Vol. 67 No. 146 | TUESDAY | MARCH 19, 2024 | 27 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in MEMBER: AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION CHANDNI BAR’S SEQUEL EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper Tabu’s iconic film to have its sequel in 2025 EDIT WORLD’S LARGEST ELECTORAL EXERCISE ‘GOVT LOSING ABOUT 7-8% OF GST MOP-UP DUE TO EVASION’ Going by last year's total collection of Rs18.08 tn, 7-8% will work out to Rs 1.25-1.45 tn. 0 0 36 c. 26 c. Sunrise : 06:39 am Sunset : 06:04 pm EC shows Chahal the door COME CLEAN ON, Since the BJP could not induce Shinde to move out the municipal commissioner, it tacitly persuaded the EC to order the transfer of the controversial IAS officer SHEFALI PARAB-PANDIT / MUMBAI Despite strong resistance from the Mahayuti government in general and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in particular, on Monday the Election Com, mission of India ordered the removal of Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal. The state government had written twice to the ECI to let it retain Chahal, who is widely seen as CM Shinde’s blue-eyed boy but the EC , firmly rejected the request and at the iconic BMC headquarters, Chahal was shown the door. Chahal’s proximity to Shinde was such that even the ruling BJP could not ease him out, despite the best efforts of senior party leaders like Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Ashish Shelar, Kirit Somaiya et al. Fadnavis even got the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to probe a slew of controversial contracts worth thousands of crores of rupees awarded by Chahal, in whom all the powers of the statutory committees were vested following the end of the five-year term of the corporations, two years ago. But these efforts too came to naught. The former leader of the opposition in the BMC, Congress’s Ravi Raja, who had also exposed a series of scams under the aegis of the Chahal administration, said the civic chief's transfer was ‘long overdue’. Since the BJP could not persuade Shinde to move out Chahal, it appears to have tacitly persuaded the ECI to order the transfer of the controversial IAS officer. CONTD. ON NATION FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI Within 48 hours of the announcement of the poll schedule, the Election Commission on Monday cracked the whip and issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries - including the top bureaucrats in Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. The ECI also directed the transfer of Rajeev Kumar, Bengal's Director-General of Police. Vivek Sahay who was Director-General , and Commandant of the Home Guards, has been appointed the new Bengal DGP . The officials who have been removed were found to be holding dual charge in the office of Chief Minister in their respective states which had the potential to compromise the impartiality and neutrality of the electoral process, especially in matters relating to law and order, deployment of forces, etc. CAN'T BE SELECTIVE IN DISCLOSURES, TOLD TO FILE AFFIDAVIT BY THURSDAY EVENING OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI CHAHAL’S SUCCESSOR? Six Home Secys feel CEC heat B The commission has directed all state governments to also transfer officers connected with election-related work, who have completed three years or are in their home districts. This step comes as part of the poll body’s resolve and commitment to maintain a level playing field and ensuring the integrity of the electoral process. The reshuffle, not an uncommon move by the Election Commission before major polls, also included the transfer of the Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand Home Secretaries, as well as senior officials attached to the offices of the Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh Chief Ministers. NEW DGP FOR BENGAL Vivek Sahay a 1988 batch IPS officer, who has , been appointed as the new DGP of West Bengal, was in-charge of CONTD. ON NATION BONDS, SBI TOLD hushan Gagrani, an IAS officer of the 1990 batch, is tipped to be the new municipal commissioner of Mumbai. A seasoned bureaucrat who has worked in the CMO, he has wide administrative experience. He was in the CMO when Devendra Fadnavis was the chief minister and returned to Mantralaya top floor in July 2022 as additional chief secretary to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. He had earlier served as Principal Secretary in the Urban Development Department and also held the post of Director General of Information and Public Relations Department. He was also part of the COVID-19 task force formed by the MVA government to combat the pandemic. The senior civil service officer is considered a tough task master with good understating of the administration. In yet another tongue-lashing to the State Bank of India, the Supreme Court on Monday told it to stop being "selective" and make "complete disclosure" of all details related to the electoral bonds scheme by March 21. The apex court said the details to be disclosed include the unique bond numbers that would reveal the link between the buyers and the recipient political parties. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said there is "no room for doubt that the SBI is required to make complete disclosure of all the details" which are in its possession. "In order to fully effectuate the order and to obviate any controversy in the future, the chairman and managing director of SBI shall file an affidavit on or before 5 pm on Thursday (March 21) indicating that SBI has disclosed all details of the electoral bonds which were in its possession and custody and that no details have been withheld," the bench said. The bench refused a hearing on unlisted pleas of industry bodies Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the case. The industry chambers, through senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, wanted an urgent hearing on their interim application against the disclosure of bond details. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner NGO in the case, claimed that major political parties have not given the donor details and only some parties CONTD. ON NATION have given it. CENTRE LAMENTS SOCIAL MEDIA USE FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI The Central government on Monday told the Supreme Court that the apex court's verdict scrapping the electoral bonds was being misused by various persons on social media. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a five-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that statistics pertaining to the disclosure of electoral bonds purchased by political parties were being twisted to suit an agenda and that the court is being embarrassed in the process. "The ultimate aim was to curb black money and this court must be aware of how this judgment is being played outside the court. Now the witch hunting has started at another level and not at the level of the Central government. Those before the court started giving press interviews, deliberately embarrassing the court and it is not a level playing field. There is a barrage of social media posts intended to cause embarrassment and now it is an open field. Now statistics can be twisted as people want. Based on the statistics, any kind of posts are being made," SG Mehta said. However, the court said that it is not concerned with how its judgments are being interpreted by third parties. "As judges, we are only on the rule of law and work as per the Constitution. Our court is only to work for the governance of rule of law in this polity As judges, we are also . discussed on social media but our shoulders are broad enough to take this.