DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Says party has no plan for temples at the disputed sites in Mathura, Kashi TOMORROW LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, MAY 17 BJP NATIONAL president J P Nadda has said that the party has grown from the time it needed the RSS and is now “saksham” (capable) and runs its own affairs. The RSS, he said, is an “ideological front” and does its own work. In an interview to The Indian Express —a detailed version will be published Sunday — Nadda, respondingtoaquestiononhow the RSS presence has changed between the time of Prime MinisterAtalBihariVajpayeeand now, said, “Shuru mein hum akshamhonge,thorakumhonge,RSS ki zaroorat padti thi... Aaj hum badhgayehain,sakshamhai…toh BJP apne aap ko chalati hai (In the beginning, we would have been lesscapable,smallerandneeded 18/05/2024 189 78 NEW DELHI, MAY 17 ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE officers waiting at AIIMS for close to four hours for a highprofile accused out on bail to turn up for a medical check-up were in for a shock when they went inside the cardiologist's chamber for a signature con- ED MOVES TO BUILD ITS CASE IN EXCISE POLICY PROBE Twin blow: Maliwal case flares up, Kejriwal, AAP named in excise case First time, ED has named party and CM; court to take call on cognizance NEW DELHI, MAY 17 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW J P NADDA BJP NATIONAL PRESIDENT the RSS. Today, we have grown andwearecapable.TheBJPruns itself). That’s the difference.” Asked if the BJP does not need RSS support now, Nadda said, “See, the party has grown and everyone has got their own duties and roles. RSS is a cultural and social organisation and we are a political organisation... It’s not the question of need. It’s an CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘REMOVE OVERSIZED HOARDINGS IN 3 DAYS’: BMC CRACKS WHIP ON 8 MORE EGO MEDIA BILLBOARDS PAGE 4 Told to get heart test done for bail extension, Lava top officer sent impersonator, says ED MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NIRBHAY THAKUR 124 152 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES Nadda on BJP-RSS ties: We have grown, more capable now… the BJP runs itself ● firming that the patient did not appear. The ED officers were told that the accused — managingdirectorof LavaInternational mobile company Hari Om Rai — wasindeedinside,andundergoing tests. TheED officers were takento thebed,wheretheyfoundaman posing as Rai undergoing checks by doctors. According to the ED, to get CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION 2024 ● Lalu’s one daughter tries to win his old seat, another hopes to end losing streak ● In battle for Faizabad, it’s Temple vs Samvidhan, and some lowly concerns PAGES 7, 10 PROBINGALLEGEDmoneylaundering in the Delhi excise policy case, the Enforcement Directorate, for the first time, Friday named the Aam Aadmi Party and its leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as accused in a chargesheet — prosecution complaint — on the case under investigation. The ED filed its seventh supplementary chargesheet in the Rouse Avenue Court of Special JudgeKaveriBaweja.Sheislikely to take a call on its cognizance Saturday because she had left the court by the time itwas filed. This is the first time that Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21 by the ED and granted interim bail until June 1 by the Supreme Court last week, has been mentioned as an accused in an ED prosecution complaint. This is also the first time that a political party has been mentioned as an accused by the ED in a case. The ED made its move a day afterAdditionalSolicitorGeneral S V Raju told the Supreme Court that the AAP would be added as an accused in the case. Appearing for the ED, Raju said the ED had evidence to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AAP U-turn after saying Bibhav at fault: Swati is Slapped, kicked on chest, face of BJP conspiracy pelvis: Swati Maliwal in EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE FIR against Kejriwal aide AAP MP Swati Maliwal with police outside the CM’s residence in Delhi, Friday. Anil Sharma ED to SC: We have direct chats between Kejriwal and a hawala operator ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, MAY 17 THEENFORCEMENTDirectorate, which arrested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy case, told the Supreme Court Friday that it hasfound“personal,directchats” between Kejriwal and a hawala operator it did not name — a charge contested by Kejriwal’s lawyer who asked if the agency was “suppressing this information till today to prejudice the outcome”. The bench of Justices Sanjiv CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, MAY 17 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, MAY 17 CRISIS DEEPENED within the AamAadmiParty onFridayafter Delhi Police filed an FIR against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar in connection with the alleged assault on theparty’sRajyaSabhaMPSwati Maliwal on Monday. The FIR states that she was allegedly slapped seven-eight times, “kicked on the chest, stomach and pelvis area”, and threatened that she would be killed. On Friday, teams of the Delhi Police (North district), the Special Cell and the Forensic Science Laboratory Rohini went BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY to Kejriwal’s home to review CCTV footage, collect evidence and recreate the crime scene. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THREEDAYSaftertheAamAadmi Party acknowledged that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide BibhavKumarhad“misbehaved” and“actedindecently”withRajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, the party made a U-turn, claiming that Maliwal was a “pawn” in a conspiracy hatched by the BJP to take down the AAP chief. At a press conference Friday evening, the AAP fielded senior party leader Atishi to counter Maliwal's allegations that she was assaulted by Kumar when she went to meet Kejriwal Monday morning. “Ever since Kejriwal has come out on bail, the BJP has been stumped. As a result, they conspired and sent Swati Maliwal to Kejriwal’s residence on Monday morning. The conspiracy was meant to level false allegations on Kejriwal. Swati Maliwal was the face of thisconspiracy, she was a pawn in this conspiracy,” Atishi said. Friday’s press conference marks AAP’s first pushback against Maliwal who, like Kumar, has a two-decade association with Kejriwal, since his days as an RTI activist. It also comes three days after AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said at a press conference, “Yesterday (on Monday), a condemnable incident took place, I want to tell you about it. Swati Maliwal reached Arvind Kejriwal’s house. She was waiting for him in the drawing room, when Bibhav Kumar came there; he misbehaved and acted indecently with her.” On this change in the AAP CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NDA HOLDS RALLY AT SHIVAJI PARK; INDIA BLOC RALLY AT BKC GROUND Buried Art 370 in ‘kabristan’, Oppn leaders target Modi, say PM no power can restore it: PM on ‘one nation, one leader’ mission EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE ALOK DESHPANDE & VALLABH OZARKAR PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi said on Friday that Article 370, which was a contentious issueforseveraldecades,wasduly buried in ‘kabristan’ under his leadership and no power in the world can revoke it. “I ensured the barrier that came between Article 370 was buried in ‘kabristan,” Modi said, adding “nobody had ever imagined abrogation of Article 370 was possible”. Stating that the INDIA bloc’s promise to revoke the abrogation of Article 370 has been made keeping ‘vote jihad’ in sight, the PM said that it is the same INDIA bloc which has come out with a false narrative of threat to the Indian Constitutionto mislead the people. “But if anybody has ever ac- THE INDIA bloc put up a united front in its last election rally in MaharashtraonFridaywithShiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray saying that Narendra Modi will not be India’s Prime MinisteronJune5,adayafterthe results of the elections are declared. “Just like Modi announced demonetisation, the people of the country will witness ‘demodination’ on June 5,” Thackeray said. Displaying opposition unity at the Mahaparivartan rally in Mumbai’s BKC ground, several leaders from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with Thackeray targeted Modi alleging that he intended MUMBAI, MAY 17 MUMBAI, MAY 17 PM Narendra Modi at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Friday. Sankhadeep Banerjee cordedtheConstitutionitsrightful place and protection, it was done by the Modi government,” the PM asserted. Addressing a poll rally at the historic Shivaji Park here, Modi warned people against the devi- ous designs of the INDIA bloc, which he said has set its eyes on temple gold, women’s mangalsutras and 50 per cent inheritance tax. He said that the Congress-led INDIA front is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at the rally in BKC ground on Friday. Amit Chakravarty to finish off the opposition in India and claimed he was heading towards ‘One nation, one leader’ formula. Kharge said the NDA will not cross 200 seats. “Forget Amit Shah becoming the PM. Even Modi is not becoming the PM. The BJP is not crossing 200 seats. The INDIA front will cross the 300-seat mark,” he said. Slamming the PM over not fulfilling the promises he made, Kharge termed him as a ‘chieftain of liers.’ “Modi’s guarantee CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Fancy cars, OTPs, stolen IDs: Tracking the trail behind Rs 5,300-cr GST fraud AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, MAY 17 FREQUENTLYCHANGINGphone numbers,usinghigh-endluxury cars, including Maseratis and BMWs to zip through state borders during the day, and then checking into upmarket hotels with fake identities in the evenings — that was part of the modus operandi of the alleged kingpins behind an elaborate three-tier tax evasion plot who operated in the Delhi-NoidaLucknow belt without being detected by authorities for well over six months. Theplotfinallyunravelledon account of some rather innocuous applications: FASTag text messages generated on crossing toll booths and one-time passwords(OTPs)fromfood delivery apps like Zomato and Swiggy. Thesetrackerswereusedbylawenforcement officers to triangulate the locations of the suspected players behind what has now turned out to be one of the biggest evasion rackets un- OPERATIONS SINCE JUNE 2023 Number of Cases 106 Number of fake firms detected 6,775 Fake ITC Passed on ITC blocked and reversed earthed under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The unwinding of the plot started around 12 months ago, when a Noida-based individual reported a case of identity theft Number of Arrests 147 `16,297 Cr `1,295 Cr Source: DGGI and fake GST registrations in his name, following which the local police started investigating in May 2023. The case is now billed as one of the biggest hauls under GST, E EXPLAINED PAGE 1 ANCHOR ● Claiming tax credit WRONGFUL AVAILMENT of input tax credit through fake claims has emerged as one of the biggest causes of concern for GST authorities amid continuing action against fraud, evasion and registration of bogus entities under the indirect tax regime. with 41 arrests so far and the de- tection of around 2,660 fraudulently registered firms, fake input tax credit (ITC) worth Rs 5,300 crore generated using some 15,300 crore bills. “The Noida police caught a racket for misusing identification documents and creating fakefirmsandGSTINs(GSTidentification numbers) and shared the data with the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).Thedatawasthenshared with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to find out other GSTINs linked to these riskymobile numbers, Aadhaar and PAN. Around 13,000-14,000 GSTINs were then found to be linked. There was some double counting also, and after an internal analysis, it was found that there were around 8,000 independent, identifiable and risky GSTINs. This verification work has been on for the last 8-9 months,”aseniorofficialtoldThe Indian Express. Over6,200GSTINshavebeen verified of which 40 per cent have been cancelled or suspended, he said.In most of these cases, there are fake IDs, no real supply of goods or services, the use of a fake address with bills and invoices created to avail of fake ITC, which is a refund paid by the government for tax already paid on thevalue added along the production/ services chain. Fresh arrests by the Noida police earlier this month have helped authorities piece together the last layer of the threetier tax evasion: the first was related to fake GST registrations with identity theft and forged documents; the second layer involved fake billing; and the third layer was linked to securing fraudulent input tax credit using fake bills under GST. 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