Tag: steps

Congress steps up attack against govt over Adani row

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New Delhi: The Congress-led opposition stepped up its attack on Friday against the government over the Adani row and demanded that there should be a thorough investigation into what they alleged was a “mega scam” as it involved public money.
Opposition parties have been demanding a joint parliamentary probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the allegations of fraud and manipulation by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research against billionaire Gautam Adani’s companies that have triggered an unprecedented stock crash.
“Due to the investment made by LIC-SBI in Adani Group, the money of common citizens of the country is sinking. The Opposition is demanding an inquiry into the entire matter,” the Congress said.
The party also said that it has been two days, and the Opposition is demanding a discussion on the Adani issue in Parliament.
“The money of the people of the country invested in LIC-SBI is sinking. The opposition wants to raise the voice of the public in the House and discuss their concerns. But, PM Modi is running away from the discussion, saving his friend. Fear of what,” the opposition party asked.
Adani Group has lost more than USD 100 billion in market value since Hindenburg Research accused it of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in the January 24 report. The group has denied any wrongdoing and has threatened to sue Hindenburg.
“Dow Jones dropped Adani from Sustainability Indices. Action is being taken against Adani all over the world, but PM Modi is quiet. Where are SEBI, ED, ROC, and SFIO? When will our government take action,” the Congress asked on Twitter.
The opposition parties met in the morning in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and coordinated their strategy for the day.

While 16 parties including the Congress, RJD, AAP, DMK, SP, CPI, CPI-M, BRS, Shiv Sena (Thackeray), JDU, NCP and NC participated in the meeting on Friday, Trinamool Congress did not attend the same. TMC was present in the Thursday meeting of opposition parties.
The Opposition later stalled the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament, which failed to transact any business and were adjourned within minutes.
“Parliament adjourned for another day because the Opposition demands a JPC on the PM-linked Adani issue that is playing havoc on the savings of crores of Indians,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.
“Modi sarkar says MPs are wasting public money. What about the crores people have lost over the last few days of the ‘Maha mega scam,” he asked.
He also accused the government of being fearful of the Opposition demands for a JPC on the Adani issue and alleged that the business group has patronage at the highest levels.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said,”the difference between the global financial community and India’s approach to allegations against Adani is stark.”
“Distant third parties like S&P Dow Jones remove Adani Enterprises on the severity of allegations. Our own regulators and government remain inactive and silent despite 10 days of mayhem,” she said on Twitter.
Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also wrote to the SEBI chief demanding action on the Adani issue not just for the sake of shareholders who are losing their money but also in the national interest.
“Reminding SEBI about its authority to regulate the markets and ensure transparency, compliances are met with so as to not shake the investor confidence & wipe off wealth of investors,” she said on Twitter.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra also tweeted:”S&P Dow Jones removes Adani Enterprises from Dow Jones indices due to stock manipulation and accounting fraud charges.
“Why is NSE not reevaluating index membership of Adani stocks when international ones are.”
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#Congress #steps #attack #govt #Adani #row
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 3, 2023
Cong steps up attack against govt over Adani row; accuses PM of ‘saving his friend’

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New Delhi: The Congress-led opposition stepped up its attack on Friday against the government over the Adani row and demanded that there should be a thorough investigation into what they alleged was a “mega scam” as it involved public money.
Opposition parties have been demanding a joint parliamentary probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the allegations of fraud and manipulation by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research against billionaire Gautam Adani’s companies that have triggered an unprecedented stock crash.
“Due to the investment made by LIC-SBI in Adani Group, the money of common citizens of the country is sinking. The Opposition is demanding an inquiry into the entire matter,” the Congress said.
The party also said that it has been two days, and the Opposition is demanding a discussion on the Adani issue in Parliament.
“The money of the people of the country invested in LIC-SBI is sinking. The opposition wants to raise the voice of the public in the House and discuss their concerns. But, PM Modi is running away from the discussion, saving his friend. Fear of what,” the opposition party asked.
Adani Group has lost more than USD 100 billion in market value since Hindenburg Research accused it of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in the January 24 report. The group has denied any wrongdoing and has threatened to sue Hindenburg.
“Dow Jones dropped Adani from Sustainability Indices. Action is being taken against Adani all over the world, but PM Modi is quiet. Where are SEBI, ED, ROC, and SFIO? When will our government take action,” the Congress asked on Twitter.
The opposition parties met in the morning in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and coordinated their strategy for the day.

While 16 parties including the Congress, RJD, AAP, DMK, SP, CPI, CPI-M, BRS, Shiv Sena (Thackeray), JDU, NCP and NC participated in the meeting on Friday, Trinamool Congress did not attend the same. TMC was present in the Thursday meeting of opposition parties.
The Opposition later stalled the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament, which failed to transact any business and were adjourned within minutes.
“Parliament adjourned for another day because the Opposition demands a JPC on the PM-linked Adani issue that is playing havoc on the savings of crores of Indians,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.
“Modi sarkar says MPs are wasting public money. What about the crores people have lost over the last few days of the ‘Maha mega scam,” he asked.
He also accused the government of being fearful of the Opposition demands for a JPC on the Adani issue and alleged that the business group has patronage at the highest levels.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said,”the difference between the global financial community and India’s approach to allegations against Adani is stark.”
“Distant third parties like S&P Dow Jones remove Adani Enterprises on the severity of allegations. Our own regulators and government remain inactive and silent despite 10 days of mayhem,” she said on Twitter.
Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also wrote to the SEBI chief demanding action on the Adani issue not just for the sake of shareholders who are losing their money but also in the national interest.
“Reminding SEBI about its authority to regulate the markets and ensure transparency, compliances are met with so as to not shake the investor confidence & wipe off wealth of investors,” she said on Twitter.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra also tweeted:”S&P Dow Jones removes Adani Enterprises from Dow Jones indices due to stock manipulation and accounting fraud charges.
“Why is NSE not reevaluating index membership of Adani stocks when international ones are.”
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#Cong #steps #attack #govt #Adani #row #accuses #saving #friend
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 3, 2023
16 Hours with George Santos: Dunkin’ Donuts, 27,000 Steps and a Scolding

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Wednesday, 4:52 p.m.
The Floor
Santos stands up from his usual seat in the middle of the House chamber, three seats from the center corridor where the late-night McCarthy speakership vote almost descended into a brawl. This is his usual perch on the floor, where he frequently yawns, covers his mouth, scrolls on his phone, looks off into the distance, clearly bored. His usual floor comrades: Republicans Burchett, Andy Harris of Maryland, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, with whom he trades jokes and makes conversation. Nancy Pelosi stops by in a burnt orange pantsuit, exchanging pleasantries with Burchett, grasping his forearm and patting his shoulder, laughing but pointedly never so much as glancing at Santos.
Carrying a brown folder, Santos makes his way down to the well, looking confident. He’s going to give his first floor speech, a one-minute expression of support for Iran’s protests. The chamber had just voted, with 420 members in support, to pass a resolution commending the protesters.
He approaches the clerk, wearing a variation of his trademark ensemble — a charcoal gray pullover under a slate pinstripe jacket — and he starts waxing on Ronald Reagan and freedom, words tumbling over words in a rush to make time. He looks down at the lectern, exposing the thinning tuft of hair atop his head.
“I declare with every bullet and with every act of violence imposed by the Iranian government comes a call for us to condemn their actions,” he says, in a decorous monotone, “and urge the Biden administration to take far greater action than mere sanctions to address the countless murders and examples of senseless brutality.
“I yield back my time.”
I catch Santos as he’s coming out of the Speaker’s Lobby, the colonnaded foyer just outside the House chamber. A veteran journalist is walking with him, deploying the time-honored reporter’s tactic of asking his question in a level, measured tone, so as not to come off as combative.
“Do you feel like at some point you need to answer questions, though, to sort of clear up—” the reporter says. “WHO’S KICKING ME?” Santos spits back at the roving scrum that had now mushroomed to a few reporters pushing for space, including me. (To be clear, nobody kicked him. I’d stepped on the back of his foot by accident amid the chaos. I quickly apologize, but he ignores me.)
Then more questions from the press, which aren’t just questions that journalists have, but questions that his constituents also have: “Have you been contacted by the Ethics Committee?”

“I’ve not,” George Santos says. (“No comment,” writes Tom Rust, the committee’s chief counsel, in a later email.)
I ask: “Have you been in touch with your legal team?”
“With who?” With your legal team.
“With my legal team? Do I have a legal team? I’m asking you, ‘Do I?’ You guys seem to know more than I do about myself!”
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#Hours #George #Santos #Dunkin #Donuts #Steps #Scolding
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 31, 2023
Inadequate steps in Joshimath; declare Himalayas eco-sensitive zone: Experts

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New Delhi: Unplanned and uncontrolled construction in the name of development in Uttarakhand has brought Joshimath on the brink of sinking, experts said here, demanding that the Himalayas be declared an eco-sensitive zone.
In a resolution passed at a roundtable organised by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Saturday, experts termed as “inadequate” the steps taken to deal with the prevailing situation in subsidence-hit Joshimath.
They also asked the government to consider taking long-term measures to address the problem, saying a similar situation may arise in Nainital, Mussoorie and other areas of Garhwal as well if the “so-called development driven by human greed” is not checked in the hill state.
“Declare Himalayas as an eco-sensitive zone. Regulate big projects causing devastation,” the resolution said.
While the width of the road under the Char Dham road widening project must be regulated to an intermediate standard to minimize the damage to the terrain, the Char Dham railways project should be reassessed, it added.
“Chardham railways is an over ambitious project that will cause much devastation and will further overburden the tourist centric state of Uttarakhand. This project should be reassessed and re-looked at,” the resolution said.
A detailed carrying capacity assessment of Uttarakhand should be done to ensure that the number of tourists visiting these places is accounted for and also to ensure that the tourist flow does not cause environmental overburdening, it added.
The roundtable, organised to deliberate on the topic ‘Imminent Himalayan Crisis’, was attended by former chairperson of a Supreme Court-appointed committee on the Centre’s Char Dham project Ravi Chopra, its former member Hemant Dhyani and others, SJM co-convenor Awshwani Mahajan told PTI.

“Sri Adi Shankaracharya founded the city where the holy Jyotirlinga is located in the eighth century, which is known as Joshimath (Jyotir Math). Today, this math is at the brink of collapse. The news of the sinking of Joshimath has shaken the whole country,” Mahajan said.
“Even though some steps have been taken in view of the current crisis, experts believe that the sinking of this first Jyotir Math established by Adi Shankaracharya cannot be stopped,” he added.
Terming the steps taken by the government to deal with the prevailing situation “inadequate”, the resolution noted that while on one hand a large number of people are going to be displaced due to the sinking of Joshimath, on the other, the solution is being sought only by way of rehabilitation of affected residents.
“Currently work on the mega projects in this area – the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) hydropower project, Helang bypass road construction which is part of Chardham road widening project and ropeways project, has been stopped by the district administration succumbing to the local protests,” it noted.
It can be seen that areas such as Bhagirathi ESZ, where large scale mega projects have not been implemented and the local ecology has not been tampered with, land subsidence, landslide incidents and devastating disaster events are minimum to none, it underlined.
“This is proof enough that the indiscriminate, unplanned robust construction everywhere else in Uttarakhand has directly or indirectly impacted and aggravated the disaster like situation,” it added.
It is worth mentioning that the way the mountain was cut at the foothills of Joshimath for the construction of Chardham Marg and how without a proper hydrogeological study, the NTPC dug a tunnel in the middle of the mountain, this fragile mountain was destroyed,” the resolution noted.
“It is also noticed that due to robust and unplanned construction of high-rise hotels and buildings, there is inadequate arrangement for sanitation, which makes Joshimath more unstable and burdened,” it said.
“Due to all this, today the entire area of Joshimath is sinking and there is no way we can save it,” it added.
In the name of development, the resolution noted, construction work and tampering with nature is going on continuously all over Uttarakhand.
Due to the massive deforestation, there is hardly any greenery left on the mountains; and due to this, landslides have become a common feature in these youngest fold mountains, it claimed.
“Disastrous construction in the name of development without assessing the expected impact is becoming the cause of today’s and earlier tragedies. This crisis can be avoided only by curbing this indiscriminate construction,” the resolution said.
“In view of this type of rapid destruction in the past, it has become necessary to consider that the so-called development driven by human greed cannot be allowed to continue. It is necessary that long-term measures are taken to deal with this problem,” it demanded.
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#Inadequate #steps #Joshimath #declare #Himalayas #ecosensitive #zone #Experts
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023