Congress seeks SC monitored probe into IL&FS crisis
New Delhi, Sep 26 : Calling the IL&FS crisis India's Lehman Brothers moment, the Congress on Wednesday sought a Supreme Court monitored multi-agency probe saying the irregularities in it has brought India on the verge of economic collapse.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the IL&FS Group, an infrastructure development and finance company, has a total debt of Rs 91,000 crore as on March 31, 2018 and was in no position to pay back its dues and had started defaulting.
"This is such a serious matter that a multi-agency investigation needs to be carried out under the Supreme Court's monitoring," Tewari said and questioned how a company with 40 per cent stake of government institutions was allowed to pile up Rs 91,000 crore debt.
The equity structure of IL&FS Ltd includes LIC's 25.34 per cent, Central Bank of India's 7.67 per cent and State Bank of India's 6.42 per cent. Besides, Orix Corp of Japan owns 23.5 per cent and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority owns 12.5 per cent.
He said a high-level probe was needed to ascertain how central government employees nominated by LIC, CBI and SBI in the IL&FS Board could allow the group's debt to rise 44 per cent in the last three years to a debt to a net worth ratio of 16.78 to one.
Tewari said the IL&FS crisis was seven times more than the combined economic offence of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. He said the unlisted company has a very opaque corporate structure and rating agencies have classified its equity as junk.
"IL&FS is on the verge of collapse and if that were to happen it will have a domino effect like after Lehman Brothers one after the other financial institutions started tumbling. Already on Monday and Tuesday, the markets have been yo-yoing because of this," he said.
The Congress leader attacked the Modi government saying the Prime Minister's Office and the Finance Ministry were putting pressure on Reserve Bank of India (RBI), SBI, LIC and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to bail out the company.
While the government has maintained that as IL&FS is a private company it will not intervene, the biggest shareholder LIC has recently said it will not let IL&FS collapse and was open to all options including raising stake in the company.
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Fathima Thahiliya becomes first Muslim woman to win Perambra seat, defeats CPI(M) veteran Ramakrishn
Thiruvananthapuram: Fathima Thahiliya, a 34-year-old advocate, has won the Perambra Assembly constituency, defeating CPI(M) leader T.P. Ramakrishnan by 5,087 votes. She secured 81,429 votes in a closely contested election.
Thahiliya is a postgraduate in law from the University of Calicut. She began her journey in student politics and rose through the ranks of the Muslim Students Federation before entering mainstream politics. She later served as a councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation and is currently practising at the Calicut District Court.
She completed her B.A. LL.B from Government Law College, Kozhikode, and LL.M from Government Law College, Thrissur. She also serves as State Secretary of the Muslim Youth League.
Her candidature was among the few women candidates backed by the party and drew attention in a constituency considered a Left stronghold.
Soon after her candidacy was publicized, she faced intense cyber harassment, with her social media flooded with sexually explicit and derogatory remarks. She was abused and targeted for her identity as a young Muslim woman wearing a hijab, questioning her ability to contest elections.
Another controversy erupted during the campaign over the “Kauminte Kutti” remark, after allegations that campaign messages linked to the Left Democratic Front portrayed her as a “community candidate,” triggering political backlash and complaints to the Election Commission.
