Rahul Gandhi attacks govt on Cyprus' 'golden passport' scheme
asks why brothers of 'param mitra' left country in 'Amrit Kaal'
New Delhi, Nov 15: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday questioned why the brothers of the "param mitra" left India during "Amrit Kaal" after reports that some businessmen, including Gautam Adani's elder brother Vinod Adani, were among the 66 Indians who got the "golden passport" in Cyprus.
"Why did the brothers of the 'param mitra' leave India during 'Amrit Kaal'? 'Golden passport' means a golden opportunity for theft -- steal public money, form a shell company and spend abroad," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
He said this following media reports that Vinod Adani and Pankaj Oswal were among the 66 Indians who got the "golden passport". The "golden passport" scheme was also called the "Cyprus Investment Programme" after it was introduced in 2007 and it facilitated the grant of Cypriot citizenship to financially prominent individuals, thereby bringing in foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country.
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya hit back at Gandhi, saying it was under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that the India-Cyprus tax treaty created a haven for tax evaders.
"You practically rolled out the red carpet for investors to bypass Capital Gains tax, with Cyprus not imposing such taxes either. Add to that the low withholding tax rate, and you have got yourself a perfect recipe for creating a tax haven, luring businesses and individuals to funnel money into Cyprus.
"But when the BJP led NDA came into power, we saw through this charade and took immediate, decisive action. In 2016, we didn't just tweak the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Cyprus; we overhauled it. Our revision, effective retrospectively from, Nov 2013, was a game-changer. It shifted the taxation of capital gains right back to where the income is made -- the source country -- rather than letting investors hide behind the veil of their country of residence. This wasn't just a policy shift; it was a direct challenge to the tax avoidance circus you had running," Malviya claimed in a post on X.
Responding to Gandhi's post on the microblogging website, he said, "Let's talk about the grandfathering clause we introduced for investments made before April 1, 2017. It wasn't just a clause; it was a statement. We ensured a fair transition to the new regime, where capital gains would be taxed in the investor's country of residence for investments made before this deadline."
"This shift was monumental. It wasn't just about fair taxation; it slammed the door shut on using offshore entities for tax evasion. The so-called 'Golden Passport' that you accuse us of promoting? It's a relic of your governance, a symbol of the opaque, underhand dealings you endorsed," he said.
"So, let us set the record straight. Those who have left are your 'Param Mitras'. Their departure is on you. Your legacy of promoting tax havens and opaque financial practices is what drove them out. Our reforms have not only plugged these gaps but have showcased our unwavering commitment to transparent and accountable tax governance. Your accusations don't just fall flat; they're a stark reminder of your party's dubious past," Malviya claimed.
'अमृत काल' में 'परम मित्र' के भाई भारत छोड़ कर क्यों भागे?
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 15, 2023
'गोल्डन पासपोर्ट' मतलब चोरी का सुनहरा मौका - जनता का पैसा चुराओ, Shell कम्पनी बनाओ और विदेश में उड़ाओ। pic.twitter.com/ueXiWqPKvD
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Gurugram Police arrest BJP Yuva Morcha member for spreading fake murder story on social media
New Delhi: Gurugram Police have arrested BJP Yuva Morcha member Hariom Mishra, for allegedly spreading a fabricated and communally sensitive story on social media about the murder of a college student in Gurugram.
Mishra who is also known as Shaurya Mishra had shared a collage of four photographs on his X handle earlier this month. He claimed that a 24-year-old college student, identified as Nikita Agarwal, had been murdered by her classmate Arif Khan in Gurugram. In the post, he alleged that the woman was blackmailed, forced into prostitution, gangraped, and eventually killed. He also claimed that Arif dumped her body in a forest. The claims were presented as being based on police sources.
The post went viral and garnering over 1.5 lakh views, and was amplified by several right-wing social media handles across X, Facebook and Instagram. A verification of the claims revealed that no such incident had taken place in Gurugram. A search of credible news reports showed no record of any such murder. The police said this news would have inevitably attracted media attention if it were true.
On December 11, Gurugram Police publicly refuted the claims through their official X handle. They stated that the information which was being circulated was completely false. The police warned that legal action would be taken against those spreading misinformation. Despite the warning, Mishra neither deleted the post nor issued any clarification.
Police in Gurugram confirmed Mishra's arrest on December 16. The police said a FIR was filed after he continued to spread false information about the alleged murder of a Hindu woman by Muslim man. Police said Mishra, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district, is now being investigated.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Singh told The Print that the accused had deliberately misrepresented facts and used objectionable content to spread hatred along religious lines. “Such posts can create serious disturbances in society, and the police take these matters very seriously,” he said.
A reverse image search conducted by fact-checkers at Alt News, revealed that the photographs used in the viral post were unrelated to the claims, while two of the images were traced to a Pinterest account belonging to influencer Maulik Chopra and another image was sourced from an Instagram post by influencer Shivam Thakur featuring a woman named Deepanshi Rawat. The fourth image was found on an unrelated Instagram page. The images depicted different individuals and had no connection to any crime.
Police said they are also investigating Mishra’s motive behind sharing the false and provocative content.
