Banking scam worth Rs 2,654 crore alleged involving Gujarat's "crony" businessman having links with senior minister

By A Representative
In a fresh "exposure", the Indian National Congress has come with a new scam, in which, it days, a senior minister in the Gujarat government known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a Vadodara-based businessman "blessed" by Modi are "involved" in "duping" 11 banks to the tune of Rs 2,654.4 crore.
Accusing the businessman of being involved in ‘murky dealings’, hidden under ‘cultural fests’ and crony businesses,Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera has named a senior minister in Gujarat's Vijay Rupani facilitated the scam to happen, adding, "active connections" of this businessman with the BJP have already been revealed through numerous photographs on social media.
Thus, Khera says, this businessman has been photographing, among others, with Modi, his railway (former power) minister) Piyush Goyal, former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel and present chief minister Vijay Rupani, and of course the senior minister with whom he is "linked."
Giving details, Khera, even as releasing documents and photographs, alleges in a note sent to media, the company run by this businessman "fraudulently" availed credit facilities "from a consortium of 11 banks, with Axis Bank being the lead bank, as it clear from a CBI FIR, by submitting false stock statements, extensively utilizing cash credit limits for obtaining large number of Letters of Credit."
Claiming that the company got bankrupt in 2016, leaving behind an outstanding loan of ₹2,654.4 crore, Khera says, it's owner has been "one of the chief financier of the BJP in Vadodara", adding, the BJP government in the state showered "public money" on Vadfest, "a large cultural fest in Vadodara where crores were spent to invite ‘A’ rank celebrities and film stars".
Organized in 2016 by this businessman, Khera says, "Never in the history, had a state created a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) through its tourism department to fund a specific cultural festival! The SPV, known as Vadodara International Art and Culture Festival Authority, was headed by the senior minister, who ensured they this businessman became chief organizer of the festival."
Ironically, the company this businessman owns, contends Khera, "primarily manufactures electric cables and equipment. At the expense of public money both organized a five-day global export festival in Vadodara. Then power minister Piyush Goyal and chief minister Anandiben Patel attended this festival, where 140 acres of forest land in Vadodara was converted in an exhibition centre and the state government spent crores of money."
Insisting that this businessman is "no stranger to financial frauds", Khera says, "In March 2015, he was arrested and released on bail by/the Central Excise for alleged fraudulent misuse of CenVAT credit and evading Excise Duty worth Rs 40 crore. In July 2016, another complaint was filed for allegedly selling off shares owned by a woman."
Khera accuses the company of submitting "false stock statements, extensively utilizing cash credit limits for obtaining large number of Letters of Credit. About 1,000 such Letter of Credit (LoCs) issued by Bank of India alone devolved, which included at least 16 LoCs amounting to Rs 110.79 crore issued in the name of another company, owned by this businessman and his family members.
The company, says Khera, "managed to get the credit facilities despite appearing in the Reserve Bank of India's Defaulters List and ECGC Caution List at the time of initial sanction of Credit Limits by the Consortium." He adds, the company accounts in Bank of India and Bank of Baroda "were declared NPA on February 16, 2016. Other banks declared company's accounts NPA from December 2017."

Comments

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Dowry over duty: How material greed shattered a seven-year bond

By Archana Kumar* This account does not seek to expose names or tarnish identities. Its purpose is not to cast blame, but to articulate—with dignity—the silent suffering of a woman who lived her life anchored in love, trust, and duty, only to be ultimately abandoned.

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’

Search This Blog