Civic woes: BJP levels "tax chori" allegations against Cong govt in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): In an apparent counter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" barb centered around Karnataka, the state BJP on Tuesday levelled "tax chori" allegation against the party-led government following a citizens forum's recent grievance aired to the state Chief Minister.
BJP leader R Ashoka accused the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of "tax Chori" (tax theft) and said Bengaluru deserves action to address its infrastructure woes, not excuses and intimidation.
Ashoka, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, attacked the government by highlighting a citizens forum's letter urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to intervene and direct the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) not to collect property tax from residents, complaining that "unscientific and incomplete" civic works in their locality have led to flooding and poor road conditions.
Ashoka's tax theft allegation is also seen as a counter to Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" (votes theft) charge made against the BJP and the Election Commission, citing certain alleged irregularities in Karnataka's Aland (Kalaburagi dt) and Mahadevpura (Bengaluru) Assembly segments in the 2023 Assembly polls and 2024 Parliamentary elections, respectively.
"Mr Rahul Gandhi, Bengaluru has a new slogan: CONGRESS TAX CHOR HAI! (Congress is tax thief)," Ashoka said in a post on 'X' alleging that the government is collecting taxes, but not building roads or fixing drains.
"Thanks to the apathy of CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, Bengaluru citizens are fed up and demanding: STOP THIS TAX CHORI!" he said.
Ashoka said it is 'unprecedented' in India's history, where citizens are writing to the CM saying-- "stop collecting our taxes until you stop stealing our money!"
"Bengaluru deserves action, not excuses and intimidation," he added.
In a letter dated October 13, addressed to the CM, the residents of the Varthur-Balagere-Panathur area, under the banner of the "Individual Tax Payers Forum", which represents income tax payers and advocates for their rights, alleged that they have been suffering due to "half-measured, unscientific, and poorly coordinated" road white-topping and stormwater drainage works carried out by municipal authorities in their areas.
The state government has of late come under criticism over the poor state of infrastructure like roads and traffic issues in the city, with industry veterans like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw repeatedly openly urging the state government to immediately intervene.
There was no immediate response from the ruling Congress to Ashoka's charge.
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Fired from family business, nephew breaks into uncle's shops in Delhi; arrested
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has arrested a 22-year-old man who allegedly stole cash, a laptop and a mobile phone from his uncle's shop in Dwarka to take revenge after he was fired from the family business, officials said on Wednesday.
Piyush Tulswani, the accused, completed his Class 11 from Rajasthan's Pilani, after which he came back to live with his family, a senior police officer said.
His father, Kishan Tulswani, used to work as a sales manager at his uncle Jeetu's confectionery shops. After the death of his father, Piyush took up his position, the officer said.
Soon, Piyush started embezzling money from the shops, and was fired after Jeetu took note of the act, police said.
His mother also reprimanded him for embezzling money, after which Piyush left home and started living with his friend, the officer said.
Piyush hatched a plot to steal money from his uncle’s shops, which he knew well. Acting on his plan, he took his brother's scooter and broke open each shop, stealing cash, a laptop and a mobile phone.
On January 31, Jeetu reported the matter to police, accusing Piyush of committing burglaries at his shops located in Sector-18, Sector-11, Sector-12 and Sector-4, Dwarka, the officer said.
Jeetu also provided CCTV camera footage from the shops, in which Piyush could be seen breaking them open, he said.
Tracing his mobile phone locations to Safdarjang, Hauz Khas, Rajapuri and Dabri, police conducted several raids.
“He later switched off his phone to restrict access to his location,” the officer said.
On February 13, police received information that Piyush would come to the fruit mandi in Dabri around 9.30 am. Accordingly, a trap was laid, leading to the arrest of the accused, he said.
Initially, he did not confess to the crime, but when police showed him the CCTV clips, he admitted to committing the burglaries, the officer said.
