August 2019

6 August 2019
ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Imran Khan
BJP's assets increased by
22% in 2017-18: ADR
New Delhi : The total assets
of the BJP in 2017-18 registered
a rise of 22 per cent compared
to previous financial
year's asset declaration of Rs
1,213 crore to Rs 1,483.35
crore, election watchdog
Association of Democratic
Reforms (ADR) has said.
An ADR report said the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
was among the seven national
parties whose assets, as
declared by them during 2017-
18, was 6 per cent more than
their declaration in 2016-17.
The total assets declared by the
seven parties -- BJP, Congress,
Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP), Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP), Communist Party of
India (CPI), Communist Party
of India (Marxist) and
Trinamool Congress (TMC)--
in 2017-18 was Rs 3,456.65
crore, up from Rs 3,260.81
crore in 2016-17. "During
2016-17, the declared assets of
the BJP totaled Rs 1,213.13
crore and increased by 22.27
per cent to Rs 1,483.35 crore
during 2017-18," the report
said. As per the ADR report,
the Congress and the NCP
were the only two national parties
that have shown a decrease
in their annual declared assets.
The total assets of the
Congress between 2016-17
and 2017-18 decreased by
15.26 per cent (from Rs 854.75
crore to Rs 724.35 crore) while
those of the NCP fell by 16.39
per cent (from Rs 11.41 crore
to Rs 9.54 crore) during the
corresponding period.
However, the total assets of
the TMC increased by 10.86
per cent, from Rs 26.25 crore
during 2016-17 to Rs 29.10
crore in 2017-18. The assets of
the BSP also showed an
increase from Rs 680.63 crore
in 2016-17 to Rs 716.72 crore
in 2017-18, while the assets of
the CPI-M were Rs 463.76
crore in 2016-17 and it went up
to Rs 482.1 crore in 2017-18.
The assets of the CPI also rose
from Rs 10.88 crore in 2016-
2017 to Rs 11.49 crore in
2017-18. The assets include
fixed assets, loans and
advances, deposits made and
investments, the report said.
According to the ADR report,
the total liabilities for 2016-17
declared by these parties, however,
amounted to Rs 514.99
crore (an average of Rs 73.57
crore per party), which
decreased by 27.26 per cent to
Rs 374.61 crore in 2017-18.
"For 2016-17, the Congress
declared the highest liabilities
of Rs 461.73 crore followed by
the BJP with Rs 20.03 crore.
"And for 2017-18, highest liabilities
of Rs 324.2 crore were
declared by the Congress followed
by the BJP with Rs
21.38 crore and the TMC with
Rs 10.65 crore." Four political
parties declared a decrease in
liabilities between 2016-17
and 2017-18 -- Congress Rs
137.53 crore, CPI-M Rs 3.02
crore, NCP Rs 1.34 crore and
TMC Rs 55 lakh -- while BJP,
CPI and BSP have declared an
increase in liabilities during
2017-18.
After SC rap, public outrage, BJP expels MLA Sengar
slammed for
remark on
press freedom
Islamabad : The global media
watchdog, Reporters Without Borders
(RSF), has criticised Pakistan's Prime
Minister
Imran Khan
for rejecting
the question
of media
curbs in the
country.
During his
visit to the
US, Khan
had said
that talking
about curbs
on press freedom in Pakistan was a
"joke". "It is clear that either you are
very poorly informed, in which case
you should urgently replace the people
around you, or you are knowingly
concealing the facts, which is very
serious, given your responsibilities,"
RSF Secretary General Christophe
Deloire wrote on Wednesday, reported
Dawn newspaper.
The RSF alleged that it was an
"obscenity" for Khan to say that press
freedom was thriving in Pakistan.
Given a recent surge in press freedom
violations, which the RSF enumerated
in a statement, "you will appreciate
that to talk of 'one of the freest
presses in the world' is clearly tantamount
to an obscenity," Deloire said.
He urged Khan to "allow
Pakistan's journalists to exercise their
profession in complete safety and
with complete independence". The
credibility of the Pakistani state and
democracy is at stake, he said. Earlier
in July, the government launched a
blistering attack on the press, linking
critical coverage to potential "treason".
Also in July, a number of private
television channels had their
broadcasts cut after screening a press
conference with former Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter
Maryam Nawaz. In recent years, the
space for dissent has shrunk, with the
government announcing a crackdown
on social networks and traditional
media houses decrying pressure from
authorities that they say has resulted
in widespread self-censorship.
New Delhi : After much dilly-dallying,
Representing Bangarmau assembly constituency
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on
in Unnao, Sengar had joined the
Thursday succumbed to immense public
BJP in 2017. It had taken immense pressure
pressure and expelled four-time Uttar
for the BJP to ensure Sengar is arrested after
Pradesh legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar
he was accused of raping a woman in Unnao.
who is under scanner for an alleged attempt
The rape victim is battling for her life after
to kill the woman he was accused of raping.
being seriously injured in a road accident on
The party's decision came on the day the
July 28 near Rae Bareli. Sengar, who is in
Supreme Court took a serious note of the
jail, is under scanner for his alleged role in
incident and ordered that all the cases pertaining
the accident in which victim's two aunts died
to rape and the road accident of the
and her lawyer got seriously injured. He has
victim will be investigated in New Delhi, not
been in all the political parties in Uttar
Uttar Pradesh. BJP MP and spokesperson
Pradesh starting with the Congress, then
G.V L Narsimha Rao said that there is no
joining the Bahujan Samaj Party before having
place for any person in the party who is facing
a stint with Samajwadi Party and finally
serious charges. Sources said that the
landing in the BJP. UP BJP chief Swatantra
party was forced to take action against the
Dev Singh on Wednesday had said that
MLA because of growing public outrage and
Sengar was under suspension amidst growing
demands for his expulsion. Sources said that his
the tough stand taken by the SC sealed Sengar's fate. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Party leaders said that
The party had earlier refrained from taking stern action now defending him had become untenable in wake of political clout in the region forced BJP to delay the decision
to expel him.
as the legislator was seen to be close to Uttar Pradesh the growing sentiment both outside and within the party.
Pak to give consular access to Jadhav, India evaluating
New Delhi/Islamabad :
Pakistan has decided to grant
consular access to Indian national
Kulbhushan Jadhav, a fortnight
after the ICJ ruling, and has
informed India about it.
New Delhi confirmed on
Thursday it has received the
Pakistani proposal and said it will
communicate with Islamabad
through diplomatic channels.
Amid reports that Pakistan has
set some conditions on providing
consular access, like insisting
that it will have its own person
present during the meeting
between Indian officials and
Jadhav, India said that it is "evaluating"
the Pakistani proposal in
the "light of the judgement of the
ICJ ruling".
"I am not getting into the
modalities. We have received a
proposal from Pakistan, and we
are evaluating it in the light of
judgment of the ICJ. We will
maintain communication with
Pakistan through diplomatic
channels," said Ministry of
External Affairs spokesperson
Raveesh Kumar, answering
queries at a media briefing in
New Delhi.
Pakistan Foreign Office
spokesperson Mohammed Faisal,
in an answer to a query at a media
briefing in Islamabad, said: "We
have offered the Indian High
Commission to avail consular
access on this Friday. The reply
from the Indian side is awaited."
According to reports, the time
for the consular access is 3 p.m.
on Friday.
On July 18, Pakistan said it
has informed Jadhav of his rights
to consular access under the
Vienna Convention, in accordance
with the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, and
said it will grant consular access
to the Indian national "according
to Pakistani laws".
The move comes after the ICJ
rapped Islamabad for continually
denying Jadhav, incarcerated in a
military jail in an unknown location
in Pakistan, consular access
in accordance with the Vienna
Convention.
In its July 17 verdict, the ICJ
had directed Pakistan for a continued
stay on the death sentence
of Jadhav and to provide him
consular access.
Pakistan had refused to allow
Indian officials to meet Jadhav
ever since his "arrest" in March
2016 for alleged espionage. In
April 2017, he was sentenced to
death by a military court, after
which India approached the ICJ.