Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said Karti is being targeted only because he is his son but “the real target is me” and rejected as “malicious and totally false” allegations that he has undisclosed assets abroad.
Chidambaram also said that if the Government is of the view that Karti has alleged undisclosed assets he would ask it to make a list in this regard and his son will voluntarily execute any document necessary to transfer such assets to it for a nominal consideration of Rupee 1.
He was reacting to a recent media report about the alleged investments of Karti in real estate across the world.
“A few days ago, a news report was published containing wild and reckless allegations against my son, Mr Karti Chidambaram, and by implication against me. It was obvious to everyone that it was a planted story.”
“If the Government is of the view that Mr Karti Chidambaram has undisclosed assets, I would ask the Government to make a list of such alleged undisclosed assets. Mr Karti Chidambaram will voluntarily execute any document necessary to transfer those assets (allegedly undisclosed) to the Government for a nominal consideration of Rupee 1. Let the Government become the owner of the alleged undisclosed assets.
The media report alleged that Karti has built a huge empire for himself in different parts of the world by making investment in real estates and engaging in other business activities in 14 countries and that this had come to light through documents recovered during raids by Enforcement Directorate and investigation wing of Income Tax in the Aircel-Maxis scam.
“I am issuing this statement on behalf of all the members of my family. We know that Karti is being targeted only because he is my son and the real target is me. I understand the political motive behind the accusations and the timing of the story. I have nothing but pity for those who make these false accusations. Ultimately, truth will prevail,” Chidambaram said in a statement.
He said Karti runs a legitimate business, apart from managing inherited property, adding he has been an income tax assessee for many years.
Chidambaram also said that Karti has duly and regularly filed his income tax return, including a statement of assets and liabilities, every year and that the assessments have been completed upto Assessment Year 2013-14 by the Income-tax department..PTI
The Madras High Court here has held that a wedding between minor girl and boy will not become void automatically without either of them obtaining a decree of divorce from family court within two years of their attaining the legal age for marriage.
A division bench here comprising justices S Manikumar and C T Selvam gave the ruling while setting aside the order of a lower court in Tirunelveli in April last refusing to take on file a woman’s divorce petition on the ground that she was a minor while getting married in 1995 and hence the wedding had automatically become void then itself.
The bench said that though the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, prescribed a minimum age for marriage, the breach of the Act would render the marriage void under Section 11 or Section 12.
However, section 13 of the act, which lists out grounds for divorce, states that every child marriage shall be voidable at the option of the contracting party, provided that such marriage, whether consummated or not, was repudiated within two years of either of them attaining the marraige age — 18 for women and 21 for men.
This anomaly was taken note of by a full bench of the high court, which had expressed hope that Parliament would carry out necessary amendments to avoid complications, the division bench noted.
It was apparent that the Tirunelveli court was under the mistaken impression of a marriage involving a child being void.
Hence, it directed the Family Court in Tirunelveli to number the divorce petition and proceed in accordance with law.PTI
The one-man judicial commission of inquiry that went into the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots has concluded intelligence failure and laxity on the part of police led to the violence that left 62 people dead but is silent on the role of the Akhilesh Yadav government in the conflagration.
The Justice Vishnu Sahai Commission, whose 700-page report was tabled in the state assembly today, also accused the media of putting out exaggerated reports and spreading rumours that fuelled violence.
Referring to the case lodged against BJP MLA Sangeet Som and 229 others in connection with uploading “objectionable” video on YouTube, the commission said it was of the view that under article 20(2) of the Constitution, which says no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once, no other penal action could be taken against them.
Similarly, penal action could not be taken against the then BSP MP Qadir Rana and others for using objectionable language at Fakkarshah crossing on August 30, 2013, it said.
BJP has, meanwhile rejected the Sahai panel report as “incomplete” and demanded a CBI inquiry into the riots.
“The inquiry report tabled in the Assembly is a mix of of several semi-truths,” BJP Legislature Party Leader Suresh Khanna said in a statement issued here.
He alleged that it was one-sided and did not highlight real culprits, reason, cause of provocation and how it spread.
UP Minister Azam Khan also targeted the media for the riots, saying “Media had a big role in over-exaggerating the riots. In America you can’t show dead bodies and bloodshed.”
The commission said polarisation along communal lines following the murder of two young men by a youth from minority community in Kawal town on August 27, 2013, was the trigger behind the riots.
It said failure of the intelligence unit was an important reason behind the violence.
The panel said the riots took place as the the then Inspector of intelligence unit Prabal Pratap Singh failed to give exact figure of people going to attend a Mahapanchayat at Mandaur. The Hindus, particularly Jats, returning from the Mahapanchayat were allegedly attacked by the minorities, fuelling tensions further.
The proceedings of the Mahapanchayat were not recorded and there was laxity on the part of the then SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey, due to which violence spread to Saharanpur, Shamli, Baghpat and Meerut, the panel said. Apart from the killing of 62 people, the riots saw thousands rendered homeless in these districts.
The panel also agreed with the suspension of the then Senior Superintendent of Police Dubey and departmental action against him. It questioned the then District Magistrate Kushal Raj Sharma’s decision of not videographing the proceedings at Mahapanchayat.
Though the report did not mention anything against the Akhilesh Yadav government, leaders of opposition parties said the Chief Minister cannot escape the blame as law and order was a state subject.PTI
He has invited biggest celebrities from Bollywood and sports on his popular TV show but comedian Kapil Sharma now wishes to have politicians as guests on his new show, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose story he finds “inspirational”.
“I wish to have Mr Narendra Modi on our new show (‘The Kapil Sharma show’). I was watching television recently and saw Mr Barack Obama on Ellen’s show (on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’) and it is great. We should also have politicians connecting to people,” Kapil said in an interview here.
“If we have Mr Modi on the show we will not talk about politics, party and all. I would love to know how a man from a small town has come this far and became the PM of our country.
It’s an inspirational story. I will try and talk to him,” he said.
Kapil said he is happy that his previous show “Comedy Nights with Kapil”, aired on channel Colors, has ended as he is now getting the opportunity to try something novel.
“I feel it is good that show got over as we got the opportunity to do something different as the characters were fixed. Now that we have a new show, everyone is excited. We are making a different show,” he said.
Apparently, all was not well between Kapil and Colors.
Gossip mills were also abuzz that Kapil was insecure with another comedian Krushna Abhishek’s show “Comedy Nights Bachao”, which also aired on the channel.
Actor-comedian Krushna had said there is rivalry between him and Kapil.
Kapil, however, cleared that though he had some differences with the channel, there was no friction between him and Krushna.
“I had some issues with the channel some differences. We both (Krushna and I) did a show called ‘Comedy Circus’, together. There is nothing like that,” he said. PTI
The Delhi High Court today asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad to file their written statements in a civil defamation suit of Rs 5 crore filed by DDCA for their alleged remarks against the cricket body regarding its functioning and finances.
Joint Registrar Anil Kumar Sisodia directed Kejriwal and Azad to submit their statements within 30 days after they failed to file it today on the ground that the two had not received the fully copy of the suit.
“The counsel for the defendent number 1 and 2 (Kejriwal and Azad) appeared on the summons issue to them and submitted that they have not received the full documents. Plaintiff (DDCA) is directed to supply the copy to the defendants within a week from today.
“The defendants shall file their written statements (to the suit filed by DDCA) within 30 days after receiving the full documents. The DDCA will file replication (the response of a plaintiff to the defendant’s plea in an action at law, or to the defendant’s answer in a suit) within four weeks thereafter. The parties shall file the original documents from ten weeks from today after exchanging the same,” the court said.
It also directed that the affidavit of admission/ denial of documents shall be filed within 12 weeks from today and put up the matter for completion of pleadings and admission/denial of documents on July 7.
The court’s direction came during hearing of Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA)’s civil defamation suit in which Kejriwal and Azad were issued notice on January 15 for filing their written statements.
DDCA, through its counsel advocate Sangram Patnaik, had said that Kejriwal “with prior motive, indulged in certain false, shocking, scandalous, defamatory, baseless, slanderous, malicious, disgraceful and outrageous statements which are defamatory against them”.
The counsel had said that Azad also indulged in making such statements, “which were made solely with an agenda to defame and cause harm to the plaintiff(DDCA), for self-serving and motivated reasons”.PTI
El Nino – a phenomena which sparks global weather extremes – could be transporting and spreading waterborne diseases such as cholera thousands of miles across oceans, with significant impacts for public health, a new study has found.
Researchers from the University of Bath in UK found that illnesses caused by waterborne bacteria reported in Latin America seem to be moving in tandem with when and where warm El Nino waters make contact with the land.
El Nino describes the unusual warming of surface waters along the tropical west coast of South America. These events tend to occur every 3-7 years; something many suggest have become more regular and extreme in recent years, as a result of climate change.
Most significantly, drawing on new data derived from whole genome sequencing of bacterial strains, they suggest there are links between organisms that are causing illnesses in Asia with those that emerge in Latin America.
Over the past 30 years, coinciding with the last three significant El Nino events in 1990/91, 1997/98 and 2010, new variants of waterborne pathogens emerged in Latin America.
These included a devastating cholera outbreak in Peru in 1990, leading to over 13,000 deaths, as well as two instances in 1997 and 2010 where new variants of the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus led to widespread human illness through contaminated shellfish.
“Through our findings we suggest that so-called vibrios – microscopic bacteria commonly found in seawater – can attach to larger organisms such as zooplankton to travel oceans,” said lead author Jaime Martinez-Urtaza, from the University of Bath.
“Numerous previous studies have shown how such vibrios bind to and use these larger organisms as a source of energy and through this mechanism, we suggest, they are essentially able to piggyback to travel such enormous diseases, driven by ocean currents,” Martinez-Urtaza said.
“The effects of El Nino events and their impacts on local weather, fisheries and the risk of more extreme meteorological events are already well-documented,” he said.
“Now understanding the role the ocean currents are also playing in transporting these disease has huge significance for public health campaigns in those countries,” he said.
“An El Nino event could represent an efficient long-distance ‘biological corridor’, allowing the displacement of marine organisms from distant areas,” said Craig Baker-Austin from the UK Cefas Weymouth laboratory.
“This process could provide both a periodic and unique source of new pathogens into America with serious implications for the spread and control of disease,” said Baker-Austin.
The study was published in the journal Nature Microbiology.PTI
Intense Russian air strikes battered rebel bastions across Syria today, a monitor said, just hours before a midnight deadline for a landmark ceasefire in the country’s five-year civil war.
With the ceasefire due to take effect at 2200 GMT, US President Barack Obama has warned Damascus and key ally Moscow that the “world will be watching”.
Both President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the main opposition body have agreed to the deal — which allows fighting to continue against the Islamic State group and other jihadists.
The agreement brokered by Russia and the United States marks the biggest diplomatic push yet to help end Syria’s violence, but has been plagued by doubts after the failure of previous peace efforts.
Members of the 17-nation group backing the process were to meet in Geneva today to work out further details of the so-called “cessation of hostilities”, which is then expected to be endorsed by the UN Security Council, diplomats said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said Russia and the regime had launched a wave of attacks on non-jihadist rebel areas ahead of the deadline.
“It’s more intense than usual,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Russia launched air strikes in Syria last September saying it was targeting “terrorists” but critics have accused Moscow of hitting rebel forces in support of Assad, a longtime ally.
The Observatory said there had been Russian strikes overnight on rebel bastions including the Eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus, the north of Homs province and the west of Aleppo province.
There were at least 26 air strikes on Eastern Ghouta including 10 on its main city of Douma which was facing heavy regime shelling, he said.
One Douma resident told AFP that “the bombing is very heavy” while another described “very big explosions” in the city.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted Moscow would continue targeting “terrorist groups”.
“The decisive fight against them will, without doubt, be continued,” Putin said in televised remarks.
“We understand fully and take into account that this will be a complicated, and maybe even contradictory process of reconciliation, but there is no other way,” Putin said.
The intensified attacks prompted Turkey, a key supporter of opposition forces, to express worries over the viability of the ceasefire.
TERI Executive Vice Chairman R K Pachauri, facing sexual harassment allegations by an ex-woman colleague, today moved Delhi High Court seeking action against some media houses for “deliberately” disobeying its earlier orders restraining them from publishing averments against him.
The contempt petition, which also sought directions to ensure compliance of two orders passed in February last year, will be heard by a bench of Justice J R Midha on March 3.
In his petition, Pachauri referred to some recent media reports claiming “he is being subjected to unfair and illegal media trial” and in these circumstances his fundamental right to get a fair trial would be violated.
“The present case is one of such glaring examples wherein one party to the proceedings before this court is deliberately and contemptuously flouting the orders of this court. It is submitted that in order to maintain the majesty of this court the respondents deserve to be dealt firmly for deliberate and wilful violation of the injunction granted by high court,” the plea, filed through advocate Ashish Dixit, said.
It alleged these media houses were repetitively flouting the directions of high court and were publishing incorrect and misleading reports with some ulterior motives.
The plea claimed that contents of the articles which were being published and aired by these media houses, were highly defamatory and prejudicial to Pachauri’s case.
The FIR in the case was registered on alleged charges of sexual harassment under the IPC sections 354, 354(a), 354(d) (molestation) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Dalit student Rohith Vemula’s mother today launched a no holds barred attack on HRD Minister Smriti Irani, accusing her of resorting to “blatant lies” while talking in Parliament about her son’s suicide and that “life imprisonment” will not be enough for her and others “responsible” for his death.
Radhika Vemula, flanked by her other son Raja, said BJP will be “decimated to the ground” if Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not take any action against Irani and her ministerial colleague Bandaru Dattatreya who had written multiple letters to her seeking action against Rohith, alleging anti-national activities.
The first look of Akshay Kumar in upcoming film “Rustom” has been unveiled and the actor looks impressive dressed up as a Navy officer.
In the photo, the “Airlift” star also dons a moustache for the role of a Parsi character Rustom Pavri.
Akshay, 48, took to Twitter to share the first look of the film, which will release on August 12, just in time for India’s Independence Day on August 15.
“Decorated officer. Devoted family man. Defending his honour. His name RUSTOM. Know his story on 12 Aug #RustomFirstLook,” the actor wrote alongside the picture.
The thriller, which marks the directorial debut of Tinu Suresh Desai, has been produced by Neeraj Pandey, who has earlier worked with Akshay in “Special 26” and “Baby”.PTI
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