Bhubaneswar: Terming Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's allegation of Odisha's neglect by the Centre as "baseless" and a ploy to hide his "inefficiency", Congress on Sunday demanded a white paper on central funds released to the state and their utilisation. "The Chief Minister is misleading people with wrong information on central funds to Odisha. This strategy is aimed at covering the BJD government's inefficiency," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Jayadev Jena told reporters in Bhubaneswar.
Accusing the BJD government of failing to properly utilise huge central funds, Jena said Patnaik's allegation about central neglect was not only baseless, but also misleading to divert people's attention from a series of scandals like chit fund and mining scams. Therefore, the state government must come out with a white paper on funds provided by the Centre and the state government's expenditure and utilisation , he demanded. The PCC chief alleged that due to inefficiency of the BJD government, around Rs 7,001.46 crore in 2009-10, Rs 6,423.15 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 8,439.58 crore in 2011-12 remained unspent in Odisha and returned to the Centre, which had provided the funds to the state under various central schemes.
Referring to a recent study on per capita grants from the Centre, Jena said though Odisha happened to be one of the top receivers of central funds, BJD government in the state had been accusing the Centre of neglect. BJD organised the 'Swabhiman Samabesh' in Delhi on June 12 just to hide
02:24 AM, Jun 17, 2013
While certain RTI activists have asked for political parties to come under RTI, almost all political parties are united in their opposition to this move. All functions of a party and minutes of all meetings can't be disclosed, they say. CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on why political parties should not come under RTI. Q. The other friendly CPI and strong opponent TMC have welcomed...
05:23 PM, Jun 06, 2013
Anil Bairwal, national coordinator of Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and RTI activist joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on why political parties should come under RTI. Q. If RTI is implemented on Congress then we all know what would happen. In that case it'll be very difficult to help Congress rule India and hence RTI shouldn't be applied on Congress atleast. Your thoughts? Asked by: Ravi A. I think...
05:23 PM, Jun 06, 2013
Tiruchirapalli: Aimed at making Tamil Nadu achieve all round development, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday launched Rs 1,854 worth of projects in Srirangam constituency in the district. Out of this, Jayalalithaa laid the foundation stone for several projects valued at Rs 1,752 crore. "My government has been taking efforts based on the concept of promoting humanity and enhancing the state's infrastructure facilities which will make the state achieve an...
03:55 AM, Jun 04, 2013
Pune: The Reserve Bank on Tuesday ruled out a ban on the sale of gold by banks but asked lenders to refrain from aggressively selling the precious metal. RBI Governor D Subbarao told reporters here that the RBI did not intend to ban sale of gold coins by banks. "We do not want banks to aggressively market gold. We do not want that to become a business. Gold loans are...
10:24 PM, May 28, 2013
Chapra: Union Minister Jitender Singh on Sunday criticised the Bihar government for allegedly failing to utilise central funds for development of the state. The UPA government had allocated Rs 90,000 crore for development and welfare of the state and its people, but the state government failed to utilise it, he told a press conference In Chapra (headquarter of Saran district). Singh, who was in Chapra to campaign for Congress candidate...
02:10 AM, May 27, 2013
New Delhi: Delhi BJP leaders on Sunday met President Pranab Mukherjee and demanded dismissal of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the wake of the Lokayukta indicting her for allegedly misusing public funds on an advertisement campaign ahead of assembly polls in 2008. Delhi BJP MLAs, led by VK Malhotra, submitted a memorandum to Mukherjee requesting him to direct Dikshit to resign immediately or dismiss her government in view of the...
06:11 PM, May 26, 2013
New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday demanded initiation of criminal proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for allegedly misusing public funds on an advertisement campaign to get political mileage ahead of last Assembly polls. "We demand registering a criminal case against the Delhi CM for misusing the hard-earned money of tax payers in her election campaign in 2008. We demand immediate action based on the recommendations of the Lokayukta...
12:26 AM, May 24, 2013
New Delhi: In a blow for Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the state Lokayukta has indicted the Delhi government and the Chief Minister for misusing public funds worth Rs 22 crore for an advertising blitz during the 2008 election. The Lokayukta has now appealed to the President to ask Dikshit to return Rs 11 crore to the state exchequer. Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin recommended President Pranab Mukherjee to administer "caution"...
09:30 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Punjab on Monday demanded that the Centre should double the amount of compensation given under State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for crop damaged beyond 50 per cent. The present limit of the compensation is Rs 6,000 per hectare. Keeping in view the rising input costs in agriculture and its vulnerability to adverse climatic challenges it becomes imperative to double the compensation amount immediately, Punjab's Revenue & Rehabilitation Minister...
03:15 AM, May 14, 2013
Milan: A Milan appeals court upheld a four-year sentence for tax fraud against former prime minister and centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday, adding to the complications facing Italy's fragile coalition government. In addition to the jail sentence for tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his television network Mediaset, the court's ruling would also bar Berlusconi from holding public office for five years. However, neither...
07:40 AM, May 09, 2013
Gaya: Highlighting initiatives undertaken by his government, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said the pace of progress could be understood from the almost ten-fold increase in funds spent on development in the state. "Prior to the NDA rule not even Rs 3,000 crore were spent on developmental works in Bihar. The amount has now risen to Rs 26,000 crore in fiscal 2012-13," Kumar said in Gaya. He said...
12:43 AM, May 09, 2013
Mumbai: Indian hedge fund manager Kalpesh Kinariwala is so sure of his equity strategies in a country that has stumped foreign rivals that he sends a daily e-mail tracker of his performance - including to competitors. Kinariwala's Capveda Capital (India) Advisory fund, which he runs from a modest office in a decrepit industrial estate in Mumbai, has returned 11.86 per cent so far in 2013, outperforming average negative returns of...
09:14 AM, Apr 29, 2013
Kolkata: With the Mamata Banerjee regime readying to crack the whip on the chit funds by bringing a new Bill, a debate has begun whether it will stand up to judicial scrutiny as the government has apparently decided to implement the law with retrospective effect. The West Bengal Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Bill, 2013 will have retrospective effect, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said. It will...
10:44 AM, Apr 28, 2013
New Delhi: Expressing concern over the misuse of central funds in Odisha, a delegation led by state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek a need-based financial package for the state, party leaders said in Delhi on Saturday. "The prime minister has said that there is no discrimination whatsoever with Odisha as is being claimed by the state government, and under the revised guidelines of backwardness,...
06:01 AM, Apr 28, 2013
Dehradun: Claiming that development has gained pace in Uttarakhand over the past few months, Union Minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday exuded confidence about the ruling Congress's impressive victory in the civic body polls in the state slated for April 28, 2013. "Development oriented decisions taken by the state government over the last few months are bound to play a big role in ensuring the Congress' thumping victory in the forthcoming...
03:13 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Kolkata: As the chit fund meltdown is spreading like a contagion in rural Bengal, a 50-year-old woman, who had deposited Rs 30,000 in Saradha Group, on Sunday, succumbed to her injuries after she set herself on fire. The woman set herself on fire on Saturday evening at her home after coming to know that the company had gone bust. Meanwhile, the Mamata government is on the defensive with the Left...
08:42 AM, Apr 22, 2013
Kolkata: A 50-year-old woman, who had deposited money in chit fund company Saradha Group, on Sunday succumbed to her injuries after she set herself on fire, while a man tried to poison himself, even as political parties traded charges over the scandal. Urmila Pramanik, a resident of Baruipur in South-24 Parganas district, who had invested Rs 30,000 with the chit fund company, set herself on fire on Saturday evening at...
10:23 PM, Apr 21, 2013
Kolkata: Threatening to file defamation suit against CPI(M) leaders for alleging that he had received crores from absconding Saradha Group chairman Sudipta Sen, TMC general secretary Mukul Roy on Sunday said the government will take steps to book the accused and protect investors' interest. "These are baseless allegations. I will file a defamation suit against them (CPI(M) leaders)," Roy said referring to the allegation of his receiving money from the...
09:14 PM, Apr 21, 2013
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday blamed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in New Delhi for playing "sheer politics" by not yet releasing its share of the funds for the rural job scheme. Bengal's spending on the 100 days of jobs provided under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was the country's highest at Rs.4,408.70 crore, as against a total fund availability of...
05:29 AM, Apr 21, 2013
