Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, saying that “without prejudice to his rights”, he will abide by the details of their letter on the vacation of his official bungalow following his disqualification from the Lower House of Parliament.
Gandhi was on Monday served a notice to vacate the government bungalow allotted to him by April 22 following his disqualification as a member of the Lok Sabha after his conviction in a defamation case last week, official sources said.
Thanking the Secretariat for their letter of March 27, 2023 regarding the cancellation of his accommodation at 12 Tughlak Lane, Gandhi said, “As an elected member of the Lok Sabha over the last four terms, it is the mandate of the people to which I owe the happy memories of my time spent here.”
“Without prejudice to my rights, I will, of course, abide by the details contained in your letter,” he said in his letter to MS branch of the Lok Sabha Secretariat which had sent him the notice.
The Housing Committee of the Lok Sabha took the decision following which the secretariat of the House served the notice on the former Congress president, a Z-plus protectee who has been living in the 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow since 2005.
A local court in Gujarat had convicted Gandhi in a criminal defamation case on March 23 and sentenced him to two years in jail. The two-year jail term triggered his disqualification as a Lok Sabha member from the date of the verdict. Gandhi was granted bail to allow him to appeal to a higher court in a month.
A senior official said a Member of Parliament (MP) has to vacate the official bungalow within one month of losing his membership.
Sharad Pawar steps in amid row over Rahul Gandhi’s Savarkar remark; asks Congress to tone down attack
Amid strains in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance over Rahul Gandhi’s strident criticism of V. D. Savarkar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has stepped in to play the peacemaker by conveying the Shiv Sena’s concerns on the issue to the Congress leadership.
Opposition leaders said the Congress has agreed to tone down its criticism of Savarkar, which has led to unease among the NCP and the Shiv Sena, its alliance partners in Maharashtra.
Pawar raised the issue during a meeting of Opposition leaders convened by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on March 27 evening and made it clear that targeting Savarkar, a revered figure in Maharashtra, would not help the Opposition alliance in the State, two leaders who attended the meeting told PTI.
Former Congress Presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were present at the meeting along with leaders of Opposition parties. Pawar also told Rahul Gandhi that Savarkar was never a member of the RSS and underscored that the real fight of the Opposition parties was with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
As the BJP stepped up attack on Rahul Gandhi and sought his apology for “maligning” India on his recent tour to the U.K., the former Lok Sabha member from Wayanad had said that he was not Savarkar and would not apologise.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had slammed Gandhi for his attack on Savarkar and said his outfit will not tolerate any insult of the freedom fighter. The Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena had skipped the meeting convened by Kharge as a mark of protest against Gandhi’s remarks targeting Savarkar.
BBC News Punjabi Twitter account ‘withheld’ in India
The Twitter account of the BBC’s Punjabi news service was ‘withheld’ in India based on a government request. The action was first reported by the South Asian Journal, a diaspora-focused news portal. Twitter has not yet published details of the legal request that led it to restrict BBC News Punjabi’s account.
This comes as police claim to pursue the pro-Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh and his followers. The Indian offices of the BBC were ‘surveyed’ by the Income Tax Department shortly after the release of the two-part documentary India: The Modi Question.
The Hindu has reached out to Kanika Mittal, Country Head at Twitter India for comment. The BBC was not immediately available for comment. Over 120 accounts have been suspended amid the pursuit of Singh, according to filings released by Twitter. The company has withheld the accounts of journalists; activists; celebrities; and even one parliamentarian, Sangrur MP Simranjit Singh Mann of the Shiromani Akali Dal.
The State government also shut down the mobile internet for much of last week in Punjab, with the shutdown lasting longer in parts of the State such as Tarn Taran district and parts of Mohali.
Edappadi Palaniswami declared AIADMK general secretary
Moments after the Madras High Court dismissed interim applications filed by former AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam and a few of his colleagues against resolutions of the July 11, 2022 party general council and the consequent general secretary election, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, was declared elected as the party’s general secretary.
At the AIADMK headquarters, party election commissioners Pollachi V. Jayaraman and Natham R. Viswanathan handed over the letter of appointment to him. Till now, Palaniswami was functioning as the interim general secretary. In a brief chat with journalists, he thanked members of the party for having elected him.
After taking charge as the general secretary, he visited the memorials of the party founder M.G. Ramachandran, and former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, along the Marina Beach in Chennai, along with many of his colleagues. Palaniswami announced that the membership enrolment drive would be launched on April 5.
In the wake of the case before the High Court, the result of the poll process for the post of general secretary was not announced. On March 17, the party released a schedule for the process and the next day, Palaniswami submitted his nomination papers at the party headquarters. No other candidate filed nominations.
D. Jayakumar, organisation secretary and former Fisheries Minister, said that while his party remained a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance [at the all-India level], the BJP was a part of the AIADMK-led alliance in the State. This was despite “skirmishes” between members of the two parties at the lower level, especially IT wing. There was “no question” of taking the rebel leaders back into the party, he added.
The July 11, 2022 meet of the AIADMK general council, the party’s highest decision-making body, had expelled Panneerselvam and his aides for alleged anti-party activities in the wake of the leadership battle involving the two leaders. The Salem strongman’s supporters had backed him for the ‘single leader’ post, even as the party was previously led by Pannnerselvam and Palaniswami as the coordinator and joint coordinator, respectively, then.
Deadline for linking PAN-Aadhaar extended beyond March 31
The Finance Ministry has extended the last date to link Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Aadhaar by three months from March 31 to June 30, 2023. In a statement, the Ministry said that persons can intimate their Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for Aadhaar-PAN linking without facing repercussions by the end of June. According to the earlier directive, failure to link PAN and Aadhaar by March 31 would have attracted several repercussions, including the PAN becoming inoperative. With the extension, one can get them linked before June 30.
“From 1st July, 2023, the PAN of taxpayers who have failed to intimate their Aadhaar, as required, shall become inoperative,” read the statement.
The consequences during the period that PAN remains inoperative are: (i) no refund shall be made against such PANs; (ii) interest shall not be payable on such refund for the period during which PAN remains inoperative; and (iii) TDS and TCS shall be deducted /collected at higher rate, as provided in the Act.
The PAN can be made operative again in 30 days, upon intimation of Aadhaar to the prescribed authority after payment of fee of ₹1,000.
The Ministry added that those persons who have been exempted from PAN-Aadhaar linking will not be liable to the consequences. More than 51 crore PANs have been linked with Aadhaar, as per Ministry data. The process can be done on the Income Tax website.
In Brief:
After a two-day meeting of the Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), it was decided to recommend an increase of 0.05% in the interest for Provident Fund deposits. Union Labour Bhupender Yadav announced the decision after the meeting. The new rate, applicable for 2022-23, will be 8.15%. A government release said the interest rate would be officially notified in the government gazette after approval of the Ministry of Finance, following which EPFO would credit the rate of interest into its subscribers’ accounts.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
Published - March 28, 2023 09:24 pm IST
