NEW DELHI - The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) may wax eloquent about empowering the downtrodden, but in the last five years it has denied the Scheduled Castes (SCs) a whopping Rs.72,500 crore ($15.16 billion) that should have been earmarked for them under a special scheme.

This has been underlined by voluntary organisation National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) after a study of India’s budget documents.
Called the special component plan (SCP), the scheme was a strategy evolved way back in April 1975, envisaging that every central ministry must allocate funds from its annual plan for Dalits according to their population.
SCs today form 16.2 percent of India’s 1.1 billion population. Therefore, between 2005 and 2009, the Congress-led government should have set aside Rs.129,000 crore for Dalits. But as much as Rs.72,500 crore was not earmarked, the NCDHR has pointed out.
“The figures of allocation are a mute witness to the history of denial of exclusion. It is not only for the last five years; this trend is observed for the last 28 years since the inception of the special component plan in 1979-80,” states the NCDHR.
It points to the allocations in the interim budget of the UPA government in February.
“Out of 75 ministries and their departments, only 16 have allocated funds under the SCP. Out of these, nine ministries have allocated token amounts below five percent. Labour and employment, science & technology, bio-technology, panchayati raj and textiles are some of the examples,” says the study.
But the NCDHR concedes that human resource development, social justice and empowerment, rural development, women and child development and health ministries did make allocations according to the Dalit population.
The SCP came into being in 1979-80 and only Rs.433 crore had been spent on SCs and Scheduled Tribes (STs) together in the 30 years before that.
According to the Planning Commission guidelines, these funds cannot be diverted for any other purpose.
The ruling Congress and its UPA allies that spoke of the common man in the run up to elections allocated Rs.15,280 crore for SCs in its interim budget in February while it should have set aside Rs.34,413 crore for this fiscal, says NCDHR.
“This is even lower than last year’s allocation,” points out the study.
“While the total increase in the plan outlay is 15.74 percent, it is unacceptable that at this critical time of financial crisis, the amount for the socially and economically vulnerable sections is drastically reduced. The amount denied is 55 percent this year!”
As envisaged by the Planning Commission of India, the major objectives of the SCP are:
* Substantial reduction in poverty;
* Creation of productive assets in favour of SCs to sustain the growth likely to accrue through development efforts;
* Human resource development of the SCs by providing adequate educational and health service; and
* Provision of physical and financial security against all types of exploitation and oppression.

The President, Ms Pratibha Patil’s address to the joint session of the two Houses of Parliament on Thursday held a few surprises. With the UPA back in the saddle, the thinking that would animate the Manmohan Singh government’s policies in its second term obviously remains unchanged.

Essentially, this means trying to innovate to boost private business with a view to ensuring growth while taking on board the pressing needs of India’s sprawling below-the-poverty-line sector, typically comprising dalits, tribals, the extreme backward castes, and the bulk of the minorities — spread in rural and urban slum settlements.

With the Left off the government’s back this time around, UPA-2 would be better placed to privatise/disinvest, and cut subsidies like oil — or even fertilisers — to find the money for the maze of social sector spending to which it has committed itself. Financial sector reforms, in effect permitting private players including foreigners in entities like pension funds, are also likely to be on the cards.

These entered the President’s address, which traditionally sets forth an incoming government’s five-year policy plan, through the rubric of “economic management” to counter the effects of the global economic slowdown.

The real surprise is that Dr Singh, in his second innings, has chosen to stick with policies that expand rural employment and boost housing, health and education for the poor in rural and urban areas, and also for forest dwellers.

This may dismay the Left, which continues to believe that policies with such an orientation were on the table on account of its insistence.

Since the global slowdown has to be fought today, measures to balance the budget are needed now, especially since a range of social sector outlays have been indicated. We shall know more about this, including taxation details and the broad fiscal direction of the economy, when the Union Budget is presented next month.

However, the President’s address could have been more forthcoming on the means it proposes to devise to cut the bloated bureaucracy, increase its productivity, and make procedures more contemporary, less cumbersome and more leak-proof.

So far thinking on this has been a pie in the sky. First brought to the table by UPA-1, this critical area has been uptil now no more than a lazy slogan. Pouring in vast sums to alleviate the lot of the needy is likely to be a misdirected effort if the machinery of the government is sloppy, unproductive and leaks like a sieve.

The ideas presented by the President in her address point to the zeal for building a nation that is more modern, more equitable, more democratic, more productive, better nourished, better educated, and healthier, in order to be competitive in an age when the “knowledge society” is the buzzword.

But the means of delivery for much of this remains the government employee sector — known only too well for its inefficiency, greed and lack of transparency.

Unless the government can change their ways and cut their numbers, it is hard to see how the proposed laudable aims can materialise. After the terrorist attacks of the past few years culminating in the horror of Mumbai last November, it was only expected that internal security will get top billing in the President’s address.

However, clearer and more focused references to policy in respect of Pakistan, which is at the centre of any meaningful discussion on terrorism in India and the world, could have lent greater weight to the President’s pronouncements.

Some nuancing of our approach towards the United States is critical while addressing issues relating to Pakistan. The President may have done well to give a hint of this.

Bappaditya Paul

SILIGURI, June 5 : Robbed of his chief ministerial ambitions, by ally UDP in Meghalaya, NCP general secretary and the former Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr PA Sangma, is eyeing to return to national politics.

As per sources close to him, the UPA top brass wants Mr Sangma to return to the national arena, in some key role, that will be befitting to his stature.
He could either make a come back as a Cabinet minister or in some respectable constitutional position, such as the deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, sources said.
“The request has come from the UPA itself and Mr Sangma is considering it positively. But in any situation, Mr Sangma returns to the national arena, it must conform to his stature as a former Union Cabinet minister and Lok Sabha Speaker. After all he cannot accept a lower position,” said Mr Ratan Shome ~ a close associate of Mr Sangma, based at Tura, in Meghalaya.
Mr Sangma is now camping in New Delhi, to weigh the possibility of his desired come back and a development is likely to take place in the next couple of days.
Sixty-two year old Mr Sangma, had voluntarily relinquished the Tura MP seat, for his daughter Ms Agatha Sangma, in 2007 and decided to stay in the state politics in Meghalaya.
In fact, he later got elected as a MLA and materialised a coalition government in Megha-laya ~ comprising the NCP, UDP and other smaller regional political factions

New Delhi, May 30 : A day after all members of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s council of ministers got their portfolios, many attended office Friday to familiarise themselves with their ministries while those who retained their old jobs reviewed their unfinished agenda.

The 78-member three-tier ministry, which Manmohan Singh described as a mix of energy and experience, has been asked to set benchmarks. United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi stressed that everyone would be judged by their performance.

Vayalar Ravi, who retains charge of the overseas Indian affairs ministry, got to business straight away, saying his immediate task was to protect the Indians in Australia after a spate of allegedly racial attacks this week.

He said the government was seriously considering “an institutionalised mechanism” to prevent racist attacks on Indians abroad.

“The government has taken the matter seriously. My immediate task is to ensure the safety of Indians there. I have asked for a report from the Indian High Commission in Australia,” said Ravi.

Murli Deora, who retains the petroleum and natural gas ministry, announced a new scheme for distribution of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in villages.

Kamal Nath, who now heads the ministry of road transport and highways, said regulations covering India’s road network will be overhauled and promised to change the physical landscape of the country’s transport infrastructure.

“We need to look at the old regulatory framework in an entirely new way and that will call for a complete change of mindset. We are looking at new models,” Kamal Nath said.

DMK leader T.R. Baalu’s leadership of the ministry earlier had come under widespread criticism.

“Policies cannot be measured - there can be a number of policies,” said Kamal Nath, the former commerce and industry minister. “But roads and highways can be physically measured. This is a major infrastructure area. Results will be seen… I have been given a challenging task.”

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, promoted to the cabinet, said India will maintain its exports at $160 billion for the current fiscal and unveil steps in the coming budget to help the sector.

“This is a challenging responsibility and I will benefit from my earlier experience. Economic diplomacy is part of global engagement,” said Sharma, formerly a minister of state in the external affairs ministry.

Sharma said India was ready to sign a host of agreements including a free trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and economic cooperation pacts with South Korea and Nepal.

The minister said the country’s export performance was laudable given that the global economy had shrunk since last year. “I am confident we will be able to manage at least $160 billion.”

Kapil Sibal, the cabinet minister in charge of human resource development
, told reporters: “I want to put in place a system where every child and person can have access to resources and education.”

Former UN diplomat and writer Shashi Tharoor, appointed the minister of state in the ministry of external affairs, said he would work to strengthen India’s global stature.

“India’s place in the world is of great importance. India has had an honoured place in the world. I wish to make my own contribution to strengthening that very honoured place.”

Preneet Kaur, also a minister of state in the same ministry, said India wanted peace with neighbours but it would never tolerate terrorism.

“We always want good relations with neighbours but the one thing we will not tolerate is terrorism and sheltering of terrorists,” she asserted.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said India would focus on developing new vaccines to fight new diseases.

National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah, who heads the new and renewable energy ministry, said his biggest challenge was to tap “new energy”.

New Delhi: Congress today downplayed demands for a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) for the UPA saying a small group will be constituted to consider the common points of the manifestos of the parties in the alliance.
"A small group will be formed that will decide what are the issues in the manifestos of other parties which could be included," AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters after the first meeting of the pre-poll alliance partners of the UPA here.

Asked about the issue of CMP raised by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee in the UPA meeting, Dwivedi said that he will not comment on what she said in individual capacity in the meeting.

"There was a consensus...This is not the first time, the UPA government is being formed," Dwivedi said, indicating that instead of CMP, there would merely be a small group to look into the issues which the allies have raised and promised in their manifestos.

Party sources said that the issue of including RJD, SP and LJP, who were part of the last UPA regime but were not pre-poll partners of the Congress, did not come up in the UPA meeting at the residence of party President Sonia Gandhi.

Sources maintained that this effectively meant that the doors of the Cabinet are closed for RJD and SP.

Mumbai, May 17 : A stable government was the need of the hour in these times of global recession and there should be no problem in formation of a stable government, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said here today.

“People were confident that only UPA can provide a stable government and with the results and trends available so far, there should be no hindrance to formation of a stable government,” Pawar told reporters here.


“After this result, how can anyone else’s subject crop up,” Pawar said replying to a query on his prime ministerial ambitions.

New Delhi, May 16 : A day ahead of Verdict 2009, major political parties kept their fingers crossed. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters wore a deserted look Friday afternoon with its leaders locked in meetings at party leader L.K. Advani’s residence, the Congress office was abuzz with a battery of mediapersons.

There were lower rung officials crunching numbers at the BJP office on Ashoka Road while their leaders were thrashing out strategies with the elections promising to throw up a hung parliament.


“We are 200 percent sure that we will form the government and not sit in opposition,” BJP’s youth wing leader P.N. Pathak said, putting up a brave face, though several exit polls have predicted that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has an edge.

The book store at the BJP office, which claimed to have seen brisk sales in the run-up to the elections, was deserted.

“Our sales shot up drastically since the campaigning started. Advani’s autobiography ‘My Country, My Life’ is a hot favourite. A close second is ‘Human Integration’ by Deen Dayal Upadhyay,” a party worker at the store said.

At the Congress office at 24 Akbar Road, there was a sense of optimism among the party supporters.
A Congress worker, hanging around at the party office, said: “I am confident we will win because we take people along with us.”

Later, speaking to reporters, senior party leader Kapil Sibal also expressed confidence of a Congress victory.
A worker at the canteen in the Congress headquarters said no special preparations had been made for celebrations in case of victory.

“As of now, no leader has told us anything, we will serve sweets and lassi (buttermilk) to everybody but no special preparations are under way.”

The results of the surveys, in a common trend, show Congress gaining the upper hand.

New Delhi: The Congress-led UPA has been projected to have an edge over NDA and others in the Lok Sabha elections which are expected to produce a highly-fractured verdict, exit polls on television news channels show. The results of the surveys, shown by the channels at the end of the fifth and final phase of polling in the month-long exercise, have placed the BJP-led NDA not very far behind the UPA and the Third Front at a little over 100 seats.
'Headlines Today' channel gave Congress and its allies 191 seats against 180 to BJP and its allies. The Left parties, which played a crucial role in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 60 seats, has been projected to get 38 while 'Others' including the BSP are set to get 134 in a House of 543.
In its projections, 'India TV' channel said UPA would get between 195 seats and it could go up to 227 if 32 seats of RJD, LJP and SP are added. The channel has given NDA 189 and the Third Front 113. 'Others' are projected to get 14 seats.

Exit polls had been way off the mark in 2004 Lok Sabha polls, with most of them projecting BJP-led NDA as the winner which did not turn out to be correct. Ultimately, in 2004 elections the Congress and its pre-poll allies got 216 seats against a projection ranging from 170 to 205 seats. The BJP-led NDA had secured 187 seats against the projections of over 240 to 250 seats.
In the predictions by 'NewsX' channel, the UPA has been projected to get 199 seats against 191 of NDA while the 'Third Front' gets 104 and 'Others' 48. Congress alone is expected to get 155 and BJP two less.
'UTVi' channel gives UPA 195 and along with SP, LJP and RJD, it gets 227. The NDA has been given 189 seats and 'Others' 14.
Yet another channel 'News 24' gave projections made by the political parties. In the Congress projections, gets 218 as against 194 of NDA, 101 for 'Third Front' and 30 for the 'Fourth Front'.
The channel quoted BJP exit polls giving UPA 170 as against NDA's 215. The 'Third Front' has been given 125 and the 'Fourth Front' 33.

NEW DELHI, May 13 : The curtains came down on the staggered Lok Sabha elections Wednesday with millions of Indians voting peacefully in the fifth and last round covering 86 constituencies, and the first exit polls putting the Congress-led coalition on top of a fractured verdict.

Even as both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed they would finish as the number one, an India TV exit poll telecast after balloting ended said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) could end up with 195-201 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha.

This tally could go up to 227-237 if the seats bagged by estranged allies such as Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party were to be included. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was tipped to bag 189-195 seats and the Third Front 113-121 seats, it said.

But political leaders and analysts kept their fingers tightly crossed, with the expected cliffhanger verdict forcing both the Congress and BJP -- the two main contenders for power -- desperately scouting for new allies. As the voting progressed, some parties switched loyalties, making it one of the most difficult electoral battles to predict.

"It seems to be a very complex political situation. It is the complexity that makes it difficult to make any predictions," Kerala-based political analyst N.P. Chekutty told IANS, reflecting an opinion widely held in the world's largest democracy.

Election officials estimated that some 55 percent of the 714 million electorate - which is more than the combined population of Russia and the US - had voted over five phases starting April 16. The result will be known Saturday.

Wednesday's polling was overwhelmingly peaceful but for the murder of a political worker in Tamil Nadu and clashes in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, two key states whose outcome will have a bearing on government formation in New Delhi.

The exercise involved all 39 seats of Tamil Nadu, all four seats of Himachal Pradesh and all five seats of Uttarakhand besides two in Jammu and Kashmir, nine in Punjab, 11 in West Bengal and 14 in Uttar Pradesh besides one each in Chandigarh and Pondicherry.

The most notable of the 1,432 candidates included Home Minister P. Chidambaram of the Congress (Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu) and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee (South Kolkata).

Fearing uncertain times, Indian markets turned edgy Wednesday, with a key index losing 138 points from its last closing figure at end of trade. The 30-scrip sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange opened at 12,201.93 points and fell 138.38 points or 1.14 percent from Tuesday's close.

"I'm fully confident that a BJP-led government will be formed at the centre. We will get new partners (after the polls)," BJP president Rajnath Singh said confidently. Within hours, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh asserted that his party would occupy the number one slot.

Not to be left behind, the Third Front - made up of the Communists and regional parties - announced they would meet in New Delhi Monday to decide the future course of action. The meeting would be attended by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which is widely expected to win around 40 seats, said Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and a key mover behind the Third Front.

With neither the UPA nor NDA expected to cross the magic figure of 272 in the Lok Sabha, the Congress and BJP tried to outsmart one another in order to woo leaders of smaller and regional parties.

AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalitha, a key Third Front partner, said in Chennai: "There are feelers from many places. I am not responding to them now. Everything depends on the results. If the results are as expected, then I will go to Delhi."

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who in 2004 pulled off a coup by most unexpectedly worsting the BJP-led alliance in general elections, Wednesday telephoned estranged ally Ram Vilas Paswan after a fire in his house which adjoins her own in the heart of New Delhi.

Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha got off to a violent start April 16 leaving 19 people dead in coordinated attacks by Maoist guerrillas during the first round of balloting. The rest of the polling days were, however, largely peaceful.

NEW DELHI - Despite an outright rejection of its overtures, the Congress is confident that the estranged Left will be left with no choice but to support the UPA over a ‘communal force’ like the BJP and feels that differences over foreign policy and the India-US nuclear deal can be ‘managed’.


But the Communists, who are trying hard to install a non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front government, have made it clear that they are not ready to enter the door left open for them.

‘If they have an enlightened view of their interests and national interests, they will wake up to post-poll reality and know whom to support. Given a choice between a communal force like the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and secular pluralist Congress, they will back us,’ veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar told IANS on phone from Mayalatidurai, his constituency in Tamil Nadu where he is campaigning.

But Aiyar makes it clear there won’t be any compromise with either the India-US nuclear deal or the defence framework agreement with Washington, which have already been sealed.

‘None of their apprehensions about the course of foreign policy have turned out to be true,’ Aiyar said when asked about the Left’s contention that India was moving into the US strategic orbit.

Agreed Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office: ‘One thing is clear. They will never support the BJP-led NDA. There is a much bigger threat from communal forces and the Left realises it.’

Chavan also sought to gloss over ideological differences with the Left on the nuclear deal, the showpiece of the UPA’s foreign policy and the pivot of India’s transformed relationship with the US.

‘They don’t have issues with the nuclear deal. They are against a larger relationship with the US. But these differences can be managed.’

‘We had a very good relationship with the Left parties. All these permutations and combinations will start only after May 16,’ Chavan replied when asked what package deal the Congress was ready to offer the Left to win their support in case of the Congress emerging as the single largest party.

In a clear sign that that the ruling Congress-led UPA is not sure of getting the numbers to form the next government, the Congress has launched a concerted media offensive to win over the Left parties, which tried to topple their government over the nuclear deal last year.

Senior leaders like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee have repeatedly said in media interviews that the Congress was hopeful of support from the Left parties in forming the next government.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was the latest to woo the Left. He critiqued the Left’s views on the nuclear deal as ‘20-30 years old’ and admitted that there are ideological differences between the Congress and the Left. But he was confident about winning over the Left.

‘We will do better than last time. And I am confident that the Left will support Manmohan Singh,’ he said at his Tuesday press conference in the capital.

The Left leaders see such confidence as ‘misplaced’ and a ’sign of arrogance’.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Prakash Karat disdainfully dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s remarks and made it clear that the Left would ‘try to form a non-Congress government’.

‘It will not work. I don’t foresee any possibility,’ Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja told IANS when asked whether the Left would support the UPA.

CPI leader A.B. Bardhan was emphatic about repudiating any possibility of supporting the UPA. ‘Under no conditions we will support the UPA as long as the Congress does not change its policies. And we don’t see that happening.’

‘We broke with the Congress on issues of policy and not for some whimsy. The Congress should not imagine we will enter the door just because it’s been left open. It looks like we have been taken for granted.’

‘Now they are going soft. They are not sure of their numbers. They don’t think they will come to power without a prop,’ sneered Bardhan.

Political analysts are also sceptical of any rapprochement between the Congress and the Left. ‘It’s too large a chasm to bridge. The two broke up on a very important initiative like the nuclear deal. And nothing has changed on ground on that issue,’ said Mahesh Rangarajan, a political analyst.

NEW DELHI, May 2 : BJP today alleged that the Congress-led UPA government had indulged in a Rs 400 crore sugar scam to finance its electioneering, reports PTI. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar termed as “amusing” the government decision not to ban exports even now when there is a shortage of sugar in the country and its prices were shooting up.

“The government allowed some traders to import raw sugar at Rs 16 per kg and sell it after reprocessing at Re 1 per kg. However, it allowed them to retain the stock and made concession of three years for re-export. Some who imported 20 lakh tonnes of raw sugar under Advanced License Scheme sold it for Rs 27 per kg,” Javadekar alleged.

He said this was nothing but “loot” of the country. “It is believed by the experts that the UPA government made Rs 400 crore through this concession by charging Rs 2 per kg on 20 lakh tonnes for its election fund. Government allowed forward trading and deliberately increased stock limits from 500 quintals of sugar. The hoarding has resulted in price rise,” he said.

Javadekar also accused the government of encouraging cartelisation in the cement and steel market.

The saffron party promised to bring down prices within three months of assuming office. “BJP assures that it will control the prices within first three months of assuming power,” he said.

Javadekar accused the UPA government of betraying the common man by “failing” to control the price rise of food grains, pulses, edible oil, vegetables and fruits.

He also said the sugar prices have skyrocketed and crossed the Rs 30/kg mark in many parts of the country. “Sugar price in January was Rs 20 per kg. It has seen a scandalous 50 per cent rise in 100 days. The price rise of sugar and other essential commodities is a story of scandal and overall failure in managing the economy,” Javadekar said.

The price of sugar has risen as the government has failed to assess the demand and supply of the essential commodity, he said. “As farmers suffered heavily last year on the sugarcane prices, this year sugar production was bound to get hit. The government failed to take timely action to save the day,” Javadekar said.

Dumurjola, May 1 : In a stinging attack on Left parties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said their policies are "retrograde" and "lack far-sightedness" and contended that their withdrawal of support to the UPA government last year indirectly helped BJP.

Addressing a public meeting here in Howrah district, Singh accused the Left parties of spreading wrong information on Indo-US nuclear deal and termed their withdrawal of support on the issue as a "mistake".

He said the Left has "committed many mistakes. It withdrew support to UPA government on the nuclear deal which indirectly helped the BJP."

Singh, who was addressing his first election meeting in West Bengal, said "The Left wrongly claimed that we pursued pro-American interest while clinching the N-deal. This is not true ... We signed the agreement to augment country's energy requirements ... and this was informed to countrymen by the UPA government."

Sharing dais with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, the Prime Minister said Left had not changed its thinking with the passage of time. "The CPI(M)'s stand is retrograde and they lack farsightedness... They should change their outlook right now."

The Left, the Prime Minister said, has been consistently misinterpreting the nuclear agreement. They had also opposed the Green Revolution, he said.

"The nuclear agreement is in national interest. We understand that if nuclear energy cannot be generated at an appropriate price, the country's development will cease to take place," Singh said, adding "the CPI(M) is misleading the people on the agreement."

He said the "nuclear agreement is an issue where Left policy will be proved wrong in future and the Left will also realise it. I advise the Left parties to change their outlook."

Singh alleged that the CPI(M) had joined hands with the BJP on the nuclear issue in the Lok Sabha and its position was to oppose economic and foreign policies.

He also attacked the CPI(M) for its efforts to push the Third Front. "CPI(M) is helping the BJP politically with its initiative for a Third Front, which will only divide secular votes," he said.

The Prime Minister said the Left are dividing secular votes "which is helping the BJP."

On the electoral prospects of Third Front, he said "there is no possibility" of it coming to power at the Centre "as the constituent parties have no common programme ... They are only working to oppose us on every issue."

The Prime Minister also slammed the Left Front government of West Bengal, saying its policies had led to "under-development" of the state.

He said the "Congress had recently prepared a report on West Bengal government's 30-year tenure. It revealed that how due to the state government's wrong policies, West Bengal has remained underdeveloped. I fully agree with the report card."

New Delhi: Does Mulayam Singh Yadav have assets disproportionate to his income? That’s the question at the heart of the case against him and the answer, going by CBI and Government’s internal documents, obtained by The Indian Express, varies — depending on which side of the UPA is Mulayam’s Samajwadi Party on.

So much so that in a startling admission, Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj told this newspaper: “The CBI has obviously targeted Mulayam Singh Yadav and (has) attempted to fix him. I told them that the case should be objectively re-examined.” What Bhardwaj does not mention, of course, is how his own role has been far from “objective.”

In March 2007, a case of disproportionate assets (DA) case was registered on directions of the Supreme Court on the basis of a PIL filed by lawyer Vishwanath Chaturvedi alleging that Mulayam had assets worth hundreds of crores.

Unusually, the apex court directed the CBI to submit its findings to the “Union of India.” The CBI completed its preliminary inquiry in October 2007 and claimed to have found “sufficient material” for a DA case. That same month, it filed an “Interlocutory Application” asking for permission to proceed with the probe “without further reference to the Union or State Government.”

That was an unusual assertion of its independence — an assertion that quickly unravelled.

For, the case took a brazen U-turn after July 22, 2008 when the Left withdrew support and the SP bailed out the UPA in the confidence vote on the nuclear deal.

Soon, the Government took the familiar route of intervention in CBI cases — via the Law Ministry and its law officers. Official records accessed by The Indian Express show how the Ministry of Law and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) — which has administrative charge of CBI — moved with alacrity to get the agency to reverse its stand.

On November 8, 2008, Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj signed a file asking for opinion of Solicitor General G E Vahanvati. The SG’s opinion, available with The Indian Express, demolished the CBI’s investigation. The law officer criticized the move to club the assets of the former Chief Minister with those of his family members stating, “Smt Malti Devi (Mulayam’s wife) and Dimple Yadav (his daughter-in-law) held no public office and there is no reference in the judgment about them holding any power or authority...It is not possible to club all assets and incomes together and conclude on the consolidated figures that there is a case...of holding disproportionate assets.”

While the CBI pegged Mulayam’s unexplained assets at Rs 2.6 crore, this was the SG’s final calculation: the former CM had movable and immovable assets valued at Rs 71.76 lakh; income and gifts totaling Rs 2.54 crore; expenditure totaling Rs 1.26 crore and thus the “surplus” of Rs 1.28 crore, in his view, “sufficiently accounts for the money for acquisition of the moveable and immovable assets of Rs 71.76 lakh.”

Concluding his opinion, Vahanvati said that “on the basis of the facts which I have set out” the Government should “look into CBI’s report” and also “consider” withdrawal of its IA, still pending before the Supreme Court.

The Law Ministry, on receipt of this opinion dated November 14, 2008, wasted no time in implementing the SG’s observations. So on November 17, 2008, Bhardwaj signed off on the file: “I agree with the legal opinion of the learned Solicitor General. The Department of Personnel may withdraw the IA pending in the Supreme Court.”

On December 4, 2008, a directive from the DoPT on the subject made one more revelation: the CBI had tagged the opinion of its Director of Prosecution, S K Sharma, along with that of the SG to justify its U-turn in the Supreme Court.

The CBI’s flip-flop invoked the surprise of the Supreme Court and the agency was asked to explain. During a hearing on January 27, 2009, the bench even indicated its anguish: “The direction in the judgment to submit the report to the Centre was possibly a mistake.” During a subsequent hearing, Vahanvati made a surprising oral submission: “My opinion in the case is no longer relevant.”

The second flip-flop in the case began to unfold as the Cong-SP relationship turned cold over seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh. And during the last hearing on March 31, the CBI informed the Supreme Court that it still “stands by its recommendations” made in the status report dated October 26, 2007 (in which a DA case is made out) and has acted in “utmost good faith.” It also asked the apex court to “ignore” the Solicitor General’s opinion in the case.

The next hearing of the case is May 5. The CBI is red-faced as it will have to explain its shifting stand. The Mulayam Singh Yadav camp is angry that the case hasn’t been wound up and his lawyers have submitted a set of 12 CDs in a sealed cover to the Supreme Court containing tapes purportedly of meetings where “negotiations” were allegedly held between CBI officials, law officers and SP leaders.

How authentic these tapes are or what’s on them may not be known yet but one thing is clear: so political has this case become that the next step in it will also be a test of which takes precedence — law or politics.

Political parties have shifted their focus, and are now concentrating on terrorism. Both the Congress and the BJP have accused each other of going soft on terror.

The BJP has said that the Mumbai terror strikes that took place when the Congress-led UPA government was in power at the centre is a clear-enough example of the Congress' failure in containing terror strikes.

BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said the UPA has even failed to initiate legal proceedings against Ajmal Amir Kasav, the only terrorist behind the Mumbai terror attacks to have been caught alive.

The Congress is also not willing to sit silent, and has hit back accusing the BJP of going soft on terrorism when the NDA was in power.

Congress general secretay Rahul Gandhi recently stated that it was the BJP-led NDA that had failed to curb terrorism when it was in power at the centre.

Meanwhile, the RSS has come out in support of Lal Krishna Advani, the BJP\'s prime ministerial candidate, who is also accused in the Babri Masjid demolition.

Prime Minister Mamohan Singh has also taken strong exception to the BJP\'s allegations.

The question as to who will be a better prime minister of the country will only be known in the time to come, particularly after counting of votes takes place on May 16.

New Delhi: Hitting out at the BJP for trying to "politicise" the Ouattrocchi issue, Congress on Tuesday said the saffron party-led NDA should have taken up the matter during its rule.

Taking a dig at the saffron party, which termed the CBI''s move as an attempt by the Congress to save "personal family friend of Gandhi family", senior party leader M Veerappa Moily said if there was any proof against the businessman, the NDA should have taken up the matter during its rule.

"We have nothing to do with Quattrocchi. The Bofors case has been in the public for over two decades. If there was any proof of his involvement in the scam, the NDA which ruled the country for seven years should have taken some steps," Moily told PTI.

The controversy erupted when the CBI asked the Interpol to take off Quattrocchi, accused in the Rs 64 crore Bofors payoff scam, from its Red Corner notice list.

Moily said Congress has never interfered in the affairs of the CBI or any other agency and will never do so in the future too.

"If we wanted to shut the case, then we could have done it when we were in power. The case took its legal course. Now, since he has been acquitted by the court, it would have been illegal to keep a notice pending against him unless there is a case," Moily said.

There has been some damage control between the RJD and the Congress after their heated war or words on Tuesday.

Last night Pranab Mukherjee said it would be difficult for Lalu to be part of a future UPA government, reacting to Lalu's U-turn on Manmohan Singh as PM.

Soon after that Lalu spoke on the phone to Pranab Mukherjee. According to sources, he asked whether his party has been thrown out of the UPA.

Mukherjee assured that he is very much a part of the UPA government.

On Tuesday, giving a new twist to the prime ministerial race, the RJD chief said that Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister could not be taken for granted and UPA constituents will sit together after the elections to choose their nominee for the top post.

The Railway Minister, who all along has maintained that Manmohan Singh was the UPA candidate, on Tuesday sang a different tune against the backdrop of his party RJD and the Congress going their own ways to fight the elections in Bihar.

"UPA is a confederation of secular parties and does not belong only to the Congress. We will sit together (after the elections are over) to chalk out a common minimum programme and in consultation with all our partners select a leader who will be the prime minister," Prasad said.

"The UPA will form its government and there is no doubt about it. But, indeed, the people in the state Congress leadership misled Sonia Gandhi about their strength as a result of which the party fielded candidates in so many places against us.

These people will not be able to show their faces to the Congress president after the elections," he said.

While addressing an election rally in Lakhimpur (Assam) Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi said “UPA government has fulfilled all promises made to the people five years ago. The government had promised to work for poor people, Dalits and for the backward classes.”

Congress General Secretary said that the biggest promise made by the UPA government was that of Employment Guarantee Scheme. Through this millions of people have been given employment.

He added “the UPA government carried out loan waiver programme for poor farmers and loans worth Rs 70,000 crores were waived. Mid-day meal programmes for school going children of this country is another big achievement of the UPA government.”

He said that Assam has a sizeable population of tribal people and the government has enacted a law to ensure their rights on the forestland.


Congress General Secretary said “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has a special relationship with Assam and the country is moving at a fast pace under his leadership.” He said “compared to the NDA regime, India’s GDP has registered faster growth during UPA’s rule. And this has happened because Congress Party has focused on poor people.”

He criticized BJP for being anti-poor and said that this is the fundamental difference between the Congress and the BJP. He said “five years ago, NDA had said that India was shining but India was shining only for some people, not for all. That is why people rejected that idea and showed them the door.”


Rahul Gandhi said that India could not move forward without the progress of the poor people. “Till there is single poor person in this country, India cannot shine,” he said.


He criticized BJP for their charge that Manmhohan Singh was a weak Prime Minister. Rahul Gandhi said that during NDA’s rule, terrorist attacked our Parliament and killed people.

He asked opposition leader L K Advani why he did not know anything about Kandhar. He said that either Advani was not telling truth or he did not have the trust of his Prime Minister.


Rahul Gandhi concluded by saying that the UPA government is focusing on road connectivity in North- East India and more funds would be allocated to stop floods in the region.

New Delhi, Mar 20: In his first public comments since undergoing heart bypass surgery about two months back, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he would take part in election campaign and expressed the confidence that his government&aposs performance would help UPA retain power.

76-year-old Singh, who has gradually started attending official work, said he would be camapaigning for Congress as he is"alright"now.

"I am confident that the people of India will vote UPA back to power on our performance," Singh told reporters here on the sidelines of the defence investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

This was the Prime Minister&aposs first interaction with the media since his heart surgery on January 24.

Asked whether he would campaign for the party, Singh said"of course, I am alright."

Queried whom he considered the"biggest rival"in the coming Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister said"rivals are rivals, we should not underestimate anyone.

New Delhi, Jan 17 A pressure group of non- Congress parties and outside supporters of UPA is being formed in an apparent bid to get maximum number of seats from the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and NCP president Sharad Pawar are hosting a get together of leaders of like minded parties, including RJD&aposs Lalu Prasad, LJP&aposs Ram Vilas Paswan and Trinamool Congress' Mamata Banerjee either on January 26 or the next day.

This was revealed by SP general secretary Amar Singh after a meeting with NCP leader Praful Patel and Mulayam Singh.

While Singh claimed that the grouping was not aimed at pressurising the Congress, it is being formed at the crucial time of seat sharing when the ruling party at the Centre is being subjected to increasing demands for larger number of seats by several of its allies.

The SP has already left the Congress red faced by unilaterally announcing as many as 52 seats from UP in the midst of seat sharing talks with the party.

NCP has demanded 26 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra from Congress and also wants 15 seats from other states, including Goa, Meghalaya and Gujarat.

Singh said that Pawar has conveyed"an important message of Sharad Pawar that come what may, the NCP-SP alliance in Maharashtra will continue," Singh said.

He claimed that Pawar has already informed Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra A K Antony about his stand.

The SP leader claimed that during the get together a strategy will be decided on carving out a niche in the UPA and"not to pressurise Congress, but to protect our existence within the coalition".