Central Agencies

No evidence in excise policy case: AAP post CBI files final charge sheet

The AAP on Monday said the central probe agencies have failed to find any evidence in the excise policy case and asserted that it is a "staunchly honest" party. The reaction from the ruling party in Delhi came hours after the CBI filed its final charge sheet in the trial court against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and five others, including AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak, in the case. The BJP and its agencies have been investigating this case for two years, filing over 50,000-page charge sheets and interrogating more than 500 witnesses, while conducting raids at multiple locations, the AAP said in a statement. "Yet they have failed to find any evidence against the AAP and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, because we're staunchly honest people," it claimed. Kejriwal has been granted bail three times by the trial court, and the Supreme Court in the excise policy case, said the party. "Every day, the BJP and its ED-CBI are filing fresh charge sheet and creating new angles to keep CM Arvind ..

Stop misusing agencies to silence Oppn: INDIA bloc MPs protest against govt

Several INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest in Parliament premises on Monday against the alleged misuse of probe agencies by the government to "target" Opposition leaders. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and several leaders of the INDIA bloc, including those from the TMC and AAP, participated in the protest on the steps leading to the Makar Dwar in Parliament. The Opposition leaders carried placards which read "stop misusing agencies to silence opposition" and "BJP mein jao bhrashtachar ka licence pao (Join the BJP and get a licence for corruption)". Some AAP MPs also displayed posters of Delhi Chief Mijister Arvind Kejriwal standing behind bars. The Opposition protest comes days after a court here sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till July 12 in a corruption case related to the alleged excise scam. He was formally arrested by the CBI last week. Previously, he was arrested by the ED in a money-laundering case linked to the policy. He was recently granted bail by a .

Agencies misleading SC, INDIA bloc to protest against it: Sanjay Singh

The Aam Aadmi Party has accused central investigative agencies of "misleading" the Supreme Court, and said opposition INDIA bloc will protest against it on the Parliament premises on Monday. Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that despite a trial court granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought the High Court's intervention and secured a stay on the bail. And later when Kejriwal seemed set to receive bail from the Supreme Court, the central government got him arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he claimed. This is a "blatant misuse of investigating agencies", he said, adding both ED and CBI lack evidence against Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia. There was no immediate reaction from any of the investigative agencies. Singh said the INDIA bloc plans to protest against agencies in Parliament on Monday. "When Manish Sisod

Some leaders quit Cong moment they receive notices from agencies: Venugopal

Senior Congress leader K C Venugopal on Monday said some leaders quit the party the moment they receive notices from Central investigating agencies and 'fall at the feet of BJP and Union government.' Venugopal, who is AICC general secretary (Organisation), however, hailed leaders like Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and said according to him, he defeated the alleged pressure exerted by BJP through various agencies. Citing the example of Shivakumar, he further said the Karnataka Deputy CM was a leader who had shown the courage to continue in the party despite being jailed for no reason by Central agencies. While many other leaders quit Congress when they received notices from Central investigating agencies and surrendered (before the BJP-led Union government), Shivakumar declared the Indian National Congress is his mother and he won't leave the party. "Shivakumar was sent to prison...Sent to Tihar jail for no reason. He was told that he would be freed if he was ready

TMC leaders to meet EC officials today regarding misuse of central agencies

A 10-member Trinamool Congress delegation will meet Election Commission officials in New Delhi on Monday to complain about "misuse" of central investigating agencies against TMC leaders and party candidates. The delegation will be led by TMC's Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien and MP Dola Sen is also likely to meet the full bench of the Election Commission. "The BJP is misusing central agencies against us. The way NIA, ED and CBI are working and targeting TMC leaders is shameful. We would request the EC to ensure a level playing field for all political parties," Sen told reporters at the airport before leaving for New Delhi. The TMC alleged on Sunday an "unholy alliance" between the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and BJP ahead of elections, prompting the central investigating agency to deny any mala fide intention and label the entire controversy as "unfortunate". A team of the NIA was allegedly attacked by a mob on Saturday when it went to arrest two main suspects in a 2022 bl

41 companies facing probe by central agencies in electoral bond list

Forty-one companies facing probe by the CBI, ED and the I-T Department gave Rs 2,471 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds, and Rs 1,698 crore of it was donated after raids by these agencies, civil society activists who challenged the poll funding scheme in the Supreme Court claimed on Friday. Addressing the media after the Election Commission made public a fresh data set of electoral bonds, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioners in the court, said at least 30 shell companies purchased electoral bonds worth over Rs 143 crore. He said 33 groups which have got 172 major contracts and project approvals from the government also made donations through electoral bonds. "They have got a total of Rs 3.7 lakh crore in projects and contracts, in exchange for Rs 1,751 crore electoral bond donations to the BJP," he alleged. Bhushan also claimed that 41 companies which faced raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the .

INDIA bloc leaders moves EC, allege misuse of central agencies by BJP

A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, a delegation of leaders of the INDIA bloc parties approached the Election Commission of India alleging "unrelenting, blatant and illegal deployment of Central Agencies" by the ruling BJP to stifle the opposition parties. In a memorandum submitted to the EC, the INDIA party leaders submitted a list of recent instances of central agencies targeting opposition parties and alleged an absence of a level playing field for the opposition. The leaders also suggested that the poll panel should change the heads of the probe agencies during the election to ensure a fair play. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "We pointed out this is not a normal complaint, it is a larger issue of effecting, impairing, undermining, and sabotaging the basic structure of the Indian constitution. "We pointed out that the level playing field is the heart and soul of free

ED chief to meet team members in Kolkata today over Sandeshkhali attack

Enforcement Directorate chief Rahul Navin is scheduled to hold a meeting with its officers here on Tuesday over the attack on an ED team during a raid in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district last week. The ED unit in the state has already submitted a report to its headquarters about the incident in which three officers were injured and several of their vehicles vandalised, as hundreds of supporters of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh attacked them on January 5 when the team went to conduct the raid. "The head of the ED will chair a meeting regarding the attack. Discussions will also be held on the progress of others investigations, an officer of the probe agency told PTI. Navin, the ED director, arrived in Kolkata on Monday night. The attack took place when the ED team went to Sheikh's house in Sandeshkhali for a raid in connection with alleged irregularities in the state's ration system. The ED has already lodged a complaint at the Nazat police station in connection with the assaul

Kejriwal accuses central agencies of bias action on party's foundation day

On this day in 2021, Kejriwal founded AAP from the India Against Corruption movement in 2011, which was launched, under the leadership of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare

TMC slams BJP, says party uses agencies as they suffer from Abhishek-Phobia

The Trinamool Congress on Thursday lashed out at the BJP for "politically manipulating" the central agencies for political witch-hunting and accused it of suffering from "Abhishek-phobia" in the backdrop of the ED summoning its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Banerjee has been summoned by the ED on November 9 in connection with the alleged school jobs scam. "The BJP has been using CBI and ED to serve its political interests. The repeated summons to Abhishek Banerjee is nothing but political witch-hunting. The BJP is suffering from 'Abhishek phobia' as they have been unable to fight us politically. They are tremendously afraid of him," TMC MP Santanu Sen told PTI. The senior TMC leader alleged that the central agencies have been harassing the family members of Abhishek, too. The TMC on Tuesday criticised BJP, likening it to a "washing machine" that transforms corrupt individuals into virtuous figures upon joining the saffron party. Reacting to TMC's claims, BJP leader

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Delhi govt asks depts to ensure time-bound disposal of pending complaints

The Delhi government has asked its departments to ensure time-bound disposal of nearly 25,000 pending complaints, officials said on Thursday. The Administrative Reforms Department (ADR) of the Delhi government has also directed that the complainants must be satisfied with the resolution. The pending complaints totalling 24,550 up to September 2023 are related to four central government agencies and 23 departments of the Delhi government, said a senior official. A larger number of complaints from the public, 1.16 lakh, were disposed of but the feedback received was "unsatisfactory", he said. An overhauled public grievance monitoring system (PGMS) comprising an online portal -- Janta Samvad -- was put in place by the Delhi government in 2015 for receiving and redressing public complaints against various services rendered by its different departments and agencies. The majority of the complaints were related to the Delhi Police, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Jal Board, Transport

Misuse of Election Commission and all central agencies is happening: Raut

He stated that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar has claimed that Enforcement Directorate (ED ) decided who joins which party and it also decides who becomes a minister

Javadekar demands probe into allegations against Kerala CM's daughter

Senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar on Saturday demanded a probe by competent central agencies into corruption charges over the alleged financial dealings between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan's firm and a Kochi-based minerals company. He alleged it is also a curious case of corruption where the owner of the company has given Rs 96 crore to leaders of various political parties, including the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition UDF. "It's a fraud. As a result, all agencies that investigate fraud should investigate (this case). That is my demand," Javadekar, who is in Thrissur, told PTI. The senior BJP leader, who is the party's Kerala in-charge, claimed that the people have lost faith in the probe by the state government agencies and alleged that "it's all whitewash". The senior BJP leader's statement came days after the party claimed that Vijayan could face an investigation on corruption charges over the alleged "indictment" of his daughter Veena's fi

Govt spying on AAP through central agencies, alleges Saurabh Bharadwaj

The Delhi Minister said that in one instance he noticed a group of seven people roaming outside AAP headquarters in Delhi. While three among them went in, four stayed outside

Congress must take the lead and make electoral tweaks: Kapil Sibal

'The Opposition still stands united on the issue of misuse of central agencies like the ED, CBI, and NIA, in destabilising elected governments where the Opposition is in power'

14 parties move SC over action of probe agencies against Oppn leaders

"We are asking for pre- and post-arrest guidelines. Today the CBI and ED are used against us," Singhvi told the court

14 parties move SC against misuse of agencies; court to hear plea on Apr 5

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to list for hearing on April 5 a plea by 14 opposition parties, led by the Congress, alleging arbitrary use of central probe agencies against political opponents. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for the opposition parties such as the DMK, RJD, Bharat Rashtra Samiti and the Trinamool Congress, and said the plea would be taken up for hearing on April 5. The parties are seeking pre- and post-arrest guidelines to be followed by the central probe agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate. "Ninety five per cent cases are against opposition leaders. We are asking for pre-arrest guidelines and post-arrest guidelines," Singhvi said. "We will list it on April 5," said the bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala.

Nine states withdrew general consent to CBI: Jitendra Singh tells Parl

Singh stated that amongst those states that continue to deny the general consent to CBI are West Bengal, Telangana, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Mizoram and Punjab

How did man impersonating PMO official get Z-plus security, asks Tejashwi

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav asked the Narendra Modi-led Central govt how Kiran Patel, who impersonated a PMO official, obtained Z plus security and roamed in Jammu and Kashmir