India

Agra, Dec 20 (IANS) The Agra Municipal Corporation in Uttar Pradesh has sent notices to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) asking it to pay Rs 1.9 crore as water tax and Rs 1.5 lakh as property tax on the Taj Mahal, a protected monument.

The bills are for the financial year 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The ASI has been asked to clear the outstanding dues within 15 days, failing which the property (Taj Mahal) would be 'attached' if the tax was not cleared within the stipulated time.

Municipal commissioner Nikhil T. Funde, said, "I am not aware about the tax-related proceedings related to the Taj Mahal. Fresh notices are being issued based on the statewide geographic information system (GIS) survey conducted for the calculation of taxes. All premises, including government buildings and religious sites, have been issued notices based on dues pending on them. Rebate is provided following due process of law. In the case of notices issued to the ASI, required action will be taken on the basis of response received from them."

ASI superintending archaeologist Raj Kumar Patel meanwhile, said, "Property tax is not applicable on monuments. We are also not liable to pay taxes for water as there is no commercial use of it. Water is used to maintain greenery within the premises. Notices related to water and property tax for Taj Mahal have been received for the first time. It could have been sent by mistake."

Assistant municipal commissioner and in-charge of the Tajganj zone, Sarita Singh, said, "The matter related to notices issued for water and property tax on the Taj Mahal is being investigated. A private company has been tasked to realise tax on the basis of a GIS survey."

ASI officials said that the Taj Mahal had been declared a protected monument in 1920 and that even during the British regime, no house or water tax had been levied on the monument.

--IANS
amita/dpb

New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday adjourned the bail plea of jailed Aam Aadmi Party Minister Satyendar Jain's bail plea for hearing on January 5, 2023.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma was expected to hear Jain and the two co-accused's (Ankush Jain & Vaibhav Jain) pleas challenging trial court's order denying them bail in a money laundering case. All three were denied bail on November 17 by Special Judge Vikas Dhull.

The High Court on December 1, had sought the response of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Jain's bail plea in the case. Justice Sharma had directed the ED to file its response within two weeks.

On December 12, the High Court issued notice to the ED on bail pleas filed by Jain's co-accused Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain.

The ED filed a charge sheet before a court against Satyendar Jain and others in connection with the case on July 27. It was alleged that Jain, while holding the office as a Minister in the Delhi government, during the period from February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017, had acquired assets that were disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Jain was placed under arrest on May 30, by the central agency under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2017 under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(e) of the PC Act, 1988 against the Minister, his wife Poonam Jain, and Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain, and Ankush Jain.

A charge sheet was filed by the CBI on December 3, 2018, against Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and other accused.

Earlier, the ED had provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies beneficially owned and controlled by Jain on March 31, 2022.

--IANS
spr/shb/

New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, Piyush Goyal demanded an apology from Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Opposition, on his speech made in Rajasthan's Alwar.

Goyal backed by party members, who were raising slogans demanding an apology, said "He has no right to be in the house and should apologise to the BJP, which is the biggest party in the world."

He said, "That is why Gandhi ji wanted to wind up the Congress."

Responding to it, Kharge said, "I have spoken outside the house which is a political speech and I can repeat that... there is no role of the BJP in the freedom movement."

Kharge added that the Congress leaders have sacrificed their lives while the BJP leaders used to ask for pardon from the British government.

In Alwar on Monday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Congress gave freedom to the country and Indira and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the unity of the country."

He added, "Congress party leaders gave their lives. What did you (BJP) do? Did any of your dogs die for the country? Has any family member made any sacrifice?"

--IANS
miz/dpb

New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Lok Sabha MPs Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Gurjeet Singh Aujla and P.V. Midhun Reddy will issue a call attention notice in the House to Home Ministry on the problem of drug abuse in the country and steps taken by the Centre.

Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on Estimates will lay three reports on "Estimates and Policy Aspects of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region".

The committee on Public Undertakings will present in the lower house, a report on the "Operational Performance of NMDC Limited based on CAG Report No. 5 of 2019".

The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Welfare of SCs and STs will present two reports on "Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Public Sector Oil Companies and Status of allotment of Petrol and Gas agencies (CNG, PNG, LPG etc) and other related agencies and units to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes".

Standing Committee on Energy will present a report on Demands for Grants (2022-23) of Power Ministry.

Committee on agriculture will present eight reports on evaluation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

Standing Committee on labour will present three reports on demands for grants (2022-23) of the Labour Ministry.

Standing committee on transport, tourism and culture will present four reports on "Creation of Regulatory Framework for Protection of Historical Sites and Monuments".

Standing committee on housing and urban affairs will present a report on "Implementation of Metro Rail Projects - An Appraisal".

It will also present a report on "PM Street Vendor's Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi)".

--IANS
ans/ksk/

Bhopal, Dec 19 (IANS) The first day of the winter session in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly witnessed verbal exchanges between the ruling and opposition leaders, with the former Chief Minister Kamal Nath saying that he has kept the opposition chair warm for CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Before the session began, Speaker Girish Gautam chaired the meeting of the business advisory committee.

Finding Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan absent during the question hour, state Congress president Kamal Nath said he has kept the chair of opposition warm for him.

"He (CM Chouhan) is not here, I want to tell him through you that I have kept this chair (opposition seat) warm for him," Kamal Nath said, referring to state Home Minister Minister Narottam Msihra.

Responding to that, Mishra, who is also the state Parliamentary Affairs Minister, said, "This is the day dream."

Notably, CM Chouhan left the House after the formal beginning of the session as he had to address the gathering of newly-elected municipal councillors, who had been called for a meeting by the state urban development ministry.

The verbal tussle between the ruling and the opposition continued. Mishra accused the opposition of not allowing the House to function properly and evading from the debates on public issues. Responding to that, Kamal Nath said, "You know who does not allow the House to function."

Earlier, Nath said that the Congress has decided to bring a no-confidence motion against the present BJP government in the state. "I hope it will be followed and accepted as per the rules. We always want the Assembly to run and the term should be extended."

Meanwhile, the House paid tribute to the departed leaders and distinguished people. After which the proceedings of the Assembly were adjourned till Tuesday.

--IANS
pd/dpb

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) Amid continuing protests in the Rajya Sabha by the Opposition, which has been demanding discussion on the India-China border clash, leader of the House and Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the Opposition lacks decorum and doesn't believe in following rules.

Goyal's comments came in the light of fresh protests by the Opposition in the Upper House, where it staged a walkout after their notices to hold a discussion on the border clash was disallowed.

"There is frustration and complete lack of decorum from the Opposition parties. Their frustration has reached a level where they don't believe in any rules and regulations in the functioning of Parliament," Goyal told the mediapersons in Parliament.

"They (Opposition) are even denying rulings and observations of the Chair. Unfortunately, the Opposition is behaving as an obstructionist and destructive force. On sensitive issues, past practices also are that discussion doesn't take place," the minister added.

The commerce minister further told the mediapersons that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had already made a detailed statement in the Rajya Sabha on the transgression incident in Arunachal Pradesh last week, adding that "after which we would have expected the Opposition, particularly Congress to respect our Army jawans at the border and their commitment towards the nation. Rahul Gandhi, however, continues to cast aspersions on the Army".

Goyal went on to say that it shows "their complete lack of respect in the Army, which is demoralising the armed force. It's in the best interest of the country that the Opposition upholds democratic values".

He added that the Opposition should allow smooth functioning of Parliament.

--IANS
ans/dpb

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected a plea filed by an advocate against the practice of sticking images and posters of deities on walls in order to prevent public urination, spitting and throwing garbage.

A division bench led by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, which had earlier reserved its order on this matter, dismissed it.

The plea was filed in a form of a PIL, moved by advocate Gorang Gupta, alleging that even though people are making use of deities' images as a means to put an end to public urination, it is leading to harming the religious sentiments of people at large.

The PIL also stated that public urination and littering seriously denigrates and disparages the sanctity of sacred deities' images.

The petitioner sought the court's direction to the Delhi government, the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Delhi Cantonment Board, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to put a ban on sticking such posters and images.

"The common practice of affixing the photographs of deities on the walls to prevent open public urination, spitting, and throwing garbage has created a serious menace in the society as these photographs do not guarantee the prevention of these acts rather there is no ounce of shame and people publicly urinate or spit or litter on the 'sacred' images of the deities," the plea read.

In view of the above, the petitioner claimed that this very act is in violation of sections 295, 295A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, as well as Article 25 of the Constitution of India as it is harming the religious sentiments of the general public at large.

--IANS
spr/ksk/

Lucknow, Dec 19 (IANS) The Lucknow police have lodged an FIR against a Twitter handle named, 'AzaarSRK', for sharing a snippet of the song 'Besharam Rang' from Pathaan with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's face in place of Deepika Padukone.

An FIR has been registered under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66 of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Several BJP leaders and Twitter users found this objectionable and disrespectful and demanded strict action against the accused.

The cyber team of the DGP headquarters is currently investigating the matter.

The song 'Besharam Rang' from Pathaan has courted controversies ever since it was released. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, the song received heavy backlash on social media and from several political leaders.

Madhya Pradesh minister Dr Narottam Mishra fumed over the use of saffron costume in the song. He found several scenes from the song objectionable and obscene.

He even threatened to ban the movie in Madhya Pradesh if those shots are not replaced.

--IANS
amita/dpb

Lucknow, Dec 19 (IANS) A local court in Lucknow has sentenced a 30-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district that took place more than eight years ago.

The court of special judge, POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act), Varun Mohit Nigam also imposed a penalty of Rs 1.5 lakh on the convict.

THe accused would have to serve an extra six months in jail in case of failure to pay the penalty.

The court pronounced the strict punishment due to effective pursuance of the case by police and prosecution officials, a state government spokesman said.

Government counsel, Sant Pratap Singh said the girl was raped when she had gone to answer nature's call near her house in a village under Hardi police station of Bahraich on September 29, 2014.

He added that the police initially lodged a case of molestation and invoked sections of the POCSO Act. Charges were later added on the basis of the girl's statement and medical examination, he said.

He added the convict was present in court when the jail term was pronounced. He was sent back to jail to serve his term.

--IANS
amita/khz/

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) With the Aam Aadmi Party attaining national status, the party's National Council met for its 11th meeting here on Sunday, to discuss its growth in the last decade and its plan going forward nationally.

The meeting concluded with the National Council noting the party's achievements over the last decade and passing resolutions against rising inflation and unemployment and Chinese aggression.

Preparing the pitch for 2024 elections, national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "I have a vision for the whole country... AAP is only the medium that will help achieve the vision. I envision an India that is a global education hub, where no one sleeps hungry, where underprivileged get top-class education-healthcare and become rich. In our vision for India, there is no scope for caste-religion divides, if the nation can't unite for once and for all, it won't be able to progress."

He said that this has been a successful year for us for several reasons and "I would like to congratulate you all for your hard work and all your efforts".

"In the last one year, we went on to win the state elections in Punjab and form the government over there. We fought the state elections in Goa and have two MLAs in the state. We also fought in the recently-concluded state elections in Gujarat and were successful there as well, so I would like to thank the people of Gujarat for trusting us and giving us such support in our first election in the state," Kejriwal said.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann noted the party's success saying: "Delhi gave us our first government, Punjab gave us our first MPs in the Lok Sabha, Goa opened an account in the west and people from Gujarat made Aam Aadmi Party a national party."

Addressing party members, Kejriwal said: "In a generic sense, there are just three main political parties in the national sphere. There are other political parties as well in the legal sense, but across the country, there is only the BJP, the Congress, and the AAP. And, the AAP stands out among these three with the kind of work that it does. Since we are all meeting today after such a long time, I think it is worth revisiting those aspects that form our ideological base. AAP stands firm on three basic principles in Indian politics - 'kattar deshbhakti, 'kattar imandaari, and (being) corruption free."

He also said that one issue that is bothering the people of this country is the way China has constantly been attacking us and trying to take over the land that belongs to India.

"Over the years, slowly they have tried to take our territory and attack our soldiers at the borders. Meanwhile, our soldiers have displayed bravery and thwarted all the attempts of China. We have even lost some of our soldiers at the borders in these battle," he said.

"In 2020-21, we bought goods worth $65 billion from China - this translates to about Rs 5.25 lakh crore worth of goods. The following year, they continued to attack us and bother our soldiers, but we increased our trade to buy goods worth $95 billion or Rs 7.5 lakh crore from them. What is happening over here? We should have been punishing them or telling them that either you behave yourself or we will stop buying goods from you, but the Centre only seems to reward them more when they are attacking our soldiers at the borders."

"I would also like to urge the BJP-led government to show some courage and stand with our soldiers," he said, adding that the government should not be under any compulsion to buy goods from China.

"This is the 21st Century, and no country can just take over the territory of another country in this day and age. In the modern world, it is all about trade and economics. The day we show some courage and stop this $95 billion import from China, it will come to the terms that India has laid down for it," he added.

--IANS
avr/vd