Sidhu for war on ‘cable mafia’, will probe Fastway
CHANDIGARH: A prime poll promise of the Congress did not get fulfilled in the budget session of the Punjab assembly that concluded on Friday. The government failed to bring in a law to end the hold of Fastway, allegedly owned by the Badals, on cable network, though minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday announced to probe what he termed the “Fastway scam worth Rs 500 crore”.
After passing of 11 bills in the absence of the opposition, Sidhu dished out figures on alleged tax evasion by Fastway, a company he said enjoyed “patronage” of the Badal family. He was replying to Congress’ Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa in Question Hour.
“It is a miracle,” he remarked, “A company started with Rs 25 lakh as capital showed profit of Rs 30 crore in its first year. Like a big fish, it ate away the small fish. It created a monopoly by intimidating cable operators. It rendered over 1 lakh youth jobless.”
He added, “Fastway evaded taxes of crores. There are 8,000 cable operators in Punjab — 6,000 directly under Fastway and 1,500 indirectly. But the company declares just 1,500... There are over 80 lakh TV connections, but it shows 1.25 lakh. It evaded sales tax on set-top boxes, gave no security refunds, and only 150 of the operators paid entertainment tax.”
He then claimed that Fastway had “bullied Reliance Communications, which was laying cables for 4G services, to lay its cable too,
COMPANY DENIES CHARGES, SAYS IT HAS TAKEN UNDERGROUND OPTIC NETWORK ON LEASE BY PAYING DUES
for free”. A company has to shell out Rs 500 for every metre of roadcutting, and Rs 1,000 for every manhole, he said. “But Fastway paid nothing.”
“We will uproot their network,” he said. “We have served them notices for taxes.”
AAP SUPPORTS SIDHU
AAP MLA Kanwar Sandhu, who as a TV channel editor had made allegations of “bullying” by the cable network, came out in support. “I’d sought CBI inquiry into the cable mafia. I had also written to Union minister Arun Jaitley. Rising above party lines, I support Sidhu for a policy to regulate the cable business.”
WHAT FASTWAY SAYS
In a statement, Fastway said operators and the company are separate entities. “The company has nowhere and never declared that it has only 1.25 lakh connections. All connections/subscribers are declared with regulatory authority TRAI. The company is regular in paying service tax.”
It added that of the 10,500 km of underground cable, “FW has taken 6,500 km on lease from companies such as Connect, Airtel, BSNL and Reliance Communications. FW owns the balance 4,000 km... Charges have regularly been deposited.”
‘TRIED TO USURP COLLEGE LAND’
Taking part in the discussion on the bill, Congress’ Raja Sansi MLA Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said his forefathers, who lived in Kot Khalsa, donated the land while princely states of Punjab, including the Patiala royalty to which Capt belongs, gave financial assistance to establish the college in 1892.
Sarkaria alleged Satyajit Singh Majithia, father of former revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia, became the chancellor and tried to usurp land attached with the college in the garb of opening a university.
The MLA informed the house that of 101 members of the varsity’s governing council, 64 belonged to just three families — Majithias and that of Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina and Charanjit Singh Chadha — who were inducted to keep the university under their control.