'Not paying tax is denying benefits to poor': Himanta attacks Congress
Guwahati (PTI): Not paying tax to the government is denying benefits to the poor, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday, attacking the Congress.
Sarma was reacting to the Congress stating that it has received fresh notices from the I-T Department, asking it to pay Rs 1,823.08 crore.
"If the Congress is not paying the tax then this means that they are against welfare activities. They are against the poor, against the downtrodden," he said.
"The money collected as tax goes to the hospitals, schools and colleges, and so the government needs tax. Tax is not terror and the two are two different words," he added.
The Congress also accused the ruling BJP of indulging in "tax terrorism" to financially cripple the opposition party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
"Tax money is a benevolent thing because this goes for public welfare. The notice to Congress is, therefore, not tax terrorism but it is tax compliance," Sarma said.
Referring to the Congress demonstrations against tax notices, he said the party stages protests every day.
"I suggest that they go and campaign for elections instead of protesting every day," he added.
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Money laundering case: SC rejects bail plea of suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea of suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Puja Singhal seeking bail in a money laundering matter, observing it is an "extraordinary case".
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to interfere with the Jharkhand High Court order denying her bail.
The top court noted that out of 17 prosecution witnesses, 12 have been examined by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and hoped that the trial in the case is concluded expeditiously.
"You wait for some more time for bail. This is not a normal matter but an extraordinary case. There is something seriously wrong in this case. We are not inclined to entertain the instant petition. We hope the trial will be concluded expeditiously," it observed.
The bench, however, gave liberty to Singhal to revive her bail plea, if the trial is prolonged or is there any other change in circumstance.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, opposed the bail plea and said that out of the total custody period, she has spent most of the time in a hospital at Ranchi.
On February 10, 2023, the top court had granted Singhal interim bail for two months to enable her to take care of her ailing daughter.
Singhal has been in custody since May 11, 2022 after raids were conducted at properties linked to her in connection with the money laundering case.
The case relates to alleged corruption in the implementation of MGNREGA, the Centre's flagship scheme for rural employment.
The ED has accused Singhal, a former state mines department secretary, of money laundering and said its team seized more than Rs 36 crore cash linked to alleged illegal mining as part of two separate money laundering investigations.
Apart from the 2000 batch IAS officer, her businessman husband, a chartered accountant associated with the couple, and others were also raided by the ED as part of the money laundering probe.
Singhal was suspended following her arrest.
