Delhi chief secy hit by AAP MLAs, says Kejriwal aide: Top 10 developments

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's advisor V K Jain had confirmed that he saw Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs Prakash Jarwal and Amanutullah Khan surrounding Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and assaulting him, the Delhi Police told a Delhi court on Thursday. Additional public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava told the Metropolitan Magistrate that the police said that "new facts" had emerged after the interrogation of Jain, who had previously said he had not seen anything.AAP, for its part, said the whole issue was a conspiracy to "bring down the Delhi government" and to "defame" the party. "By putting pressure on him (Jain) throughout the day (Thursday) and by threatening him, police forced him to change his statement," AAP MP Sanjay Singh told the media on Thursday.The capital has been gripped by a political storm after the chief secretary on Tuesday alleged that he was beaten up by two AAP MLAs in the presence of Kejriwal at the Chief Minister's residence on Monday night, where he had been called for an emergency meeting. Denying the charges of assault, the AAP has said that the chief secretary was making allegations at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Aruna Asaf Ali hospital turns away pregnant lady, faces negligence inquiry

The Delhi High Court has directed the AAP government to inquire whether there was any medical negligence by the Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital, accused of denying admission to a pregnant woman having labour pain that resulted in her giving birth in an autorickshaw while returning home.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru issued the direction to the Delhi government and its Department of Health and Family Welfare on the 25-year-old woman's plea for Rs 500,000 compensation on account of alleged negligence by the hospital in providing treatment to her.

The court said if the facts, as stated by the woman, are correct, "there is a good ground to conduct an inquiry" to determine whether there was any medical negligence.

"Respondent no 3 (Department of Health) is directed to institute a proper inquiry to determine whether there has been any medical negligence on the part of the attending doctor(s).

"The inquiry shall be completed within a period of twelve weeks from today. Needless to mention that if the said findings are indicative of medical negligence, a complaint would also be made to the Delhi Medical Council," the court said and disposed of the woman's plea.

It also directed that the amount of Rs 7,000 spent by the woman on a midwife, to assist with her delivery, and medicines be reimbursed to her.

In her plea, Pinki claimed that she had gone to the hospital around 9.30 am on November 17 after "experiencing labour pain along with the rupture of membranes".
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AAP calls I-T's Rs 30 cr tax notice 'bogus'; BJP, Cong demand explanation

Dubbing an Income Tax Department's Rs 30.67 crore tax notice as "bogus" and "vindictive", the AAP on Monday said it was being targeted by different government agencies and that it had maintained the record of every donation.

"The I-T Department has declared the complete amount of donations we received as illegal and has put it under the category of taxable income although we have maintained the records of each paisa that we received from donors," AAP Treasurer Deepak Bajpai told the media.

The I-T notice said the AAP had not disclosed income of Rs 13.16 crore and that its total taxable income calculated by it was Rs 68.44 crore for fiscal 2014-15 and 2015-16 and that the money received as donation in its bank was not recorded in the account books.

The notice also said that the Aam Aadmi Party had not recorded full details of 461 donors who had given a total of Rs 6.26 crore, each donation amount exceeding Rs 20,000.

The AAP was also accused of not disclosing the donations in its web site.

Bajpai dismissed the charges, saying the party had been keeping and maintaining books of accounts and other documents (of contribution in excess of Rs 20,000) under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act.

"We have been submitting reports to the Election Commission about the donations received as per the law," he said.
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Delhi Assembly's session today: AAJ, BJP to lock horns over metro fare hike

The one-day special session of the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday is expected to be a stormy affair with the ruling AAP and opposition BJP set to lock horns on a series of issues, including the proposed Metro fare hike and guest teachers bill.

Lt Governor Anil Baijal's communication to the Centre to withdraw powers of Department Related Standing Committees (DRSC) of the assembly may also be raised in the House tomorrow.

Baijal had also written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting him to reconsider the guest teacher regularisation bill, saying it was not in accordance with the constitutional scheme of governance of NCT of Delhi.

In the letter, the Lt Governor argued that the matter relating to 'services' falls beyond the legislative competence of the assembly.

The bill is scheduled to be tabled in the House today.

Asked about the response after the LG's letter to the chief minister, city government sources said the assembly would take a final call on the tabling of the Bill.

"This matter (Bill) is related to education not services" they said.

In a statement, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta said the Bill was Aam Aadmi Party's "sheer populist measure".
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Sisodia seeks removal of DIP director for not launching Dengue awareness

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has again sought action against the director of the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) for "not following" his direction to launch awareness campaign about chikungunya and dengue in the city.

This is the second time when Sisodia has sought the removal of DIP Director Jayadev Sarangi after he denied his nod to hold the Deputy CM's Facebook Live even on GST with traders.

In his letter to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, the deputy chief minister said that Sarangi was directed on May 25 to place hoardings and run a campaign for creating awareness about dengue and chikungunya, but he has not done anything till now.

"I do not understand what are the compulsions for not replacing such an incompetent officer. I again urge the Lt Governor to either replace him with a more sincere officer or get the campaign on dengue/chikungunya done from him," Sisodia said in the letter.

He also said that at a time, LG himself is proactively involved in preventive operations and taking regular meetings and all the agencies are trying their best to coordinate with each other and do the needful, the DIP is having no interest in creating awareness as required.

Earlier this month, Sisodia had directed Chief Secretary M M Kutty to take action against Sarangi for denying permission to his Facebook Live event, saying an open tender was required to organise such an event.

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AAP suspends Kapil Mishra from party's primary membership

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday suspended Kapil Mishra from the party's primary membership.

The decision was taken by its high-powered Political Affairs Committee (PAC) chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"Mishra has been suspended from the party's primary membership," a source present at the ongoing meeting said.

The decision comes a day after Mishra levelled allegations that Kejriwal had taken Rs 2 crore in cash from Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain.

Mishra was removed from the post of water minister on May 6.

Earlier on Monday, Mishra had dared the party to sack him even as he fired a fresh salvo at Kejriwal, alleging that a Rs 50 crore deal was made for the AAP chief's brother-in-law.

He also submitted documents to the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) against Kejriwal in connection with the water tanker scam and said he has sought an appointment with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday to register a complaint.
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Truth will triumph, tweets Arvind Kejriwal on graft charges by Kapil Mishra

"Truth will triumph," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said, ahead of the special session of the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday in the wake of corruption charges levelled against him by sacked AAP minister Kapil Mishra.

"Truth will triumph. Its beginning will be made during the special session of the Delhi Assembly tomorrow," Kejriwal tweeted late this evening on the graft charges against him by Mishra that has led to turmoil in the Aam Aadmi Party.

The one-day special session is expected to be a stormy affair as the opposition BJP plans to come down hard on the AAP government over Mishra's graft charges.

The ruling AAP will also seek to corner the BJP and its government at the Centre over alleged EVM manipulation.

AAP sources hinted that the revelations which are being planned by the party on Tuesday will be targeted at the BJP.

The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the AAP on Monday suspended Mishra from the party's primary membership after he made graft charges against Kejriwal.

Mishra dared the AAP to oust him from the party even as he fired a fresh salvo at Kejriwal, saying a Rs 50 crore deal was arranged for the AAP chief's brother-in-law.

Asserting that a bogus bill amounting to Rs 10 crore was made to favour Kejriwal's brother-in-law, Mishra also alleged that during the Punjab polls, there was massive corruption by AAP in ticket distribution, and supplying of liquor by party members.

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Kapil Mishra drops the bomb, says saw Kejriwal take Rs 2 cr 'illegal cash'

A day after being dropped as a minister, AAP MLA Kapil Mishra on Sunday levelled stunning allegations of corruption against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

Mishra told reporters at Raj Ghat that he "saw" Jain handing over "Rs 2 crore" to Kejriwal at his official residence.
On being asked, the CM evaded answering where the money came from and said few things in politics cannot be explained, the sacked MLA alleged.

"I kept quiet all this while due to complete faith on Arvind Kejriwal. Day before yesterday, I saw Jain giving Rs 2 crore in cash to Kejriwal. Kejriwal said few things happen in politics. After having seen Jain hand over such a big amount to him, I had to come out. I have handed over the details to Lt Governor Anil Baijal," Mishra said.

"I am also ready to make a statement before the CBI or Anti Corruption Bureau if required," he added.

There was no immediate reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party or the government on the allegations. The BJP demanded the resignation of Kejriwal saying Mishra has "punctured the balloon of his probity".

Mishra further alleged that Jain told him that he "settled land deals worth Rs 50 crore for Kejriwal's relative". The AAP MLA said he was sacked after he confronted Kejriwal over the issue.
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MHA asks AAP to explain details of party's overseas funding

On Friday, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi was asked by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to furnish details of overseas funding to it following suspicion that it might have violated the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), an official said.

In a communication, the MHA asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to explain certain fundings from abroad after suspecting that it might have violated FCRA provisions.

The MHA official said the communication to the AAP was part of its "routine" queries sent to a few other political parties regarding overseas funding to them.

The official made it clear that it was not a show cause notice and a decision on it would be taken only after the AAP submits its reply.

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