Politics

new Delhi, February 05: Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy today strongly pleaded for continuance of his private complaint in the 2G spectrum case before a Delhi court, which asked him whether there can be “parallel proceedings” in a criminal case when CBI was taking action in the matter.

Swamy sought to claim that that his complaint covers wider canvas of “involvement” of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in the scam and national security.

New Delhi, February 04: BJP President Nitin Gadkari today appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to “rise above partisan considerations” and give adequate financial assistance to Madhya Pradesh where farmers are suffering due to crop failure caused by frost.

“It is highly unfortunate that the Centre chose to ignore the demands officially placed by a chief minister and announced a token relief through political emissaries to placate state Congress party president for narrow political considerations,” Gadkari said in a letter to Singh.

New Delhi, February 04: Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today attacked BJP chief ministers of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and expressed concern over “Sanghi” terrorism.

Referring to reported findings of Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the Gujarat riots that no records, documentations or minutes of the crucial law and order meetings held by the government during the riots had been kept, Singh said it is a “criminal offence” and needs to be probed thoroughly “at whose insistence it was done”.

Lucknow, February 04: Left parties today said by “shielding” the corrupt and dealing with issues like price rise in an “irresponsible” manner, the Congress-led UPA government was inviting Egypt-like protests in the country.

“The UPA government at the centre is shielding the corrupt and dealing with people’s issues like price rise in an irresponsible manner and by doing so it is inviting peoples outrage and Egypt like protests” leaders of CPI, CPM, Forward Block and Revolutionary Socialist Party said in a joint press meet here.

Bhopal, February 04: The opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh Friday alleged that a Bharatiya Janata Party minister and officials took Rs.3 crore bribe to release five activists of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) from jail on Republic Day.

Congress spokesperson K.K. Mishra Friday demanded a high-level inquiry into the issue.

“The Congress party has serious allegations against the BJP leaders and Madhya Pradesh government officials that they conspired in the release of the SIMI activists,” he said.

Kanpur, February 04: Senior BJP leader L K Advani will be arriving here tomorrow to flag off a campaign against the Central government, highlighting the issues of corruption and price rise.

With many prominent leaders having already arrived in town to back the ‘Mahasangram Rally’, other senior BJP leaders like Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj as well as top leaders from allies Shiv Sena, JD(U) and Akali Dal, are also likely to attend it.

Lucknow, February 04: The Opposition in Uttar Pradesh today accused the BSP regime of indulging in corruption and asked Governor B L Joshi to immediately dismiss the Mayawati-led government, on the opening day of the Budget Session of the state Legislative Assembly.

“There is complete goondaraj (goons rule) in the state and the Governor should immediately dismiss the government,” Leader of the Opposition Shivpal Yadav told reporters here.

Lucknow, February 04: Congress General Secretary Divijay Singh has attacked the Mayawati government for “failure” to control law and order and corruption in the state.

“There is ‘goonda raj’ in UP and brokers are making a lot of money while even the officials have to pay monthly sums,” he said addressing a rally here yesterday.

“This is clear from the fact that a BSP MLA is involved in raping a minor girl”, he said.

Chennai, February 04: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad said it would oppose any attempt to build dams on the Ganga between Gangotri and Ganga Sagar.

“Ganga’s flow should be uninterrupted. We oppose any type of dam between Gangotri and Ganga Sagar. (We also oppose) any type of pollution in Ganga, such as effluents from industries,”VHP International General Secretary Pravin Togadia told reporters here.

He claimed that sustained opposition by VHP against attempts to pollute the river has improved the situation.

Jammu, February 04: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday and the two agreed to draw up a roadmap for lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir. The former then reviewed the security situation in Kishtwar.

Abdullah hosted an hour-long breakfast meeting with the visiting home minister who is on a two-day visit to the state from Thursday.

Both Chidambaram and Abdullah, who have been advocating an “out of the box solution” for Kashmir and also back efforts of the three interlocutors on Kashmir, had a candid exchange of views, sources said.

Chennai, February 04: Putting up a stout defence of former Telecom Minster A Raja arrested in 2G spectrum scam case, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said he was suffering in jail only because he helped mobile phone facilities reach the poor and downtrodden and played the caste card.

Likening Raja to King Mahabali of Kerala, Karunanidhi told a public meeting here that the Hindu mythology had it that Mahabali had to suffer for the good things he did for the people and due to the upper caste people.

Lucknow, February 03: Alleging that fake cases were being framed against Samajwadi Party workers, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today warned UP chief minister Mayawati that she might have to face the same situation in days to come.

“In days to come when Samajwadi Party comes to power we are not going to let off any of the guilty persons and I consider her (Mayawati) guilty,” Yadav who had yesterday visited party leaders and independent MLA from Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, lodged in Bareilly jail told newspersons here.

Lucknow, February 03: Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav Thursday accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of deliberately targeting his partymen, many of whom were put behind bars on “false charges”.

“Even Independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh, who was better known as Raja Bhaiya, has been arrested on trumped up charges simply because of his proximity to my party,” Yadav said, adding: “Others like Shailendra Singh, MP of our party, and Akshay Pratap Singh, MLA, were also booked on false charges for the same reason.”

Bangalore, February 3:Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa will quit if a ‘prima facie’ (at first view) case is made out on corruption and illegal land deal charges against him, former BJP president Rajnath Singh said Thursday.

“He will quit if prima facie case is made out, no need to tell him to,” Singh told reporters here.

Singh said there was no need for Yeddyurappa to quit now as no case has been made out.

Chennai, February 03:AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa Thursday said someone was posting messages on micro-blogging site Twitter using her name.

In a statement here, Jayalalithaa said: “It has been brought to my notice that ‘tweets’ are being sent out through the social networking and micro-blogging website Twitter.com in my name.”

“I would like to clarify that I am not on Twitter and as such the tweeting purportedly done in my name is by an imposter or impersonator.”

“I am initiating criminal action through the police cyber-crime department,” she added.

Gandhinagar, February 02: Chief Minister Narendra Modi today expanded his Council of Ministers by inducting six new members, taking the strength of the ministry to 27.

Governor Kamla administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers -Liladhar Vaghela, Ranjit Gilitwala, Mohan Kundaria, Ishwarbhai Patel, Jaydrathsinh Parmar and Jitu Sukhadia- at a function in Raj Bhavan here.

All have been give the rank of Minister of State.

According to political observers, the expansion has been done with an eye on the Assembly polls due in late 2012.

New Delhi, February 02: Describing former Telecom minister A Raja’s arrest as “belated”, BJP today asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh why he had been silent on this issue for so long and maintained this development had vindicated its demand for a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

New Delhi, February 02: The Supreme Court Wednesday pulled up the central government and other contenders in the Amar Singh wire tapping case for filing a “very casual and vague” affidavit and asked them to file a fresh one.

The apex court bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly said casual and vague affidavits have been filed by all on such a serious issue.

“It is a very serious issue and all the affidavits have been filed in a very casual manner,” the court said.

Kolkata, February 02: Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday lost her cool with a woman journalist who posed an uncomfortable question, sternly telling her not to be a “mouthpiece” of the West Bengal’s ruling Marxists.

The journalist asked Banerjee to comment on the Left parties’ allegation that the Railways was splurging money in advertisements. An angry Banerjee shot back: “First tell me from which media house you are”.

When the journalist replied, Banerjee asked her to repeat the question.

New Delhi, February 02: Senior BJP leader, Murli Manohar Joshi on Tuesday said his party strongly opposed West Bengal Government’s decision on ten per cent reservation for Muslims in jobs. “West Bengal Government’s decision on Muslim reservation is unacceptable. We shall oppose it tooth and nail. line is unconstitutional too,” Joshi told a rally at Ashighar, 45 km from here.

“We are opposed to any reservation either on religion or on castes. Reservation should be given to the poorest of the poor irrespective of caste and religion,” Joshi said.

New Delhi, February 02: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani on Tuesday demanded that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) should register a case against the people who had stashed black money abroad to facilitate a continuous investigation.

Mumbai, February 02:Union Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said that he was in touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs over continued detention of some Muslim youths in the Malegaon bomb blast case.

“In wake of the new confessions and discoveries in the investigations, it is evident that the case of those who are under arrest since the blasts took place need to be seen on humanitarian grounds.

I am in touch with the Home Minister in this regard,” Khurshid told reporters here.

Kolkata, February 02:Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday lost her cool with a woman journalist who posed an uncomfortable question, sternly telling her not to be a “mouthpiece” of the West Bengal’s ruling Marxists.

The journalist asked Banerjee to comment on the Left parties’ allegation that the railways was splurging money in advertisements. An angry Banerjee shot back: “First tell me from which media house you are”.

When the journalist replied, Banerjee asked her to repeat the question.

Lucknow, February 1:Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati once again stayed away from the chief minister’s meet on internal security in New Delhi Tuesday but reiterated that her state was neglected and demanded central aid for police modernisation.

Like in the past, she sent her cabinet colleague and state parliamentary affairs minister Lalji Verma, who read out a speech on her behalf.

New Delhi, february 1:Pledging to set an example in the fight against black money, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on Tuesday said it would direct its Chief Ministers and senior most leaders to declare their assets and asked the government to make all efforts to bring Indian slush funds stashed in tax havens.

Senior NDA leaders held a press conference to present the report of a task force appointed by the BJP to look into the issue of Indian black money stashed abroad and ways of dealing with the issue.