AAP does a Yogendra, says will go national

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party has said it is going national and will expand its base, a key demand of rebel leader Yogendra Yadav that split the party and pitted him and senior colleague Prashant Bhushan against the Arvind Kejriwal camp.

Signs of reconciliation between the warring factions emerged Tuesday as the party’s political affairs committee met at the home of CM Kejriwal, who returned to the city Monday night.

“After our spectacular victory in Delhi and seeing the love of the people, we have decided to expand at the national level,” senior leader Sanjay Singh said.

TheAAPisalsoexpectedtotakea decision on contesting elections outside Delhi, which Yadav and party volunteers have been demanding. The party will enrol “active volunteers” and form a committee to decide their role in states.

Tuesday’s decisions seem to be in contrast to what Kejriwal had said barely a week ago. “I fight a lot in my party when people say ‘we have won Delhi so we can win elsewhere too’. I am not Napoleon who has entered (the arena) to win. I want to change the system,” he said in Bengaluru while undergoing naturotherapy.

He reportedly told a gathering on March 8 that he wanted to provide a good government in Delhi, and if Delhi would change so would the country.

A month after sweeping to power in Delhi, AAP’s senior leaders have fought a very public and ugly war.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 >> SIGNS OF THAW IN AAP, P2 NEW DELHI: The government Tuesday cleared a new bill that makes concealing foreign assets and income from tax authorities a crime punishable with a 10-year jail term and 300% fine on the tax evaded.

The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill cleared by cabinet also enables enforcement agencies to attach and confiscate these assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Government sources said the proposed bill empowers the government to notify a window when people with undisclosed foreign funds can come clean. The duration of this window — along with the tax rate and penalty — will be notified once Parliament clears the bill.

It is expected that the window will be open for a few months. Once it is shut, the government intends to go all out.

The new bill — first announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech — requires people to declare foreign assets and income, including the date of opening their foreign bank accounts. If people with assets abroad skip filing their returns or provide inadequate information, they will be liable to imprisonment for seven years.

Income from any undisclosed foreign asset would be taxed at the highest slab.

The bill also provides for prosecution and penalty of individuals, banks or institutions for abetment if they help anyone create or hide foreign assets.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

AAP LIKELY TO CONTEST POLLS OUTSIDE DELHI, ENROL VOLUNTEERS AND FORM COMMITTEE TO DECIDE THEIR ROLE IN DIFFERENT STATES