AIMIM seeks entry into Mahagathbandhan ahead of Bihar assembly elections
Patna: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), led by Asaduddin Owaisi, has expressed its willingness to join the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The current opposition alliance includes the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and Left parties.
AIMIM's Bihar state president and its lone MLA, Akhtarul Iman, has written a formal letter to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, requesting the inclusion of AIMIM in the alliance. Dated July 2, the letter emphasized that the party’s inclusion would help consolidate secular votes and bolster the opposition’s chances of forming the next government.
“Inclusion of AIMIM in Bihar’s version of the INDIA bloc will prevent division of secular votes and strengthen the fight against the BJP,” Iman stated in the letter, which was shared by party leaders on social media.
Iman also recalled that AIMIM had made efforts to join the alliance during the 2020 assembly elections. At that time, AIMIM had allied with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the now-defunct Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), securing five seats, mainly in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region. However, all but Iman later merged with the RJD in 2022.
In 2020, the Mahagathbandhan narrowly missed a majority by just a dozen seats. Political analysts had pointed to AIMIM’s presence in key constituencies as a contributing factor in the division of opposition votes.
So far, the RJD and other Mahagathbandhan allies have not issued a public response to AIMIM’s proposal.
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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.
