Congress govt to undertake caste re-enumeration in Karnataka; party top brass discusses stampede
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday said it has decided to hold caste re-enumeration in Karnataka to address concerns of some communities who complained of being left out of the survey that was conducted 10 years ago.
The party's top brass met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy and Pradesh Congress Committee president D K Shivakumar at the Congress' new headquarters and discussed various issues, including the June 4 stampede in Bengaluru.
Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi expressed their displeasure over the involvement of the state government in the IPL victory celebrations of Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB) during which 11 people lost their lives in the stampede.
A source said Rahul Gandhi told the chief minister and PCC president that human lives are of great value to the Congress party and the government has to be responsive towards people, "unlike the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh or the Left government in Kerala where no responsibility was taken for the loss of lives during the Kumbh and Sabarimala tragedy respectively".
AICC general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal and the general secretary in-charge for Karnataka, Randeep Surjewala, were also present during the three-hour discussion on state issues at the Indira Bhawan, where the party leadership told the chief minister that the Congress government in the state should adopt a pro-people approach.
The Congress government in Karnataka has faced sharp criticism from the opposition BJP and JD(S), with both parties holding the chief minister and his deputy directly responsible for the tragedy and demanding their resignation. They have also sought a special Assembly session to discuss the incident.
The stampede occurred on June 4 evening in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium, where a large number of people had gathered to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations.
Venugopal told reporters that they discussed the current political situation in the state, including the unfortunate incident that happened in Bengaluru.
He said the caste census was among the issues that came up in the meeting, and the Karnataka government is going to discuss it at a special cabinet on June 12.
"The caste census was discussed. The Congress party is thinking that whatever the Karnataka government has done in the caste census should be agreed to in principle. But there are some apprehensions from some sections and communities about the counting of the caste."
He noted that the state government had conducted the caste census a decade ago and the data was now outdated.
"The Congress party has suggested to the chief minister to do a re-enumeration process within a stipulated time, say 60-80 days. This is what we decided about the caste census in the meeting," he said, adding the chief minister will provide more details on the issue.
The move comes close on the heels of the Centre announcing the schedule of the national Census with caste enumeration.
Venugopal said the chief minister and the PCC president briefed the leadership about the Bengaluru incident and the action taken by the state government. The chief minister was asked by the central leadership to present a report on the stampede incident.
"Certainly, we are very much concerned about every human life and so is our party. An unfortunate incident happened and the Government of Karnataka has already ordered a judicial inquiry to know what really happened," he said.
While the party chose not to delve into the specifics during the ongoing judicial inquiry, Venugopal emphasised that the Congress had a "clear view that there should be a clear-cut pro-people attitude on this issue".
Siddaramaiah has distanced himself from the incident, saying he was informed late and that the government did not organise the stadium event.
The meeting also addressed the issue of "inadequate" central plan allocation to Karnataka.
"They (Centre) are completely neglecting the state of Karnataka on planned allocation. The central plan allocation to Karnataka is totally unacceptable. They are marginalising Karnataka into a corner. The Modi government is doing this type of injustice to Karnataka, which is not at all acceptable," Venugopal said.
According to sources, four names recommended to the Governor for nominations to the Legislative Council are also learnt to have been discussed. The names were reportedly withheld after directions from the party high command.
Asked about any possible changes in the government, Shivakumar said, "Nothing is on the cards".
He said the AICC general secretary has already spoken and added, "It is one voice, one party".
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
