The Pune Police in Maharashtra on Tuesday registered a non-cognisable offence against five persons after the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alleged that some individuals belonging to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP distributed cash to voters in Bhor town of the district ahead of the voting in Baramati for Lok Sabha elections 2024, an official said, reported the PTI. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against the alleged distribution of money, while Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar refuted the charges against his party, as per the PTI. NCP (SP) candidate Supriya Sule and Ajit Pawar-led NCP's Sunetra Pawar are locked in a battle in Baramati Lok Sabha seat, where polling is being held on Tuesday. Supriya Sule is Ajit Pawar's cousin. NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar alleged that the cash was being distributed in Bhor by the ruling NCP and alleged that a cooperative bank in Bhor was kept open till late Monday night. Speaking to PTI, Pune Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh said, "A non-cognisable offence has been registered against five persons following allegations that they were involved in the cash distribution in Bhor in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday." "Some local people in Bhor alleged that a few people came in two to three cars and were involved in distributing cash," he said. "The cars were stopped and people were taken out of the vehicles. They had a minor scuffle at midnight. Meanwhile, a police team reached the spot and during the panchnama of the vehicle, Rs 1,500 cash and a party stole were found in the car," he said, according to the PTI. The case was registered under section 171 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the SP said, adding that a probe was on. The NCP (SP) filed the complaint with the EC about distribution of money to voters in Bhor taluka of Baramati parliamentary constituency on behalf of the candidate of Ajit Pawar-led NCP. In the complaint, the Sharad Pawar-led party said the culprits were caught red-handed in Bhor. "In an unprecedented manner making a mockery of elections and the rules, such corrupt, criminal and illegal practices are being blatantly conducted by the candidate of Ajit Pawar-led NCP," the complaint said, as per the PTI. The party said that based on the complaint, the poll panel's flying squads seized cash, campaign material of the clock symbol, list of villages in Bhor assembly constituency and the list of voters. "People's power will prevail over money power," it said. Refuting NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar's charge of money distribution, Ajit Pawar said it is the Election Commission's job to look into such things. "I have personally contested elections seven times and never indulged in such practices. Right from the beginning of the campaign, some sections of the opposition have been making such allegations against me but I don't pay any heed to them," he said. "The person who is making such allegations has lost his balance. I don't think I should give any importance to this person," he said. Meanwhile, Supriya Sule said, "I have contested the Lok Sabha election (from Baramati) three times, but never saw such things like goons roaming around and banks being kept open till midnight, also the use of money and its distribution, intimidation and people getting caught," the news agency reported on Tuesday. (with PTI inputs)
07 May,2024 04:03 PM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondentCongress Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi, Vikramaditya Singh on Monday took a jibe at the BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut saying that she has no political understanding or vision and is seeking votes only in the name of Prime Minister Modi. "We have kept forth our vision for Mandi Lok Sabha seat infront of everyone...Our vision is set, we know what work we have done and the work that we have to do in the future. But, the BJP's candidate from Mandi is visionless and does not have any political understanding...She is asking for votes in the name of PM Modi. Ask her what her priorities are for the area, she will know them only when is has an understanding of that area...This does not work in Himachal Pradesh," he said. Earlier the Congress hit back at actor-turned-politician and BJP leader Kangana Ranaut for her controversial remarks against its leaders Vikramaditya Singh and Rahul Gandhi and advised her to correct historical facts. While addressing a public rally in the Sundernagar area of Mandi Parliamentary Constituency, Kangana took a jibe at Vikramaditya Singh and Rahul Gandhi over dynasty politics and said that both of them have a magic stick for development and talk only about non-practical things. Responding to this, the Congress leaders dare Kangna to come up with facts and give data of any BJP leader who has contributed their personal property to the nation. The National Media Coordinator for the AICC, Amrit Kaur, said that wherever Kangana Ranaut goes, she creates a mess. Notably, in the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, the Bhartiya Janata Party has pitted actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut against Congress' Vikramaditya Singh. The Mandi Lok Sabha constituency will go to polls on June 1, in the seventh phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Himachal Pradesh has four Lok Sabha seats: Hamirpur, Mandi, Shimla, and Kangra. The BJP won all four seats in 2019. The elections to the four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh and by-polls to the six assembly constituencies that fell vacant with the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs will be held on June 1. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
07 May,2024 03:34 PM IST | Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) | ANIAll parties in Maharashtra want Muslim votes in the Lok Sabha polls but have not fielded candidates from the community, All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on Monday amid ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024, reported news agency PTI. Addressing a Lok Sabha elections 2024 rally in Amkhas Maidan, Owaisi also said parties have come together to ensure the defeat of his Aurangabad MP Imtiaz Jaleel. "Political parties are seeking votes of Muslims but could not find candidates from the community for any of the 48 seats in Maharashtra. They are not bothered about results elsewhere but two Shiv Sena, two NCPs and half Congress are here to defeat Jaleel," he claimed, reported PTI. Criticising Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Chandrakant Khaire, the AIMIM chief said the former used to call himself a Hindutva leader but arrived at the Idgah here after realising the importance of (Muslim) voters. "Those whose politics was earlier based on 'khan ya baan' (Muslims and Hindus) are now talking about namaz'," he asserted. Dubbing Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray as "newly secular", Owaisi said the former chief minister must clear his stand about Babri Masjid demolition and say whether it was a sin or not. Meanwhile, a voter turnout of 31.55 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in 11 of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, where polling is underway in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 on Tuesday, election authorities said, reported PTI. As per data shared by the authorities, Latur registered 32.71 per cent polling, Sangli 29.65 per cent, Baramati 27.55 per cent, Hathkanangale 36.17 per cent, Kolhapur 38.42 per cent, Madha 26.61 per cent, Osmanabad 30.54 per cent, Raigad 31.34 per cent, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg 33.91 per cent, Satara 32.78 per cent and Solapur 29.32 per cent, reported PTI. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his wife Sunetra Pawar, the NCP candidate from Baramati, and his mother Asha Pawar were among the early voters. They cast their votes at a polling booth in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in Pune district, where Sunetra is pitted against her sister-in-law Supriya Sule, the sitting MP from Baramati. NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, his wife Pratibha Pawar, daughter Supriya Sule and her family, MLA Rohit Pawar and his family also voted in Baramati. Actor-couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh cast their votes in Latur, while Union minister Narayan Rane voted in Sindhudurg. Ritesh Deshmukh is the son of Congress leader and former state chief minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh. Rane is the BJP candidate from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat. Voting began at 7 am across the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Some prominent contestants include royal scions Shahu Chhatrapati of the Congress in Kolhapur and BJP's Udayanraje Bhosale in Satara. A total of 2.09 crore persons are eligible to vote for 258 candidates in the third phase, an official said. As many as 23,036 polling centres have been set up in the state, he said. There are 1,07,64,741 male voters, 1,02,26,946 female voters and 929 from the third gender, the official said. (With inputs from PTI)
07 May,2024 02:49 PM IST | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | mid-day online correspondentAmid ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that if his party is elected to power at the Center, then they will remove the 50 per cent reservation cap and increase it further. While speaking at Lok Sabha elections 2024 rally in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone Rahul Gandhi said, "Modi Ji wants to end your reservation. Their (BJP) leaders have clearly said that if our (BJP) government comes, we will snatch reservations from tribals, Dalits, and backward classes, and end reservation. They are talking about snatching, Today there is a limit of 50 per cent for reservation, we will cross this limit, cancel the limit of 50 per cent, and increase your reservation, the reservation of the poor." He also said that if his government is formed in the country, then they will deposit Rs 1 lakh in the bank account of women of the poorest families in the country every year until the day that family crosses the poverty line. "A list of all the poor people in India will be made. A list of every poor family will be made. A woman's name will be chosen from every poor family and the next coalition government is going to deposit Rs 1 lakh in that woman's bank account every year... Rs 1 lakh per year, we are going to directly deposit in the bank accounts of the poorest families in India... Narendra Modi has made 22 billionaires, now we are going to make crores of lakhpati. This money is yours, you pay GST, the country gets this money from you, you pay tax, you pay as much tax as Adani does but this wealth is not given to you that's why for the first time the government of India will give Rs 1 lakh in the bank accounts of crores of women...until the day that family crosses the poverty line," he said. He also said the Congress party has decided to provide employment opportunities to all the graduates of the country for a year. "We have taken a revolutionary decision in our manifesto. The scheme is called 'Pehli Naukri Pakki'. Just like we have the right to employment under MGNREGA, similarly, we are going to give a job for one year to the graduates of India, they will get training in it..and if they have done good work then the job will be confirmed, it will become permanent. 30 lakh government jobs are vacant, we will reserve them for you and we will give you employment," he said. He also announced that if their government is formed then they would increase payment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from Rs 250 to Rs 400. "Today you get Rs 250 for MGNREGA, after the election, you will get Rs 400," he said. "We are going to end the contract system in the government and the public sector. If you get a job, you will get a permanent job," he said. He also promised to waive off the debt of poor farmers and enact a Minimum Support Price law if their government is formed. "We are going to do two things for the farmers of India, first of all, right after the election, we are going to waive off the debt of the poor farmers of India. The second thing, for the first time in the history of India, legal Minimum Support Price (MSP). Meaning we will make a law that goods cannot be bought from a farmer below a particular price," he said. The Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Madhya Pradesh are being conducted in four phases. The first phase of polling was held on April 19 and the second phase was concluded on April 26. The next two phases will be conducted on May 7 and May 13. The counting of votes will be held on June 4. With 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, Madhya Pradesh ranks sixth among all states in terms of its representation in the Lower House. Of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved. (With inputs from PTI)
07 May,2024 02:37 PM IST | Khargone (Madhya Pradesh) | mid-day online correspondentIn the third phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024, a voter turnout of over 25 per cent was recorded across 11 states and Union Territories, despite sporadic incidents of violence and reports of poll boycotts in some areas. According to the Election Commission, by 11 am, a voting percentage of 25.41 per cent was registered. The polling, which began at 7 am, will continue till 6 pm, PTI reported. The PTI report stated that West Bengal recorded the highest turnout with 32.82 per cent, while Maharashtra witnessed the lowest at 18.8 per cent. It further added that in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun, villagers boycotted polling to protest against the lack of attention to their demands for basic infrastructure. Among other states, Assam recorded 27.34 per cent polling, Bihar 24.41 per cent, Chhattisgarh 29.90 per cent, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 24.69 per cent, Goa 30.94 per cent, Gujarat 24.35 per cent, Karnataka 24.48 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 30.21 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 26.12 per cent, the PTI report stated. In Firozabad, three villages boycotted polling to highlight local issues, while sporadic violence was reported in West Bengal, the report added. Various complaints of poll violence, voter intimidation, and assaults on poll agents were lodged, with 182 complaints received by 9 am. Key candidates like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah cast their votes in Gujarat. In Karnataka, queues were observed at polling booths, with senior citizens and morning walkers turning up early to vote. According to the PTI report, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Bhagwanth Khuba, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge, former CM BS Yediyurappa and his family including BY Vijayendra cast their votes in the southern state. "Out of 28 Lok Sabha seats, according to me, we (BJP) are going to win at least 25 to 26 seats. The atmosphere is very good," Yediyurappa told PTI after voting. In Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and NCP leader Sharad Pawar cast their votes amid traditional ceremonies. In Assam, people braved the rain to cast their votes across four Lok Sabha constituencies. Over 1,300 candidates, including around 120 women, are contesting in this phase, with prominent figures like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mansukh Mandaviya in the fray. The third phase covered 189 seats, with the next phases scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. Vote counting will take place on June 4.
07 May,2024 02:37 PM IST | Delhi | mid-day online correspondentFormer Congress leader Radhika Khera and actor Shekhar Suman joined the Bhartiya Janata Party at the BJP headquarters in the national capital on Tuesday amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.They were inducted into the BJP fold in the presence of party leaders including BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde.The former Congress National Media Coordinator, Radhika Khera expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and JP Nadda for welcoming her into the BJP.Khera, had on Sunday quit the Congress party accusing it of being anti-Ram and anti-Hindu and recounted an incident where she said she was disrespected and allegedly manhandled after visiting the Ayodhya temple.Meanwhile, 'Heeramandi' actor Suman had fought the Lok Sabha election in 2009 from Bihar's Patna Sahib on a Congress ticket and lost to BJP's Shatrughan Sinha.Radhika Khera said, "The manner in which I was misbehaved with, in the land of Kaushalya Mata for being a devotee of Ram, for having darshan of Ram Lalla, I would not have been able to reach here if I had not got the protection of the BJP government, the Modi government. Today's Congress is not Mahatma Gandhi's Congress, it is anti-Ram, anti-Hindu Congress. My mother, who is a devotee of Lord Ram, along with whom I went to visit the temple, and my whole family celebrated the Pran partishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir, but the way I was treated for that, I am shivering even today as I remember that time.""I would like to thank PM Modi, Amit Shah and JP Nadda for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such a big family of Ram Lalla," she said.Speaking with ANI, Khera also criticized the Congress leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Sachin Pilot, for their silence regarding the mistreatment she faced after visiting the Ram temple."After I visited the Ram temple, some party leaders misbehaved with me and when I asked for justice, be it Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, I always asked for justice and those who are accused are still holding positions in the party. Rahul Gandhi keeps talking about women empowerment, but when an injustice happened to a woman in his own party, he is silent," Khera said.The former Chhattisgarh Congress leader who resigned from the party earlier this month claimed that the Congress began to "hate her" after she visited the Ayodhya Ram Temple and was reprimanded for sharing videos or photos of the grand temple.Radhika alleged that she was locked inside a room and was manhandled inside the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress office, after her April 25 visit to the Ayodhya Ram temple."I always heard that Congress is anti-Ram, anti-Sanatan and anti-Hindu but I never believed it. Mahatma Gandhi used to start every meeting with 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram'. I got exposed to this reality when I went to the Ram temple with my grandmother and after returning from there, I put a 'Jai Shri Ram' flag on the door of my house and after that, the Congress party started hating me. Whenever I posted photos or videos, I was scolded and asked why did I visit Ayodhya when elections were underway," Khera said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
07 May,2024 02:37 PM IST | Delhi | ANIAmid ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed confidence in BJP's victory in the third phase of voting in Madhya Pradesh on May 7, stating that the "BJP flag will unfurl on all seats." "There are 7 seats of the state in this phase. In this phase too, the BJP flag will unfurl on all the 7 seats," Scindia said. In another development, polling parties on Monday were dispatched along with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to the polling stations for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 to be held on Tuesday, May 7. The teams, along with the polling materials and EVMs, left from Lal Parade Ground in the state capital, Bhopal for the 2097 polling stations of the Bhopal parliamentary seat. Bhopal Collector and District Election Officer Kaushlendra Vikram Singh took stock of the election material distribution site in the morning. Madhya Pradesh has a total of 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, making it the sixth-largest state in terms of parliamentary representation. Out of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved. Guna has been the bastion of the Scindias for decades. However, in the 2019 general elections, Jyotiraditya lost the seat to Krishna Pal Singh Yadav, his former aide who ran on a BJP ticket. The Union Minister was with the Congress at the time. The Union Minister is pitted against Rao Yadavendra Singh Yadav of the Congress. Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Madhya Pradesh are being conducted in four phases. The first phase of polling was held on April 19 and the second phase was concluded on April 26. The third phase of polling will be conducted on May 7 and the fourth phase will be held on May 13. The counting of votes will be held on June 4. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election BJP won 28 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress only won 1 seat. In the 2014 election, BJP won 27 seats while the Congress won 2 seats. (With inputs from ANI)
07 May,2024 02:33 PM IST | Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) | mid-day online correspondentAmid ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the BJP wants to make India a superpower by mainitaining good relations with everyone. He further said that PM Modi has pledged that India will be Viksit by 2047. While addressing a Lok Sabha elections 2024 rally in Lucknow, Rajnath Singh said, "We want to build a new India...PM Modi has pledged that India will be Viksit by 2047...We want to make India a world superpower...We want to become a world superpower not to attack or occupy but to maintain good relations with everyone..." "From 2004 to 2014, when the Congress government was ruling, the country was in the 11th position in terms of economy," he said while addressing a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow. Lauding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "But today, India has jumped to the 5th position globally. Not only this, global financial firms are claiming that in 2027, India will become world's third largest economy." "India is growing at a fast pace. Many parties said that they wanted to form a government to reduce poverty but no government could do it. Today, the IMF and Niti Ayog have said that, under the leadership of the Modi government, we have attained the desired results," he said. He further highlighted that Narendra Modi must become Prime Minister again. "We must go ahead with this resolution. All the voters need to cast their votes. We want to build a new Bharat. To attain this, Modi Ji must be chosen again. We want to make India a superpower, not to attack any country but to build good relations with everybody," he added. "Earlier when we used to go to countries outside and used to say something at the international platforms, nobody used to take us seriously, people used to say that even though we are biggest nation in terms of population, but this is a country of poor people...now the whole world listen to us on international platforms...Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, even Manmohan Singh had said that they would remove poverty from India but they couldn't. After PM Modi came to power, magic has happened...NITI Aayog says so...," he added. Notably, Lok Sabha elections 2024 are being held in seven phases until June 1 and the counting of votes in all seats is scheduled for June 4. The polling in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the most members to the Lower House, at 80, is being held in all seven phases of the parliamentary elections. Voting in 16 seats was completed in the first two phases. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP took a lion's share of the electoral spoils, winning 62 out of 80 seats in the state, with 2 more won by ally Apna Dal (S). Mayawati's BSP managed to secure 10 seats, while Akhilesh Yadav's SP had to settle for just five. The Congress was reduced to just a lone seat. (With inputs from ANI)
07 May,2024 02:27 PM IST | Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) | mid-day online correspondentAmid ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024, Union Minister and BJP candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha seat Smriti Irani said that people in the constituency have understood that development is possible when the leader has good character and the government has clarity in its policies, reported news agency ANI. "The people of Amethi have accepted me as their family. I am a voter in Amethi now. The people have understood that if the government is clear with its policy and the leader has good character, then a lot of development is possible in very little time," Smriti Irani told ANI on Monday. "The Congress leadership is preparing to conduct an analysis of their loss in Amethi after the declaration of the results," she told ANI. Earlier in the day, launching a scathing attack on the Congress party, she alleged that if Congress comes to power, it will overturn the Supreme Court decision on Ram Mandir and build a mosque there. Irani was addressing a Nukkad Sabha in Babupur Village, Gauriganj, in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. "If there had been a Congress MP, a dalaal (middleman) would have stolen vaccines, had there been a Congress MP, someone would have stolen the ration with fake fingerprint and ration could never have reached the people," Irani said, reported ANI. "Rahul Gandhi was MP from Amethi for so many years, can he point out where exactly the 'Tikariya'village lies?" she further asked. Taking a jibe at Congress, she asked people to ignite fire in Congress Lanka to vote against the Congress party. In a veiled reference to former Congress leader Pramod Krishnam's remarks, Irani said, "A leader who was associated with Congress for 32 years, has said that if Rahul Gandhi gets power, he will overturn the Supreme Court ruling on Ram Mandir and again facilitate a mosque there....it is my appeal to people to become the Hanuman of Democracy and ignite a fire in Congress' 'Lanka'." The Union Minister is seeking re-election from the Amethi, a seat she wrested from Rahul Gandhi in 2019, ending the Gandhi family's stint there. Irani defeated Rahul by over 55,000 votes in the last general elections. Rahul Gandhi was a three-time MP from the seat from 2004 to 2019. The seat was represented from Rajiv Gandhi in the past. Sonia Gandhi too won from the seat in 1999, before passing the baton to Rahul in 2004. Rahul Gandhi will be contesting elections from RaeBareli, the seat vacated recently by his mother and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi when she moved to Rajya Sabha.This time, Irani is pitted against Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma, a longtime loyalist of the Gandhi family. The voting in both seats will be held in the fifth phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections 2024 on May 7. Polling for 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh is being held across all seven phases. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4. (With inputs from ANI)
07 May,2024 02:17 PM IST | Amethi (Uttar Pradesh) | mid-day online correspondentUnion Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared a post on social media on Monday and highlighted that GST (Goods and Services Tax) has reduced the taxes on many essential items. The minister said "GST lowered taxes on many essential items compared to pre-GST rates. Common items like hair oil and soaps saw tax cuts from 28 per cent to 18 per cent " She also highlighted the two recent achievements in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) architecture. She emphasized the GST collection crossing of Rs 2 lakh crore and the appointment of the President of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) as a significant milestone. In her post, she also shared about the history of GST by crediting former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee led the NDA government for initiating the idea and credited PM Narendra Modi for its implementation. She also highlighted the complexities of India's pre-GST indirect tax system, emphasizing the fragmented market and varied tax rates across states. "Before GST, India's indirect tax system was fragmented & complicated, and every state was practically a distinct market in itself with different rules and tax rates. Inputs for central excise duty, etc, could not be availed, leading to an increased tax burden for the common people. - GST streamlined 17 taxes and 13 cesses into a 5-tier structure, simplifying the tax regime" said the post. She also highlighted the positive outcomes of GST, including enhanced MSME financing, reduced logistics costs through the E-way bill system, and increased interstate trade. Union minister also emphasized the pro-poor approach of GST, with consistently falling effective weighted average GST rates since 2017. Furthermore, Sitharaman stressed the cooperative federalism aspect of GST, empowering states through the GST council's decision-making process. She debunked the myth that all GST collections are pocketed by the Centre, highlighting the significant contribution to state revenues. "It is a myth that all GST collections are pocketed by the Centre. GST contributes significantly to state revenues - States receive 100% of SGST collected in that state, approx. 50 per cent of IGST (i.e. on inter-state trade). A significant portion of CGST, i.e., 42 per cent, is devolved to the states based on the Finance Commission's recommendations" said the post. "Without GST, states' revenue from subsumed taxes from FY 18-19 to 2023-24 would have been Rs. 37.5 lakh crore. With GST, states' actual revenue amounted to Rs. 46.56 lakh crore" it further added. The Minister said "Despite the GST rate being less than the prescribed Revenue Neutral Rate and COVID-19 affecting the revenues, GST collections (as a % of GDP) have now reached the levels they were before GST (both net and gross). This demonstrates that the Centre & States, collectively, through better tax administration, are able to collect the same revenue with a lower burden on our taxpayers". At the end, the post concluded by adding "GST is an expression of Modi Govt's commitment to'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas'. Our continuous efforts are towards ensuring that new heights are scaled through better taxpayer services and increased efficiencies instead of increased taxes". This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
07 May,2024 02:05 PM IST | New Delhi | ANIGurugram police on Monday said they arrested 11 cyber fraudsters who allegedly duped people across India of about Rs 14.60 crore. According to police, 4,279 complaints and 198 cases were found to be registered against these fraudsters. DCP Siddhant Jain said Rs 4.20 lakh, four mobile phones and two SIM cards were recovered from the accused. After examining these SIM cards and reviewing the data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C), it was found that fraud of about Rs 14.60 crore has been committed by these fraudsters across the country, he added. Out of the total cases registered against them, 16 are lodged in Haryana, including 5 in Gurugram, police said. Those arrested have been identified as Deepak Kumar, Naveen, Dhanvant, Bharat Keshwani, Paras Rajbhar, Manish Kushwah, Deepak Kushwah, Nadeem, Rakesh, Navin and Amita Singh, they added. "During the police interrogation it was revealed that these accused used to commit fraud in the name of purchasing goods online on OLX and by defrauding money through social media platform Instagram," DCP Jain said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
07 May,2024 01:56 PM IST | Gurugram | PTIADVERTISEMENT
