Bengaluru (PTI): AICC general secretary and party's Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday ruled out gathering any opinion on leadership change, remarks that came in the wake of internal bickering in the Congress' state unit over the matter.

Surjewala said that he has been meeting the MLAs and MPs to understand the work done by them in their respective constituencies.

"Some of you asked me are you taking opinion on leadership change. The answer I had given yesterday also and I am answering again today-- the answer is clearly 'no' in one word," Surjewala said in a press conference.

Flanked by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka State Congress president, Surjewala said he had a meeting with the party MLAs, MPs, MLCs and party candidates who contested the assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

He also said that in the next seven to eight days he would meet all the MLAs.

Explaining the reason, the Congress general secretary said, "We are meeting the MLAs and MPs. We are trying to understand from our MLAs what work they have done in the past two years in their respective constituencies. It's important to review their performance."

"If I'm an MLA, I'm obliged to ensure that my accountability to the people and the election promises of the Congress party are fulfilled in my constituency. So, I am asking my MLAs to give their report cards," he added.

The MLAs will also be asked about the status of the Block Congress Committee, Assembly Congress Committee and the number of party meetings they held from time to time, the Congress leader said.

"We are also asking them (MLAs) what, if any, difficulty or aspiration he or she has. Every MLA has some aspirations or some more work to be done in the constituency," he explained.

Stating that it was fine to have aspirations, Surjewala said their ambitions will be conveyed to government and whatever best can be done on a priority basis will be taken up.

After the MLAs, the Congress leader said he would meet the ministers to understand what they have done in their respective constituencies.

The role of the frontal organisations such as NSUI, Mahila Congress, SC/ST and OBC, Minority, Kisan departments and Youth Congress will be reviewed, he said.

Surjewala said it was necessary to see the status of the implementation of the five guarantees.

The five guarantees are Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to homemakers, loan waivers up to Rs 3 lakh for farmers, Rs 25 lakh health insurance per family, Rs 4,000 monthly allowance for unemployed youth, and free bus travel for women.

On the BJP being critical of the five guarantees, he said, "This is a bogey raised by BJP in Karnataka. They want the guarantees to be shut down."

"I reiterate that the BJP leaders from R Ashoka to Vijayendra want the five guarantees to be stopped. They want Rs 58,000 crore not to go to the accounts of Kannadigas in a transparent manner," he alleged.

The Congress leader said the five guarantees will never be stopped.

On some Congress MLAs' charges that there was no development work happening in their segments, Surjewala said there are sufficient funds with the government in Karnataka.

Regarding MLAs giving open statements in public against the government, the Congress leader said, "What we deliberate in the party should remain within the party. I have advised my MLAs also. If they have a problem, instead of raising an issue or a non-issue to settle score, raise it with the head of the family -- In the PCC, there is Shivakumar and in the government there is Siddaramaiah."

 

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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.