विधान परिषद बिनविरोध

काँग्रेसचे ज्येष्ठ नेते नारायण राणे

मुंबई : भाजपाकडून प्रसाद लाड आणि अपक्ष मनोज कोटक यांनी अर्ज मागे घेतल्यामुळे विधान परिषदेची निवडणूक अखेर बिनविरोध झाली. गेल्या दोन वर्षांत दोनदा पराभवाला सामोरे गेलेले काँग्रेसचे ज्येष्ठ नेते नारायण राणे यांचा मागच्या दाराने का होईना, विधिमंडळात प्रवेश झाला.

परिषदेच्या दहा जागांसाठी बारा अर्ज दाखल झाल्यामुळे घोडेबाजार होणार, अशी अटकळ होती. भाजपाचे पाच जण निवडून येणार असताना पक्षाने सहा उमेदवार दिले, तर भाजपाचेच मनोज कोटक यांनी बंडखोरी करत अपक्ष अर्ज दाखल केल्याने या निवडणुकीत चुरस निर्माण झाली. काँग्रेस-राष्ट्रवादीच्या आमदारांत खिंडार पाडण्यासाठीच भाजपाने चाल खेळल्याची चर्चा होती. मात्र, ‘निष्ठावंत की उपरे’ या वादामुळे नाराजांच्या नाकदुऱ्या काढता काढता भाजपा नेत्यांच्या नाकीनऊ आले होते. प्रवीण दरेकर आणि आर. एन. सिंह यांच्या उमेदवारीला निष्ठावंत कार्यकर्त्यांचा तीव्र विरोध होता. परंतु, मुंबई महापालिका निवडणुकीसाठी दरेकर आणि उत्तर भारतीयांचे नेते सिंह हे पक्षाला ‘मायलेज’ देऊ शकतात, ही बाब मुख्यमंत्री देवेंद्र फडणवीस आणि प्रदेशाध्यक्ष रावसाहेब दानवे यांनी नाराजांच्या गळी उतरविल्याने अखेर प्रसाद लाड आणि मनोज कोटक यांनी आपली उमेदवारी मागे घेतली. त्यामुळे आता विधानपरिषदेच्या दहा जागांसाठी दहाच उमेदवार राहिल्याने ही निवडणूक बिनविरोध झाली आहे. अधिकृत घोषणा १२ जून रोजी करण्यात येईल.

नारायण राणेंच्या ‘एन्ट्री’ने कॉंग्रेसला बळ गेल्या दोन वर्षांत सलग दोनदा पराभवाला सामोरे गेलेले काँग्रेसचे आक्रमक नेते नारायण राणे यांचे या निवडणुकीतून विधान परिषदेत आगमन झाल्याने पक्षाचे बळ वाढले असून, सत्ताधारी पक्षासमोर मोठे आव्हान निर्माण झाले आहे. २०१४च्या लोकसभा निवडणुकीत राणे यांचे चिरंजीव नीलेश राणे यांचा शिवसेनेचे विनायक राऊत यांनी पराभव केला, तर त्यानंतर झालेल्या विधानसभा निवडणुकीत स्वत: राणे कुडाळ मतदारसंघातून सेनेच्या वैभव नाईक यांच्याकडून पराभूत झाले. हे दोन्ही पराभव

पचवून राणे पुन्हा वांद्रे मतदारसंघातील पोटनिवडणुकीत उतरले; पण तिथेही त्यांचा निभाव लागला नाही. शिवसेनेचे प्रकाश उर्फ बाळा सावंत यांच्या पत्नी तृप्ती सावंत यांनी राणेंचा पराभव करून सर्वांनाच आश्चर्याचा धक्का दिला.राणे यांना प्रशासनाचा चांगला अनुभव आहे. शिवाय, आपल्या आक्रमक स्वभावामुळे ते सरकारला सळो की पळो करून सोडू शकतात.

महायुती

सदाभाऊ खोत

विनायक मेटे

प्रवीण दरेकर

आर. एन. सिंह

सुजितसिंह ठाकूर

सुभाष देसाई

दिवाकर रावते

आघाडी

नारायण राणे

रामराजे नाईक निंबाळकर

धनंजय मुंडे

Fraud Charges Mar a Plan

Fraud Charges Mar a Plan to Aid a Struggling Vermont Region

An entire block was razed in Newport, Vt., more than a year ago in the expectation of a new “renaissance” development that was promised by two businessmen but has yet to materialize; the businessmen have been accused of “massive fraud.” Credit Jacob Hannah for The New York Times

NEWPORT, Vt. — Jo-Ann Brooks grimaced as she looked out the window of her jewelry store in this tiny town in northern Vermont, near the Canadian border. Across Main Street, an entire block of shops and apartments was razed more than a year ago in the expectation of a new “renaissance” development that has yet to materialize. In its place is a gaping hole, with old concrete cellars.

“We call it Little Beirut,” Ms. Brooks said. “It looks like it was bombed.”

The hole is a visual monument to the failed plans of two ambitious businessmen who vowed to revitalize this struggling region, known as the Northeast Kingdom. With an $850 million dream, they promised the biggest economic development in Vermont history. They planned to finance it through a federal program that allows wealthy foreign citizens to invest $500,000 in projects in distressed areas in return for green cards, leading to permanent residency in the United States.

Instead, the two have been accused of perpetrating the biggest fraud in Vermont history — as well as in the history of that federal visa program, known as EB-5.

The businessmen, Ariel Quiros and William Stenger, raised $350 million through the EB-5 program from hundreds of foreign investors from at least 74 countries. The money was intended for an array of projects, including a ski resort, hotels and a biotech research firm. Instead, according to a 52-count civil complaint filed last month by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission and a 15-count civil complaint filed by the State of Vermont, they engineered a “massive eight-year fraudulent scheme” in which they “systematically looted” millions of dollars out of the foreign investors.


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The complaints said the two used a “Ponzi-like” scheme to divert $200 million intended for future projects into a dizzying swirl of fraudulent accounts set up to try to keep earlier projects afloat. Some were completed, others were not. In addition, Mr. Quiros was accused of siphoning off $50 million for his personal use, which included buying a luxury condominium in Trump Place New York.

The S.E.C. said the two left a trail of debt. Their actions have jeopardized the immigration status of their investors, who are already in the United States, and have thrown into doubt the future of the visa program. And they have left the promise of a revitalized Newport unfulfilled, having failed to rebuild the “renaissance” block on Main Street, the biotech firm and a hotel, marina and conference center.Photo

Felipe Accioly Vieira, 50, a business analyst who moved his family to Vermont from Brazil in 2013, invested in townhouses at Jay Peak that are half finished through a federal program that allows foreign nationals to invest in projects in return for green cards. CreditJacob Hannah for The New York Times

Beyond that, the state’s top officials, including Senators Patrick J. Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Gov. Peter Shumlin, supported and promoted the program. Mr. Leahy and Mr. Shumlin have said they felt betrayed; Mr. Sanders has not commented.Continue reading the main story



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In court papers, Mr. Quiros, 58, of Key Biscayne, Fla., and Mr. Stenger, 66, of Newport, denied the allegations. And in an interview, Mr. Stenger defended the work that has been finished, like parts of a high-end ski resort at nearby Jay Peak, and expressed regret about what remains unfinished, notably the biotech firm. A federal court has appointed areceiver to take possession of all property and assets, which he may sell off.

The allegations against Mr. Stenger particularly stung people here because they had known him for decades as a friend and civic-minded neighbor. He was not accused of siphoning money for his personal use, but the S.E.C. said he “extremely recklessly ceded control of investor funds to Quiros” and “did almost nothing to manage investor money, even when confronted with red flags of Quiros’ misuse.”

In an email interview, Mr. Stenger said he could not discuss the specific allegations against him. But in his most extensive comments yet on the situation, he said he knew he had let people down.

“Betrayal is a strong term, and I understand the disappointment because I’m terribly disappointed not to be able to finish the work I started,” he said. Still, he said, the projects have generated 6,500 direct and indirect jobs of the 10,000 he promised for rural Orleans County, the poorest in the state. He estimated that 650 of nearly 800 investors already have or would get their green cards.

“I’m terribly upset that some of these folks could be at risk,” he said, adding that he was seeking to make them financially whole.Video
Green Cards for Vermont’s Kingdom

By Brent McDonald on Publish DateDecember 30, 2012. Watch in Times Video »

He said his “biggest heartbreak” was the failure to build the biotech firm, called AnC Bio, which the S.E.C. said was “nearly a complete fraud.”


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“The community of Newport was fully supportive, and I feel I’ve let them down,” Mr. Stenger said.

Mr. Leahy, a longtime Stenger backer, has been one of the biggest supporters of the EB-5 program, seeing it as an important tool for economic development. Indeed, it is working successfully in other projects in Vermont. But because of fraud in the program elsewhere, he was already pushing for an overhaul. Now, he says unless fundamental changes are made, “EB-5 will die, and it should die.”

Mr. Shumlin deflected questions about whether state officials, by participating in the marketing campaign and not being skeptical sooner, bore some responsibility for the fraud. Until 2014, one state agency was responsible for both promoting the EB-5 program and regulating it. In addition, according to VTDigger, an online news organization, Mr. Shumlin accompanied the developers abroad to recruit investors and appeared in a promotional video for Mr. Stenger in which he said the projects were audited, though they were not; Mr. Shumlin has said that he misspoke regarding the audit and the video was taken down.

“There isn’t a human being on this earth, when you go through a disappointment like this, that doesn’t ask, ‘Couldn’t something have been done to find this sooner?’ ” Mr. Shumlin said in an interview. “We all wish the answer were yes, we all wish we got subpoena power to look at accounts earlier. But there was no reason to believe that what the developers were representing wasn’t true.”

But others say the state was lax in pursuing hints of trouble, in part because officials trusted Mr. Stenger and had high hopes that the development could stimulate the economy.Photo

The hole is a visual monument to the failed plans of two ambitious businessmen who promised to revitalize this struggling region, known as the Northeast Kingdom. Credit Jacob Hannah for The New York Times

Michael Gibson, an EB-5 financial adviser based in Florida withUSAdvisors.org, which specializes in risk analysis and due diligence on EB-5 investments, shared emails with The New York Times showing that he, for one, had raised questions with state officials as early as 2009.

“I didn’t know there was a Ponzi scheme or fraud,” Mr. Gibson said. “But I had suspicions that they couldn’t repay their initial investors and that they were taking investor money to pay for ongoing operations. And everyone told me to bug off.”


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Many of the immigrant investors — about 400 of whom do not yet have permanent residency feel stranded, financially and because they could face deportation. One has already filed a class-action suit.

Mohammed Adil, 49, an Indian who runs a fashion retail company and who wanted his four daughters to be educated in the United States, said he invested $550,000 in Jay Peak in 2012.

“I thought, if the government is giving out visas, there must be checks and balances on this program,” he said. “Now we have ended up in the soup, our money is probably gone and our green card is in trouble.”

Similarly, Felipe Vieira, 50, a financial analyst who moved his family to Vermont from Brazil in 2013, invested in townhouses at Jay Peak that are half finished. His chief concern is staying in the United States.

“Going back would feel like an enormous personal failure,” he said.

Even as they contemplate financial losses, some investors said they might put more money into the unfinished projects; creating at least 10 jobs is a condition of obtaining a green card.

“The investors don’t want to liquidate; they want these jobs to continue so they can get their green cards,” Mr. Shumlin said. Noting that Jay Peak plans to stay open and pay its employees, he added, “In two years, this will look like a bump in the road to good jobs and great resorts.”

खडसेंचे सीडीआर कोणाच्या सांगण्यावरून काढले?

महसूल मंत्री एकनाथ खडसे

जळगाव/ मुंबई : जळगावात कोणतीही चौकशी अथवा गुन्हा दाखल झालेला नसताना पोलीस अधीक्षक डॉ.जालिंदर सुपेकर यांनी महसूमंत्री एकनाथराव खडसे यांचे मोबाईल फोनचे रेकॉर्ड (सीडीआर) कोणाच्या सांगण्यावरून काढले,असा सवाल करत एटीएसकडून स्टेटमेंटसाठी आपल्यावर दबाव येत असल्याचा आरोप एथिकल हॅकर मनीष भंगाळे याने केला. दाऊदच्या निवासस्थानावरुन खडसेंना आलेल्या कॉल्सची माहिती दाखवून त्याचा डेमो सादर केला. दाऊदच्या पत्नीच्या क्रमांकावरून खडसेंच्या मोबाईलवर सात वेळा संभाषण झाले आहे. यावेळी मार्च व एप्रिलचे बील त्याने दाखविले. जिल्हाधिकाऱ्यांची भेट घेऊन त्यांच्याकडे लेखी तक्रार केल्याचे भंगाळे याने सांगितले.

रक्षा खडसेंनी घेतली मोदींची भेट

महसूल मंत्री एकनाथ खडसे यांच्या स्नुषा आणि रावेरच्या खासदार रक्षा खडसे

यांनीही गुरुवारी पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांची भेट घेतली, अशी माहिती आहे. आपल्या सासऱ्यांविरुद्ध कोण लोक काम करीत आहेत हे त्यांनी मोदींच्या कानी घातल्याचे समजते.

ई-मेलचा पासवर्ड बदलण्याचा प्रयत्न

गेल्या तीन दिवसापासून दररोज रात्री दहा वाजता माझ्या ई-मेल आयडीचा पासवर्ड बदलण्याचा प्रयत्न कोणाकडून तरी केला जात आहे. याबाबत मी मुंबई पोलिसांना विचारणा केली असता आमच्याकडून असा प्रयत्न होत नाही. गरज वाटेल तेव्हा आम्ही तुमच्याकडून हा पासवर्ड घेऊ शकतो, असे उत्तर मला देण्यात

आले. एकूण तांत्रिक पुरावे नष्ट करण्याचा हा प्रयत्न असल्याचे भंगाळे म्हणाला.कृषीमंत्री म्हणून मला शेतकऱ्यांच्या प्रश्नांवर लक्ष केंद्रीत करू द्या. विरोधकांकडून नियोजनबद्धपणे माझ्यावर खोटे आरोप केले जात आहेत. बिनबुडाच्या आरोपांना मी उत्तर देणार नाही. प्रसारमाध्यमांनी मला शेतकऱ्यांसाठी प्रामाणिकपणे काम करू द्यावे, असे माझे आवाहन आहे.

- एकनाथ खडसे, महसूलमंत्री

आंतरराष्ट्रीय कॉल्सचे प्रकरण देशाशी निगडित विषय असताना, खडसे हे केवळ मंत्री व सत्ताधारी पक्षाचे असल्याने त्यांच्यावर कारवाईस विलंब होत आहे. तसेच जळगावचे पोलीस अधीक्षक जालिंदर सुपेकर यांनी देशहिताच्या दृष्टिकोनातून सीडीआर काढले असते तर मग एकट्या खडसेंचेच का? अन्य चार जणांचे का काढले नाही, असा सवाल भंगाळे याने केला.

>> खडसे-दानवे भेट झालीच नाही !

जालना : जमीन खरेदी प्रकरण व इतर आरोपांमुळे अडचणीत आलेले महसूलमंत्री एकनाथ खडसे यांना भाजपाध्यक्ष अमित शहा यांनी प्रदेशाध्यक्ष रावसाहेब दानवे यांची भेट घेण्यास सांगितले होते. त्यानुसार शुक्रवारी सकाळी खडसे हे खा. दानवे यांची भेट घेणार होते. मात्र आरोग्याच्या कारणास्तव खडसे यांनी भेट न घेता दानवे यांच्याशी दूरध्वनीवरून चर्चा केल्याचे सूत्रांनी सांगितले. एकनाथ खडसे यांच्यावरील आरोपांबाबतचा अहवाल पक्षश्रेष्ठींनी मुख्यमंत्र्यांकडून मागविला होता. मुख्यमंत्री फडणवीस यांनी तो सादर केल्यानंतर अमित शहा यांनी खडसे यांना खा.दानवे यांची भेट घेण्यास सांगितले होते.

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