Vinod Tawde is BJP in-charge of OBC Morcha, Dushyant Gautam - Minority Morcha, Sunil Bansal gets Yuva Morcha, Jay Panda is in-charge of Mahila Morcha :::: Kejriwal skips 3rd probe agency summons

In the last week of December 2023, BJP president JP Nadda held an important ctwo-day meeting of BJP's national office-bearers and chalked out the party's agenda and broad strategies for the year 2024 especially in the context of general elections.

He also chaired the meeting wherein the BJP's various 'morcha' (wings) laid down their organisational exercises. In a closed-door session of the BJP, the party’s national office bearers, PM Narendra Modi shared his vision and motivated all to work in a "mission mode".  Taking a step forward on the backdrop, the BJP national president Nadda on Jan 3 appointed several leaders as in-charge of various departments.

Here's a list of appointments approved by JP Nadda:

Vinod Tawde is in-charge of OBC Morcha

Dushyant Kumar Gautam is in-charge of Minority Morcha

Sunil Bansal is in-charge of Yuva Morcha

Baijayant Jay Panda is in-charge of Mahila Morcha

Bandi Sanjay Kumar is in-charge of Kisan Morcha

Tarun Chugh is in-charge of SC Morcha

Radha Mohan Das Agarwal is in-charge of ST Morcha

The saffron party is all geared up up for the general elections with the party chief taking stock of readiness on the ground level and Prime Minister Modi aiming to boost the party's seat share in Lok Sabha polls. The saffron party has also coined a new slogan:

"Teesri baar Modi Sarkar, ab ki baar 400 paar"

(Modi Govt for third time; we shall cross 400 mark)

Supreme Court says no ground to transfer Sebi probe 

The apex Court on Wednesday, Jan 3, 2024, rejected interference in the SEBI probe into the Adani-Hindenburg case, stating no grounds for transferring the investigation to a Special Investigation Team. 

In its verdict, the Court held that there was 'no ground to transfer the investigation from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to any Special Investigation Team (SIT), saying the George Soros-led Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)'s report can't be the basis for doubting the SEBI report.

 

The billionaire wrote on X, "The Hon'ble Supreme Court's judgement shows that: Truth has prevailed. Satyameva Jayate. I am grateful to those who stood by us. Our humble contribution to India's growth story will continue. Jai Hind." 

"The reliance on unsubstantiated news reports and third-party organisations cannot be accepted to doubt the probe by a statutory regulator," the court said. It also rejected the arguments of petitioners regarding conflict of interest on the part of the members of the Expert Committee.  

The Supreme Court was hearing a batch of petitions in the Adani-Hindenburg row over allegations of stock price manipulation by the Indian corporate giant.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra delivered the judgement on as many as four petitions. "The power of this court to enter the regulatory framework of Sebi is limited. There are no valid grounds raised to direct Sebi to revoke its amendments on Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) and Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) regulations. The regulations do not suffer from any infirmities". it said.

"SEBI has completed investigation in 20 out of 22 matters. Taking into account the assurance of the Solicitor General, we direct the Sebi to complete the investigation in the other two cases within three months," it said.

"The reliance on unsubstantiated news reports and third-party organisations cannot be accepted to doubt the probe by a statutory regulator," the court said.

It also rejected the arguments of petitioners regarding conflict of interest on the part of the members of the Expert Committee. However, it was added that the government and Sebi should take into consideration the recommendations of the committee to strengthen the interest of the Indian investors.

The judgment on the PILs, filed by lawyers Vishal Tiwari, ML Sharma and Congress leader Jaya Thakur, and Anamika Jaiswal, was reserved on November 24 last year.

The pleas claimed the allegations that the Adani Group, considered close to the Modi government, inflated its share prices and, after the report of the short seller Hindenburg Research, the share value of various group entities fell sharply.

The Supreme Court issued a word of caution against lawyers filing PILs without adequate research and relying on unverified reports.

Kejriwal skips 3rd probe agency summons, AAP says 'conspiracy to arrest him'

In a response to the Enforcement Directorate, the Chief Minister said he was ready to cooperate with the investigation, however, termed the notice "illegal".

Kejriwal's party, the AAP, alleged that ED intended to arrest the Chief Minister and wanted to prevent him from election campaigning. It also alleged the government wanted to arrest the Opposition leaders and that it took no action against corrupt leaders.  

Meanwhile, security was tightened outside AAP's office at Rouse Avenue in Delhi.

Following the development, BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla hit out at the Delhi Chief Minister and alleged he had "something to hide". "Today, once again Arvind Kejriwal has skipped the third summon. This shows that there is something to hide, and that is why he is absconding like a criminal. 

Courts have not given bail to Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, and the courts have established that there is a money trail, despite all this they are playing the same victim card," (sic) he wrote on X and posted a video.  

Sources say an individual can ignore an ED summons three times. Since Kejriwal has now exhausted the tally, the ED can now seek a non-bailable warrant (NBW), compelling his appearance before a court. Failure to comply with an NBW may lead to arrest.

The Delhi Chief Minister maintains that he is prepared to cooperate with the agency but questions the timing and urgency of the summons. 

Kejriwal's refusal to appear before the ED on two previous occasions has escalated the tension between the AAP and the investigative agency.

Kejriwal, however, has two legal avenues available. He can move an appropr0iate court to challenge the summons, asserting his rights and seeking clarity on the allegations. Additionally, he can opt for anticipatory bail, a legal mechanism to safeguard against arrest while an investigation is underway.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED are investigating the now-scrapped Delhi government excise policy for 2021-22, which is alleged to have benefited certain liquor dealers. The AAP has strongly denied the allegations. Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the policy after receiving a report from the Delhi government's chief secretary.

Initially summoned by the central agency on November 2, Mr Kejriwal declined to appear, citing the summons as "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law."  The probe agency issued a second summons on December 18, requesting his presence at their office on December 21. However, the Chief Minister opted not to comply. 

Kejriwal was questioned by the CBI for nine hours in April 2023 in connection with the case. 

AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in February this year.