At BJP meet, Narendra Modi's advice is go big on campaign against FDI in retail

Surajkund, Haryana: At a meeting of 300 top BJP leaders, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi intervened in a debate on foreign direct investment in retail today to suggest that the party take the issue to the village level and offered a systematic plan to negate the Congress' "reforms are back" campaign. He suggested that the party hold more than 5000 public meetings across the country to highlight the BJP's objections, 10 in each Lok Sabha constituency. The Gujarat CM also suggested the BJP emphasise to traders and farmers that the Centre's decision to allow big foreign chains like Walmart to set up shop would affect them adversely.

Party spokesman Prakash Javadekar later said the BJP will counter the government's decision to allow 51 percent foreign equity in multi-brand retail by pointing out that 100 percent FDI in back-end operations in the food processing industries has been allowed for a decade, but has yielded very low investment.

The argument will be part of an economic resolution that the BJP's national executive, the party's decision-making body, will finalise and pass. The BJP leaders are meeting over three days in the picnic town of Surajkund near Delhi to give shape to the party's strategy ahead of elections in states like Karnataka, Gujarat and  Himachal Pradesh, where it is in power.
The first brainstorming session today has also thrown up a plan for 100 rallies across the country to bring back the focus of people to corruption to maximise the BJP's campaign against the Congress-led UPA government, framed in recent months by a series of corruption scandals, and newly fragile after its biggest ally, Mamata Banerjee, quit the coalition over new economic reforms.

BJP leaders are of the view that the party should keep up its pointed attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Javadekar said Dr Singh's recent address to the nation justifying the economic reforms was disappointing for the people, who were expecting some relief from harsh measures his government had announced. "The prime minister keeps referring to the economic reforms started by him in 1991 but the Congress and its policies have been responsible for the economic mess the country is in today," the BJP spokesman said.
 
In the morning, the BJP's general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "The government isn't working; it is unable to manage allies and blames the Opposition for all that is wrong." He also said that instead of tackling the corruption within, the government uses the CBI to target political opponents. "An extension counter of the CBI should open at the Congress office," he said.

The three-day meeting of the  BJP's national executive will be followed by a gathering of the BJP National Council, which has 1,200 members, and will formally adopt a resolution to pave the way for a second consecutive term as party president for Nitin Gadkari.

While Mr Gadkari and  other senior leaders like LK Advani are present at the national executive meeting in Surajkund on the outskirts of the capital, Karnataka heavyweight BS Yeddyurappa has skipped the session, opting to enrol for a three-day course with the Art of Living Foundation in Bangalore, headed by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. His party no doubt wishes fervently that he finds the inner peace that the Foundation promises.

For close to two years now, since he was forced to quit as the Chief Minister of the BJP's only government in the South, Mr Yeddyurappa has been in perma-rebel mode. He threatens repeatedly to split the BJP - a warning that has teeth, given his extensive following among local leaders.In July last year, he chose his successor when corruption charges ousted him from office. A year later, he asked that his replacement be removed, and deftly delivered his new favourite, Jagadish Shettar, to the Chief Minister's office.

With elections in Karnataka just months away, Mr Yeddyurappa's absence from this week's three-day brainstorming session does not bode well for the BJP.

Will Amit Shah's bail be cancelled? Supreme Court verdict likely today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is expected to give its verdict today on cancelling the bail of Amit Shah, former minister and close aide of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, and whether to shift the trial to Mumbai.

The CBI had petitioned the court for cancellation of Mr Shah's bail on the grounds that he may try to influence witnesses in the case.

Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauser Bi were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) from Hyderabad and killed in a fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005.

Mr Shah was arrested by the CBI on July 25, 2010 and had spent over three months in Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad. He had to quit the Modi government in July last year after having been slapped with kidnapping and murder charges in the fake encounter killing. Mr Shah is currently out on bail but has been barred by the Supreme Court from entering the state. In an election year, how critical is his return for the BJP and Mr Modi in particular?

The party leaders don't want to say on record but they admit that the absence of Amit Shah could mean trouble for the Chief Minister. He is considered not just an important strategist for the party but a crisis manager for Mr Modi.

Post-2002, Mr Shah played a key role in Mr Modi's political planning. He also ensured the BJP's growing clout in the milk cooperatives that were traditionally Congress held.

"It's fine that Mr Modi himself is a strategist, but Shah has ensured party's immense strength in cooperatives, cricket associations and urban municipal corporations. That's why his absence could prove a big hurdle for Mr Modi during elections," said Ganshyam Shah, a political analyst.

But what comes as another blow to Mr Shah's supporters is the CBI filing a chargesheet against him in Tulsiram Prajapati case and his imminent arrest which could mean his political isolation. The Opposition hopes to draw electoral mileage out of this.

"One minister is behind bars for riots, another finds himself in the middle of a fake encounter. It's clearly an embarrassment for the BJP," said Congress spokesman Manish Doshi.

The CBI had said that Mr Prajapati was a witness in the Sohrabuddin case and his killing was part of a larger conspiracy in which Mr Shah, as the then head of the state administration, was involved.

Mr Shah's supporters want him to reclaim his clout in state politics which has of late seen domination by another aide of Mr Modi, senior minister Anandiben Patel. But faced with arrest, it's clearly tough times for Amit Shah, the once powerful politician of Gujarat.

From: NDTV

Narendra Modi's election campaign kicks off on Advani's rath today

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will begin his month-long yatra from the religious town of Becharaji in north Gujarat today, which will cover major parts of the state.

Interestingly, the name of Mr Modi's yatra is Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra, which will begin on the day when spiritual leader Swami Vivekanada made his historic speech at the Chicago Conference of World Religions, 150 years ago.

Billed as a beginning of his electoral campaign, the rath yatra will cover all the districts of the state. Interestingly, Mr Modi will move in the same rath which was used by senior party leader LK Advani during last year's jan chetna yatra.

Mr Modi is seen as a favourite to win yet another election, but this time around he faces numerous issues including the emergence of Gujarat Parivartan Party, led by former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, and also the huge response to Congresses free housing scheme for women which seem to have rattled the chief minister.

Becharji has been chosen as a starting point as Maruti will construct its new car plant near the temple town and the yatra will also talk about development of the state, BJP spokesperson Vijay Rupani said.

The last time Mr Modi undertook a similar exercise was in 2002 when he took out his Gaurav Rath Yatra, ahead of the Assembly polls and after his resounding victory in the post-Godhra riots case. He returned to power with a thumping majority.

(With PTI inputs)

Nitish Kumar vs Narendra Modi heats up for Gujarat elections

Ahmedabad: In the elections in Gujarat, the BJP will find itself in competition in 100 seats against its own ally, Nitish Kumar's party, the Janata Dal United or JD(U).

"There are some districts where we will contest on our own," said the JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav, in what will be seized by many as the latest installment of tension in an increasingly-unsteady partnership. In the last elections in Gujarat, the JD(U) contested 30 seats. This time, it will put up its own candidates in 100 constituencies. Mr Kumar dodged questions today about whether he will campaign in Gujarat, a move that would pit him against his counterpart there, chief minister Narendra Modi.

In Bihar, Mr Kumar runs the government with the BJP, but his thinly-veiled opposition to Mr Modi has been peaking lately amid discussions about the next general election. Mr Modi, who is up for re-election soon, has prime ministerial ambitions and is often seen as one of the most popular leaders of the BJP. In a series of interviews, Mr Kumar has said that his party will not support any candidate for PM who does not have secular values.

In the last state and general elections in Bihar, Mr Kumar made it clear to the BJP that Mr Modi could not be brought in for rallies and campaigns. 18% of Bihar's population is Muslim, a vote-bank loyal to Mr Kumar.

The BJP has vacillated between talking tough with Mr Kumar, and suggesting that his opinion will be taken into account before the party decides on its choice for Prime Minister. While some leaders have said Mr Kumar's advise and assessment of secularism is not needed, BJP president Nitin Gadkari told NDTV recently that the party has not yet decided on its nominee for Prime Minister.

Over the weekend, the Shiv Sena, one of the BJP's oldest allies, said it favours the BJP's Sushma Swaraj for Prime Minister, a surprise announcement that is likely to add to the much-discussed infighting within the BJP's senior ranks.

From: NDTV

Naroda case: Quantum of sentence to be pronounced today

Ahmedabad: A special court will pronounce the quantum of punishment for 32 convicts in the 2002 post-Godhra Naroda Patiya riots case today.

BJP MLA and former minister in the Narendra Modi government Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi are among the 32 people convicted by a special court in the Naroda Patiya riots case on Wednesday, in which, 97 people belonging to the minority community were killed.

Special court judge Jyotsana Yagnik convicted them on charges of conspiracy and murder in the case, even as 29 other accused were acquitted.

 Ms Kodnani, a three-time MLA from Naroda area, who was considered to be close to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, is the first woman and first MLA to be convicted in a post-Godhra riots case.

Ms Kodnani and Mr Bajrangi were held guilty under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC and the prosecution sought the maximum punishment of death sentence for all the convicts.

During the arguments on the quantum of sentence, lawyers of Ms Kodnani and other convicts had sought leniency from the court.

Among the 2002 riots cases probed by the Special Investigation Team or SIT, in which rulings have come, Naroda is the only case, where convicts (32) outnumber those acquitted (29).

In the Godhra train carnage case, court had convicted 31 and acquitted 63. In Sardarpura case, court had convicted 31 and acquitted 42, while in Dipda Darwaja case 22 had been convicted and 61 acquitted.

From: NDTV

Narendra Modi rules out apology for 2002 Gujarat riots

Washington: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has refused to apologise for the 2002 riots in the state.

"One only has to ask for forgiveness if one is guilty of a crime. If you think it's such a big crime, why should the culprit be forgiven?

"Just because Modi is a chief minister, why should he be forgiven. I think Modi should get the biggest punishment possible if he is guilty. And the world should know that there isn't any tolerance for such political leaders," he told The Wall Street Journal.

Mr Modi parried a question whether he sees himself as a future prime minister, saying he was concentrating on Gujarat.

"I can't think beyond that," he said.

The paper also said that the Gujarat Chief Minister attributed malnutrition problems in his state partly to Gujaratis being largely vegetarian and partly to body, image issues among young women.

"The middle class is more beauty conscious than health conscious - that is a challenge," he said.

"If a mother tells her daughter to have milk, they'll have a fight- she'll tell her mother 'I won't drink milk. I'll get fat," Mr Modi added.

From: NDTV

Naroda Patiya riot: Death penalty sought for convicts

BJP MLA and former minister in the Narendra Modi government Maya Kodnani and a Bajrang Dal leader were among 32 people convicted by a special court today in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case in which 97 people belonging to the minority community were killed.

Additional principal judge

Jyotsna Yagnik held Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi guilty under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of IPC in the post-Godhra riots case, while acquitting 29 others.
The quantum of sentence is likely to be announced on August 31. The prosecution has demanded death sentence for all the accused convicted in the Naroda Patiya case.
The massacre had taken place a day after the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002.
On February 28, 2002 when a bandh call was given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a large crowd gathered in the Naroda Patiya area and attacked people belonging to minority community that resulted in the death of 97 people while 33 others were injured in the violence.
The trial began in August 2009 and charges were framed against 62 accused, one of the accused, Vijay Shetty, died during the course of trial.
As many as 327 witnesses, comprising eye witnesses, victims, doctors, police personnel, government officials, forensic experts and journalists including Ashish Khetan, who conducted a TV sting operation on the accused, have been examined by the court.
Initially, 46 people were arrested by the Gujarat Police, whereas 24 more people were apprehended after the probe was handed over to the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2008. In all, 70 people were arrested in the case.
Six persons died before the charges could be framed and trial started, while two others identified as Mohan Nepali and Tejas Pathak jumped bail and are still absconding.
Kodnani was arrested by the SIT when she was a minister of state for women and child development in Modi government in March 2009. She was an MLA at the time of the incident.
The Naroda Patiya case was probed by eight investigating officers over the last decade with the latest being Himanshu Shukla on behalf of the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The Naroda Patiya case was one of the nine cases of Gujarat riots being probed by the SIT, including the Godhra train burning case.

Naroda Patiya resident Naimuddin Ibrahim Sheikh lost his mother and a sister among other members of the family in the riots.

The other cases probed by SIT where judgements have been pronounced include the case in Ode village of Anand where 18 persons were sentenced to life imprisonment and five others to seven years in prison by a special court last month, for the killing of 23 persons on March 1, 2002.
Last year, a special court had awarded death sentence to 11 and life imprisonment to 20 others in the Godhra train burning case where 59 persons were burnt alive in S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express train near Godhra railway station.
Also, 31 persons were sentenced to life imprisonment by another designated court of Mehsana district in connection with Sardarpura riot case where 33 persons were killed during post-Godhra riots.
On July 30, 21 accused were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in another case of Dipda Darwaja area of Mehsana, where 11 persons were killed during 2002 riots.

In Gujarat, government's promise for affordable housing triggers chaos

Ahmedabad: Chaos prevailed after thousands turned up at the Gujarat Housing Board (GHB) office in Ahmedabad on Moday morning to collect forms for its various housing schemes for lower and middle income groups at affordable rates.

The mad rush, triggered by the board officials promise to distribute forms, went out of control as the crowd gathered outside the office refused to leave without a clarification. Cops had to be called in to bring the situation under control.

Denying reports that the forms were to be distributed on Monday, the GHB officials said the distribution was still some days away. One of the officials said, "In the first phase, tenders will be floated for construction of over 6000 such units for lower middle income groups. Only after that the forms will be distributed."

But it failed to convince the people. One of the aspirants said, "If the report was incorrect they should have issued a rejoinder. They have cheated us. We had taken out time from our work and come here."

Both the ruling BJP and Congress have offered low cost housing scheme in the state ahead of the assembly polls next year. In an attempt to stop Narendra Modi's applecart, the Congress has launched a similar housing scheme for the poor women if they come to power next year. The BJP, looking for a third consecutive victory in the assembly polls, has raised questions over the legitimacy of such sops to win election. Ironically BJP too had promised free housing in their election manifesto in 2007, but it never materialised.

From: NDTV