ministers of India, can that person be a citizen of some other country. The Ethics Committee should dismiss it,” he said

The Supreme Court had in November last year rejected a plea seeking a CBI inquiry into the allegations against Gandhi and questioned the “authenticity of the document” attached with the PIL and the manner in which the papers were procured.

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ED summons Mallya, Congress blames govt for letting him ‘flee’

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued summons for appearance to former liquor baron Vijay Mallya and questioned some former Kingfisher airlines executives while his “fleeing” from India triggered a spat in parliament. However, the flamboyant tycoon insisted that he had not fled the country.

The issue rocked the Rajya Sabha for the second consecutive day with the opposition and treasury benches exchanging heated arguments over the case.

The ED has summoned Mallya to appear before the agency next Friday (March 18) for questioning in the ongoing probe into a money-laundering case, officials said in Mumbai.

The development comes five days after the ED registered a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act last Monday and a day after it summoned former top officials of the airlines and the IDBI to whom it owes around Rs.900 crore.

Earlier on Friday, the ED quizzed the airlines’ ex-chief financial officer A. Raghunathan to shed light on its various financial transactions and related matters.

Besides Raghunathan, the ED has also summoned former IDBI chairman-cum-managing director Yogesh Aggarwal and other senior executives of the airline and the bank for questioning on the advances made to KFA and other connected aspects.

However, it was not immediately clear when Mallya -- who is currently abroad -- will return to India and respond to the ED summons but he stressed he was not an absconder.

“I am an international businessman. I travel to and from India frequently. I did not flee from India and neither am I an absconder. Rubbish,” said Mallya, also a sitting Rajya Sabha member.

Rubbishing reports that he had fled to London, the United Breweries group chairman said that he had full faith in the Indian judicial system and “respects and will comply with the law of the land”.

Mallya also said that he does not want a trial by the media. “Once a media witch hunt starts, it escalates into a raging fire where truth and facts are burnt to ashes.

“News reports that I must declare my assets. Does that mean the banks did not know my assets or look at my parliamentary disclosures,” he asked in a series of tweets.

A consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India wants Mallya arrested for not repaying about Rs.9,000 crore he had borrowed.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court gave Mallya two weeks to respond and fixed the next hearing on March 30.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha witnessed a ruckus over the issue as Congress members accused the government of letting off Mallya.

“On 16 October 2015, the CBI informed the immigration authorities that should Mr. Mallya intend or try to leave this country he should be detained... Detention orders were issued by CBI... But exactly a month later, the CBI changed this order and told immigration they should be only informed,” Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said while raising the issue in the house.

“What happened in one month? The government is party to his fleeing from this country,” he claimed.

In its counter-attack, the government, however, told the Congress that they would not let off Mallya the way Bofors scam accused Ottavio Quattrocchi was let off.

“We want to make it clear about Mallya, the government has said the country’s money will be returned. We will not let him off the way you let off Quattrocchi,” retorted Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Outside, parliament, the Congress alleged that Mallya was tipped off to leave the country through a “secret understanding” between him and the government.

“Facts now suggest that Mallya was actually tipped off to leave the country in order to escape recovery of over Rs.9,000 crore of loan by a consortium of banks,” party leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala, Rajeev Gowda and Ranjit Ranjan said in a statement here.

“If government has a secret understanding or is handling the issue through back channels, it owes a duty to place the same in public domain,” they said.

Mallya left the country six days before a group of creditor-banks led by the State Bank of India on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court to restrain him from leaving India.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Friday adjourned to March 28 the Maharashtra service tax department’s plea for recovery of dues from Mallya.

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JNU, Durga and Rohith Vemula: What Opposition didn't say in Parliament to counter Smriti Irani

Madam Speaker,

Let me begin by congratulating the HRD minister for mixing melodrama, mythology and Ashwatthama-truths in Parliament to come up with a heady cocktail of oratory. After watching her performance, I can say that she has proved Shakespeare right by turning Parliament into her stage.

But, more than Shakespeare, her eloquent words remind me of the great Indian shayar Mirza Ghalib and his famous couplet: Tere waade par jiye hum, to ye jhoot jaana, ki khushi se mar na jaate, agar aitbaar hota. (Wouldn't I have died with joy if your promises could be believed).

I could feel her voice tremble when she talked about the death of a "bachcha" in the Hyderabad university. Perhaps somebody forgot to write in her script the exact moment when she was supposed also to cry.

Let me ask her, Madam Speaker, when exactly did the HRD minister realise that the scholar her party and its stormtroopers hounded as "anti-national" was a "bachcha?" Here I would quote Rohith's mother, the woman who lost her child: "Your ministry had written that my Rohith and other Dalit students were anti-national extremists. You said that he is not a Dalit. You accused him of getting a false certificate. Should I say it is because you got false certificates for your educational qualifications that you think others do so too? You stopped my son's stipend, you got him suspended from the university. You are the minister for HRD, but you have no value for education. You can never understand how difficult it is for a Dalit to reach the stage of doing his PhD. You can never imagine the hardship, the struggle, the tears and sacrifice to reach that position. In three months, you destroyed what it had taken me 26 years to build."

Madam, I heard the honourable minister literally put her neck on the line in the Rajya Sabha while replying to a query by Behenji (I hope I am not labelled a sexist for calling Mayawati ji that instead of aunty) when she announced: "Agar mere uttar se aap santusht na ho to main apna sar kalam karke aapke charnoon main chhod doongi." (If you are not satisfied with my reply, I will cut of my head and place it at your feet).

I humbly advise the honourable minister to not make such dramatic promises to Rohith's mother if and when she summons the courage to face her and tries to answer her questions. Outside our Parliament, people may take such bravado seriously.

I was amused when the HRD minister said "koi meri jaati pooch kar to dekho." It is very nice to hear that you do not wish to propagate the varna system espoused in Manu Smriti, a treatise whose name you have begun to somehow find unparliamentary. But, isn't that a bit ironical when your esteemed colleagues like the foreign minister made Rohith's caste into an issue, the Prime Minister sought votes in the Bihar election by drawing attention to his pichchda status?

I know you are keen to deflect attention from Rohith's background. When an election in Uttar Pradesh is on the horizon and dalit votes are at stake, it suits your party to talk of kamandal (Ram Mandir) than Mandal (castes). But, don't forget, people in this country haven't forgotten that in letter after letter, press conference after press conference, attention was drawn to not just Rohith's jaati, but his mother's past and lineage. Let me remind you that while terrorists were walking down a red carpet in Pathankot, some of the agencies responsible for gathering intelligence on them were more keen to prepare dossiers on Rohith's family and its background.

But, your wisdom is borrowed from the principles of those sitting in a glass chamber and merrily casting stones at other. While you accuse others of using a "bachcha" for politics, you do not blanch with fear while dragging goddess Durga into your deplorable politics.

I know elections are due in West Bengal and Maa Durga is your new Ram Lala and Mahishasur your new Babar. But, pause and think for a moment when you read out graphic details about our revered Goddess in a bid to evoke rage in Bengal. Desist from turning her into a tool of your sectarian politics.

What exactly does the Goddess have to do with the current debate in JNU? For almost four years, dalits and tribals have been arguing their own version of mythology to counter the existing narrative. In 2012, several members of the All India Backward Students Federation (AIBSF) observed Mahishasur martyrdom day on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on Monday evening. Students from other states, including those from Bhim Rao Ambedkar University, Bihar, and Lucknow University participated. The programme saw a discussion on the legend behind Mahishasur, the demon king who was slain by Goddess Durga. At one such event, Dalit leader Udit Raj, who is now a BJP parliamentarian, was also also present.

Again in 2014, tribals and dalits in 15 states spread across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa celebrated the demon king” as a non-Aryan inhabitant and a just king of the land, with Durga representing Aryan invaders.

Do we hear you ordering your mythology brigade lead by the aptly named Bhim Bassi to round them up for sedition? Do we hear the collective howls of bhakts demanding that now Mysore be renamed after some RSS worker or former chief minister Yeddyurappa ji? Do we hear kar sevaks now being neatly lined up as Durga Vahini to take on the advancing armies of demon Mahishasur? Can we see you mounting a steed to battle the new straw man you have created? Will you now demonise Udit Raj?

Madam Speaker, I will not argue with the minister over her claims that Rohith could have been saved if he were examined by a doctor in time or that the "sedition" case on JNU students is based on solid evidence. On this, I will just advise the minister to hire a speech writer, not a script writer high on fiction and mythology, someone who noticed my left hand when I complimented you for turning Parliament into your stage.

Since you ended your speech with the words of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's speech, let me do the same by reminding you of your Raj Dharma, that's Dharma with an H, instead of hounding students, dalits, intellectuals, teachers and liberals, pitting Indians against Indians, mythology against history and turning Goddesses into election themes.

There is nothing more hypocritical than making a mother cry and then choking with emotion in Parliament over her son's death. There is nothing more ant—national than turning mere "bachchas" into pawns for your politics of pseudo-nationalism.

For your sake, I shall pray, Asato Ma Sad Gamaya, Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya, Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya.

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Clarify if anti-India slogans should be tolerated: Amit Shah to Rahul Gandhi

Raising the pitch on the JNU issue, BJP chief Amit Shah on Wednesday said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders should clarify in Parliament if "anti-national" slogans should be tolerated in the name of freedom of speech.

Attacking Rahul Gandhi, who had joined the agitating JNU students, Shah alleged that he was supporting the forces dividing the country for "votebank politics".

"Today debate is being held in the Parliament whether raising anti-national slogans should be tolerated in the name of freedom of speech or not.

"I specially want to ask Congress and its workers whether those raising slogans like 'Afzal Guru tere hatrayre zinda hain' and 'Bharat ke tukde honge' were traitors or not," Shah said at a public meeting at the unveiling of the statue of 11th century king of Shravasti, Raja Suheldeo. 

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Budget Session Live: Parliament is a place for discussion, not disruption, says President Pranab Mukherjee

Addressing the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, the President listed out achievements of the Modi government, saying India has jumped 12 places on the ease of doing ranking of the World Bank while foreign investment inflow has risen 39%.

Describing India as 'a haven of stability' in a turbulent global economy, President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said the government has simplified procedures for approvals, repealed obsolete laws and put in place a non-adversarial tax regime to attract investments.

Addressing the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, the President listed out achievements of the Modi government, saying India has jumped 12 places on the ease of doing ranking of the World Bank while foreign investment inflow has risen 39%.

Expressing the government's commitment to firmly deal with "all challenges concerning the security of the country," he said terrorism was a global threat and "strong counter- terrorism measures are necessary worldwide to eradicate it completely."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed hope that there would be extensive discussions on issues of the people during the Parliament's Budget Session.

"Let there be strong criticism of the government and its shortcomings be highlighted. It will strengthen democracy," Modi said.

11:58 AM

President Pranab Mukherjee addresses both houses of Parliament

* Defence procurement procedure has been streamlined with a focus on indigenously designed, developed & manufactured weapon systems. We are working to ensure that our Armed Forces will be equipped with the most capable and sophisticated armaments in the world

* My Government has continued to pursue a bold and proactive foreign policy.

* Government committed to mutually respectful ties with Pakistan.

* We reached out to the world, both on land and sea.

* My Government is focused on Sabka Vikas, beyond just the economic advancements that dominate headlines.

* We must ensure that the poor and deprived are truly empowered to take advantage of opportunities to improve their lives.

* Sabka Vikas means that backward sections of society are equally valued and are genuine stakeholders in the country’s progress.

* Parliament reflects the supreme will of people. Democratic temper calls for debate & discussion & not disruption or obstruction.

* Government will constantly strive for smooth & constructive conduct of Parliamentary business.

   

11:07 AM

We need to be partners in growth and progress of India, says Pranab Mukherjee at the beginning of Budget Session

   

11:07 AM

President Pranab mukherjee addresses both houses of Parliament

* My government in particular is focused on the welfare of poor, farmers and jobs for the youth.

* My government is placed in making this goal possible through financial inclusion and social security.

* Development philosophy is captured in 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'

* My government in particular is focussed on 'Garibon Ki Unnati', 'Kisano Ki Samridhi' and 'Yuvaon Ka Rozgar'.

* My Government has launched 3 new social security and pension schemes.

* Government is committed to provide 'Housing for All'.

* Well being of farmers is vital to the nation's prosperity.

* Government is committed to the philosophy of 'per drop, more crop'.

* Rural development is one of our top priorities. My government's mission of skilling India has gained momentum.

* Happy to inform we have successfully eliminated Maternal & Neonatal Tetanus well before global targeted timeline of December 2015.

* Government has been unsparing in punishing those who are found guilty of corruption.

* Government has envisaged increasing the renewable energy capacity manifold to 175 GW by 2022.

* In the year 2015 India witnessed the highest ever generation of electricity.

* My Government has initiated several ambitious measures for improving sanitation standards at Railway Stations & Trains.

* By March 2019, under PMGSY, one lakh seventy-eight thousand rural habitations will be connected with all weather roads.

* Building upon the success over the past year, my Government's endeavour is to scale new heights in Space.

* GDP growth has increased making India the world’s fastest-growing economy among large economies.

   

11:01 AM

President of India, Pranab Mukherjee arrives at Parliament

   

10:51 AM

Hopeful of a fruitful Budget session and constructive debate:PM

Speaking to media, PM Modi said, "Hope there will be extensive discussion on issues of people during Parliament's Budget Session. Let there be strong criticism of government and its shortcoming be highlighted. It will strengthen democracy."

"I wish that the Parliament session will be fruitful and there is constructive criticism as well", he added.

   

10:50 AM

PM Narendra Modi reaches the Parliament

09:28 AM

Meenakshi Lekhi gives notice on JNU Row & Ishrat Jahan in the Lok Sabha.

   

09:28 AM

Venkaiah Naidu speaks ahead of session

As far as the government is concerned, we are ready to discuss all issues, whether it is JNU, Hyderabad University, Pathankot or JatReservation.

All parties promised that they will help Parliament function.

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