In its latest security assessment, MHA targets cover of journalists
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has either withdrawn or downgraded the security cover of three journalists in its latest review Tuesday — Aveek Sarkar, former editor-in-chief of The Telegraph and Ananda Bazaar Patrika, former BJP MP Ashwini Kumar Chopra aka A.K. Minha, who is the editor of Punjab Kesri, Delhi, and Umesh Kumar, editor-in-chief, Samachar Plus channel from Uttarakhand.
Sarkar had been granted X category security cover by the CRPF for West Bengal in 2014. He had stepped down as editor-in-chief of the ABP Group in 2016 after leading it for more than three decades and took over as vice-chairman and editor emeritus, ABP Group.
Kumar was granted Y plus security cover across the country in October 2015. A property dealer-turned-journalist, Kumar had carried out a sting operation against then Uttarakhand chief minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat in which he was purportedly seen negotiating a deal with a journalist to lure dissident Congress lawmakers back into the party ahead of the 2017 assembly polls. Kumar was arrested by the Uttarakhand Police in October 2018 after one of his employees, Ayush Gaud, lodged an FIR against him, alleging that he forced his staff to conduct stings on politicians and bureaucrats.
Minha’s Z plus security has been downgraded to Z while his CRPF cover has been withdrawn. In January, Minha, then the BJP MP from Karnal, grabbed headlines after he wrote an editorial comparing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with her grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, saying she was “much needed for the country and Uttar Pradesh”. The editorial also praised the Congress for always practising “inclusive politics” while lashing out at the critics of “dynastic politics”.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has so far reviewed the security cover of over 350 individuals, downgrading or removing it for many politicians, including Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Lalu Yadav (RJD), Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikram Majithia (SAD), Udit Raj (Congress), Pratap Singh Bajwa (Congress), Indresh Kumar (RSS) and Sangeet Som (BJP), among others. It has ‘freed’ over 1,300 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) security personnel who were deployed for the security of prominent politicians and other individuals.
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A E I O U — When vowels were used to teach taxmen their duties
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on the occasion of the income tax day Wednesday, urged taxmen to go about their duties of tax collection without causing any harassment to the taxpayers. She said a visit by the taxman should not inspire dread among taxpayers, adding that this kind of a narrative around the income tax department has to change.
The finance minister relied on the five vowels in the English language — a, e, i, o, u — to get her point across. Sitharaman said (A)voidance and (E)vasion should be dealt with effectively by the taxmen. But once it’s done, then the taxman should remember that “I O(we) (yo)U a good service”.
Likening the taxmen to bees that collect pollen from flowers and help in the making of honey, Sitharaman said the taxmen should also look to expand the taxpayer base but non-intrusively. She said this could be achieved by the investigative arms of the department of revenue working together and sharing information about taxpayers.
Data mining and better coordination can help in improving the taxpayer base, she said, adding that the taxmen will be fully backed by the government in their efforts to bring those individuals who are gaming the system to task.
(Contributors: Ananya Bhardwaj and Remya Nair)
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Why in a review of security, based on threat perception, of journalists, the word “targets” is used by you? Are journalists, like Kashmiris, deserving of some special status?
Who knows Aveek Sarkar? Why was he given security cover in the first place and now his papers always write against Modi no matter how good they are. They are worried that Bufoon pappu will never rule the country again.