Kerala: IOC Deputy General Manager held while accepting bribe of Rs 2 lakh
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A Deputy General Manager of the Indian Oil Corporation has been arrested while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from a gas agency owner here, officials said.
Alex Mathew, the DGM at IOC's Ernakulam office, was caught red-handed at the complainant's residence in Kuravankonam around 7.30 pm on Saturday by officers of the Special Investigation Unit-1 of the Vigilance Department, an official statement said. According to the Vigilance Department, Matthew had allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh from the complainant to prevent the transfer of customers from his wife's IOC-licensed gas agency to other agencies.
When the complainant refused, the official allegedly transferred 1,200 connections to other agencies, it said.
The accused later warned the complainant that more customer connections would be reassigned if the bribe was not paid upon his visit to Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
Following the threat, the gas agency owner informed the Vigilance Department, which laid a trap and arrested Mathew while accepting the bribe, the statement said.
The accused will be produced before a vigilance court, it added.
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4% quota for Muslim contractors: BJP to challenge K'taka's 'unconstitutional move' in court
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Mar 17 (PTI): The BJP on Monday termed the Karnataka government’s proposal to provide four per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts an "unconstitutional misadventure" and said it will oppose the move at all levels, including challenging it in court, until it is rolled back.
The ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP hit out at each other over the issue in the Assembly.
Earlier on Friday, the Cabinet approved an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, reserving four per cent of contracts for Muslims in civil works valued up to Rs two crore and goods/services contracts up to Rs one crore.
"The BJP firmly opposes the proposed unconstitutional move and demands that the Siddaramaiah government immediately roll it back," BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who represents the Bangalore South Lok Sabha seat, told a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
He alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led government’s decision was a "calculated move" to appease Muslims, "at the direction and patronage of the Congress top leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi."
"This patently unconstitutional and prima facie illegal act will be challenged in court. The BJP will fight against the move both inside the Assembly and on the streets. We will also raise the issue in Parliament and protest outside it," Surya said.
The BJP MP said that the Karnataka government’s move is a threat to national integrity, unity, and sovereignty.
"We will fight and oppose this in the courtroom. We will take the fight to the people of Karnataka. Until this unconstitutional move is rolled back, the BJP’s fight will continue," he added.
Meanwhile, in the Karnataka Assembly, the ruling Congress and the BJP once again sparred on Monday over the budgetary provision of four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts.
The Congress rejected the BJP’s allegation that religion-based reservation is "against constitutional provisions."
Defending the reservation, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists are citizens of this country.
"We have concerns for minorities and backward communities. When the BJP says it wants to take everyone along, let it appoint Christian and Muslim ministers. Only then does BJP state president B Y Vijayendra have the right to speak about equality. Let him read the state anthem written by Kuvempu—then he will understand what makes Karnataka a peaceful garden," Shivakumar told reporters.
Hitting back at Shivakumar, Vijayendra said that it was the BJP government, not the Congress, that had appointed Dr A P J Abdul Kalam as the President of India.
"We appointed Najma Heptulla, Justice Abdul Nazeer, and Arif Mohammed Khan as governors. Musician Ustad Bismillah Khan was bestowed with the Bharat Ratna by the BJP government," Vijayendra told reporters.
According to him, Congress's appeasement politics is not new.
He questioned the Congress party’s concern for Dalits, asking where it was when its MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy’s house was "torched by Muslim hooligans".
The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, claimed that several Supreme Court judgments have stated that there is no provision in the Constitution for religion-based reservations.
"Yet, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wore a ‘topi’ (skull cap), organised Tipu Jayanti, and introduced Shaadi Bhagya (launched in 2013, it provides financial assistance to economically backward minority women). He gave grants to Muslims beyond what they had asked for. Now, by offering four per cent reservation in contracts to Muslims, the Congress government has made an assault on Hindus," he alleged.
Ashoka argued that there had never been a religion-based contract system in Karnataka, but the government had introduced one, which could lead to conflicts between communities.
In the Karnataka Legislative Council, Leader of the Opposition, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy raised the issue.
He said that religion-based reservation is "not allowed under the Constitution."
"You have granted four per cent reservation to Muslims in contracts. We oppose religion-based reservations. I urge the government through you not to implement it," he stated.
Countering him, Congress MLA B K Hariprasad asserted that the reservation aligns with constitutional provisions.
