Mitsubishi Motors fires Carlos Ghosn, CEO to be interim chairman
Tokyo, Nov 26 (AP): The board of Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors, which is allied with Renault and Nissan, voted unanimously Monday to dismiss Carlos Ghosn as its chairman following his arrest last week.
Prosecutors arrested Ghosn on November 19 on suspicion he under-reported his income by USD 44 million over five years.
Nissan Motor Co ousted him as its chairman last week, saying an internal investigation prompted by a whistleblower also found Ghosn misused company money and assets.
Mitsubishi Motors' CEO Osamu Masuko, chosen by the board as acting chairman pending a shareholders' meeting, said Ghosn would not be able to perform his duties, considering his arrest and Nissan's dismissal of him as chairman.
Masuko said he did not know the specifics of the criminal allegations and declined comment on the case.
When asked for his personal view about the situation, Masuko said he was baffled.
"To be honest, I was shocked, and I couldn't believe it," he told reporters at Mitsubishi Motors' showroom at headquarters.
"I still can't figure out why, and I just don't understand."
But Masuko insisted the three-way alliance will persevere, saying it's critical for the automakers' futures, especially in working together on new technologies such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and connectivity for vehicles.
"We believe the alliance is needed," Masuko told reporters at Mitsubishi Motors' showroom at headquarters.
"Where the three companies are headed is not confrontation."
Ghosn was central in creating the alliance, but would have had to leave eventually, he said, adding just that the "timing had come sooner."
Renault has kept Ghosn as chief executive, while appointing an interim chair while the company awaits more information about the allegations against him.
The disruptions over Ghosn's case have added to worries about the future of the alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, whose status as the most recent addition could be more precarious.
European media have speculated that the case against Ghosn was partly driven by a desire to fend off moves to merge Renault and Nissan and keep the company under Japanese control.
Resentment within the Japanese automaker against Ghosn's pay and power may also have played a role.
Ghosn has been a dominant force in the Japanese auto industry for nearly two decades.
He led the addition of Mitsubishi into the alliance in 2016 after the smaller automaker was embroiled in an inspections reporting scandal.
Nissan holds a 34 per cent stake in Mitsubishi.
Japanese media, citing unidentified sources, are reporting that Ghosn and Greg Kelly, an executive who was arrested on suspicion of collaborating with him, are asserting their innocence. Ghosn has not commented publicly.
The two executives have not yet been charged. Under Japanese law, a suspect can be held in custody for up to three weeks per suspected charge without any charges being filed.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress chief Kharge writes to PM Modi, seeks time to explain party's 'Nyay Patra'
New Delhi, Apr 25: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought time from him to explain in person the party's 'Nyay Patra'.
In his two-page letter, he told the prime minister that he is being misinformed by his advisors about things that are not even written in the 'Nyay Patra' -- the Congress' manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.
The letter comes after the prime minister attacked the Congress over its manifesto, alleging that the party aims to "redistribute the wealth" of people and give it away to "infiltrators".
Modi also accused the Congress of snatching women's "mangalsutra".
In his letter, Kharge said the Congress' 'Nyay Patra' aims at providing "nyay (justice)" to the youngsters, women, farmers, labourers and marginalised people across all castes and communities.
"It has become your habit to seize on a few words taken out of context and create a communal divide. You are lowering the dignity of the chair by speaking in this manner," he said.
"You are being misinformed by your advisors about things that are not even written in our manifesto. I would be more than happy to meet you in person to explain our 'Nyay Patra' so that, as prime minister of the country, you don't make any statements that are false," he added.
The Congress chief also said he is neither shocked nor surprised by the language used by the prime minister in his recent speeches.
"It was expected that you and other leaders from your party would start speaking in this manner after you saw the dismal performance of the BJP in the first phase of the elections," Kharge said in the letter.
The Congress has been talking about the deprived poor and their rights ("nyay"), he said and added, "We are aware that you and your government do not have any concern for the poor and dispossessed."
"Your 'suit-boot ki sarkar' works for the corporates whose taxes you reduced while the salaried class pays higher taxes. The poor pay GST even on food and salt and the rich corporate claim GST refunds. That is why, when we talk of inequality between the rich and the poor, you are purposely equating it with Hindu and Muslim," Kharge claimed.
"Our manifesto is for the people of India -- whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist. I think you have still not forgotten your pre-Independence allies the Muslim League and colonial masters," he charged.
Kharge claimed the Congress has always served to empower the poor while "you have ruled to snatch the earnings and wealth of the poor".
He said in the letter, "Your government was the one who used demonetisation as an 'organised loot and legalised plunder' to transfer the money deposited by the poor in the banks to the rich in the form of loans. Then, as part a of conscious design, these loans were surreptitiously written off by your government. The lakhs of crores of corporate loans that your government has written off since 2014 is a transfer of wealth from poor to rich. No farmer's loans, artisan's loans, MSME loans or student loans were waived off by you."
"You and your government have repeatedly turned away from the atrocities that the poor and backward women are facing … Today, you talk about their 'mangalsutra'. Isn't your government responsible for the atrocities against women in Manipur, against Dalit girls, garlanding of rapists? When farmers are committing suicide under your government, how are you protecting their wives and children?," Kharge asked.
The Congress chief suggested that Modi read about "Nari Nyay" that, he said, the party will implement when its comes to power.
Kharge also advised the prime minister to not "get carried away by your own people who are clapping at your speeches".
"They are not allowing you to hear the crores of right-thinking citizens who are disappointed by your speeches," the Congress chief said.
Sharing Kharge's letter on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji has just written to the prime minister, saying that he would be happy to meet him to explain the reality of the Congress' 'Nyay Patra', which Mr Modi may have missed in his persistent efforts to distort and defame it."
कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष मल्लिकार्जुन @kharge जी ने अभी प्रधानमंत्री को पत्र लिखकर उनसे मिलने का समय मांगा है। प्रधानमंत्री #CongressNyayPatra पत्र की जिन चीज़ों को लेकर भ्रम फैला रहे हैं और लोगों को गुमराह करने की नाकाम कोशिश कर रहे हैं, उन्हें खरगे जी प्रधानमंत्री को मिलकर सही अर्थों… pic.twitter.com/7D4Mk085je
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 25, 2024
