Daily Wrap: Congress says no alliance with AAP; Goyal says Neet will not be scrapped

Rahul slams Modi, says he ran govt for 15 friends

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on April 12 slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he runs his government for 15 of his friends and wondered why no big-ticket defaulters of bank loans like Vijay Mallya were not in jail. The Congress chief said the ones like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, after taking bank loans, failed to return it and ran away from the country. During the past five years, Modi ran a government for 15 people and you know the names, he said.

Smriti Irani’s educational qualification creates furore

Smriti Irani courted fresh controversy after an affidavit submitted by her to the Election Commission mentioned that she did not complete her graduation from Delhi University. The statement is contrary to Irani’s earlier claims that she had a Bachelor degree and a degree from Yale University. She had on April 11 submitted to the Election Commission that she did not complete her graduation from Delhi University, triggering condemnation from the Opposition.

SC directs parties to furnish receipts of electoral bonds to EC

The Supreme Court on April 12 directed all political parties to furnish receipts of electoral bonds and details of identity of donors in a sealed cover to the Election Commission. In an interim order, the apex court also directed all political parties to provide details of the amount and bank account of donors by May 30 to the poll panel. The BJP on April 12 said it will wait for the final judgement of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds and noted that the Union government has already placed its stand before the apex court. The Congress welcomed the Supreme Court judgement on electoral bonds, saying the party has always maintained that transparency in political funding.

NEET will not be scrapped, will convince AIADMK, says Piyush Goyal

Union minister Piyush Goyal on April 12 said the BJP would convince their alliance partner AIADMK to not scrap the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). This comes at a time when the AIADMK – the ruling party – has been promising exemption of NEET. Stating that the issue of NEET is resolved, Goyal said, “The demand of the Tamil Nadu people has been that NEET should be in regional language. We have accepted that and are implementing it.”

Protect apolitical nature of armed forces: Military veterans to President

Expressing outrage over the “use” of the armed forces for “political purposes,” over 150 military veterans have written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention in preserving the apolitical character of the services. The letter, dated April 11, carries the names of eight former service chiefs but two of them — former Army chief General (retd) S F Rodrigues and Air Chief Marshal (retd) N C Suri — said they have not signed it.

Congress says no alliance with AAP in Delhi, keeps options open

After weeks of uncertainty, the Congress has finally announced that an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will not materialise in Delhi, ANI reported. “We are not able to have an alliance with AAP, we will contest alone,” Congress’s Delhi in-charge PC Chacko said, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters. He, however, said candidates for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will be announced soon.

Income tax raids at 12 locations in Tamil Nadu

Based on a tip, income tax officials raided the premises of contractors and financiers at 12 locations across Tamil Nadu on April 12. However, there were no confirmed reports about the volume of cash seizures.