Tag: Chidambaram

Will take decisive action on Bajrang Dal if voted to power: Chidambaram

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New Delhi: Amid the raging “Bajrang Dal” row, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said his party’s Karnataka polls manifesto did not state that the outfit will be banned but promised “decisive action” under law as a warning to all organisations that indulge in hate-mongering.
Hitting out at the BJP over its criticism, he also questioned the equating of Bajrang Dal with ‘Bajrangbali’, asking how this “magical transformation” can be explained.
In an interview with PTI ahead of the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls, Chidambaram expressed confidence that the people of the state will choose wisely, asserting that the choice is stark as Karnataka could either become a model of a liberal, democratic, plural, tolerant and progressive state or an inward-looking, majoritarian, intolerant and regressive state.

“For the sake of democracy and the future of Karnataka, we must stop the BJP from winning in Karnataka and using the victory to launch forays into the neighbouring states,” he said.
Asked about the BJP promising implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the introduction of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state, the former home minister said both are issues that have the potential to divide society and trigger social conflict.
“We have the experience of what happened in some northern and northeastern states. I think the people of Karnataka have absorbed the lessons and will reject these election proposals or promises of the BJP,” Chidambaram told PTI.
Asked about the BJP making the talk of possible action against organisations such as the Bajrang Dal in the Congress manifesto a poll issue and whether it would impact the elections, Chidambaram said the Congress’ manifesto did not say that “we will ban the Bajrang Dal”.
“Please read the two sentences again.There is a reference to two organisations that use extreme language and indulge in extreme actions. The Congress warned all organisations that indulge in hate-mongering,” Chidambaram said.

“The Congress promised ‘decisive action’ under law. Besides, under the law, banning an organisation is a judicial process. I have wondered how Bajrang Dal became Bajrangbali! Can you please explain the magical transformation?” the former home minister said.
The Congress, in its election manifesto for the Karnataka polls, said it is committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations spreading hatred amongst communities on grounds of caste or religion.
“We believe that law and Constitution are sacrosanct and cannot be violated by individuals and organisations like Bajrang Dal, PFI or others promoting enmity or hatred, whether among majority or minority communities. We will take decisive action as per law, including imposing a ban on any such organisations,” the party has said in its manifesto.
Chidambaram, who is a star campaigner of the Congress for the polls, said he can sense the desire for change in the state.
“Since I am not a resident of Karnataka, I am unable to make a micro-analysis and predict the number of seats that the Congress is likely to win. My senior colleagues in the KPCC (Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee) are confident that the Congress will get a clear majority of the seats,” he said when asked about the number of seats the Congress is expected to win.
Asked about Prime Minister Modi raising the issue of abuses hurled at him, Chidambaram said, “What is ‘abuse’ is a matter of perception. Robust political language in an election is not abuse.”
“Besides, shall we play tit-for-tat and count the abuses hurled by BJP leaders against Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Dr Manmohan Singh and Mr Rahul Gandhi? This is a pointless exercise,” he said.
On reports of former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakaumar attempting to outdo each other for the post of CM, Chidambaram said both are senior and responsible leaders of the Congress.
“The media is encouraged by the powers-that-be to sow dissensions in the Congress. I am afraid both the BJP and a section of the media will be disappointed!” he added.
On the message that will be sent out through the Karnataka polls, Chidambaram said, “We believe that a positive result for the Congress in the Karnataka election will herald the arrest of the slide of the nation into majoritarianism, bigotry, illiberalism, crony capitalism and indifferent economic growth.”
“There is a clear and present danger. Sooner the nation wakes up to the danger, the better it will be for the country and the future of the people,” the senior Congress leader said.
Chidambaram has been countering the BJP’s double-engine pitch. On Saturday, he had referred to the violence in Manipur to say that Karnataka voters should beware of the “spurious promise of a double-engine government”.
The elections for the 224-member Karnataka assembly will be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 7, 2023
Chidambaram cautions people of Karnataka against Uniform Civil Code, NRC

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Bengaluru: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday cautioned the people of Karnataka against the BJP poll manifesto promising Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) by calling these topics “a pernicious agenda” of the ruling party to divide and polarise the state.
BJP’s election manifesto for Karnataka released on Monday said: “We will implement the UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose. We will introduce the National Register of Citizens in Karnataka and ensure speedy deportation of all illegal immigrants in the state.”
Addressing a press conference here, Chidambaram termed the UCC and NRC as the “pernicious agenda that is creeping into the south of India” and said they (BJP) are looking for a gateway in Karnataka”.

The former Union minister also said he was not worried about anything else in the BJP’s manifesto as “those are irrelevant”.
“I am concerned deeply about the promise of the UCC and the NRC. This will divide Karnataka, this will polarise Karnataka. This will create social conflict,” he said.
According to Chidrambaram, the BJP will try to enter other states including Tamil Nadu (using UCC and NRC).
“We will fiercely resist these pernicious ideas entering Tamil Nadu. But my humble appeal to the people of Karnataka is fiercely resist and stop the entry of this sinister, pernicious agenda into Karnataka,” the Congress leader asserted.

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#Chidambaram #cautions #people #Karnataka #Uniform #Civil #Code #NRC
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 2, 2023
Chidambaram slams George Soros over ‘revival of democracy’ remark

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New Delhi: Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday reacted sharply to George Soros’s “revival of democracy” remark.
In a series of tweets, he said, “I did not agree with most of what George Soros had said in the past and I do not agree with most of what he says now. But to label his remarks as an “attempt to topple the democratically elected government in India” is a puerile statement”.
The former union minister further said in the tweet that the people of India will determine who will be in and who will be out of the government of India.
“I did not know that the Modi government was so feeble that it can be toppled by the stray statement of a 92-year-old rich foreign national”, he said in another tweet.
He further said to ignore George Soros and listen to Nouriel Roubini. “Roubini warned that India is increasingly driven by large private conglomerates that can potentially hamper competition and kill new entrants”.
“Liberalisation was to usher in an open, competitive economy. The Modi government’s policies have created oligopolies”, he concluded in the tweets.
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#Chidambaram #slams #George #Soros #revival #democracy #remark
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 18, 2023
SC must put end to daily abuse of law: Chidambaram after Jamia nagar violence verdict

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New Delhi: A day after a Delhi court discharged Sharjeel Imam and 10 others in the 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said the criminal justice system that tolerates pre-trial incarceration is an affront to the Constitution and urged the Supreme Court to put an end to this “daily abuse of the law”.
A court here on Saturday discharged 11 people, including student activists Imam and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who participated in anti-CAA protests, in the 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case, saying they were made “scapegoats” by police, and that dissent has to be encouraged, not stifled.
Reacting to the development, Chidambaram tweeted, asking whether there was even prima facie evidence against the accused.
Some accused have been lodged in jail for nearly three years. Some got bail after many months. This is pre-trial incarceration.
An inept police and over-zealous prosecutors are responsible for keeping citizens in jail before trial. What action will be taken against them?
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 5, 2023
“The Court’s conclusion: unequivocal no. Some accused have been lodged in jail for nearly three years. Some got bail after many months.This is pre-trial incarceration,” the former home minister said.
“An inept police and overzealous prosecutors are responsible for keeping citizens in jail before trial. What action will be taken against them?” Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.
The SC must put an end to this daily abuse of the law. The sooner the better.
Bless the trial courts that push back against the abuse of the law and uphold liberty
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 5, 2023
Who will give back the months or years that the accused spent in jail, he asked.
“Our criminal justice system that tolerates pre-trial incarceration is an affront to the Constitution of India, especially Articles 19 and 21.The SC must put an end to this daily abuse of the law. The sooner the better,” Chidambaram said.
“Bless the trial courts that push back against the abuse of the law and uphold liberty,” he added.

Noting that the accused were merely present at the protest site and there was no incriminating evidence against them, the court said dissent is an extension of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression, subject to reasonable restrictions.
An FIR was lodged in connection with the violence that erupted after a clash between police and people protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the Jamia Nagar area here in December 2019.
Imam was accused of instigating the riots by delivering a provocative speech at the Jamia Millia Islamia University on December 13, 2019. He will continue to remain in jail as he is an accused in the larger conspiracy case of the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.
Additional Sessions Judge Arul Varma said there were admittedly scores of protesters at the site and some anti-social elements within the crowd could have created an environment of disruption and havoc.
“However, the moot question remains — whether the accused persons herein were even prima facie complicit in taking part in that mayhem? The answer is an unequivocal no,” the judge said.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 5, 2023
Imp of personal savings ‘jettisoned’ in ‘hullabalo’ over old, new tax regimes: Chidambaram

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Delhi: Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday said that in the “hullabaloo” over the old and the new tax regimes, the importance of personal savings in a developing country has been “jettisoned”.
The former Union finance minister asserted that in the absence of a state-provided safety net for the vast majority of people, personal savings is the only social security.
The mystery of the New Tax Regime is unravelling, he said and pointed to the analysis and the tables in major newspapers on Thursday.
“If you are a taxpayer, don’t rush to conclusions. Do your math, consult a chartered accountant,” Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.
“My regret is, in this hullabaloo about OTR (old tax regime) and NTR (old tax regime), the importance of personal savings in a developing country has been jettisoned,” he said.
Chidambaram on Wednesday claimed that the Union Budget has “betrayed” the hopes of a vast majority of Indians and shows how far removed the government is from the people and their concerns about life, livelihood and the growing inequality between the rich and the poor.
At a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he had termed the budget “callous” and claimed that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has not mentioned unemployment, poverty, inequality or equity anywhere in her Budget speech.

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#Imp #personal #savings #jettisoned #hullabalo #tax #regimes #Chidambaram
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
‘Callous’ Budget has betrayed hopes of vast majority of people: Chidambaram

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New Delhi: Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Wednesday accused the government for ignoring the common man behind, saying the absence of key concerns in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech showed how far this government is removed from the people and their concerns about life, livelihood and the growing inequality between the rich and the poor.
He termed it a callous Budget that has “betrayed” the hopes of the vast majority of the people.
Addressing a press conference, Chidambaram said: “FM has not mentioned the words unemployment, poverty, inequality, or equity anywhere in her speech. Mercifully, she has mentioned the word poor twice in her speech. I am sure the people of India will take note of who are in the concerns of the government and who are not.”
He said that last year, the government estimated the GDP for 2021-22 at Rs 232,14,703 and, assuming a nominal growth rate of 11.1 per cent, projected the GDP for 2022-23 at Rs 258,00,000 crore. The GDP for 2021-22 has been since revised upward to Rs 236,64,637 crore.
In today’s Budget papers, the GDP for 2022-23 has been estimated at Rs 273,07,751 crore which yields a growth rate of 15.4 percent, much above the earlier estimate, he added.
Chidambaram also said that no taxes have been reduced except for the small number, who have opted for the new tax regime, while no indirect taxes have been reduced.
“There is no cut in the cruel and irrational GST rates. There is no reduction in the prices of petrol, diesel, cement, fertilisers and no cut in the numerous surcharges and cesses which are, any way, not shared with the state governments.
“Who has benefited by this Budget? Certainly, not the poor. Not the youth looking desperately for jobs.A Not those who have been laid off. Not the bulk of the taxpayers. Not the homemaker. Not the thinking Indians who are shocked by the growing inequality, the rise of the number of billionaires and the wealth being accumulated in the hands of the 1 per cent of the population. Certainly, not you,” Chidambaram said.

He also accused the government of being determined to push the fortunes of GIFT city, Ahmedabad,A at the cost of other commercial and financial centres. The government is also determined to push the ‘new’ tax regime for which there are few takers for a variety of reasons.
“Besides, making the new tax regime the default option is grossly unfair and will rob the ordinary tax payer of the meagre social security that he may get under the old tax regime,” he added.
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#Callous #Budget #betrayed #hopes #vast #majority #people #Chidambaram
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 1, 2023