Modi is corruption, hope BJP learnt lessons from Karnataka: Rahul
New Delhi, May 19: In a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa ahead of the trust vote, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday termed him "corruption" and that Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and the RSS considered no institution "worthy of respect".
Addressing the media here shortly after Yeddyurappa's resignation, he said the Congress will work with other opposition parties to defeat the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Gandhi said Modi's model of leadership is not that of democratic person but that of a dictator and "even Supreme Court knows that".
Accusing Modi of promoting corruption in Karnataka to gain support for the BJP, which had emerged the single-largest party amid split verdict in by the May 12 assembly election, he cited attempts at horse-trading, including purported telephonic conversations of some BJP leaders to get support of Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) legislators, who formed a post-poll coalition.
People saw "how the Prime Minister authorised directly buying MLAs in Karnataka from our party and from the JD-S", he said, adding Modi's talks of fighting corruption are a "blatant lie".
"He is corruption. He is doing everything to subvert this nation and he is doing it across the board. There are phone conversations of MLAs being approached for purchase by the BJP and that was directly authorised from Delhi," he said.
He alleged that RSS, the BJP's ideological patron, wants to capture every institution "and that is what we are fighting" and will "work with the opposition to defeat the BJP".
He hoped that the BJP and RSS will learn a lesson from the developments in Karnataka where Governor Vajubhai Vala had invited the BJP to form government, "that the institutions of this country, the will of the people of this country cannot be disrespected".
The Congress had moved the Supreme Court following th3e Governor inviting Yeddyurappa to form government and giving him 15 days to prove majority. The apex court had slashed the time for trust vote and fixed it for Saturday.
Contending that the Prime Minister is not bigger than people of India, the Supreme Court or members of parliament and assemblies, Gandhi said: "I am doubtful that Prime Minister will understand that because he had been trained throughout his life by the RSS never to respect another institution except the RSS. But that is the message that people of Karnataka and the people of India have given to the Prime Minister."
"I am very proud to say that they have been shown that in India, power is not everything, money is not everything, corruption is not everything. In India, the will of the people is everything. We have explained to the people in the BJP and the RSS that there are limits to your arrogance, there are limits to how you are trying to run this country," he said.
Accusing Modi, Amit Shah and RSS of believing "that every institution can be destroyed", he said:
"You can disrespect anybody in this country simply because you happen to be in power? And the BJP and the RSS does it again and again. That there is no institution in this country that is worthy of the respect of the Prime Minister, Amit Shah and the RSS."
He also accused the BJP of disrespecting the proceedings of the Karnataka Assembly, saying the national anthem was not played after Yeddyurappa announced his resignation and the BJP legislators and the Pro-tem Speaker left the house. "In a way, this is what we are fighting today... The idea that you can rubbish every single institution in this country."
Asked if the state Governor should resign, Gandhi said the power was completely controlled by the Prime Minister and the RSS. "So, it is a good idea to resign, but I can guarantee you that, under the BJP regime, the next man will do exactly the same thing," he said.
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BharatPe fraud case: Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Ashneer Grover, wife
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Delhi High Court has ordered cancellation of a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Ashneer Grover, the former MD of payment app BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, noting that the FIR lodged against them over allegations of cheating and forgery has already been quashed.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order on Monday after the court was informed that another bench of the high court quashed the FIR on the same day.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh after considering a plea moved by the Grovers stating that they have arrived at a settlement with the fintech company.
In his order, Justice Narula said, "Although the copy of the order (quashing the FIR) is not available as of now, the aforenoted fact is not disputed by the counsel for the parties.
"In light of the fact that the underlying FIR has been quashed, the LOC issued by respondent No. 3 (Bureau of Immigration), in the opinion of the court, will not survive."
The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in view of the investigation against the Grovers in the cheating and forgery FIR.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover seeking quashing of the LOC issued against them in connection with the investigation into the cheating and forgery case.
"Accordingly, the present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to cancel the LOC against the petitioners in their records," the court noted.
Earlier, the Grovers claimed that they were informed about the LOC for the first time when they were detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on November 16, 2023, while they were scheduled to travel to the US.
After being detained, they were informed that the LOC was operational from November 6, 2023.
In May last year, the EOW filed an FIR against Grover, his wife Madhuri, and others under eight sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 and 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) for an alleged Rs 81 crore fraud after a complaint was lodged by BhartPe, the fintech unicorn.
In its complaint, BharatPe alleged that Grover and his family caused damages to the tune of Rs 81.3 crore through illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated and undue payments through pass-through vendors connected to the accused, sham transactions in input tax credit and payment of penalty to GST authorities, illegal payment to travel agencies, forged invoices by Madhuri, and destruction of evidence.
Madhuri was the head of controls at BharatPe before she was fired in 2022 after a forensic audit revealed several irregularities.
Subsequently, Grover resigned as the chief executive officer of the fintech firm in March 2022.
