A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his residence and other locations in connection with alleged irregularities in the recently withdrawn Delhi Excise Policy, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, on Saturday, alleged that the raids against him were politically motivated and hence had nothing to do with the alleged violations in Delhi’ Excise Policy and also claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will see a direct contest between the BJP and AAP.

Addressing a press conference here, Sisodia claimed that the election will be held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.

After the Punjab assembly election, Kejriwal has emerged as an alternative at national level and that is their (BJP’s) main concern, Sisodia said.

The Delhi Deputy Chief Minister said he might be arrested soon stating that the liquor issue or the excise policy was just an excuse to target him since he was a minister under the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “Maybe within the next 3-4 days, CBI-ED will arrest me… we won’t be scared, you won’t be able to break us… Elections of 2024 will be AAP Vs BJP,” he anticipated.

“Their issue is not liquor/excise scam. Their problem is Arvind Kejriwal… whole proceedings against me, raids at my residence and office, are to stop Arvind Kejriwal… I haven’t done any corruption. I’m just Arvind Kejriwal’s Education Minister,” the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister added.

Pointing out that Delhi’s excise policy was the best policy, Sisodia said,” Excise policy due to which whole controversy is created is the country’s best policy. We were applying it with transparency and sincerity. Had Delhi LG not changed his decision conspiring to fail the policy, Delhi government would’ve been getting at least Rs 10,000 crore every year.”

“Around Rs 10 thousand crore were misappropriated through excise policy in Gujarat. If they have any concern about the excise irregularities or any loopholes, the whole CBI and ED office should have shifted to Gujarat,” the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister said.

“If they were really against corruption, then today, ED and CBI should have probed the Bundelkhand Expressway which developed deep potholes due to heavy rainfall, shortly after Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the expressway,” he claimed.

“While Kejriwal thinks how to develop the nation on all parameters, Prime Minister Modi thinks how to topple the non-BJP governments in the states and form their government,” Sisodia alleged.

“CBI FIR, quoting sources, mentions Rs one crore scam, what about the highest claim of Rs 8,000 crore made by BJP leaders, he asked.

The Delhi Deputy Chief Minister further said that “America’s biggest newspaper The New York Times covered Delhi’s education model on its front page on August 18. It is a pride moment for India. Another story showing thousands of bodies being cremated along the Ganges was published around one and half years ago. However, that was shameful for all of us”.

“This is the difference between PM Modi and Arvind Kejriwal is that if Kejriwal sees anyone working honestly, he encourages them to do more, but they conspire to obstruct the way. I would like to say that this does not suit PM Modi who has got such a massive victory,” Sisodia added.

Earlier on Friday, the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister said that he and his family had cooperated with the CBI, which he claimed was “being misused” by the Centre, on a day when the investigative agency carried out raids at multiple locations in connection with a case linked to the AAP government now withdrawn excise policy.

Speaking to the reporters after the CBI officials left after a 14-hour-long raid on Friday, Sisodia said, “CBI team came this morning. They searched my house and seized my computer and phone. My family cooperated with them and will continue to cooperate. We have not done any corruption or wrong. We are not afraid. We know that CBI is being misused.”

The CBI conducted raids at 31 locations including various big cities in connection with the recently withdrawn Delhi Excise Policy and registered a case against Sisodia among 15 persons.

Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the license of a pilot of Spicejet for six months after he ignored the suggestion of the co-pilot.

The decision took place in response to an incident that happened on May 1 in which a flight from Mumbai to Durgapur encountered severe turbulence during landing. The severe turbulence had caused injuries to nearly 14 passengers along with three crew members.

The co-pilot had suggested not to fly the Boeing 737 plane through the clouds ahead and skirt them which he PIC ignored. Further, he decided to pass through the green patch of the clouds believing that they could make it through them which resulted in severe turbulence, said a DGCA official.

As soon as the incident occured the Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia had shown concern and taken the matter seriously. He had tweeted, “The turbulence encountered by a flight while landing in Durgapur, and the damage caused to the passengers is unfortunate. The @DGCAIndia has deputed a team to investigate the incident. The matter is being dealt with utmost seriousness & deftness.”Taking immediate action following the incident, the DGCA ordered the airline to take the two pilots off the roster and subsequently issued a show cause notice, seeking an explanation about the incident in the flight carrying nearly 195

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Speaker Dr. CP Joshi will attend the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) meeting in Canada and visit four nations to study the parliamentary functioning from August 22-26. Assembly Secretary Mahavir Prasad Sharma will also accompany him.

Dr Joshi, who is the president of CPA-Rajasthan, will also visit the US, Netherlands and Switzerland on a study visit on Parliamentary Practice after attending the CPA conference. Dr. Joshi will also participate in the meetings to be held there with various public representatives including MPs and mayors.

Four persons, who were running the biggest international fake passport and visa rackets, have been arrested by the IGI airport police.

The DCP of IGI airport, Tanu Sharma, said that 325 fake passports, 175 fake visas and other related things were recovered from them.

“The mastermind of the gang is Zakir Yusuf Shaikh. IGI unit got tip-off about the gang following which it was busted,” said the police official.

Earlier, a case of PP Act was registered at Police Station of IGI Airport in which passenger Ravi Rameshbhai Chaudhary, a resident of Gandhinagar, Gujarat was deported from Kuwait on the allegations of fake and fabricated passport.

During course of investigation, it was found that the fake and fabricated passport was arranged by agents namely Zakir Yusuf Shaikh and Mushtaq alias Jamil Picturewala, both residents of Mumbai, who were introduced to Ravi Rameshbhai Chaudhary through a local agent namely Narayanbhai Chaudhary of Gujarat.

During the course of investigation, both the agents Sheikh and Picturewala were arrested from Mumbai along with their counterparts Imtiaz ali Sheikh alias Raju Bhai and Sanjay Dattaram Chavan from Mumbai.

“325 Indian passports, 175 visas (Canada, Singapore, US and other countries), more than 1200 stamps (immigration stamps of different countries and airport, embassies, banks etc), 11 international driving permits, issued from Republic of India), 75 passport jackets, 17 Aadhaar cards, 12 colour printers, dyes for making forged Indian passports, two lamination machines, one paper cutter machine, two UV machines, photo polymer stamp making machine and other incriminating evidence were recovered,” the police said.

Efforts are being made to arrest absconding agent Narayan Bhai who is on the run.

Offence of dowry death is a crime against society and a strong message must be sent that a person who commits such an offence shall be dealt with an iron hand, the Supreme Court has said.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna said the legislative intent of incorporating Section 304 B (dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code was to curb the menace of dowry death with a firm hand.

In dealing with cases under Section 304 B, such legislative intent has to be kept in mind. The offence under Section 304 B the offence of dowry death is an offence against society. Such offences have a serious impact on society.

Keeping in mind the aforesaid aspects, imposition of sentence for the offence of dowry death is required to be considered. A strong message must go in the society that a person who commits such an offence of dowry death and/or the offences under the Dowry Prohibition Act shall be dealt with an iron hand, the bench said.

The observations came while hearing an appeal filed by mother in law and father-in-law of a woman, who died within a year of marriage, challenging an order of the Jharkhand high court against their conviction.

The top court said the demand for dowry has been established and proved by the prosecution.

The deceased died within a period of one year of her marriage. The accused came out with a false case/theory that the deceased died because of Diarrhoea, which has not been established and proved by the defence, the bench said.

NEW DELHI, Aug 20: The Congress on Saturday paid rich tributes to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary, saying his single term as PM will be remembered for far-reaching achievements, including deepening the foundations of IT revolution that has transformed India.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited their father’s memorial, Veer Bhumi, and paid homage on his 78th birth anniversary in the morning.
“Papa, you are always with me, in my heart. I will always try to fulfil the dream that you saw for the country,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
He also shared a video and picture montage on Rajiv Gandhi.
In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said his single term as prime minister will be remembered for numerous landmarks and far-reaching achievements of which six stand out for his personal drive, commitment and leadership.
First, he deepened the foundations of the IT revolution that has transformed India, Ramesh said.
Rajiv Gandhi ushered the country into the computer, telecom and software development era, he said.
“He launched technology missions for addressing societal challenges that have, for example, made India a world-leader in vaccine production and made the country polio-free,” Ramesh said.
“Second, he led the way personally in ensuring that Panchayats and Nagarpalikas were accorded Constitutional status with one-third reservation for women and emerged as effective institutions of self-government,” he said.
The fact that there are now 14 lakh women elected to such institutions is a tribute to his determination, Ramesh added.
He also pointed out that Rajiv Gandhi crafted accords that brought peace and development back to troubled regions of the country like Assam, Punjab, Mizoram and Darjeeling.
“Fourth, he ensured that 18-year olds have the right to vote, opened a new future to youth by establishing the network of Navodaya Vidyalayas in all districts and had Swami Vivekananda’s birthday declared as National Youth Day,” he said.
The fifth major contribution of the former prime minister, Ramesh said, was that he launched ‘Project Clean Ganga’ and the national wasteland development programme, and was responsible for a comprehensive law to protect the environment.
“Simultaneously, the process of liberalization was initiated which paved the way for the 1991 economic reforms that were anchored in the Congress manifesto that bore his imprint,” he said.
“Sixth, he took significant initiatives to resolve our long-standing issues with China & Pakistan and submitted to the UN an action plan for universal and complete nuclear disarmament,” Ramesh said.
The Indian National Congress salutes this brave son of India and rededicates itself to the ideals he stood for, the principles he upheld, the values he cherished and the causes he championed, he said.
The Congress, on its official Twitter handle, fondly remembered the former prime minister and hailed him as the “architect of 21st century India”.
“It was through his farsighted vision that ushered in the IT & telecom revolution in India. Today, we celebrate his legacy,” the party said in a tweet.
Several Congress leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and party’s general secretary, organization, K C Venugopal also paid tributes to Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary.
India’s youngest prime minister, Gandhi held office during 1984-89. He was assassinated by a LTTE suicide bomber in 1991. (AGENCIES)