A migrant worker was shot dead and another was injured by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s capital city Srinagar today. The victim, Amritpal Singh, was a resident of Amritsar in Punjab. The details of the other injured are not known yet. Amritpal Singh was reportedly a hawker, sources said.

#Terrorists fired upon a non-local identified as Amritpal Singh resident of Amritsar at Shaheed Gunj #Srinagar, who #succumbed to the injuries. One more person is grievously injured and evacuated for medical attention. Area has been #cordoned off. Further details shall follow.

— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) February 7, 2024

The police said the incident took place at Shaheed Gunj in Srinagar and the area has been cordoned off by the police and a search is on to find the attackers. The other injured has been evacuated and medical attention is being provided.

On a day when Congress leaders from Karnataka, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, alleging “injustice” in tax devolution and grants-in-aid from the Centre, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hit out and said that she has followed the recommendations of the Finance Commission “to the last word”.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the finance minister gave out figures and compared the share of central taxes and grants-in-aid given to the state under the UPA government and the BJP-led government and asserted that Karnataka is not being denied any money. To buttress her argument, she also pointed out that the state has received Rs 6,280 crore as an interest-free loan for 50 years.

In her speech, an excerpt of which she also posted on X, Ms Sitharaman said that from 2010-11 to 2014-15, under the 13th Finance Commission, Karnataka received Rs 61,191 crore as its share of taxes and the figure has already touched Rs 1,29,854 crore for four years from 2020-21 for the current 15th Finance Commission. She pointed out it is estimated that the state would have received Rs 1,74,339 crore by the time the fifth year ends, on March 31, 2026.

I want to assure this House, whatever the Finance Commission has recommended, I follow it to the last word.

In 13th Finance Commission for period 2010-11 to 2014-15, Karnataka received Rs 61,691 crores.
In 14th Finance Commission for period 2015-16 to 2019-20, Karnataka… pic.twitter.com/nPNnfY99Jy

— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) February 7, 2024

“If you look at grants-in-aid, in 10 years of UPA, Karnataka received Rs 60,779.84 crore. In 9 years of the Modi government, Karnataka received Rs 2,08,832.02 crore. Over and above that, additional grants-in-aid of Rs 18,005 crore have been budgeted this year for release for Karnataka. In our 10 years, Karnataka is getting Rs 2,26,837 crore,” she said. 

“Where is Karnataka being denied money? Where is Karnataka receiving less money,” she asked. 

At Jantar Mantar, Congress leaders demanded that the Centre set right losses of Rs 1.87 lakh crore allegedly incurred by Karnataka under the 15th Finance Commission. “We are raising the issue of discrimination meted out by the government of India to the state of Karnataka and other southern states,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, according to news agency PTI. 

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said Karnataka ranks second in GST collection and is the biggest contributor to the country’s revenue. “We are asking for our rights, we are asking for our share. The Karnataka government had sought drought relief funds from the Centre but not even a single rupee was given,” he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

Leaders of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party have received funds from the Jal Board scam, the Enforcement Directorate has said after conducting raids on 12 locations connected to the leaders. The money, the Central agency said, was used by AAP as election funds. In a statement, AAP said it condemns the agency’s “blatantly false allegation that AAP or its leaders have anything to do with this case”.

This is the second case in which the central agencies accused AAP of taking kickbacks and using the money for elections. Earlier they claimed bribes from the scrapped Delhi excise policy was used by the party for campaigning in the Goa assembly elections.

The agency said it has seized many objectionable documents and digital evidence during yesterday’s searches in Delhi, Varanasi and Chandigarh.

Goods worth Rs 1.97 crore and foreign currency worth Rs 4 lakh have been seized, the agency said.

Officials said then Delhi Jal Board Chief Engineer Jagdish Arora had given contracts worth Rs 38 crore to MS NKG Infrastructure, despite knowing the company did not fulfil the technical eligibility criteria. He had also sent the money to AAP leaders, the official said.

The ED arrested Arora and a contractor named Anil Kumar Aggarwal in this case on January 31. They are in its custody till February 10.

In its statement, AAP said it condemns any wrongdoing by DJB officials or contractors, if proven true. But “not a single penny or piece of evidence has been recovered from the AAP leaders who were raided yesterday by ED,” read the party statement.

“By yet again naming AAP without any evidence, ED has proven it is nothing but a mouthpiece of the BJP. We will take legal action against the ED for defaming AAP,” the party added.

“It’s clear that the Modi government is a big believer in Hitler’s ideology, “If you repeat a lie a thousand times, people will start believing in it,” the statement read.

The agency has raided the premises of Bibhav Kumar, personal assistant to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP Rajya Sabha MP ND Gupta, former DJB member Shalabh Kumar, chartered accountant Pankaj Mangal and some others as part of this ongoing money laundering investigation.