'She Chose Not To Speak More': NITI Aayog CEO On Mamata Banerjee's Charge

Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, BVR Subrahmanyam, dismissed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claim that her microphone was muted while speaking at the NITI Aayog meeting. He clarified that each Chief Minister was given a designated speaking time, which was displayed on screens at their tables, and that the time allotted to the West Bengal Chief Minister had ended.

Addressing a press conference after the NITI Aayog meeting, Mr Subrahmanyam said that the West Bengal Chief Minister requested to speak early before lunch, and "it was accepted."

"The Chief Minister of West Bengal requested to be given a turn before lunchtime. I'm just putting facts on the ground, no interpretations. It was a clear request from their side because normally we would have gone alphabetically, starting with Andhra Pradesh, then Arunachal Pradesh. We adjusted, and the Defence Minister called her in just before Gujarat. So, she made her statement," he said.

"Every Chief Minister is allotted seven minutes, and there's a clock on top of the screen that shows the remaining time. It goes from seven to six to five to four to three. At the end, it shows zero. Nothing else happened. Then she said she would have liked to speak for more time but chose not to. That was it. We all heard her points respectfully, and they will be reflected in the minutes. The Chief Secretary continued to attend the meeting even after she left to catch a flight to Calcutta," Mr Subrahmanyam added.

The CEO further mentioned that the Chief Ministers of ten states and Union Territories did not attend the meeting.

"We had 10 absentees and 26 participants. Absentees included Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Puducherry. The Chief Minister of West Bengal was present," he said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also rejected Mamata Banerjee's claim that her microphone was switched off during the NITI Aayog meeting, stating that every Chief Minister was "allotted due time to speak."

"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the NITI Aayog meeting. We all heard her. Every Chief Minister was given their allotted time, displayed on the screen before each table. It's completely false that her mic was turned off. Every Chief Minister was given their due time to speak," the Finance Minister told ANI.

Ms Sitharaman described Ms Banerjee's claims as "unfortunate," adding that the government was happy that the West Bengal Chief Minister attended the meeting, where she spoke on behalf of the opposition, i.e., INDIA bloc.

"It's unfortunate that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has claimed that her mic was switched off, which is not true. We're happy she participated in this meeting, presented her case for West Bengal, and spoke for the opposition. But even as she did so, we adhered to the procedure," Sitharaman said.

She further remarked that Ms Banerjee should have requested more time if needed, instead of using it as an excuse to walk out of the meeting.

"If reminded that her time is over, she could have requested to continue speaking as other Chief Ministers did. Instead, she used it as an excuse to leave the meeting," Ms Sitharaman said. "She should speak the truth rather than build a narrative based on falsehood," she added.

Earlier, the central government's fact-checking body refuted as "misleading" the claim made by the West Bengal Chief Minister about her microphone being switched off.

A PIB fact-check today debunked her allegations, stating that "only the clock showed that her speaking time was over."

"It is claimed that the microphone of CM West Bengal was switched off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog. This claim is misleading. The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it," the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a post on X.

According to the government fact-checking body, Mamata Banerjee's turn to speak would have been after lunch if scheduled alphabetically, but she was "accommodated" as the seventh speaker on an official request from the Chief Minister.

"Alphabetically, CM West Bengal's turn would have come after lunch. She was accommodated as the 7th speaker on an official request from the West Bengal government as she had to return early," PIB Fact Check explained in a subsequent tweet.

Speaking to reporters, the West Bengal Chief Minister alleged "political discrimination," stating that at the NITI Aayog meeting, she was not allowed to speak for more than five minutes, while other Chief Ministers were given more time.

"I said the central government should not discriminate against state governments. I wanted to speak, but my mic was muted. I was allowed to speak only for five minutes. People before me spoke for 10-20 minutes," Ms Banerjee told reporters after she stormed out of the NITI Aayog meeting today.

"I was the only one from the opposition participating, but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting," Ms Banerjee said as she walked out of the meeting midway.

"I have come out boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting. Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak, Chief Ministers of Assam, Goa, and Chhattisgarh spoke for 10-12 minutes. I was stopped after just five minutes. This is unfair," the Chief Minister said, speaking to reporters after leaving the meeting.

Claiming she participated in the meeting to strengthen "cooperative federalism," Ms Banerjee said, "There are many regional aspirations. That is why I am here, to share those aspirations. If a state is strong, the Union will be strong."

The Chief Minister stated that several states, including West Bengal, were deprived in the Union Budget presented in Parliament this week.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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बेंगलुरु हॉस्टल कांड : चीखती रही युवती, चाकू से वार करता रहा शख्स, मौत का खौफनाक मंजर CCTV में कैद

कोरमंगला स्थित एक 'पेइंग गेस्ट' में दो दिन पहले गला रेतकर जिस महिला की हत्या की गई थी उससे जुड़ा एक सीसीटीवी फुटेज सामने आया है जिसमें एक व्यक्ति को उस पर चाकू से हमला करते हुए देखा जा सकता है. पुलिस के मुताबिक महिला की हत्या 23 जुलाई की रात को की गई थी. हमलावर ने कमरे में घुसकर 24 वर्षीय कृति कुमारी को मार डाला था.

एक पुलिस अधिकारी ने बताया, 'कृति कुमारी बिहार की रहने वाली थी और वह शहर में एक निजी कंपनी में काम करती थी.' हत्यारे को अभी तक गिरफ्तार नहीं किया गया है. एक सीसीटीवी फुजेट सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल है और इसे कोरमंगला घटना का बताया जा रहा है.

पुलिस द्वारा जारी परेशान करने वाले सीसीटीवी फुटेज में व्यक्ति को कुमारी का दरवाजा खटखटाते हुए दिखाया गया है. हालांकि दरवाज़ा दिखाई नहीं दे रहा था, फिर भी वह अंदर चला गया, वीडियो में देखा जा सकता है कि कैसे शख्स युवती को कमरे से बाहर निकाल कर लगातार चाकू से वार कर रहा है.

सीसीटीवी में कैद मामला

वीडियो में देखा जा सकता है कि एक व्यक्ति पॉलीथीन बैग पकड़े हुए 'पेइंग गेस्ट' में घुसता है. वह दरवाजा खटखटाता है तथा कुछ देर बाद महिला को घसीटकर बाहर निकालता दिखाई देता है. पीड़िता हमले का विरोध करती है, लेकिन हत्यारा उसे पकड़कर गला रेत देता है और वहां से भाग जाता है. शोर-शराबा सुनकर इमारत में मौजूद अन्य महिलाएं मौके पर पहुंचीं लेकिन वे उसे बचा नहीं पातीं.

लड़की की गला रेतकर हत्या

कृति किसी प्राइवेट कंपनी में जॉब करती थी. वह कोरमंगला में वीआर लेआउट गेस्ट हाउस में रहती थी. मंगलवार रात को 11.10 से 11.30 बजे के बीच एक संदिग्ध चाकू लेकर उसके पीजी में घुस गया. उसने तीसरी मंजिल पर एक कमरे के पास कृति पर हमला कर दिया. जिससे लड़की की मौके पर ही मौत हो गई. 

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Visually Challenged Girl Sexually Assaulted By Sweeper In Hyderabad: Cops

A sweeper was taken into custody for allegedly sexually assaulting a visually challenged girl at a government school for blind girls at Malakpet here, police said on Thursday.

The minor girl was taken to a state-run hospital on July 15 by her mother after she developed health issues and the doctors there informed the police about the "sexual assault", they said.

A police team went to the hospital and recorded the statement of the girl's mother and a case was registered under relevant sections of the POCSO Act on July 16, a senior police official said.

After the girl was discharged from the hospital, her statement was also subsequently recorded, the official said.

During the course of the investigation, police identified a sweeper in the hostel of the school as the accused. The man allegedly sexually assaulted the girl on July 7, the police said and added that they took him into custody on Wednesday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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66% Taxpayers Opted For New ITR Filing Regime In Current Season: CBDT Chief

About 66 per cent of taxpayers out of the over 4 crore filers have opted for the new regime for income tax return (ITR) filing during the current season till now, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal said Wednesday.

He told PTI during a post-Budget interview that the focus of the government and the direct taxes administration is on "simplification" of the tax processes including filing of ITRs and conduct of other businesses with the Income Tax Department.

"The philosophy (of the government) is that the more you simplify, the more it will make it easy for people to comply leading to increased compliance.

"This is also reflected from the fact that, as on date, the number of returns (ITRs) that have been filed till yesterday is significantly more than the returns filed during the same time in the corresponding (last) year," Mr Agrawal said.

Last year, the figure of 4 crore ITR filings was crossed on July 25 but this time this number was crossed on the night of July 22, he said.

He said there was "sufficient traction" for the new tax regime and about 66 per cent of ITR filings, as of today, were made under the new regime.

"We expect that going forward we should get more (under the new ITR regime)...," he said.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chief said about 7.5 crore ITRs were filed the last time at the end of the deadline on July 31.

The current ITR filing season for assessment year 2024-25 will similarly end on July 31 for different categories of taxpayers whose accounts are not supposed to be audited.

The CBDT chief said more transactions are being automatically reported to the taxpayers (while filing ITR) and this meant that more information is being made available to the taxpayer.

"So, therefore, we expect that the compliance will be more because simplification is also simultaneously taking place," he said.

So far, the CBDT chief said, as the new tax regime is concerned, the government is nudging the taxpayer towards opting for it and therefore this is being sweetened also, by way of changing the tax slabs, which gives benefit to the taxpayers.

Asked about the end of the old regime, Mr Agrawal said the process was in the "transition stage" and a call would be taken at an appropriate time after it is seen which regime has better acceptability among the taxpayers.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget proposals announced on Tuesday had raised the standard deduction for salaried individuals to Rs 75,000 from Rs 25,000 and also tweaked the tax rate structure or slabs for taxpayers opting for the new income tax regime.

"As a result of these changes, a salaried employee in the new tax regime stands to save up to Rs 17,500 in income tax," she said.

The FM said during the last fiscal (2023-24) more than two-thirds of individual filers availed the new income tax regime.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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क्या खनिज संपदा वाली जमीन पर राज्य लगा सकते हैं टैक्स? 25 जुलाई को SC सुनाएगा फैसला

क्या राज्य खनिज संपदा वाली जमीन पर टैक्स लगा सकते हैं? सुप्रीम कोर्ट में 9 जजों की संविधान पीठ 25 जुलाई को इस पर फैसला सुनाएगी. यह मामला पिछले 25 साल से कोर्ट में लंबित है. देखा जाए तो सुप्रीम कोर्ट के फैसले से झारखंड, ओडिशा, आंध्र प्रदेश, असम, छत्तीसगढ़, मध्य प्रदेश और उत्तर-पूर्व के खनिज समृद्ध राज्यों के कर राजस्व पर गंभीर असर पड़ सकता है. 

अदालत को टैक्स को लेकर केंद्र और राज्य सरकार की शक्तियों से संबंधित संवैधानिक प्रावधानों की महत्वपूर्ण व्याख्या करनी है. 14 मार्च को सुप्रीम कोर्ट कोर्ट में 9 जजों की संविधान पीठ ने फैसला सुरक्षित रखा था. 8 दिनों की सुनवाई के बाद फैसला सुरक्षित रखा गया था.

दरअसल राज्यों पर असर डालने वाले मामले को लेकर सुप्रीम कोर्ट में 9 जजों के संविधान पीठ ने सुनवाई  की है. राज्यों के टैक्स लगाने के अधिकार से जुड़ी 85 याचिकाओं पर सुनवाई हुई थी. ये मामला 2011 में 9 जजों की बेंच को भेजा गया था. क्योंकि इस मामले में पांच जजों और सात जजों के संविधान पीठ के फैसलों के बीच विरोधाभास था 

तीन जजों की बेंच ने 9 जजों की बेंच को भेजे जाने के लिए 11 सवाल तैयार किए थे. इनमें महत्वपूर्ण टैक्स कानून के सवाल शामिल हैं जैसे कि क्या 'रॉयल्टी' को टैक्स के समान माना जा सकता है. क्या राज्य विधानमंडल भूमि पर टैक्स लगाते समय भूमि की उपज के मूल्य के आधार पर टैक्स का उपाय अपना सकता है.

सुनवाई के दौरान केंद्र का हलफनामा

केंद्र सरकार ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट में हलफनामा दायर कर राज्य सरकारों के द्वारा खनिज पर रॉयल्टी से अधिक टैक्स लगाने का विरोध किया है. केंद्र ने अदालत से - राज्यों द्वारा रॉयल्टी से अधिक टैक्स लगाने की अनुमति ना देने को कहा है. केंद्र सरकार ने  सुप्रीम कोर्ट से कहा कि खनिज समृद्ध राज्यों द्वारा लगाए गए टैक्स से मुद्रास्फीति बढ़ेगी. खनन क्षेत्र में FDI में बाधा आएगी. भारतीय खनिज महंगा हो जाएगा. व्यापार घाटे में वृद्धि और राज्यों के बीच विषम आर्थिक विकास के चलते अंतरराष्ट्रीय बाजार कम प्रतिस्पर्धी हो जाएगा.

चूंकि खनिज अर्थव्यवस्था के महत्वपूर्ण क्षेत्रों जैसे बिजली, स्टील, सीमेंट, एल्यूमीनियम आदि के लिए महत्वपूर्ण कच्चा माल हैं, इसलिए कीमतों में कोई भी वृद्धि राज्यों द्वारा लगाए गए अतिरिक्त उपकर के कारण ये खनिज देश में मुद्रास्फीति को बढ़ावा देंगे.उदाहरण के लिए, यदि प्रमुख उत्पादक राज्यों में से एक द्वारा कोयले पर अतिरिक्त उपकर लगाया जाता है तो ऐसे राज्य से कोयला खरीदने वाले सभी राज्य  बिजली शुल्क  बढ़ाने के लिए मजबूर होंगे, जो सीधे मुद्रास्फीति को प्रभावित करेगा.
 

78% कोयला संसाधन ओडिशा, झारखंड, छत्तीसगढ़ और पश्चिम बंगाल में केंद्रित हैं. भारत का 55% वाणिज्यिक ऊर्जा उत्पादन कोयले पर निर्भर है और उत्पादित कोयले का 68% बिजली उत्पादन के लिए उपयोग किया जाता है.

हलफनामे में क्या कहा गया?

► देश भर में सुव्यवस्थित और न्यायसंगत तरीके से विकास को आगे बढ़ाने के लिए, प्रतिस्पर्धी कीमतों पर देश भर में खनिज आधारित कच्चे माल (लौह अयस्क और स्टील सहित) की उपलब्धता आवश्यक है, जिसमें कुछ राज्यों में संसाधन व खनिज की एकाग्रता के प्रभावों को विधायी रूप से संबोधित करना शामिल है 

► केंद्र के पास खनिज संसाधन संचालित विकास के स्थानीयकृत हिस्से बनाने के बजाय, देश भर में सामंजस्यपूर्ण खनिज विकास सुनिश्चित करके राष्ट्रीय सार्वजनिक हित को आगे बढ़ाने के कर्तव्य के साथ-साथ शक्ति भी है 

► एक गैर-सामंजस्यपूर्ण राजकोषीय व्यवस्था, कम खनिज संपन्न राज्यों को खनिज समृद्ध राज्यों से उच्च कीमतों पर कच्चे माल की खरीद करने के लिए मजबूर करेगी.

► केंद्र द्वारा निर्धारित रॉयल्टी की एक समान लेवी खेल के मैदान को समतल करती है, जिससे देश भर में घरेलू उद्योग को न्यायसंगत तरीके से बढ़ावा मिलता है. साथ ही राज्यों के लिए राजस्व सृजन भी सुनिश्चित होता है. 

► रॉयल्टी खनिजों की अंतरराष्ट्रीय कीमत को ध्यान में रखते हुए तय की जाती है ताकि निर्यात को बढ़ावा देने और व्यापार घाटे को कम करने के लिए इनकी लागत और ऐसे खनिजों का उपयोग करके तैयार उत्पाद को अंतरराष्ट्रीय बाजार में प्रतिस्पर्धी रखा जा सके. 

► यह सुनिश्चित करना कि खनिजों पर राजकोषीय शुल्क लगाने की शक्ति केंद्र सरकार के लिए आरक्षित है. इसलिए खनिज बाजारों में अंतरराष्ट्रीय विकास के लिए राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर त्वरित और लचीली प्रतिक्रिया सुनिश्चित करने के लिए मौलिक है.

केंद्र सबके लिए समान रूप से काम करता है

केंद्र के पास खनिज संसाधन संचालित विकास के स्थानीयकृत हिस्से बनाने के बजाय, देश भर में सामंजस्यपूर्ण खनिज विकास सुनिश्चित करके राष्ट्रीय सार्वजनिक हित को आगे बढ़ाने के कर्तव्य के साथ-साथ शक्ति भी है. एक गैर-सामंजस्यपूर्ण राजकोषीय व्यवस्था, कम खनिज संपन्न राज्यों को खनिज समृद्ध राज्यों से उच्च कीमतों पर कच्चे माल की खरीद करने के लिए मजबूर करेगी. केंद्र द्वारा निर्धारित रॉयल्टी की एक समान लेवी खेल के मैदान को समतल करती है, जिससे देश भर में घरेलू उद्योग को न्यायसंगत तरीके से बढ़ावा मिलता है.साथ ही राज्यों के लिए राजस्व सृजन भी सुनिश्चित होता है.

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IAS Officer's Wife Who "Eloped" With Gangster Returns Home, Dies By Suicide

She eloped with a gangster nine months ago. On Saturday, the 45-year-old woman returned to her IAS husband's home in Gujarat, where she tried to kill herself. The woman, Surya Jay, died during treatment at a hospital a day later, on Sunday.

The incident was reported from Sector 19 in Gandhinagar.

The husband, Ranjeet Kumar, who is a secretary at Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission, had instructed the domestic staff that his wife, who is involved in a child abduction case, should not be allowed in the house, said police.

Sources say Surya might have gone to her husband's home to evade arrest from Tamil Nadu police in the kidnapping case of a 14-year-old boy in Madurai.

According to Mr Kumar's advocate, Hitesh Gupta, the couple had separated in 2023 and were heading for a divorce.

"Ranjeet Kumar had gone out to finalise his divorce petition with Surya on Saturday. Upset at not being allowed in the house, she ingested poison and called up 108 (an ambulance helpline number)," said police.

The cops also found a purported suicide note in Tamil but declined to provide details.

The woman's name featured in a case with her rumoured gangster boyfriend, Maharaja High Court, and his aide Senthil Kumar. The case relates to an alleged kidnapping of a boy on July 11 over a monetary dispute with the child's mother. They had demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crore but the Madurai police managed to rescue the boy. The cops had launched a manhunt for those involved, including Surya.

Meanwhile, the woman's husband has refused to take her body.

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Talks With India On Murder-For-Hire Plot Has Been Effective: US Official

The conversation with India regarding the allegations of a plot to assassinate a Khalistani terrorist in the US that involved an Indian government official has been “respectful” and “effective” because it's being held behind closed doors, according to Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor to the US president.

In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic in June last year, was extradited to the US on June 14.

“We have had a constructive dialogue with India on this issue. And we have made it very clear where we stand on it and what we would like to see. And it's been respectful, and it has been effective, in my view, mostly because it is taking place behind closed doors,”Mr  Sullivan said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Friday responding to a question on allegations related to the assassination attempt on Pannun.

India has denied the allegations but has constituted an internal investigations team to look into it.

"About a year ago, CIA Director Bill Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines went to India and raised concerns with the Indian government about suspicions that the Indian government may have been involved in the assassination of a Sikh activist in Vancouver and what turned out to be a thwarted assassination plot in New York, also against a Sikh activist. Have you received satisfactory explanations from India about what happened or didn't happen?” Mr Sullivan was asked.

“We were very transparent about this publicly with the Congress, with others. And obviously, that was a carefully executed plan. I sat down with Bill and Avril. I said we are going to go in the following order and actually talk to the Indians about what our expectations are in light of what we have learned, and we are going to work through until we see an outcome that we think is satisfactory,” Mr Sullivan said.

“I don't think that there's a lot of value in talking about the nature of that conversation publicly. It is sensitive. It is something we are working through. The story in my view has not yet been completely written; we need to keep working through it. But we have had a constructive dialogue with India on this issue,” said the US national security advisor.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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