Agartala, Nov. 29: More than 200 Congress workers joined the Trinamul Congress at the party’s rally in Khowai subdivision of West Tripura yesterday.
Trinamul inroads into Tripura
Trinamul president Dulal Chandra Das said his party had built up a strong base in the state in the late ’90s. In the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, party candidate for the West Tripura seat, Sudhir Ranjan Mazumder, secured the second position ahead of the Congress candidate.
“In the past two years more than 25,000 families, traditionally owing allegiance to the Congress, joined us out of frustration with the Congress’s organisational inertia, corruption and failure to protest the anti-people activities of the PCC, ” Das said.
“There were some setbacks in subsequent years, but since 2005 we have been steadily gaining ground. In the April Lok Sabha polls, we offered to fight in alliance with the Congress but the PCC president dismissed our offer and consequently Congress candidates lost the polls trailing in all the 60 Assembly segments.”
Trinamul Congress would like to contest all seats in the upcoming elections to the Autonomous District Council and civic bodies next year “with reasonable success in a number of them”, Das said.
Party chief Mamata Banerjee would visit the state twice next year to address meetings in all the four districts of the state to strengthen the party’s base, Das said.
“We are sure that what has happened in West Bengal will be replicated in Tripura with Trinamul emerging as the main Opposition to the CPM.”
Aspirants for the PCC president’s post have been summoned to Delhi by AICC general secretary V. Narayanswamy on December 2 for a discussion on incumbent chief Samir Ranjan Barman’s replacement.
“Narayanswamy has summoned seven party leaders, including five MLAs, to take an undertaking from them that they will accept the AICC’s choice of an ad hoc PCC chief till organisational elections are held,” dissident party leader and former MLA Tapas De said.
“Narayanswamy had directed Barman on November 6 not to directly handle the issue of party elections and hand over the responsibility of distributing membership forms to district presidents but he has violated the directive blatantly by using the name of a senior AICC functionary in Delhi,” De said.
Smita Thackeray sings praises of Sonia Gandhi
Mumbai: Shiv Sena Supremo Bala Saheb Thackeray's daughter in law Smita Thackeray is likely to leave Shiv Sena for joining the Congress. The announcement regarding it might come anytime.In an interview to a Newspaper, Smita has sung praises of the Congress and its chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Smita says that she is in touch with senior leaders of the Congress in Delhi. She said that she was impressed with the working style of Sonia and Rahul and wanted to work with them.
She said that she couldn't stand suffocation in regional politics and wanted to join the Congress.
If Smita joins the Congress, it will be a big blow to Thackeray family after Raj who quit the party only to float MNS.
48-year-old Smita Thackeray has great intervention in Shiv Sena's affairs and no important decision is taken without her consent.
Govt. tables Liberhan Comm. Report with ATR in Parliament
The Liberhan Commission Report which probed the demolition of disputed structure at Ayodhya was tabled in Parliament today. The report along with Action Taken Report was tabled by the Home Minister Mr. P.Chidambaram.
According to Home Ministry officials the Report along with the ATR will be availble on the website shortly.
AIR parliamentary correpondent reports that the government tabled the Report along with the ATR after some portions of the Report appreared in a section of press that led to adjournment of two Houses on Monday.
The decision to table the Liberhan Commission report in Parliament was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet which met this morning.
The BJP has sought a discussion on the report. Talking to reporters after the Parliamentary Party meeting, Party Spokesperson Mrs. Sushma Swaraj said that this is the second time that the government bowed to the demand of the opposition in this session.
BJP slams Congress on leak of Liberhan report
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha LK Advani, who is one of the 'BJP trio' reportedly indicted by the commission, questioned why the commission report which was handed over to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Jun 2009 was not yet tabled in parliament.
"I am proud of my association with the Ayodhya movement," LK Advani said adding, "I reiterate my commitment for building a Ram Temple in Ayodhya."
BJP members who accused the Congress-led government of partially leaking the details of the report are pressing for the report to be table immediately.
The protesting members shouted slogans and created ruckus in both the houses of the parliament leading to the adjournment of both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha till 12 noon.
The bedlam was sparked off by a report in The Indian Express, which claims that the Liberhan Commission has indicted the top brass of BJP including LK Advani, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and party president Murli Manohar Joshi.
Cong, BJP cross swords over poverty
Ranchi: The Congress and the BJP today crossed swords over continuing poverty in rural part of the country during high voltage campaigning for the Jharkhand assembly elections.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi attacked BJP for its erstwhile 'India Shining' campaign, while the saffron party president Rajnath Singh struck back asking why the Congress had "failed" to eradicate poverty though it ruled the country for five decades.
"For them, India shone for the rich, but your mandate taught them that India was not shining for backwards, dalits, tribals and the poor and elected the government of Manmohan Singh (in 2004), Rahul told an election meeting.
"You also voted the UPA in the May general elections," he added.
Singh, at a press conference when asked to comment on Rahul's statement, said "who is responsible for the plight of the poor? The Congress ruled for 52 years but failed to eradicate poverty."
Gandhi said "when I took a British minister to a village to show the power of the toiling people that moves India's development, the opposition said I was showing him poverty."
"They (opposition) are ashamed of it, but we are not, because we would like to include farmers and hardworking people in the future development of the country," Gandhi said.
Singh, however, countered that the Congress should not 'hoodwink' the people with the 'politics of poverty' and said the poor were hard-pressed because of spiralling prices.
The BJP president sought to know why India still lagged behind when small European countries found places in the club of developed nations in just about two decades.
He said the BJP would give all BPL families 35kg of rice at Rs1 per kilo and salt at 25 paise per kilo per month if voted to power in Jharkhand.
Gandhi said that the Centre had earmarked funds and launched welfare programmes for Jharkhand, but it could be properly implemented only by a like-minded government coming to power.
"We are funding many schemes, but it is the state government which has to implement them, and this can happen only when a government works in tandem with the Centre," Gandhi said.
The BJP-led NDA had ruled Jharkhand for six out of nine years of its creation.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi attacked BJP for its erstwhile 'India Shining' campaign, while the saffron party president Rajnath Singh struck back asking why the Congress had "failed" to eradicate poverty though it ruled the country for five decades.
"For them, India shone for the rich, but your mandate taught them that India was not shining for backwards, dalits, tribals and the poor and elected the government of Manmohan Singh (in 2004), Rahul told an election meeting.
"You also voted the UPA in the May general elections," he added.
Singh, at a press conference when asked to comment on Rahul's statement, said "who is responsible for the plight of the poor? The Congress ruled for 52 years but failed to eradicate poverty."
Gandhi said "when I took a British minister to a village to show the power of the toiling people that moves India's development, the opposition said I was showing him poverty."
"They (opposition) are ashamed of it, but we are not, because we would like to include farmers and hardworking people in the future development of the country," Gandhi said.
Singh, however, countered that the Congress should not 'hoodwink' the people with the 'politics of poverty' and said the poor were hard-pressed because of spiralling prices.
The BJP president sought to know why India still lagged behind when small European countries found places in the club of developed nations in just about two decades.
He said the BJP would give all BPL families 35kg of rice at Rs1 per kilo and salt at 25 paise per kilo per month if voted to power in Jharkhand.
Gandhi said that the Centre had earmarked funds and launched welfare programmes for Jharkhand, but it could be properly implemented only by a like-minded government coming to power.
"We are funding many schemes, but it is the state government which has to implement them, and this can happen only when a government works in tandem with the Centre," Gandhi said.
The BJP-led NDA had ruled Jharkhand for six out of nine years of its creation.
By-polls in four assembly constituencies next month
New Delhi, Nov 21 By-elections to fill assembly vacancies in Andhra Pradesh, Manipur and Tamil Nadu will be held Dec 19, the Election Commission announced Friday.
Elections will be held in Andhra Pradesh’s Pulivendla assembly constituency, Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchendur and Wandiwash (SC) segments and Manipur’s Yaiskul constituency, the Commission said in a statement.
Pulivendla was represented by the late chief minister Y.S.R. Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash Sep 2.
Elections will be held in Andhra Pradesh’s Pulivendla assembly constituency, Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchendur and Wandiwash (SC) segments and Manipur’s Yaiskul constituency, the Commission said in a statement.
Pulivendla was represented by the late chief minister Y.S.R. Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash Sep 2.
Assam opposition leaders keen to join Congress, says Gogoi
Guwahati, Nov 16 Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Monday claimed several senior opposition party leaders and legislators were keen to join the ruling Congress party ahead of the 2011 assembly elections.The chief minister said some leaders of the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF) were holding informal talks with Congress ministers and legislators in an effort to join the ruling party.
“I cannot take names but then many of them from the AGP, BJP and even the AUDF were keen to join the Congress. We are not in a position to commit them party tickets for the 2011 elections right now and hence have not decided on taking them into the party fold,” the chief minister told reporters.
Political equations ahead of the 2011 assembly elections in Assam are bound to change. Already there are murmurs with indications of realignment of forces.
“Yes, anything is possible in politics. But then we find that the people of Assam trust the Congress party than any other formations in the state,” Gogoi said.
The Congress has already gone into election mode with the chief minister chairing a cabinet meeting Monday to chalk out strategies to face the electorate.
“The thrust of the cabinet meeting was to make sure all the ministers speed up and accelerate the pace of development in the next 15 to 18 months,” Gogoi said.
The Congress won the assembly elections in 2001, then again in 2006, besides convincingly winning the local council elections last year and more recently the two by-elections.
“We are going for a hat-trick and hope to win the 2011 elections convincingly,” Gogoi said.
At a time when the chief minister exuded confidence, the morale of the AGP is at its lowest with internal bickerings and demands for leadership change getting strident.
“The AGP is down and out. We don’t even think of them as a force,” the chief minister said.
AGP likely to dump BJP ahead of 2011 Assam polls
Assam politics is expected to witness some major realignment of forces ahead of the 2011 assembly polls with the honeymoon between the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) almost over.
'The time has come to take a strong call on the continuance of the tie-up with the BJP. Successive electoral defeats have shattered the confidence of the party workers and supporters... The thinking of the party should change ahead of the 2011 assembly elections,' AGP vice president Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya told IANS.
Meanwhile, the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), a minority-based party that has emerged as the third major opposition in Assam, has sent feelers to the AGP.
'There is a big possibility of my party aligning with the AGP as the two parties have similar regional aspirations. I would say the chances are very bright,' Badruddin Ajmal, leader of the AUDF, told IANS.
The AUDF managed to win 11 assembly seats in the 2006 state elections. The AGP has 24 legislators in the 126-member house.
The AGP was quick to react to the AUDF's feelers, saying nothing was impossible in politics.
'We have heard the AUDF's comments and will discuss the issue. We are talking to parties at an informal level and anything can happen,' AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary told journalists.
The AGP suffered successive electoral reverses beginning with the 2001 assembly polls. The party also lost the 2006 assembly elections, then the local council elections, the April-May parliamentary polls this year, and the humiliating defeat in the two by-elections earlier this week.
The AGP and BJP fought the April-May parliamentary elections together under a seat sharing arrangement. The regional party fared poorly - it won just one of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, down by one compared to the 2004 general elections.
'The opposition parties must take a lesson from the past elections and hence the need to unite to challenge the Congress party,' said Dhrupad Borgohain, a former MP belonging to the Communist Party of India.
The AUDF has however made it clear that it would team up with the AGP provided the BJP is out of the combination.
'Minus the BJP and the Congress, we are ready for any kind of alliance,' Ajmal said.
Amid the political rumblings, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the Congress party was all set for a hat-trick by winning the 2011 polls.
'The AGP is down and out and there is no way the party can bounce back. The AUDF and the BJP are parties with communal overtones, and the people of Assam are going to reject them,' Gogoi told IANS.
'There could be a realignment of forces, but we are not worried.'
'The time has come to take a strong call on the continuance of the tie-up with the BJP. Successive electoral defeats have shattered the confidence of the party workers and supporters... The thinking of the party should change ahead of the 2011 assembly elections,' AGP vice president Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya told IANS.
Meanwhile, the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), a minority-based party that has emerged as the third major opposition in Assam, has sent feelers to the AGP.
'There is a big possibility of my party aligning with the AGP as the two parties have similar regional aspirations. I would say the chances are very bright,' Badruddin Ajmal, leader of the AUDF, told IANS.
The AUDF managed to win 11 assembly seats in the 2006 state elections. The AGP has 24 legislators in the 126-member house.
The AGP was quick to react to the AUDF's feelers, saying nothing was impossible in politics.
'We have heard the AUDF's comments and will discuss the issue. We are talking to parties at an informal level and anything can happen,' AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary told journalists.
The AGP suffered successive electoral reverses beginning with the 2001 assembly polls. The party also lost the 2006 assembly elections, then the local council elections, the April-May parliamentary polls this year, and the humiliating defeat in the two by-elections earlier this week.
The AGP and BJP fought the April-May parliamentary elections together under a seat sharing arrangement. The regional party fared poorly - it won just one of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, down by one compared to the 2004 general elections.
'The opposition parties must take a lesson from the past elections and hence the need to unite to challenge the Congress party,' said Dhrupad Borgohain, a former MP belonging to the Communist Party of India.
The AUDF has however made it clear that it would team up with the AGP provided the BJP is out of the combination.
'Minus the BJP and the Congress, we are ready for any kind of alliance,' Ajmal said.
Amid the political rumblings, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the Congress party was all set for a hat-trick by winning the 2011 polls.
'The AGP is down and out and there is no way the party can bounce back. The AUDF and the BJP are parties with communal overtones, and the people of Assam are going to reject them,' Gogoi told IANS.
'There could be a realignment of forces, but we are not worried.'
AGP likely to dump BJP ahead of 2011 Assam polls
By Syed Zarir Hussain
Guwahati, Nov 14 Assam politics is expected to witness some major realignment of forces ahead of the 2011 assembly polls with the honeymoon between the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) almost over.
“The time has come to take a strong call on the continuance of the tie-up with the BJP. Successive electoral defeats have shattered the confidence of the party workers and supporters… The thinking of the party should change ahead of the 2011 assembly elections,” AGP vice president Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya told IANS.
Meanwhile, the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), a minority-based party that has emerged as the third major opposition in Assam, has sent feelers to the AGP.
“There is a big possibility of my party aligning with the AGP as the two parties have similar regional aspirations. I would say the chances are very bright,” Badruddin Ajmal, leader of the AUDF, told IANS.
The AUDF managed to win 11 assembly seats in the 2006 state elections. The AGP has 24 legislators in the 126-member house.
The AGP was quick to react to the AUDF’s feelers, saying nothing was impossible in politics.
“We have heard the AUDF’s comments and will discuss the issue. We are talking to parties at an informal level and anything can happen,” AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary told journalists.
The AGP suffered successive electoral reverses beginning with the 2001 assembly polls. The party also lost the 2006 assembly elections, then the local council elections, the April-May parliamentary polls this year, and the humiliating defeat in the two by-elections earlier this week.
The AGP and BJP fought the April-May parliamentary elections together under a seat sharing arrangement. The regional party fared poorly - it won just one of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, down by one compared to the 2004 general elections.
“The opposition parties must take a lesson from the past elections and hence the need to unite to challenge the Congress party,” said Dhrupad Borgohain, a former MP belonging to the Communist Party of India.
The AUDF has however made it clear that it would team up with the AGP provided the BJP is out of the combination.
“Minus the BJP and the Congress, we are ready for any kind of alliance,” Ajmal said.
Amid the political rumblings, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the Congress party was all set for a hat-trick by winning the 2011 polls.
“The AGP is down and out and there is no way the party can bounce back. The AUDF and the BJP are parties with communal overtones, and the people of Assam are going to reject them,” Gogoi told IANS.
“There could be a realignment of forces, but we are not worried.”
Guwahati, Nov 14 Assam politics is expected to witness some major realignment of forces ahead of the 2011 assembly polls with the honeymoon between the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) almost over.
“The time has come to take a strong call on the continuance of the tie-up with the BJP. Successive electoral defeats have shattered the confidence of the party workers and supporters… The thinking of the party should change ahead of the 2011 assembly elections,” AGP vice president Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya told IANS.
Meanwhile, the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), a minority-based party that has emerged as the third major opposition in Assam, has sent feelers to the AGP.
“There is a big possibility of my party aligning with the AGP as the two parties have similar regional aspirations. I would say the chances are very bright,” Badruddin Ajmal, leader of the AUDF, told IANS.
The AUDF managed to win 11 assembly seats in the 2006 state elections. The AGP has 24 legislators in the 126-member house.
The AGP was quick to react to the AUDF’s feelers, saying nothing was impossible in politics.
“We have heard the AUDF’s comments and will discuss the issue. We are talking to parties at an informal level and anything can happen,” AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary told journalists.
The AGP suffered successive electoral reverses beginning with the 2001 assembly polls. The party also lost the 2006 assembly elections, then the local council elections, the April-May parliamentary polls this year, and the humiliating defeat in the two by-elections earlier this week.
The AGP and BJP fought the April-May parliamentary elections together under a seat sharing arrangement. The regional party fared poorly - it won just one of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, down by one compared to the 2004 general elections.
“The opposition parties must take a lesson from the past elections and hence the need to unite to challenge the Congress party,” said Dhrupad Borgohain, a former MP belonging to the Communist Party of India.
The AUDF has however made it clear that it would team up with the AGP provided the BJP is out of the combination.
“Minus the BJP and the Congress, we are ready for any kind of alliance,” Ajmal said.
Amid the political rumblings, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the Congress party was all set for a hat-trick by winning the 2011 polls.
“The AGP is down and out and there is no way the party can bounce back. The AUDF and the BJP are parties with communal overtones, and the people of Assam are going to reject them,” Gogoi told IANS.
“There could be a realignment of forces, but we are not worried.”
Apex court turns down Mayawati appeal on Ambedkar park
A bench of Justices H.S. Bedi and J.M. Panchal refused to suspend the apex court’s orders of Sep 8 and Sep 11, while refusing to accord an urgent hearing to the state government’s plea to allow it to take up maintenance work in the sprawling Ambedkar Park for the Dec 6 function.
The bench said it would hear the plea by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government for maintenance work in the park only on Nov 30, the day slated earlier by the court’s
registry for the hearing.
The Mayawati-led government had moved the apex court seeking permission to prepare the sprawling park in the heart of Lucknow to celebrate the death anniversary of the Dalit icon and chairperson of the draft committee of the Indian constitution.
But the bench refused to oblige the government.
The court had on Sep 8 ordered the state government to halt further construction at various memorial sites in Lucknow. It was hearing a lawsuit by city resident Mithilesh Kumar Singh, who had challenged the government’s construction spree, building a slew of parks and memorials in Lucknow at an estimated cost Rs.26 billion.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister, governor have narrow escape
“The plane was barely a few feet above the runway when the pilot spotted the vehicles. He immediately aborted landing and took a go-around,” Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Commissioner Manoj Srivastava said.
Chouhan and Thakur had gone to Gwalior to welcome President Pratibha Patil who was scheduled to present colours to the 47th Squadron and Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment Wing of the Indian Air Force.
Nitish demands ban on MNS for slapping Azmi
File Photo: The Hindu Mr. Kumar asked the Centre and Maharashtra government to take a serious note of the incident and act in accordance with the law immediately.
Demanding a ban on Raj Thackeray-led MNS after its members assaulted SP MLA Abu Azmi for taking oath in Hindi in the Maharashtra Assembly, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday called for legal action against the legislators involved in the “unlawful act“.
“It is a highly condemnable act ... Stern legal action under the Criminal Procedure Code should be taken against the MLAs of the MNS,” he said, reacting to the incident.
Earlier, as soon as Mr. Azmi began taking oath in Hindi, the 13 member-strong MNS contingent rushed towards Mr. Azmi, snatching the mike placed for taking oath at the podium. They shouted slogans, demanding that Mr. Azmi should take oath in Marathi.
The House was adjourned for 30 minutes as the pandemonium continued and soon after that MNS MLA Ram Kadam slapped Mr. Azmi.
Mr. Kumar asked the Centre and Maharashtra government to take a serious note of the incident and act in accordance with the law immediately.
“We respect Marathi ... But at the same time it is intolerable to allow people to show disrespect to Hindi - our national language,” the JD(U) leader said.
Election Commission braces for vote count
New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) The Election Commission said Monday it was all set for counting of votes in a Lok Sabha and 31 assembly constituencies across seven states that went to the polls Saturday.
The counting of the hundreds of thousands of votes will start at 8 a.m. and most results are expected by noon.
The by-elections were held in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad Lok Sabha and 11 assembly constituencies, West Bengal’s 10 assembly constituencies, three in Kerala, two each in Rajasthan, Assam and Himachal Pradesh and in one constituency in Chhattisgarh.
It was the first popularity test after last month’s assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.
The results will have politically wide-ranging implications in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, where the Left Front is on the defensive in the face of an aggressive Trinamool Congress and rising Maoist violence.
The Firozabad battle is a matter of prestige for the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
Congress candidate and movie star Raj Babbar took on Dimple Yadav, daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, making it a battle of prestige.
In Kerala, elections were held in Kannur, Ernakulam and Alappuzha, in Rajasthan in Todabhim and Salumbar, in Assam in Salmara South and Dhekiajuli, in Himachal Pradesh in Rohru and Jawali and in Chhattisgarh’s Vaishali Nagar constituency.
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/election-commission-braces-for-vote-count_100272213.html#ixzz0WMgTbEJK
The counting of the hundreds of thousands of votes will start at 8 a.m. and most results are expected by noon.
The by-elections were held in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad Lok Sabha and 11 assembly constituencies, West Bengal’s 10 assembly constituencies, three in Kerala, two each in Rajasthan, Assam and Himachal Pradesh and in one constituency in Chhattisgarh.
It was the first popularity test after last month’s assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.
The results will have politically wide-ranging implications in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, where the Left Front is on the defensive in the face of an aggressive Trinamool Congress and rising Maoist violence.
The Firozabad battle is a matter of prestige for the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
Congress candidate and movie star Raj Babbar took on Dimple Yadav, daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, making it a battle of prestige.
In Kerala, elections were held in Kannur, Ernakulam and Alappuzha, in Rajasthan in Todabhim and Salumbar, in Assam in Salmara South and Dhekiajuli, in Himachal Pradesh in Rohru and Jawali and in Chhattisgarh’s Vaishali Nagar constituency.
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/election-commission-braces-for-vote-count_100272213.html#ixzz0WMgTbEJK
Karnataka BJP crisis deepens
New Delhi
In a fresh twist to the Karnataka saga, 52 rebel MLAs have reportedly faxed resignations to their leader Janardhan Reddy, who is in Delhi with the Speaker of the Assembly Jagdish Shettar, talking to the central leadership of the BJP.
But Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has reportedly denied their resignation. The rebel MLAs supporting the Reddys against the chief minister are holed up in Hyderabad.
Janardhan Reddy has informed top BJP leaders about the MLAs' resignation. He met senior leader Sushma Swaraj today and reiterated his resolve not to meet Yeddyurappa. He informed Sushma of the support of 52 rebel MLAs.
Meanwhile, one of the Reddy brother's demand has been fulfilled. Yeddyurappa's principal secretary VP Baligar has been transferred to the Industry & Commerce Department. ISN Prasad will be the new secretary to the CM.
The secretary's removal was a key demand of the rebel Reddy camp.
The Karnataka crisis is clearly far from over despite all assertions from a beleaguered BJP on Thursday. The rebel Reddys have toughened their stand and refused to be part of the compromise deal suggested so far.
After days of hectic parleys, the BJP had come up with the new compromise formula on Thursday. As per the formula, Yeddyurappa would continue as chief minister and Karnataka Rural Development Minister Shobha Karandlaje would be dropped from the Cabinet.
Yeddyruppa had agreed to this, but wanted to reinstate Karandlaje as the state BJP chief. The Reddys are opposed to that too. They also want a few others known to be close to Yeddyruppa to go. Their initial demand, in fact, was a change in leadership with the ouster of Yeddyurappa.
Senior BJP leaders have been holding hectic talks with the two factions for days now. They are believed to have told the Reddy brothers in no uncertain terms that Yeddyurappa would stay on as chief minister. However, the Yeddyurappa was also asked to be flexible to demands of the rebels.
The powerful Reddy brothers, who played a key role in garnering support for the Yeddyurappa government after Assembly elections last year, have even refused to meet the chief minister in Delhi. "I hope the high command listens to us in the interest of the party. I will not meet Yeddyurappa at all," Janardhan Reddy said after his meeting with Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday.
"Yeddyurappa is jealous of us and he's the one who has hurt the image of the BJP," Reddy told NDTV.
But Yeddyurappa had expressed confidence that all issues would be resolved. He also said he would stay on as the chief minister, but would accept whatever decision the high command took.
In a fresh twist to the Karnataka saga, 52 rebel MLAs have reportedly faxed resignations to their leader Janardhan Reddy, who is in Delhi with the Speaker of the Assembly Jagdish Shettar, talking to the central leadership of the BJP.But Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has reportedly denied their resignation. The rebel MLAs supporting the Reddys against the chief minister are holed up in Hyderabad.
Janardhan Reddy has informed top BJP leaders about the MLAs' resignation. He met senior leader Sushma Swaraj today and reiterated his resolve not to meet Yeddyurappa. He informed Sushma of the support of 52 rebel MLAs.
Meanwhile, one of the Reddy brother's demand has been fulfilled. Yeddyurappa's principal secretary VP Baligar has been transferred to the Industry & Commerce Department. ISN Prasad will be the new secretary to the CM.
The secretary's removal was a key demand of the rebel Reddy camp.
The Karnataka crisis is clearly far from over despite all assertions from a beleaguered BJP on Thursday. The rebel Reddys have toughened their stand and refused to be part of the compromise deal suggested so far.
After days of hectic parleys, the BJP had come up with the new compromise formula on Thursday. As per the formula, Yeddyurappa would continue as chief minister and Karnataka Rural Development Minister Shobha Karandlaje would be dropped from the Cabinet.
Yeddyruppa had agreed to this, but wanted to reinstate Karandlaje as the state BJP chief. The Reddys are opposed to that too. They also want a few others known to be close to Yeddyruppa to go. Their initial demand, in fact, was a change in leadership with the ouster of Yeddyurappa.
Senior BJP leaders have been holding hectic talks with the two factions for days now. They are believed to have told the Reddy brothers in no uncertain terms that Yeddyurappa would stay on as chief minister. However, the Yeddyurappa was also asked to be flexible to demands of the rebels.
The powerful Reddy brothers, who played a key role in garnering support for the Yeddyurappa government after Assembly elections last year, have even refused to meet the chief minister in Delhi. "I hope the high command listens to us in the interest of the party. I will not meet Yeddyurappa at all," Janardhan Reddy said after his meeting with Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday.
"Yeddyurappa is jealous of us and he's the one who has hurt the image of the BJP," Reddy told NDTV.
But Yeddyurappa had expressed confidence that all issues would be resolved. He also said he would stay on as the chief minister, but would accept whatever decision the high command took.
 | |||||
|
