BJP national executive meeting today; focus on UPA's 'misgovernance'

Surajkund (Haryana): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold its national executive meeting in Surajkund in Haryana today where it is expected to formulate its strategy on the current political and economic situation in the country. The event will be followed by a two-day National Council meeting, starting on September 27.

During the three-day deliberations, the BJP is expected to focus on "misgovernance" by the Congress-led UPA government and highlight recent scams including the allocation of coal mines, 2G telecom spectrum and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The meeting will start with BJP president Nitin Gadkari's address. Apart from its top leaders, chief ministers and deputy chief ministers from NDA-ruled states, 300 delegates are also expected to attend the party National Executive, while 1,200 will attend the BJP National Council meet.

BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the party top brass. including LK Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and others, will give a final shape to its proposed roadmap against UPA's "corruption and misgovernance".

The party is also expected to discuss its prospects in the forthcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Karnataka and strategise its poll campaign.

After the day-long National Executive on September 26 and National Council on September 27 and 28, a rally will be held on September 28.

The party meet comes at a time when the UPA has seen the exit of the Trinamool Congress from the coalition over the issue of FDI in retail and a hike in diesel prices, something that has seen opposition parties gunning for the Congress.

"People of this nation who are opposing the policies of UPA and have taken to the streets to expose corruption and scams indulged by it are doing constructive service to nation. They expect that they continue to do scams and corruption and we praise it and showers petals on its corrupt ministers.... They will not sit quietly," Mr Naqvi said on Tuesday.

Form: NDTV

FDI in retail: Mamata Banerjee's ministers to resign today, PM to address nation, trust vote likely

New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee's ministers will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh around 3 pm today to resign from his government over the new reforms he cleared last week. They will then head to Rashtrapati Bhawan where they will formally withdraw their letter of support to the ruling UPA coalition in which Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress was the second-largest ally. With his government reduced to a minority, the Prime Minister will most likely be asked by the country's President to seek a trust vote in Parliament.

This evening, the PM is expected to explain on television the economic measures for which he has staked his government. Even the opposition BJP concedes that he is likely to win his vote of confidence. The survival of the UPA depends on regional heavyweights Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, who provide external support to the government. So far, neither has indicated a change of heart, though Mr Yadav has warned that his party should not be taken for granted.

On Facebook last night, Ms Banerjee attacked the government for the notification it issued yesterday stating that its new policies for foreign investment in the retail sector are in effect. A week ago, Ms Banerjee said she would not accept either this or a hike in diesel prices and a cap on subsidised cooking gas for households. "Is it ethical, moral and democratic for a minority government to issue government order forcibly and hurriedly when massive protests against it are taking place across the country?" she posted on her Facebook page.

The relationship status for the UPA and Ms Banerjee has for long been "It's complicated" with the chief minister often challenging the policies the government wanted to champion. Last year, when the cabinet first cleared 51 per cent foreign direct investment for multi-brand retail, Ms Banerjee threatened to quit the government, and the policy was shelved, provoking international criticism, and a loss of both face and investor confidence. This time around, the Prime Minister was resolute about standing his ground.

So though Ms Banerjee gave the government 72 hours of notice, creating a window for negotiations, no concessions were offered. The fact that the new retail guidelines were notified hours after she said she was sticking to her schedule for exiting the UPA was a clear message that the coalition was resigned to a future without her.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, whose party is another key member of the UPA, refuted Ms Banerjee's accusations that she hadn't been consulted about the new economic measures. He said that he was present along with Ms Banerjee at a meeting of senior leaders of the coalition when Dr Singh discussed FDI in retail. "Nobody was happy to do this...not even the PM....but it was required," Mr Pawar said.

Sources say that to appease other crucial partners like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, the government is likely to announce a 50 paise rollback in diesel prices, and increase the quota of subsidised cooking gas cylinders per household from six to nine, and that the decision was not shared yesterday to prevent opposition parties who called a massive nationwide strike from claiming credit for the concessions.

Prime Minister will make final attempt to change Trinamool's mind on Friday

New Delhi: The Prime Minister is likely to make a last attempt to persuade the Trinamool Congress to reconsider its decision of exiting the UPA government when its ministers come to resign. The TMC's six ministers are expected to resign on Friday.

At the same time, sources say, both the Congress and the government are standing fast on the reforms decisions taken last Friday that have now put the UPA government in a minority in Parliament, following the TMC pull-out.

The government also remains confident that it will manage the numbers and survive a trust vote if required in Parliament.

The sources said that both the PM and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi are unanimous in their decision to push through the reforms. Both the party and government are firm that there will be no rollback on foreign investment in retail as well as the hike in diesel prices and a cap on subsidised LPG cylinders for homes.

The party has already announced that the states ruled by it will increase the cap on subsidised cylinder from six to nine. Delhi has already done so for the poor.

About the reported secrecy around the Cabinet decision on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, the sources say that the decision was taken on September 14. The PM consulted Sonia, and allies Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah. DMK's T R Baalu was also informed.

The government consciously decided not to circulate papers before the Cabinet meeting regarding FDI in retail. Most cabinet ministers were also in the dark about the consultations on FDI and that Cabinet would take it up soon.

A day before the Cabinet meeting, commerce minister Anand Sharma spoke to Mamata Banerjee but did not raise the issue of FDI in retail with her.





 

From: NDTV

Did Nitish Kumar just put NDA on notice? His comment suggests he's up for grabs

Patna: With the UPA government reduced to a minority after Mamata Banerjee's withdrawal, political alignments are shaping and reshaping themselves virtually by the hour. And regional parties are looking at pushing their agendas and demands in the politically uncertain situation. Though it is the Congress which is in most pain right now, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA got a bit of kick in the shins as well.

It came from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who said that his party, the Janata Dal (United) was willing to support whoever gave the state special status. "Whoever supports special status for Bihar, we will support them at the Centre," Mr Kumar said.

His party, which is in alliance with the BJP in Bihar, has 22 MPs in Parliament, three more than the exiting Trinamool Congress. He said that Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, will play a lead role in deciding who comes to power next.
 And if Mr Kumar indicated his party was available, the Congress suggested it was available. "Several states including UP, Bihar need special packages, so we will have to discuss," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh told NDTV. He also said that Mr Kumar had "proved" his secular credentials several times, while pointing out that he was the Railway Minister during the Godhra riots in 2002.

But JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, who is also the NDA convener, made light of Mr Kumar's remark. "I speak to Nitish Kumar three times a day... He is usually three-four places ahead of me so what can I say about what he has said... there is nothing of the sort," he said.

The BJP, which leads the NDA coalition, of which Mr Kumar's JD(U) is a key constituent, downplayed the latter's remark. "You misunderstood what he (Nitish Kumar) was saying. He was taunting the Congress as there was a request for special assistance earlier. There is nothing more to it," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

Earlier this year, the Centre rejected the 'special status' tag for Bihar which would entitle the state to large loans, major tax concessions, financial packages, infrastructure development, and a concerted effort by the Centre to boost private investment in Bihar. Mr Kumar's administration says that when Bihar was bifurcated in 2000, it lost a significant part of its natural resources to the new state of Jharkhand. In retaliation to the Centre's refusal, Mr Kumar began his Adhikar Yatra (Rights March) from Bettiah in West Champaran district today. It will culminate on November 4 with a rally in Patna, the first since in the state capital in nearly seven years.

Over the last few months, the relationship of the BJP and the JD(U) has been disturbed by the chief minister's remarks against senior BJP leader Narendra Modi. Mr Kumar has said that as the largest party in the ensemble, the BJP has the prerogative of picking the coalition's prime ministerial candidate. However, he has warned that he will exit the group if the BJP makes Mr Modi its nominee. 18% of Bihar is Muslim, and their vote is crucial for Mr Kumar. He has stressed that the NDA's prime ministerial candidate must have secular credentials - a thinly-veiled remark against Mr Modi, whose ambitions to move to the national landscape from Gujarat are hampered by the communal riots in his state in 2002.

Suresh Kalmadi can't contest Indian Olympic Association chief election: Delhi High Court

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court ruled on Thursday that Indian Olympics Association (IOA) chief, Suresh Kalmadi will not be able contest the same post this year. The Delhi HC ruled that the election will be held according to the sports code, which prohibits one office bearer to contest election more than three times.
The former Congress MP was arrested last year in April following charges of corruption with the CWG fund. He was under jail custody and was released on bail only recently. Following which he reclaimed the office of IOA chief once again.
Kalmadi had been at the helm of IOA affairs for the last 18 years.

Mulayam Singh Yadav talks of mid-term polls again, says he has high regard for Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Mulayam Singh Yadav has sewn up his election game plan in Kolkata and says those elections can happen before 2014. And though he has clearly taken a lead in cobbling together a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative, he insisted today that any Third Front would take shape only after the next Lok Sabha elections.

Mr Yadav has made no bones about the fact that after his party's spectacular showing in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he is eyeing a bigger role for his party at the Centre. Asked if he was in the running for being the next Prime Minister, the veteran politician said, "I am not in line, but I am not a sadhu-sant (saint) either.

The Samajwadi Party, he said, would fight elections alone. "The Third Front can happen only after the polls. It will depend on the situation," Mr Yadav said. He also refused to say who of the two West Bengal rivals, the Left and Mamata Banerjee, would be part of such a Front, merely stating that, "We will keep good relations with all parties." Mulayam Singh Yadav has for years had political affinity with the Left parties and has joined hands with them on several issues like FDI in retail and the coal allocation scam in recent times.

But the Yadavs, Mulayam and son, Akhilesh, have also indicated during the Kolkata sojourn that they are willing to explore new equations. Mr Yadav said today that he had the greatest regard for Ms Banerjee and described a meeting between her and son Akhilesh yesterday as "very good talks." After the meeting Mr Yadav junior had said, "After coming to Kolkata, I would not have felt good not meeting Didi. It was necessary to meet her." Just a few months ago, the Congress managed to blunt a growing closeness between Mr Yadav and Ms Banerjee ahead of the Presidential elections. Ms Banerjee partners the Congress at the Centre, but that relationship has been at breakpoint for some time now. 

A common political imperative binds Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav - both would like early elections to consolidate on their big wins in their respective states. In the first flush of victory and from a position of strength they know that they are likely to do much better now than after two years, when the honeymoon period is well over and anti-incumbency factors set in. Ms Banerjee swept the Assembly elections in West Bengal last year; Mr Yadav's Samjawadi Party won UP early this year.     

What Mr Yadav was startlingly unambiguous about today was where exactly he stood in his equation with the Congress, that leads the UPA government at the Centre.

"Let me make it clear, the Samajwadi Party does not support the UPA government. The Samajwadi Party is against communalism. If the Congress is weakening and needs support against communalism, we may provide that support." Not words of comfort for the ruling party which depends heavily on Mr Yadav to bail it out at crucial moments. Mr Yadav's assertion today that "the situation is such there may be elections earlier than 2014," makes it worse.

For three days in Kolkata, where his party is holding a convention, Mr Yadav has appeared determined to prove he's on a different team. Yesterday he had slammed the Congress for financial scams, especially the coal swindle that has forced the government on the defensive amid allegations of entrenched corruption. This after referring to his Samajwadi Party as the opposition on Monday.

That distancing from the Congress continued today when he said that both the national parties - the Congress and the BJP have weakened and are plagued by issues. He said that he would not field a candidate in Congress president Sonia Gandhi's constituency Rae Bareli as a return of favour for the Congress not contesting against his daughter-in-law Dimple in the Kannauj by-election a few months ago, but would not promise the same in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's constituency. His party colleagues had made things rather awkward yesterday by saying that they saw little political ability in Rahul Gandhi.  Today Mr Yadav wished Mr Gandhi much luck.

(With PTI inputs)

Congress attacks national auditor (CAG), blames it for the wasted Monsoon session of Parliament

New Delhi: Escalating its attack on the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Congress on Monday virtually accused CAG Vinod Rai of working for the BJP. This was the strongest attack yet on the CAG and marks a shift of strategy by the party, which had so far been attacking the auditor on facts and figures. Party spokesperson Manish Tiwari had also said that the CAG was as much to blame for the wasted Monsoon session of Parliament as the opposition.

"What's unfortunate is, CAG is just as responsible for this as the BJP is for Monsoon session washout. It has lead to roadblocks in governance and it has maligned India's image internationally," said Mr Tiwari.

The BJP reacted by calling the Congress' statements "ridiculous, cheap and sad" and said that the party must rise above questioning constitutional bodies and "shooting the messenger".

Resuming its criticism against the Comptroller and Auditor General, whose report pointing to a scam on coal block allocations allowed the BJP to corner the government, a Congress spokesperson said that "history shows the mindset" of the CAG "matches certain parties" and that for one of its reports, opposition leaders called up CAG officials. He also accused the CAG of "misusing its constitutional position". The party had several times earlier said that the CAG had exceeded its brief.

"If you were to go into history, you had a situation whereby a CAG report in 1988 paralysed Parliament. The findings of that report were struck down during the NDA regime. But meanwhile the author of the report became a Member of the Rajya Sabha and was Governor of Karnataka," Mr Tiwari said.

Reacting to a question that the Prime Minister had said that he and the government respected the office of the CAG, the spokesperson said that there was no divide on this between the PM and the party.

The spokesperson said that the CAG's "notional figures" had caused embarrassment for the country and that independent experts had questioned the reports. The government had said that the figures of loss that the CAG has reported in the coal allocation report, as well as the 2G spectrum report earlier, were notional and disputable. The CAG too had changed its figures more than once.

The party also slammed the BJP for its "doublespeak" on the CAG's report, saying that it was willing to treat as "sacrosanct" the figures when it came to the Congress, but treated them as notional when it came to states ruled by it.

Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi refuses to apply for bail, sent to jail till September 24

Mumbai: Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi has been sent to jail by a Mumbai court till September 24 on charges of sedition. He can apply for bail, but has said he will not. The cartoonist wants the charge of sedition against him dropped.

The court order remanding the 25-year-old cartoonist to judicial custody came after the Mumbai police, who arrested Mr Trivedi on Sunday, told the court today that they were done with questioning him and surrendered his custody. The Mumbai court had on Sunday ordered him to be held in police custody until September 16 for offences under sedition and information technology laws.

Mr Trivedi's stand refusing to apply for bail will embarrass the police and the government, already being slammed by media and anti-graft activists, who have described his arrest as evidence of a lack of respect for freedom of expression.

The cartoonist was produced in court this afternoon and has been quoted by his supporters as saying, "If telling the truth makes me a traitor then I am one." Before being taken to jail on Sunday after a private complaint from a Mumbai-based lawyer, he had said, "If I am booked under sedition for doing service to the nation then I will continue to do so," he added.

Activists have protested against the serious charge of sedition being applied. Lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan said, "The sedition charge is constantly being misused by the government. It should only be used only if someone incites violence. By no stretch of imagination was Aseem promoting violence." Mr Bhushan's colleague Arvind Kejriwal added, "I know Aseem personally. He is not a traitor. Traitors are those who clash in Parliament or those who sell off coal blocks at a pittance."

Mr Trivedi's supporters allege that he is being targeted by the government for supporting activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement. Some of his cartoons were displayed at recent protest camps organized by Anna and his aides.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni said today that disrespect for the national symbol could not be taken lightly. "We are not against democratic rights, we are all for free speech... people have made cartoons of Nehru, Indira  earlier. But there is a thin line you draw between free speech and what can be termed as offensive especially against national symbols."

The cartoonist, who has also been accused of hosting obscene content on his website, has controversially depicted the national emblem of India replacing lions with wolves with blood dripping from their mouths, suggesting that corruption is devouring the nation. A Mumbai police inspector explained, "He has shown disrespect to the national emblem and therefore he has been arrested."

Mr Trivedi's supporters today staged protests outside union minister Sriprakash Jaiswal's house in Kanpur, the cartoonist's home-town. The protesters shouted slogans and demanded that Mr Jaiswal, who is the local MP and the union coal minister, intervene.

"A lot of my workers from Kanpur and Unnao met me and made this demand that there is some Aseem Trivedi who has been arrested by the Maharashtra Police. Now I will try and find out on what charges he has been arrested, what exactly has happened, and only then I would be able to comment," Mr Jaiswal said today.

"What was so different with Aseem Trivedi? He said thru cartoons what many others say about governance or lack of it in columns every day," tweeted S Irfan Habib.

Mr Trivedi was scheduled to visit Syria starting September 12 to receive the 2012 Courage in Editorial cartooning award.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Prime Minister blames BJP for 'wasted session of Parliament'; BJP hits back

New Delhi: After a washed out monsoon session of Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh slammed the BJP today accusing it of "negating democracy" by not allowing either House to function over the coal block allocation issue.

The BJP hit back to say that the UPA government was "committed to kleptocracy" and that loss of a "few crores" because of adjournments would be more than recovered if coal block licences were cancelled and allotted anew. As has happened every day for two weeks, both Houses were adjourned today, this time till the winter session, without transacting business.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a strongly-worded, written message to the nation, tore into the opposition for a "wasted session of Parliament". The statement said that the opposition had made a "mockery of parliamentary democracy" and instead of debating the issues brought up by the national auditor's report pointing to a scam in coal block allocations, "leaders of the opposition saw fit to demand my resignation".

The PM's statement also blamed the opposition for "disabl(ing) the voice of the public" and forcing them to "listen only to the voices in the street, which is not the place for reasoned discourse". He urged "all right minded Indians to stand up... against the forces of anarchy and disruption to secure the foundations of (democracy)..."

Till the very end of the session, the BJP was adamant that the PM resign over the coal scam. It also wants all allocations of coal blocks that the national auditor alleges were made in a non-transparent manner be scrapped. The auditor has alleged a R 1.86 crore loss to the nation because of these allocations made to several private firms, with links to politicians.

The Congress has said a flat no to both demands. The PM said outside Parliament this afternoon, "We have great respect for the institution of the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) but we must be ready to debate the findings in the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) on the floor of the House. The Opposition chose not to take advantage of the standard practices in Parliamentary democracy. This is (a) negation of democracy."

In the written address, he added, "I assure all of you that the issues raised in the CAG report are not being swept under the carpet. They will be discussed in Parliament as they should be. Whatever corrective action is necessary will be taken."

The BJP chose the last day of the session to announce that the political formation it leads, the NDA, will now take its protest on the coal issue to the streets.

Party leader Arun Jaitley said, "The UPA is a regime committed to kleptocracy - what we have started in this session will be taken to the people till we are able to restore fairness and some degree of accountability." Minutes before that, his colleague Sushma Swaraj announced that top leaders of the BJP would meet on September 11 to strategise how to take the coal issue to every village.

Justifying the means to an end, she said, "When Parliament ends this way, there is criticism - we are told that there is a loss since the Parliament wasn't allowed to function. In 2G this was the case, but when we look back, licences sold for Rs. 1600 crore is now being sold for a base price that will fetch the exchequer Rs. 1.26 lakh crore. So by losing Rs. 10-20 crore from loss of Parliament proceeding, if we can build pressure on the government, then that is acceptable."

If the Winter Session of Parliament last December, with the 2G logjam and the war over the Lokpal Bill, is one of the worst that the country had seen, this Monsoon Session gives it a tough fight. In the words of Vice President Hamid Ansari: "This session is likely to be remembered for work not done."

Of the 31 bills listed, only six were passed. For much of the session, MPs came to both Houses, shouted, even assaulted each other, took their daily allowances and went home. It is estimated that the repeated adjournments that washed out the Monsoon Session have cost the taxpayer Rs. 10 crore for the two weeks they lasted. Then there was the sight of the BSP's Avtar Singh and SP's Naresh Aggarwal pushing and pummelling each other in the Upper House.  The fight went on in the presence of the Prime Minister and happened as the government was introducing in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, a bill to allow reservation in promotions for SC/ST public sector employees; that too has landed in cold storage.

Major protocol breach: Chinese Defence Minister gifts Rs. 1 lakh to Indian Air Force pilots

New Delhi: In a major breach of protocol, visiting Chinese Defence Minister General Liang Guang Lie handed out Rs. 50,000 each to two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots on Monday.

Two Embraer and an Avro aircraft were sent to Mumbai to fetch the delegation to Delhi for delegation-level talks. These aircraft were from the communication squadron of the IAF which is tasked to ferry senior officials and dignitaries including the Indian Prime Minister and the President.

The normal custom is to hand over mementos by the visiting delegation; money is never handed over. IAF officials said when Indian dignitaries travel on these aircraft for foreign trips, they gift small mementos as a token of appreciation to the aircraft crew.

The money was handed over to pilots as mementos in two packets. Once the pilots opened the packets and realised that money had given they informed the IAF headquarters which in turn has written to Ministry of Defence. The money will be deposited in the Government treasury tomorrow morning.

Although India-China relations appear to be normalising, New Delhi should take this issue seriously and return the money back to China, even though such a step could unsettle the fragile relationship.

This is not the first time that protocol has been beached by the Chinese. In 1991 Prime Minister Li Peng also handed over an envelope containing Rs. 500 to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer who was his liaison officer. The money was immediately returned back to the Chinese embassy.

The Chinese Defence Minister, who is on a five-day India visit, had arrived in Mumbai on Sunday. He was provided an aircraft for inland travel by the Defence Ministry.

Yesterday, before the beginning of talks, General Guang had thanked his Indian counterpart A K Antony for the arrangements made for him and his entourage by India.

From: NDTV

Rajya Sabha scuffle over quota bill: Who said what

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha today witnessed high drama as a scuffle broke out between Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) members when the government introduced a bill to provide for reservations in promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs.

Members of SP were on their feet when the government was asked to move the bill. SP leader Naresh Agrawal moved towards the Well. He was encountered by BSP member Avatar Singh Karimpuri, who grabbed him by his collar to prevent Mr Agarwal from trooping into the Well.

Here are the reactions of various leaders after the incident:

Mayawati, Bahujan Samaj Party chief
The Congress delayed the Bill and did not introduce it in the last session as they wanted their candidate to win the Presidential elections. Now the BJP is not cooperating as they feel that by cornering the UPA government they can win the elections in 2014. I had appealed to the BJP to give importance to quota promotion bill instead of Coal-gate today. But they are being stubborn.

Naresh Agarwal, Samajwadi Party MP
In my 32 years as a legislator, I have not seen such a thing. The BSP MP was being offensive and I was not allowed to speak. This is similar to what happened in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly when there was a BSP govt.

Mulayam Singh, Samajwadi Party chief
This is unconstitutional. The bill was introduced and no one came to know about it. We will go to the people against this. The Congress Party will have to face the consequences then. This is a promotion to make junior a senior and vice versa. They (government) are making a mockery of rules. Are they running the government or making a joke? Is it constitutional to make junior a senior and a senior a junior?

Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP spokesperson
I urge Ms Mayawati to stand with us on the issue of corruption. There are so many cases of corruption. Please stand with us on the issue of corruption. Social justice is an ongoing battle that has been going on and must go on.

Sharad Yadav, NDA convenor
Our party fully supports the bill for providing reservation for promotion in jobs to the SC/ST. But there are certain issues on which we have different stands from our ally BJP but there is no division in the NDA. NDA is one and will remain intact.

(With inputs from PTI)

Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar orders legislators to cut short Rs. 1 crore junket

Bellary, Karnataka: Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar Tuesday directed a group of legislators touring South America to cancel the visit and return immediately, following public outrage over the trip when the state is facing a severe drought.

He also announced cancellation of similar 'study tours' to Russia and Scandinavian countries by two more groups of legislators scheduled for later this month and early next month.

"I have cancelled the tours. The legislators who are already in a foreign country have been asked to return immediately," Shettar told reporters in this north Karnataka town, about 300 km from Bangalore.

A group of 12 legislators belonging to all three main political parties - the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular - left Bangalore last Thursday for a two-week tour of Argentina, Chile and Peru. They were accompanied by three officials.

The tour was costing the public around Rs.1 crore as each legislator was entitled to spend around Rs.700,000 for the trip.

Telangana protests: BJP plans dharna at Jantar Mantar

New Delhi: High drama is expected once again on the streets of the capital today as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans to stage a dharna over the Telangana issue at Jantar Mantar.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, will address the supporters on the issue. Senior party leader LK Advani is also expected to be there.

On Tuesday, drama unfolded at around noon outside the Parliament Street Police Station, less than a km from the highly-fortified Parliament House complex, when hundreds of BJP cadre from Andhra Pradesh tried to march towards the Prime Minister's residence demanding a separate state, forcing police to use water cannons and tear gas shells to quell them.

The protesters marched from Jantar Mantar, where they have been holding an agitation since Monday.

The BJP cadres led by party leader Prakash Javadekar tried breaking the barricades after they were stopped by a large posse of policemen outside the station and even attempted to clash with the police.

The protesters also courted arrest and went inside the station where they raised slogans against the UPA government.

The protesters were demanding the Centre immediately take steps to form a separate state of Telangana.

BJP, the principal Opposition party at the Centre, is supporting the demand for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and has accused the Congress of cheating the people of Telangana.

(With inputs from PTI)

Government to introduce reservation in promotions for SC/STs in Rajya Sabha today; Mulayam's party opposed

New Delhi: The government plans to introduce in the Rajya Sabha today, a bill to allow reservation in promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs. The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal on Tuesday that seeks to amend four key articles of the Constitution to make that possible.

Amending the Constitution became necessary after the Supreme Court struck down in April this year, a decision made by Mayawati when she was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, to provide reservation for SC/STs in promotion to higher posts in government departments. At an all-party meeting in August, most political formations supported quota in reservations. But Attorney General GE Vahanvati has warned the government that any law on the reservations issue should be framed with extreme caution because it is likely to be legally challenged.

The Prime Minister has said that a legally sustainable solution will be found. For now, the Congress-led UPA government has to ensure that Parliament sits long enough for the bill to be taken up. With only three days left of the current monsoon session, it has requested the main opposition party, the BJP, to help pass the Bill; the BJP has not allowed either House to function for the last 10 days demanding the Prime Minister's resignation in connection with a coal scandal and has made it clear that it will not relent till its demands are met. But the party supports the reservation-in-promotions bill and it remains to be seen if that will make it agree to let Parliament function so that it can be passed. Top BJP leaders met on Tuesday evening to discuss the matter and the party has decided to continue its protest in Parliament over the coal scam.

The bill will need the support of a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament as it seeks to amend the Constitution. It entails a vote and the House has to be in order. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has said the government is determined to pass it. If it does manage to get Parliament to function and pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha today, it plans to bring it in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which provides outside support to the UPA government and has bailed it out of sticky positions many times, has said it will oppose it this once. The SP was the lone dissenter at the all-party meeting in August. The SP wants all quota benefits to be extended to other backward classes (OBCs). "This stand of the cabinet is wrong. The Samajwadi Party is against this and we will continue to protest," senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said yesterday.

Mayawati, who heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, is now making focused efforts to get political parties to cooperate and allow a discussion and vote on the bill. She has met BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley to seek their support. Ms Mayawati said on Tuesday, "We want to request for a voting on the bill in this session and request NDA to help us in this. We want UPA also to appeal to NDA to help us pass this bill."

When it quashed the Mayawati decision, the Supreme Court had questioned this criterion for promotion, saying the government needed to quantify that Dalits and backwards were insufficiently represented in the public services and therefore needed this quota. The court had said that three aspects needed to be looked into for reservations in promotions: backwardness, representation and overall administrative efficiency.

Though the amendments are aimed at legally combating any challenge, the bill might still run into rough weather in the courts. Constitutional expert PP Rao said that if the government brings in amendment without "curing the defects" pointed out by the Supreme Court then it may not stand legal scrutiny.

From: NDTV

Uddhav Thackeray wants permit system for Biharis in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Unfazed by strident criticism of his cousin MNS leader Raj Thackeray over his anti-Bihari remarks, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday sought a permit system to check influx of Bihari migrants into Mumbai.

Uddhav also declared that his party would not accept Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar as NDA's prime ministerial candidate if he continues to stick to his stand on supporting "traitors".

"The Bihar CM should have felt ashamed that the Amar Jawan memorial vandal turned out to be a Bihari," Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' on Tuesday quoted Uddhav as saying.

"If Mumbai Police needs Bihar Police's permission to nab criminals who have committed crime in Maharashtra and escaped to Bihar, then implement the permit system for those coming here from Bihar," Uddhav said.

By meddling in police action in the matter of a person from Bihar arrested in the Azad Maidan violence case, Nitish Kumar has fueled a controversy, he said.

Raj Thackeray had last week threatened to brand Biharis in Maharashtra as infiltrators.

Taking a dig at the MNS, Uddhav said, "If there are followers who are taking up Shiv Sena's issues like Marathi pride, issues of sons of soil and opposition to Pakistani artistes, it is good."

"However, there is no 'navnirman' (new creation) in taking up old issues," Uddhav said, in a pun on the word navnirman in the name of Raj Thackeray's outfit.

On Monday, Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray had said Bihar's chief secretary had no business interfering in the action taken by Mumbai Police to arrest a person accused of violence at Azad Maidan.

"Nitish Kumar should have congratulated Mumbai Police for their action as the arrest had prevented Abdul Qadir from fomenting more trouble in that state," he had said.

Won't take rash action in Vodafone tax case: Chidambaram

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said there will be no "rash" action in Vodafone tax case and the matter will be decided after considering all aspects including recommendations the Shome Committee on indirect transfer of assets. "They (I-T assessing officers) and are not going to act rashly. These are not small amounts on which you can take a rash decision," he told reporters.
He was asked whether the tax officials would send notice to Vodafone for collection of tax following amendment in the Income Tax Act with retrospective provisions during the Budget session of Parliament.
The Income Tax Department on October 22, 2010 passed an order determining a tax liability (including interest) of Rs. 11,218 crore on Vodafone on acquisition of Hutchinson's stake in Hutch-Essar through a deal in Cayman Islands in 2007.
The Supreme Court, however, quashed the order in January this year. After the apex court's ruling, the Income Tax Act was amended with retrospective effect to bring into tax net such deals.
"There is section 119. There is a Supreme Court judgement. There is opinion of the Attorney General. All this have to be studied by the assessing officer and his supervising officers... They will study all that. In the meanwhile, we will get the Shome committee's report also," Chidambaram added.
Section 119 of the Finance Act, 2012 seeks to validate the October 2010 order of the Income Tax Department. The Department had also passed an order imposing a penalty of Rs. 7,900 crore in April, 2011.   
However, the penalty demand was not enforced in view of a Supreme Court's direction dated April 15, 2011.

Now, Mamata Banerjee accused of targeting former top cop's book

Kolkata: Often accused of being intolerant, the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal is in the thick of a controversy yet again, this time for targeting a book written by an IPS officer that carries a veiled criticism of the current dispensation.

The Kolkata Police has allegedly ordered the stop of sale of the book titled 'Musalmander ki Koronio' (What Muslims Should Do), authored by Nazrul Islam, that reportedly criticises the state government for failing to improve the condition of Muslims in the state. On Friday, police raided the office premises, sales counter and godown of Mitra and Ghosh, the publishers of the book. The cops also allegedly closed the counter where the book was being sold.

"Thursday they called and told me not to sell the book. When they called me on Thursday, they said they would collect the books on Friday and not to sell the books," said Sabitendra Nath Roy, the book's publisher.

But the author himself has refused to be drawn into the controversy, having maintaining a stoic silence so far.

While most say that there is barely anything in the 102-page Bengali book that could ruffle feathers, parts of it have certainly raised eyebrows. A case in point being the book questioning the Trinamool government's policy to pay stipends to Imams and its stress on madrasa education instead of modern education for Muslims. The book also criticises politicians for using terms like khuda hafiz (goodbye) and inshallah (God Willing) incorrectly.

Hence, the police action against the publishers of the book has sparked an outrage, with several questioning the government's censorship policies. "Now you are in power, if I just criticise you or I want to say something to you for revision of your statement or policies, it that a crime? I can't understand that," noted writer Sunil Gangopadhyay said.

The book, though, has its share of detractors. Several local dailies have slammed both Mr Islam and his supporters, alleging that the book could provoke riots.

The latest incident has re-ignited the debate on the Trinamool government's alleged highhandedness, with several having slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her autocratic style of functioning. The arrest of Ambikesh Mahapatra, a professor in Kolkata's Jadavpur University, in April for circulating a cartoon lampooning the chief minister had generated a lot of criticism for her government. Last month, a man named Shiladitya was arrested after he asked the Chief Minister a question at a public rally at Belpahari in the state. Ms Banejee had reacted angrily to the question; pointing to him, she claimed he was a Maoist and ordered the police to arrest him.

From: NDTV

Kejriwal, activists to protest outside Parliament police station today

Alleging harassment of volunteers of India Against Corruption, Arvind Kejriwal and others will today stage a protest outside Parliament Street police station in New Delhi and offer arrest.

Mr Kejriwal and other leaders of the IAC will arrive at the police station and demand that the volunteers detained during August 26 protest should not be subjected to harassment in the name of collecting evidence.

Five cases of rioting have been registered against Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, Manish Sisodia, Kumar Vishas, Gopal Rai and several unknown people for their protest against the coal block allocation.

Bibhav Kumar, an IAC member, said "they will not take bail but will go to jail".

He alleged that police, who were summoning the volunteers on the pretext of collecting evidence in the cases, were harassing them.

"Kejriwal and other leaders will tell police that they can arrest them but not harass people," Mr Kumar said.

Last week of Monsoon Session begins today, will impasse over coal scandal end?

New Delhi: With the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) embroiled in a battle over the coal block allocation controversy, the Monsoon session of Parliament has, till now, been completely paralysed. And the chances of Parliament functioning are slim, as neither the government nor the BJP are willing to budge from their respective stands.

However, communication channels to resolve the issue continue to remain open between the two parties after Congress President Sonia Gandhi spoke to senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj over the phone earlier this week.

The first public indications of this were available from Ms Swaraj's press conference yesterday. She said that her party will allow discussions in Parliament only if the government cancels the coal block allocations and orders an independent probe on the allotments. Ms Swaraj said that she has conveyed her demands to Congress President Sonia Gandhi in a telephonic conversation.

"When I was asked how we can run the Parliament, I said two demands need to be fulfilled so that the Parliament can run. The first being that the coal block allocation be cancelled and the second, that a CBI probe is called for, then the Parliament can function," Ms Swaraj said.

Sonia Gandhi, who left the country for a medical check-up on Saturday, has appointed Home Minister and leader in the Lok Sabha Sushil Kumar Shinde to hold further talks with the BJP over the impasse in Parliament. Mr Shinde has reportedly told Ms Swaraj that the two demands made by her party are difficult to accept. According to reports, the UPA top brass including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who returned to India from a summit in Iran earlier this week, is discussing a solution to end the deadlock in Parliament.

In her press conference, Ms Swaraj had also clarified that her party's two demands have been communicated to the Centre only to ensure Parliament functions, and the BJP has not climbed down from its demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister.

"If someone is under the impression that there is a climb down in our stand, then it is a mistaken impression. We are clear that we want the Prime Minister to resign. And we want cancellation of coal blocks," Ms Swaraj told the media.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal immediately hit back at the BJP and said that they had no right to demand the Prime Minister's resignation. "No power in the world can demand resignation from the honourable Prime Minister. As long as he has the clear majority and the mandate of people is with him, till then he (PM) is not going to resign at any cost," the Coal Minister said.

The BJP has made it impossible for the Monsoon Session of Parliament to transact any business. Parliament has been paralysed because of noisy disruptions by the BJP demanding the PM's resignation.

Several key legislations are on the agenda, and the government is seeking to get on with Parliament proceedings. The Centre has been attacked for an alleged policy paralysis and needs to counter that by having important reforms cleared. State elections in Karnataka, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are scheduled to be held soon, and the alleged policy paralysis along with the corruption charges could severely damage Congress' prospects. All three states are currently ruled by a BJP-led government.

The CAG report says that the country lost close to Rs. 1.86 lakh crore because 142 coal fields were given cheaply to private and state-run firms between 2005 and 2009 instead of being auctioned. The Prime Minister was the country's Coal Minister during that period.

Sources have told NDTV that the licences for more than 50 coal blocks have been reviewed, and several of these could soon be cancelled. The companies who got these licences have allegedly failed to live upto their end of the deal. An inter-ministerial panel has studied approximately 58 companies who have allegedly failed to develop their coal fields after winning licences - these companies were sent show cause notices in April. The panel may, sources say, in the next few weeks recommend that a slew of licences be revoked for non-performance. The Prime Minister's Office has reportedly asked the Coal Ministry for urgent action. The Coal Minister, in turn, wants the government panel to deliver its verdict by September 15.

Chidambaram had my phone tapped, says BJP's Yashwant Sinha

Ranchi: BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has said that his phone was tapped by union minister P Chidambaram.

Mr Sinha said  he challenges Mr Chidambaram to prove him wrong.  "Today, with  complete responsibility, I want to say that when I raised the issue of Aircel-Maxis, Chidambaram ordered to tap my phone as he was  then Home Minister," Mr Sinha said.

The Home Ministry, which is now headed by Sushil Kumar Shinde, has not commented so far on the accusation. Nor has Mr Chidambram.

Mr Sinha, like other senior leaders of the BJP, has alleged that in 2006, Mr Chidambaram, as Finance Minister, deliberately delayed permission for the sale of  the telecom Aircel to a company named Maxis from  Malaysia.  During this time, the BJP says, Mr Chidambaram's son was able to  invest  in Aircel and benefit from Maxis' acquisition of the company.

In Parliament in May, Mr Chidambaram dramatically declared "It would be much simpler if somebody took a dagger and plunged it into my heart, rather than questioning my integrity."

Mr Chidambaram has said that neither he nor any members of his family have owned "any share in any telecom company at any time, indirectly or directly."

From: NDTV