BJP MP Nishikant Dubey tweets alleged ITR, journalists raise privacy concerns
New Delhi: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday shared on social media an alleged income tax return (ITR) document, suggesting a sharp rise in the earnings of a journalist after leaving a salaried job. He left the identity of the journalist unnamed, asking followers to guess.
The Newslaundry citing the post reported that the purported document, which did not mention any name, showed taxable income rising from ₹18.9 lakh in 2019 to ₹1.2 crore in 2021-22, before falling to ₹62.7 lakh in 2022-23.
“Figure it out if you can: whose great journalist’s income tax return is this? Rs 18 lakh in salary, and the moment they quit the job, meaning as soon as they start roaming the streets, abusing Modi ji/BJP, it's in crores. This is the real truth,” Dubey wrote in his post.
Journalist Abhisar Sharma reacted sharply, accusing the MP of breaching confidentiality. Retweeting Dubey’s post, Sharma tagged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Income Tax Department. “Confidential documents and details of taxpayers… are being tweeted in the public forum by none other than a Member of Parliament,” he wrote, adding that he would file an FIR. “He doesn’t have the guts to name the journalist. But this is what you do. Sheer cowardice,” Sharma said.
Journalist Ravish Kumar also expressed concern, questioning the implications of the disclosure. “Is the BJP now going to extract everyone's ITR and target them? Will someone's hard-earned income be criminalized in this manner?” he asked.
Legal experts point out that disclosure of an individual’s ITR without consent is punishable under Section 72 (breach of confidentiality and privacy) and Section 138 (disclosure of information respecting assessees) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
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Four of family killed as car jumps divider on highway in Gujarat's Panchmahal
Godhra (Gujarat) (PTI): Four members of a family were killed, and one sustained grievous injuries after their speeding car jumped a divider on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway corridor in Gujarat's Panchmahal district on Monday, police said.
The car driver lost control of the wheels near Kalol. As a result, the four-wheeler jumped the divider and veered off to the other side of the highway, an official from Kalol police station said.
Soon after the accident, some locals rushed to the scene and also alerted the police. Efforts were made to pull out the people trapped in the car.
Four persons died on the spot, while one suffered injuries, the official said.
The deceased were members of a family from Vadodara and were returning from Rajasthan when the tragedy struck, the official said.
They have been identified as Sajid Iqbal Khinji (55), Ilyas Iqbal Khinji (50), Ishaq Iqbal Khinji (48) and Rehan Azgar Khinji (35).
