BJP demands imposition of President's Rule in Manipur

4:28 AM

Imphal, Aug 27 (PTI) The Manipur unit of BJP has demanded imposition of President's Rule in the state to restore peace after the widespread agitation following the killing of a youth in an alleged fake encounter by police commandos on July 23 here.

The unit has approached central leaders of the party to put pressure on the Union government to impose Central rule as "this would restore normalcy in the state", a party spokesman told the media last evening.

He said a BJP parliamentary had visited Manipur recently to investigate the July 23 encounter in which 27-year-old Chungkham Sanjit was killed.

The team would submit a report to the party leaders, he said.

He also condemned frequent killings in alleged fake encounters and urged the state government to stop this.

Amar Singh invites Jaswant Singh to join Samajwadi Party

8:06 AM

Amar Singh on Tuesday invited Jaswant Singh to join the Samajwadi Party saying that the expelled leader was treated in an unjust manner by the BJP. He also added that on the Jinnah issue the SP was closer to Jaswant Singh than the BJP.
Jaswant Singh was recently expelled from the BJP for extolling Mohammad Ali Jinnah in his book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence. He wrote that Jinnah was a "great man" who has been "demonised" in India.
Jaswant Singh's expulsion has led to fissures within the BJP with senior leader Arun Shourie also coming out in the open with his views against the party calling it "kati patang" and called Rajnath Singh "Alice in Blunderland". Shourie also urged the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent ideologue organisation, to take more control of the BJP.
But Amar Singh did not extend the same offer to Arun Shourie, the other dissident BJP leader.

After Jaswant Singh, former RSS chief heaps praise on Jinnah

4:52 AM

New Delhi, Aug 25 : Former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, who was expelled from the BJP for his remarks on Mohammad Ali Jinnah, got support from unexpected quarters when former RSS chief S Surdarshan called the Muslim League leader a one time supporter of undivided India.

after-jaswant-singh-former-rss-chief-heaps-praise-on-jinnah

Singh was expelled from the BJP for calling Jinnah “a great man” in his new book, “Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence”.

Following in the footsteps of party’s senior leader L.K. Advani, Singh had called Jinnah, a great Indian, and admitted that he has been attracted by Jinnah’s personality. Singh had blamed India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the partition.

Surdarshan said on Monday that Pakistan founder Jinnah was committed to undivided India.

“Jinnah had many facets. If you look at history, he was once associated with Lokmanya Tilak and was totally committed to undivided India,” Sudarshan said when asked if he considered the Muslim League leader secular.

“And when Gandhiji started the Khilafat movement, with the idea that currently we are opposing the British and if Muslims join in then their support will help gain independence. But at that time Jinnah opposed it saying that if the Caliph in Turkey has been dethroned, what has India got to do with it. That time nobody listened to him, which saddened him. So he quit the Congress and left for England and only returned in 1927.

“After returning in 1927, Britishers brainwashed Jinnah and prompted him to put forth the demand for a separate state of Pakistan for Muslims,” Sudarshan added.

Sudarshan said that everybody knows history, and added had Gandhiji been adamant, like when he was on giving crores of rupees to Pakistan, then the partition would not have taken place. “But he did not do it because Nehru was his weakness.”

Commenting on Singh’s expulsion from BJP, he said: “It is an internal matter of the party.”

Meanwhile, RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav has sought to clarify Sudarshan’s remarks, saying the former Sangh chief did not mean to say that Jinnah wasn’t responsible for partition.

Earlier, Sudheendra Kulkarni, who quit the BJP over ideological differences with its present leadership, had equated one time mentor Advani with expelled party leader Jaswant Singh in so far as remarks on Jinnah are concerned.

Kulkarni described the expulsion of Jaswant Singh as unfortunate, and as a graceless and baseless action.

Arun Shourie hits out at BJP top leadership

3:37 AM

New Delhi The simmering crisis in BJP deepened on Monday with senior leader Arun Shourie attacking the party leadership, saying that even raising questions within the party forum was being dubbed as 'indiscipline' and that some leaders at the top were behaving as ‘Humpty Dumpty’.

“Even raising these questions (within party forum) is becoming indiscipline,” the former Union Minister told NDTV while responding to a question on expulsion of Jaswant Singh.

Without naming anybody, he said there were people in the party who have “brought about this situation and brought the party to this pass. They are the ones who are hurting the party.” Shourie said there are some people in BJP who have been “planting stories for the last five years against each one of us, including Mr (L K) Advani and including Rajnath Singh in the press by six journalists”.

Questioning whether that was “discipline”, he said “if you want to call this (his action) indiscipline, ok, call it. But we feel it (party) is an important institution, the party is an important institution.”

Throwing a virtual challenge to the party leadership to act against him for his utterances, he said “So, you want to be Humpty Dumpty and make words mean what you say and act, then I presume you already have in your mind to act against me or anybody, so act."

'Maya using public money to honour Kanshi Ram's will'

12:24 AM

NEW DELHI: The UP government’s Dalit card argument that chief minister Mayawati’s statues were installed in parks to honour BSP founder Kanshi Ram’s last wishes virtually boomeranged as the PIL petitioners wanted to know from the Supreme Court whether public money could be spent to honour a private person’s will.

The state in its response to the PIL, which questioned crores of rupees being spent from the exchequer to install the CM’s statues, had said that Kanshi Ram in his will had said that Maya’s statues should be installed alongside his own. The petitioners, Ravi Kant and Sukumar, argued before a Bench that the gist of the state’s argument was that it was implementing the will of Kanshi Ram.

“Should the state pay for implementation of a private person’s will,” they asked. But senior advocate Harish Salve said, “The issue raised in the PIL is not justiciable in a court of law. The budgetary allocations were passed by the assembly and there is no hint of the sanctioned money being misused. There had been no violation of any law or fundamental rights of the petitioners. How is this PIL maintainable,” he said.

BJP is narrow-minded: Jaswant

5:56 AM

NEW DELHI: Sticking to his contention in his new book that Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a "great man" who has been "demonised" in India, Jaswant Singh has said his expulsion from BJP showed that the party was "narrow-minded".

The expelled BJP leader said the party did not distinguish between Jinnah's personal attributes as a human being and his politics while taking a decision to sack him from the party for writing the book 'Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence'.

"I didn't think the party is so narrow-minded...so nervous about Jinnah and Patel and to get so railed at what I have written. I have a feeling, which I voiced also, that perhaps my former colleagues had not really read the book when they passed the sentence," he said in a TV interview.

When asked whether he denigrated Vallabhai Patel in his book, Singh said: "I have simply pointed out facts of history. I haven't denigrated any icon."

The former BJP leader said he would have felt better if the party had not used the word "expel" and informed him in person.

"I wish they had not used the word expel. They had better choice of phrases. It hurt me when no one personally came and conveyed the decision. Even Advani has not called me," Singh said.

Asked whether Advani had called him after the expulsion, Singh said: "No. But it doesn't matter now and its too late."

Singh said after informing him about his expulsion, BJP president Rajnath Singh had said they would discuss the issue some other time which never happened.

Asked whether he thinks that the BJP took the decision to expel him only after party leaders read the book, he said: "No. I don't believe that because that is not practical... its quite a feat in speed reading if you have read 700 pages. I don't believe my prose is a fiction. It is not easy and it requires attention. It would be a remarkable feat."

Asked whether he deliberately missed events such as Pathan tribal invasion of Kashmir in September 1947, which led to war with Pakistan, Jaswant said, "I didn't overlook it because the book deals with partition.

"The subject (Pathan invasion) is a separate one, it is a subject that is altogether a subject. I have also pointed out the great killings of Calcutta in vivid detail. I didn't overlook the mistakes of his (Jinnah's) public life."

Singh said it would have taken a separate book if he had written about other aspects relating to Jinnah.

Rejecting criticism that he had exculpated Jinnah of the charge of launching a war against India, Singh said he had not done so.

"Distinction has to be made between personal attributes and public conduct. These are two very different things," he said.

CPI-M misleading farmers on Asean trade pact: Vayalar Ravi

5:52 AM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi Saturday charged Kerala’s ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) with misleading farmers on the Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by India earlier this month.

Addressing reporters here, Ravi said the CPI-M is trying to create a scare among the farmers that the FTA would be detrimental to their interests.

“This is far from the truth, because in today’s world none lives in isolation and the farmers can look forward to a positive future because of the agreement. This pact would enable our farmers to compete with the rest of the world and the central government would help them through proper policies and support,” said Ravi.

Ravi along with Defence Minister A.K. Antony is in the committee which would look into all the aspects of the FTA once it becomes a reality Jan 1 next year.

“The committee would act as a watch dog and would look into all aspects post-agreement and would continuously be looking after the interests of the farmers. Already the centre has announced a special package of Rs.250 crore for opening up of the locked tea estates and sanctioned Rs.120 crore for improving the production of pepper. Similarly a benchmark price for coconuts has also been announced,” said Ravi.

The FTA was signed Aug 13 in Bangkok by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his counterparts in the ASEAN countries.

Critics of the pact say it will affect farmers as import tariff on many products will be eliminated.

The FTA has 489 items in the negative list of which 303 items are agriculture products. It includes pepper, coffee and tea.

According to the agreement, India will have the right to decide the tariff on the items in the negative list for 10 years.

Once the agreement is implemented, the present 70 percent import duty on pepper will come down by 2 percent every year.

“Vietnam is one of the biggest exporters of pepper and since they have not signed the FTA, pepper from that country will not arrive in the country. Moreover the total annual production of pepper in the state is 50,000 tonnes, of which we export 35,000 tonnes,” said Ravi.

Likewise, the import duty on tea and coffee, which is now 80 percent, would come down to 45 percent and that on rubber would come down to 50 percent after 10 years, he added.

“The biggest producer of tea in the country are states like West Bengal and those in the northeast. In Bengal, the CPI-M has no problem. For rubber, the centre will soon come with a Rubber Act, which would protect the small and marginal rubber farmers in the state,” added Ravi.

`BJP to press for PR in Manipur`

11:04 AM

IMPHAL, Aug 21 : The Bharatiya Janata Party said that they would approach the Central government to imposed President Rule, PR, in Manipur by dismissing the present state government on account of the abysmal law and order situation which has paralysed the state adminstration.

Speaking to the media today at the BJP office today, Chandrasekhar Rao the general secretary of the BJP maintained that President Rule should have already been imposed in the state.

He said the BJP will approach the Central government to have it impose PR in the state immediately for the sake of the people of the state.

He further said that the visiting leaders of BJP will meet the Prime Minister, Home minister and the President of India and will hold a press conference at New Delhi to highlight the incident by making it a national issue.

The party will also seek an appointment with all these three top leaders, for its members as well as those of representatives of five political parties of Manipur namely, MPP, NCP, BJP, CPM and MSCP.

The president of BJP, Manipur Pradesh, Haobam Borbabu told media persons that the visiting team has invited representatives of the five parties to come at New Delhi on August 26.

He said before meeting with the Central leaders, the representatives of the five parties will be holding a sit-in-protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on August 26 by mobilizing the people staying in Delhi.

On the other hand as a part of condemnation the BJP Mahila Mandal and other wings of the party together with other political parties of state will be holding sit-in-protest in the state within a few days for the removal of chief minister of Manipur, and for warding of severe punishments to those police commandos found guilty in the 23/7 incident.

Advani will continue to lead us: Rajnath

11:01 AM

Shimla: Rejecting all media stories on BJP poll debacle report, the Bharatiya Janata Party today said that the party hadn't prepared any draft on poll debacle.

Interacting with the scribes after end of chintan baithk, BJP president Rajnath Singh said, “We have not prepared any draft on BJP poll debacle."

Responding to a question on leadership in BJP, Singh said Advani will continue to lead us. In a clear message to dissidents, Singh said that indiscipline would not be tolerated.

He said that India needs bi-polar politics and BJP's road ahead will be detailed in the party's October conclave.

On BJP's expansion plan, Singh said that it would soon have an action plan for its revival and admitted that its ideology of "cultural nationalism" needed to be articulated clearly for the expansion of its geographical and social base.

"We will come out with a future action plan, you can call it the road ahead, on the basis of suggestions during the three-day chintan baithak (introspection session). The larger goal would be the social and geographical expansion of the party," said Singh.

He said he would shortly convene a meeting of all party general secretaries and other leaders to prepare the action plan that would be presented at the national executive meeting expected to be held in September or October.

Rajnath Singh said it was unanimously felt during the discussions that to expand the party's social base, the BJP should ensure better participation of women, weaker sections, the poor, farmers, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, in the party and the government.

The BJP chief said the party was committed to its ideology of "cultural nationalism and integral humanism. It is both comprehensive and inclusive, where there is no scope for discrimination between individuals".

I covered up Advani on Kandahar visit says Jaswant

10:09 AM

New Delhi: Breaking his decade-long silence, former foreign minister Jaswant Singh sought to embarrass L K Advani by saying that he "covered" up for him when he said that the former home minister was not aware that he was going to Kandahar with three terrorists during the 1999 hijack episode.

He also said that Advani was aware of the decision to release the terrorists in exchange for freedom of over 160 hostages kept in the Indian Airlines plane that was hijacked.

"Yes, he did," Singh, who was expelled two days ago from the BJP, told when asked whether Advani knew that Singh was going to Kandahar with three terrorists.

There has been a controversy on the issue with Advani claiming a few years ago that he was not not in the know of Jaswant Singh going on a plane with three dreaded terrorists to Kandahar.

Singh was asked why he said during the election campaign that Advani did not not know that he was going to Kandahar with the terrorists and whether he covered up for Advani.

"I'm sorry I did," he said when pointedly told that this was a serious thing he was saying that he covered up for Advani.

Singh said he did not reveal this during the campaign. "I tried to cover it. I treated it as part of my continuing sense of commitment and loyalty," he said.

Eight-point resolution taken at BJP meet

10:05 AM

The chintan baithak of the BJP that was started with much hype ended today with the eight point resolution. Party chief Rajnath Singh said that he will chalk out programmes on the basis of this resolution and the road ahead.

Singh said that he will present this agenda in the national executive meeting that will take place next month or in October.

The chintan baithak resolution includes:

* Full commitment to the ideology of integral humanism and cultural nationalism.

* Expand the party work among the weaker section like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, youth, women, middle class etc.
* Expand party's geographical base to strengthen the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Deal firmly with the indiscipline
* Make the BJP ruled state governments as role model
* Perform as a constructive Opposition at the national level
* The workers and leaders should behave like ideals in their personal and public life.

The meeting was ended in the afternoon with conclusive remarks from L.K. Advani. Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani reminded the delegates of the Palampur resolution of June 1989 in which the important decisions on Ram Janambhhoomi-Babri Masjid and also to make Shiv Sena as an ally were taken.

Just before the press conference of party chief, deputy leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj addressed the media and told the points made by Advani in the meeting.

It is being said that many delegates in the meeting expressed their unhappiness about the coalition politics, Advani categorically said that to counter the hegemony of Congress party, coalition politics is the need of the hour.

Advani also expressed his concern that due to infighting of the party leaders there is disappointment among the party workers. He said, "In India there is clout of people sitting on important posts, therefore it is necessary for the people sitting on important posts to act as idealists in their personal and public life.

About the Apte committee report that was leaked yesterday, party chief today clarified, "There was no such report but there was compilation of suggestions that were received from the state units of the party."

The party leaders discussed many issues to expand the support base of the party but the party is yet to come out with any specific programmes.

However, there is confusion: While party is saying that it would be fully committed with its ideologies and will strengthen the NDA. Rajnath Singh told the party that it will take around two months to come out with new programmes on the basis of the resolution of chintan baithak.

It will, however, be interesting to see what historical role this chintan baithak will play in the BJP.

Congress ally in Assam angry over PM’s statement

1:47 AM

Guwahati, Aug 19 :The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), an alliance partner of the ruling Congress-led government in Assam, is angry with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his “incorrect” statement that the utilisation of the Rs.750 crore central package for the Bodoland area was unsatisfactory.
“First of all, the prime minister is factually incorrect when he said that the Rs.750 crore was allotted for development works in Bodoland area. In fact, the package was for Rs.500 crore and we are yet to get the entire amount,” Hagrama Mohilary, leader of the BPF and the chief of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), told IANS Wednesday.
The prime minister Monday told a meeting of the chief ministers in New Delhi that “utilisation of Rs.750 crore meant for development of the Bodoland area was unsatisfactory”.
“It seems some vested interests, could be bureaucrats, misguided and wrongly briefed the prime minister’s office on fund allocation for the Bodoland. We are shocked and surprised to hear a factually incorrect figure from the prime minister,” Biswajit Daimary, BPF MP in Rajya Sabha, said.
The BPF leaders said they would welcome a probe to look into the development works under the central package.
“Let the prime minister visit Bodoland and see the development works personally. We would welcome any investigation,” Daimary said.
Angry at the prime minister’s statement, BPF leaders led by Mohilary late Tuesday met union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai in New Delhi to lodge a formal protest.
“We expressed our displeasure at the factual error in the prime minister’s written speech and asked him to communicate our point of view,” the BPF leader said.
“We would appreciate a clarification from the Prime Minister’s Office on this issue.”
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has also admitted that the central package was for Rs.500 crore and that another Rs.250 crore was to be sanctioned upon completion of the first package.
The BPF with 10 legislators in the 126 member Assam assembly is a key partner of the Congress party that has 54 legislators. There are five associate members and five independents supporting the government.

BJP expels Jaswant Singh

1:03 AM

His Ranchi staff raided, Assam Governor is told to go

1:09 AM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked Assam Governor Syed Sibtey Razi, who was earlier Jharkhand Governor, to demit office and save the UPA government the embarrassment after CBI raids are said to have affirmed reports of alleged corruption in the Jharkhand Raj Bhavan under Razi’s watch.

“At a meeting on August 11, the PM asked Razi to relinquish office on health grounds but Razi insisted on time until October when his five-year term comes to an end. He also told the PM that he needed time to explain his position to party president Sonia Gandhi,” a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

However, the PM insisted — at the five-minute meeting — that the former Jharkhand Governor put in his papers and then approach the party high command for rehabilitation, the official added. Later that night, Razi met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to reiterate his stand.

Sources said the PM used “moral persuasion” since an official recall order requires a notification by the President following recommendation of the Union Cabinet which would have embarrassed the UPA.

They said Razi — who was sworn in as Assam Governor on July 27 — had also sought time from Home Minister P Chidambaram on August 7 to give his side of the story even though the request is ostensibly to discuss corruption in North East Council, the nodal agency for economic and social development in the North-eastern states. He has been given time tomorrow evening, sources added.

However, Razi’s request for a meeting with Sonia Gandhi has not come through, they said.

The UPA government shunted Razi from Jharkhand to Assam on July 18 after then IB’s Ranchi station-in-charge Janardan Singh confirmed an ex-MLA’s complaint to the PMO of alleged corruption involving the Governor and his staff.

A week after new governor K Sankaranarayanan took charge of Jharkhand, the CBI raided the houses of his former aides — Rajesh Thakur who was personal secretary since Razi took over as Governor in 2004 and IAS officer Avinash Kumar who joined as Officer on Special Duty after President’s Rule was imposed in Jharkhand in January this year. Both are under the scanner for having amassed assets allegedly disproportionate to their income.

Immediately after the raids, the BJP demanded a CBI probe into Razi’s assets and sought his dismissal. BJP Jharkhand president Raghubar Das had then alleged that Razi took bribes for the transfer and posting of officials and misused funds meant for 34th National Games to be held in Jharkhand. The state is likely to go for assembly polls in October-November along with Maharashtra and Haryana.

Muslims stage protest against Salman Khan’s objectionable comment in Mumbai

5:54 AM

Muslims stage protest against Salman Khan’s objectionable comment in Mumbai

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Mumbai, Aug 16(ANI): Members of Muslim community on Sunday staged a demonstration against the comment made by Bollywood actor Salman Khan in Mumbai on Sunday.
Reacting to the detention of Shahrukh Khan at Newark International Airport in USA, Salman Khan on Saturday said: “Just because of few Muslims, billions of the community members face problems, which is not right,” after playing a celebrity football match in Mumbai on Saturday.
The reaction didn’t go down well with a section of community, as they reached Shahrukh’s house as to show solidarity with him and to express anger against Salman’s comment.
Protesters raised slogans against Salman and were planning a protest march from Shahrukh’s house to Salman’s house. But, the police didn’t allow it and detained a few protestors.
Meanwhile, Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra termed Shahrukh’s detention at US airport as ‘unfortunate’.
“It is something I feel terrible about. When such things happen racism and hatred increases. Even President Kalam (former President A P J Abdul Kalam) was frisked. I am not saying that you should not frisk-do your job or check. But without any reason detaining a person for two hours-Shahrukh Khan is Shahrukh Khan,” said Priyanka Chopra.
“He is probably the one of the greatest most famous known Indian celebrity ever in this generation. For any person I think it is unfortunate, It is shocking and very disgraceful if he detained for two hours just because of his name or without a reason,” she added.

PM for war on judicial backlog

5:53 AM

New Delhi, August 16
Promising the judicial system that his government would “match each step of the judiciary with two of our own”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked the Supreme Court to play a “vital role” in the “war on arrears” of cases and wiping “every tear of every waiting litigant”.
Addressing the day-long Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices, he, however, made it clear that increasing the court strength to improve the low judge-population ratio would depend on high courts filling all 3,000 existing vacancies in the lower judiciary.
“I can assure this august gathering with all emphasis at my command that my government will not be found wanting at any level in this joint effort (against case arrears). We promise to match each step of the judiciary with two of our own. We will not hesitate to walk the extra mile at every opportunity,” he added.
Describing the executive and the judiciary as “two vital wheels of the chariot of good governance”, he said India suffered from “the scourge of the world’s largest backlog of cases and timelines that generated surprise globally and concern at home. The expeditious elimination of this scourge was the biggest challenge for such conferences and should constitute the highest priority for all of us”. Over 30 million cases are pending in various courts across the country.
Calling for an “arrear-free judicial institution”, he expressed concern over undertrials languishing in jails for unduly long periods. “Many such undertrials have been in jails for periods longer than they would have served had they been sentenced. This is indeed very disturbing,” he said.
He said in the war on arrears, the entire legal system and each rung of it would have to function as a seamless web and an indivisible whole. “Naturally, the apex court has to discharge a vital role. It has be a catalyst, an organiser, a mentor, an umpire, a participant, and above all, a role model, all at the same time,” he said.
The road map for judicial reforms, suggested by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil in her address to the joint session of Parliament in June this year, was under preparation and national-level consultation with jurists and stakeholders in that regard would be held very shortly, he said.
The Prime Minister urged the state governments to implement the Gram Nyayalayas Act, aimed at setting up more than 5,000 courts at the panchayat level. Also, court-annexed mediation centres being created at different levels “remain a drop in the ocean”, while the plea bargaining provision was not being fully utilised. Fast-track courts should conduct their “business differently”.
Further, there was need for comprehensive computerisation and ultimate linking of all courts in the country into one “mega judicial information grid” for screening all pending cases and disposal of “many old cases as moot or infructuous”.
Describing the litigants “the consumer of justice,” the PM said unless “we meet his or her legitimate demands and expectations in letter and spirit, we cannot rest in peace”. The government had accepted a proposal for setting up 71 additional CBI courts in different states, he added.
In his address, Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan said there had been a “chronic shortage” of judicial officers, especially at the subordinate level. There were also some “structural obstacles that discouraged talented law graduates” from joining judicial services. However, he did not elaborate on the issue. Citing a Law Commission report, he said the judicial system had to be expanded at least five-fold in order to match the judge- population ratio of developed countries.

Rajnath, Raje call a truce

5:53 AM

Vasundhara Raje

BJP president confident that former R’sthan CM will heed party advice

New Delhi, August 17
After a heavy exchange of fire for more than a week, the warring factions in the BJP called a truce today with BJP president Rajnath Singh and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje both making conciliatory noises, showing a reluctance to bring their clash to a head.
While Vasundhara denied reports of her impending resignation from the party and floating her new outfit, Rajnath termed her statement as positive and encouraging and expressed confidence that she would heed the advice of the party.
Also for the first time Rajnath admitted he had asked Vasundhara to quit her Rajasthan legislature party leadership, demonstrating that he now had concurrence of the parliamentary board to announce that Vasundhara has to go.
But as a concession he refused to set any deadline, and would not say whether she will relinquish office before the Chintan Baithak slated for August 19, 20 and 21 or after it. Vasundhara’s name was not included in the list of 25 invitees for this exclusive introspection session. Instead her bete noire Jaswant Singh will be attending the Baithak in Shimla.
Rajnath’s announcement came after a brief meeting of the parliamentary board here this evening held specifically to discuss the Rajasthan situation, said Rajnath later.
He said the entire parliamentary board felt that her statement should be taken in the right positive spirit. Clearing the air over the week-long drama, the BJP president said: “Yes I was asked to convey to her that she should step down.”
The meeting chaired by Rajnath was attended by L.K. Advani, Arun Jaitely, Jaswant Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Ram Lal and Thawarchand Gehlot and others.
Sources said Vasudhara softened her stand after she was informed that the parliamentary board was going to meet this evening to decide on her fate and could recommend disciplinary action if she failed to comply with the high command directive.
Moreover a meeting of the MLAs she had called at her residence this morning to assess her support in the legislative party also turned out to be a rather damp squib, said the sources here. Soon after that Vasundhara changed tack and declared that she never intended quitting the BJP or floating another outfit.
But while curtains have come down on Act One of this drama, it has brought to the fore a fierce power struggle within the BJP and the RSS. The RSS wanted both Advani and Vasundhara to go. Rajnath with the backing of the Sangh has succeeded in persuading Vasundhara to fall in line.
As for Advani, Rajnath is too junior to exert any pressure on him.

CPI decides to pull out from Manipur Ministry

1:32 AM

IMPHAL: The Communist Party of India (CPI), which has been the ruling coalition partner for the last seven years, has decided to leave the Secular Progressive Front (SPF) Ministry.
Sources in the CPI said that Minister of Health and Family Welfare Pheiroijam Parijat had been asked by the central committee of the party to tender his resignation.
N. Mangi, chairman, Manipur Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. with the rank and status of a minister of state, will also be submitting his resignation.
Police excesses alleged The former Minister from the CPI, Moirangthem Nara, who was the secretary of the SPF Steering Committee, resigned last week in protest against alleged excesses of policemen and the government’s ham-handed handling of the alleged fake encounter which left two persons, including a pregnant woman, dead and five others injured on July 23 in Imphal.
Senior CPI leaders said that for quite some time, the Chief Minister and other senior Ministers had not been taking the party into confidence on major issues. More recently, the Mr. Singh did not consult CPI leaders on the alleged fake encounter and its fallout. These ‘insulting dealings’ showed that he did not regard the CPI as a partner of the Ministry, they said.
Seven police commandos were suspended to protect the police high-ups, they said.
They also added that when a Chief Minister or a Minister made a misleading statement in the Assembly, he resigned on moral grounds. They were indirectly referring to the “misleading” statement of the Chief Minister in the Assembly on the fake encounters.
The CPI leaders are likely to call on Governor Gurbachan Jagat to demand the dismissal of Mr. Singh’s Ministry.
In the 60-member House, the Congress has 31 members and the CPI 4. Though dissidents had been demanding snapping ties with the CPI, the Chief Minister continued the coalition set-up for his political exigency.

Meet India’s richest poll candidate with assets worth Rs 7.7 billion!

5:18 AM

BANGALORE - A candidate of the Congress Party has become the country’s richest poll candidate with declared assets of worth 7.70 billion rupees.

Priya Krishna, the 25-year-old candidate contesting the by-polls from Govindraj Nagar constituency in Bangalore, is the son of a legislator Krishnappa and runs a real estate business.

He has declared rupees 2.50 billion in cash, Fixed Deposits worth 500 million, scores of luxury cars like Audi worth 760 million rupees and Mantero worth 260 million rupees for personal and business use and loans of rupees one billion for business purposes, to the Election Commission.

By venturing into politics, the young businessman wants to serve the countrymen and nation.

“Its not about declaration, its about what I have given to the income tax. Whatever income tax return I’ve filed, I’ve submitted to the Election Commission. I want to serve the people,” Krishna said.

If elected, Krishna will join the league of country’s new young brigade of politicians. By Jaipal Sharma

We will not allow any Indian to go hungry: PM

4:31 AM

Addressing the issue of drought and price rise, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted on Saturday that agriculture operations in the country have got adversely affected due to lack of monsoon.
While discussing the issue with state chief secretaries, he asked the state governments to immediately start relief operation, if needed.
Acoording to media reports, the Prime Minister said that the government will not allow any citizen to go hungry.
So far, eight states have been declared drought hit due to scanty rain this monsoon. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Assam were declared drought-hit.

Penalise BT Road culprits, demands MP in Parliament

2:07 AM

Imphal, August 8 : The BT Road incident featured during Zero hour in the Rajya Sabha today, with CPI (M) MP Dr Ram Chandra Dome, demanding 'actual investigation and apprehension of the culprits'.

Raising the motion during Zero hour in the Upper House today, the MP drew the attention of the Chairperson Dr Girija Vyas and said that the Tehelka exposure and many other channels have revealed that it was a fake encounter.

Drawing the attention of the House, Dr Dome said, "It is really a matter of concern because one young woman, a pregnant woman-a would be mother-was also killed," and added that others were injured.

"There was Tehelka exposure and many other channels revealed the actual facts that it was a fake encounter.

Nowadays, these sort of fake encounters are taking place in many parts of the country.

I demand the actual investigation and apprehension of the culprits," said the Rajya Sabha MP.

Demanding action, Dr Dome said, " Those who are responsible for this indiscriminate firing and killing of innocent people in the name of containing insurgency, should be brought to book".

The CPI (M) MP further said that a mother has been killed, innocent people have been killed while others have been injured, adding that these people have had to bear the brunt of the mindless activities of the security forces.

"Therefore, I urge the Government to make a statement to dispel the suspicion among the people as to what situation is prevailing there (Manipur).

The curfew should be withdrawn immediately to normalise the situation, due compensation should be provided to the deceased persons and due provision of treatment should be there," demanded the MP further.

EC puts Maya on notice for elephants in memorials

6:24 AM

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has served a notice to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for allegedly using money from the state exchequer for building and installing statues of the elephant, which is the election symbol of the BSP.

The ECI notice follows a petition filed by advocate Ravi Kant and a letter sent to the ECI by a social organisation, Common Cause. BSP president Mayawati has been asked to send her reply by August 12.

In his petition to the ECI, which was submitted on July 18, Ravi Kant had written that public money is being misused in Uttar Pradesh to place the images of the election symbol of the BSP in public places.

The petition urged the Commission to stop this violation of the model of conduct by the UP government in view of the Assembly by-election in Malihabad, which is being held later this month.

“This is a serious violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Also, public money from the state exchequer has been spent to build statues of Mayawati,” Ravi Kant said in his petition.

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The petitioner also said that the Election Commission had, on April 1, 2009, ordered that “photographs of prime minister, chief ministers, ministers and other political functionaries should not be displayed” in view of the elections.

“By installing her own statues and also statues of elephant in all memorials and parks, the chief minister is openly publicising her party symbol and that too, permanently,” Ravi Kant told The Indian Express.

Mayawati insensitive towards those facing drought: Congress

1:37 AM

New Delhi, Aug 5 : The Congress party Wednesday said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is insensitive to the suffering of the people of the state where 58 of 71 districts have been declared drought-hit.

“Mayawati government is insensitive to the problems of farmers and common people of the state where people are facing hardships because of drought,” Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad told IANS.

Ahmad was reacting to Mayawati’s demand for an additional grant of Rs.556 crore for her dream project to erect statues of her mentor Kanshi Ram and other Dalit icons while she sought Rs.250 crore to fight the ongoing drought.
On Monday, Mayawati had raised a fresh demand for Rs.556 crore in the Rs.7,559 crore supplementary budget tabled before the state assembly.
Over the years, Rs.5,000 crore have been allocated towards Chief Minister Mayawati’s dream projects since the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) came to power in May 2007.
Ahmad said: “Spending so much on parks and statues is sheer waste of public money.”

Maya’s Maya on the wane

12:05 PM

Not only is she losing her party's support base, the Brahmins and Dalits too are leaving Mayawati
Pradeep Kapoor Lucknow
BSP supremo Mayawati is facing tough times. She is almost isolated politically and her traditional Dalit vote bank is eroding. Her much-touted social engineering has failed. To top it all, there are a slew of cases against her including disproportionate assets and Taj heritage corridor case in the Supreme Court.
The opposition parties in UP are gaining in strength and readying to take her on. The tide turned sharply against her after the general elections results were out. Not only did she perform poorly at the polls, but parties which projected her as a possible prime minister before the polls, effectively deserted her.
After the Lok Sabha polls, Mayawati returned to her singular Dalit agenda when she realised that her social engineering strategy, which brought her to power in UP in 2007, has failed. During her series of review meetings, she blamed Muslims and Brahmins for not voting for her party in the Lok Sabha polls. As a result, she announced that Satish Chandra Mishra and Nasimuddin Siddiqui would no longer be the Brahmin and the Muslim face of BSP. She sacked or removed several officials and party leaders. She declared that her successor would only be a Dalit. Mayawati also directed her officers to take steps to prevent atrocities on Dalits and expedite development work in Dalit villages.
Meanwhile, her counter-reaction against UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi's house has boomeranged when Joshi's Lucknow house was burnt and ransacked, allegedly by BSP members. Joshi's arrest and imprisonment has been condemned by all political parties. Ironically, BSP leader MM Intezar Abdi alias Bobby, who has been named in the FIR for burning Joshi's house, has been rewarded with a minister of state status. He has been appointed chairman of the UP Ganna Kisan Sansthan.
Joshi had earlier vehemently criticised the government for sending the director-general of police by a helicopter to pay a few thousands of rupees as compensation to rape victims from the Dalit community. In that context, she made remarks about Mayawati in Moradabad, which were uncalled for. Joshi later apologised. But her criticism of the DGP has been vindicated. The UP government has now withdrawn the controversial order to send the DGP by helicopter with compensation for rape victims.
Meanwhile, Joshi has demanded a CBI probe into the way her house was burnt and ransacked. Now, for the Congress, it's an all-out
war against Mayawati. Joshi said that the Congress will chalk out strategy for the fight on August 4 in Lucknow in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
Mayawati was quick to cash in on Joshi's remarks against her. She called Joshi and the Congress anti-Dalit. She even blamed the Congress for ignoring the Dalits since independence. She went on an offensive against Rahul Gandhi and released a white paper on the power crisis. She blamed the Congress-led government at the Centre for ignoring the power sector.
Rahul retorted during his visit to Amethi by condemning the manner in which people were assaulted by the police in his constituency when they were protesting against poor power supply. In Amethi, Rahul said that the main priority of the Mayawati government is to build statues, elephants and memorials. He pointed out that the Congress-led UPA government was sending crores of rupees for NREGA schemes but it was not being distributed properly in districts.
Buta Singh, chairman of SC and ST Commission, also stood by Joshi. He said that slapping the SC/ ST Act on her is a misuse of law. He even said that UP topped in atrocities against Dalits. He claimed in a statement that he had sent a circular to the UP government that the SC/ ST Act would only be invoked in cases of murder and rape.
The Mayawati government has also been accused of interfering in the Right to Information Act in UP when it withdrew certain provisions and kept many departments out of its purview. It was only when a Congress delegation met Governor TV Rajeshwar that the government was forced to take back the order.
Demoralisation is also setting in the bureaucracy. Former officials, SN Shukla and Prakash Singh, moved the court against frequent transfers of IAS and IPS officers in UP. Accusing Mayawati of pushing the state towards chaos and anarchy, major political parties met the governor and submitted memoranda.
The Samajwadi Party delegation led by Shivpal Singh Yadav raised the issue of victimisation of political opponents. SP alleged its 8,000 workers were booked under the Goonda Act in Kannauj. In Gonda district, 19 persons were booked under the Goonda Act, two of them are physically handicapped. The SP also alleged that several thousands crores of rupees were spent on erecting statues and building parks when the same money could have been used for uplifting the poor.
The SP has complained of deteriorating law and order in UP, kidnapping for ransom, atrocities on Dalits and women, lathicharge by police on peaceful agitation of lawyers in Gonda, sale of 35 government sugar mills and hotels of UP tourism to private parties even though they were making profits. They also complained of corruption in the mining department and the nexus between mafia and government officers.
The BJP leaders including MPs and MLAs marched to the Governor House and submitted a memorandum. They urged the governor to intervene in order to stop the misuse of SC/ ST Act in UP. BJP alleged that bogus cases were being registered under this Act. They also alleged of a collapse of law and order in UP and rise in atrocities against women.
Mayawati is unnerved by the fact that party workers are losing interest in BSP's programmes, the Brahmins and Muslims are leaving her, even her Dalit support base is shifting. This was evident in the total failure of the Sharam Karo Diwas called by Mayawati to protest against Joshi's remarks, UPA and price rise. Although the BSP had organised meetings in all assembly constituencies, participation by party workers was poor. Clearly, Mayawati's popularity graph is fast declining.

Buta Threatens to Give up Life, but Refuses to Resign

12:05 PM

NCSC chairman Buta Singh has said that he can defend his case without needing support from the party, a day after the Congress described him as a constitutional functionary rather than a party functionary.

He described himself as redeemer of dalits and claimed that he has served the community all through his life. On the matter of resigning, he threatened that he would “give up his life if he was asked to resign”.

“I do not think I need support of party (Congress) to defend my case. I am capable of it (defending) because I am with the truth,” he told reporters at New Delhi.

It may be mentioned that Sarajot Singh, his son, was arrested by the CBI last week in connection with demanding bribe worth Rs 1 crore from Nashik-based contractor Rama Rao Patil to close a case pending before the commission against him.

“I have saved lives of poor dalits. And for my entire life since I have been in politics, I kept on raising the issues of SCs and STs in Parliament and outside Parliament. I will not leave the work I have done throughout my life. And for this if anyone ask me to resign, I will not resign, I will give up my life,” he added.

“I have served dalits and extreme dalits. And in doing that, I caught one very big anti-dalit and an enemy of dalit. Enemies of dalits have now come together with Rama Rao Patil to finish me,” he charged.

In response to a query if he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Singh said, “Why do you ask me such questions? Why should I meet anyone in this matter? Should I beg? Everybody knows about my past I am working that is also known.”

Left Front protests delayed railway projects in northeast States

11:42 AM

AGARTALA - Hundreds of Left Front supporters in Agartala on Monday staged a demonstration to protest against the Railway Ministry’s decision to defer the completion of major 16 railway projects in north-east India by two years.

Under the banner of the ruling Left Front, the protestors assembled at the Badharghat Railway Station and also in front of all the Government establishments, located between Bishalghat to Sabroom, in the extreme south of Tripura to demonstrate against the Railway Ministry.
The protestors blamed the Central Government of a step motherly treatment.
“We all know that Minister of State for Railways, E Ahmed announced in the Parliament that the Agartala-Sabroon railway line completion target and that of conversion of Dharmanagar-Agartala to broad-gauge has been deferred to year 2014. Similarly, other projects in north-eastern states of India have also been deferred. We are protesting against this decision of postponing the completion deadline of these projects and demand they should be completed by 2012 as scheduled earlier,” said Amal Chakraborty, a youth leader of the Left Front, Agartala.
Later a team of six members visited the office of the Station Master and submitted a charter of demand for early completion of the ongoing railway projects under the Northern Frontier Railways.
In contrast to the Railway Ministry decision to link all the capital cities of eight north-eastern states and also declaring some of the projects as one of national importance, over the past five years, the Northern Frontier Railways could complete only 292 kilometres track length of the proposed projects.
The Left Front supporters threatened to stage a major protest if their demands were not given attention to.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) B K Handique on Monday informed the Rajya Sabha that out of total 666 sanctioned projects, 402 have not started yet due to various bottlenecks.
Over 400 projects sanctioned by the Centre have been pending in North Eastern states, a number of them for over three years due to various reasons including law and order issues and limitation of technical expertise in the region.
Handique told Rajya Sabha that the main reason for their pendency, inter-alia, included the shorter working period because of long rainy season in the North East, delay in release of funds by state governments to the implementing agencies, law and order problem and limitation of technical expertise.
Handique said his ministry was regularly monitoring implementation of various projects.
“The state governments have been advised to ensure timely release of funds to the implementing agencies and also review the progress on quarterly basis,” Handique added. By Pinaki Das

Buta Singh says he is being victimized along with his son

10:05 AM

New Delhi, Aug 2 : Chairman of the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, Buta Singh, on Sunday said that he is being victimised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

buta-singh-says-he-is-being-victimized-along-with-his-son

Addressing a press conference here, Buta Singh said, “This is a political conspiracy done by a party. Me and my son are being victimised and I am being attacked. The CBI instead of investigating the case is preparing witnesses against me and my son. I won”t name any party or element, but this is definitely a political conspiracy against me.”

Amidst indications that he might be questioned by CBI, Buta Singh said he ready to answer all questions if interrogated by the agency.

“I am ready to be questioned by the CBI if proper procedure is followed,” he said.
The former Union Minister said he has already briefed Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh about the case.

“I have briefed the Prime Minister and he asked me to send the facts. I will send it across to him and he has so far responded positively.”

Buta Singh, who will send facts on Monday, went on to say that he has full support from Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.

Sources said that Buta Singh’’s son, Sarabjot Singh, had told the CBI after his arrest, that he had informed his father about settling the complaint against Nashik civic works contractor Ram Rao Patil, that had been lodged with the National Commission for Scheduled castes.

The CBI has said that they need constitutional sanction to question Buta Singh, and once that is given, they plan to invoke Section 7 and 9 of the Prevention against Corruption Act (PCI) against the former minister.

Sarabjot was arrested on July 31 along with Anup Kumar Begi, Madan Singh Solanki and Dhukh Singh Chauhan for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs one crore from Patil to close a case registered against him under the SC/ST Act. (ANI)