Politics

New Delhi, December 19: The sound system at the Congress Plenary session was not sound today.

The failure of the system also gave an opportunity to some members from Bihar to vent their ire and raise slogans against Union minister and party incharge of the state, Mukul Wasnik, on allocation of party tickets during the recently concluded assembly polls there.

The system went off initially when Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil was speaking in support of the political resolution.

Duttapukur (WB), December 19: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today accused Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee of “lying” about setting up railway industry in the state and said she would not set up a single unit.

“She is lying. Industry cannot be set up by lying. It does not require hard work to lie, but it needs hard work to set up industry,” Bhattacharjee said at a Left Front rally here in North 24-Parganas district.

New Delhi, December 19: Asserting that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had established a relationship between growth and distribution of opportunity, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Sunday said that it was important to build a system in which a common man progressed not on “who he knows but on what he knows.”

Participating in the discussion on the political resolution at 83rd Congress plenary being held here, Gandhi said the country’s strength lay in unlocking potential of each individual.

New Delhi, December 19: In a two-pronged attack on fundamentalism and corruption, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today said majority and minority communalism are dangerous and must be defeated and favoured fast-tracking all corruption cases, including those of politicians.

Addressing the Congress Plenary, she dwelt at length on the two subjects in the backdrop of a number of corruption charges hitting the party and the UPA government headed by it and the controversy surrounding Rahul Gandhi’s comments about Hindu radicalism being “bigger threat” than groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.

New Delhi, December 19: Mentioning that 33 percent reservation for women may soon be implemented in parliament and the state legislatures, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Sunday noted in a lighter vein that he was “scared” that his Amethi Lok Sabha constituency may become part of the reserved category.

Delivering a speech at the 83rd Congress plenary at Burari, Gandhi pointed out that women were increasingly coming into politics. “In panchayats, women have 50 percent of seats, and soon they will have 33 percent in the Lok Sabha and state bodies,” he said.

New Delhi, December 19: With corruption scandals dogging her party-led government and holding up parliament, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi Sunday urged for probity in public life and outlined a four-point agenda to deal with graft, including fast-tracking cases against public servants and politicians “that means all of us”.

Addressing the party’s 83rd plenary at Burari in northwest Delhi, the Congress chief also said there should be no difference in the government’s dealing with acts of terror instigated by the majority and minority communities.

Jalandhar, December 19: Punjab units of RSS and BJP have termed Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on radical Hindu outfits as “immature” and said the Congress leader “lacks experience” in politics.

Gandhi’s remarks also drew a sharp reaction from Indian National Lok Dal, which said Congress general secretary’s statement was “irresponsible” and will pose a threat to the nation’s security by “encouraging” terrorists.

New Delhi, December 19: In a frontal attack on the RSS and its affiliates, the Congress Plenary today raised the pitch against saffron forces by demanding a probe into their “links” with terror after Sonia Gandhi condemned both majority and minority communalism.

While terror and communalism figured in a major way on the opening day of the two-day conclave, corruption that has hit the party and the UPA government headed by it was also a key topic of discussion with Gandhi suggesting fast-tracking of corruption cases including those against politicians.

New Delhi, December 19: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday hit out at the Congress, describing it as a party “under siege” and accused its president Sonia Gandhi of abusing the opposition.

“The speech the Congress party has shown speaks of the mentality of the party which is under siege. Gandhi has only tried to deflect the attention of this country from the core issues of the United Progressive Alliance’s failure,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters.

Chennai, December 19: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Sunday urged political parties and right-thinking people to confront corruption, failing which there would be no peace in the country.

“In the past few months, all the constitutional institutions – Supreme Court, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), parliament – and the media have been highlighting the one single issue that is vexing the nation – corruption in the Commonwealth Games, allocation of 2G spectrum and housing society scams in Maharashtra,” Advani said here.

Pratapgarh (Uttar Pradesh), December 19: Controversial Independent legislator Raghuraj Pratap Singh, better known as Raja Bhaiya, and a Samajwadi Party MP and two legislators, were Sunday arrested for the attempted murder of a local bodies candidate in this Uttar Pradesh district, police said.

“The arrest followed a FIR lodged against 13 people including Raja Bhaiya, Samajwadi Party MP Shailendra Kumar, assembly member Vinod Saroj and legislative council member Akshay Pratap Singh,” Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police O.P.Sagar told IANS.

Kolkata, December 19: Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee alleged that the CPI(M)-led ruling Left Front was hiring ‘supari killers’ to murder students and create terror in the state.

Ms Banerjee’s high voltage accusation against the Leftists came a day after her demand for a CBI probe into the death of a college student during violence in Andul.

New Delhi, December 19: Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who has been at the centre of a controversy for his recent statement on slain Maharashtra police ATS chief Hemant Karkare receiving threats to his life from Hindu terrorists, today said there was no question of him going back on his statement.

”I continue to stand by what I said and I do not think that there is any question of my retracting it or going back on it,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 83rd Congress Plenary.

New Delhi, December 19: Senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday dismissed the Congress clarification on AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s statement on Hindu extremism and demanded that the youth leader himself explain his statement.

“The clarification by Congress spokespersons is [like] how a Maharaja’s palace would pass on a statement. Rahul Gandhi should clarify his statement himself. Only he will be able to tell us the facts,” Mr. Naidu told journalists here.

New Delhi, December 19: Congress president Sonia Gandhi Sunday dared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to act against Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa for alleged corruption and said the main opposition was holding the parliament “hostage to political blackmail”.

“There should be no tolerance to corruption. We have asked our (chief minister) to step down, pending enquiry,” Gandhi said in her address to the 83rd Congress plenary held here.

New Delhi, December 19: Congress president Sonia Gandhi Sunday said the objective of the 83rd plenary held here was to “introspect” and not just celebrate past achievements.

Addressing thousands of party workers in Burari in northwest Delhi, Gandhi said the party has to carry forward the legacy handed over by its past leaders.

Lucknow, December 18: Janshakti Party chief Uma Bharti Saturday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi not to be guided by party colleague Digvijay Singh and suggested she can be a “better guru” to him.

Uma Bharti was reacting to observations by Gandhi about “saffron terror” in his reported communication with US ambassador Timothy Roemer.

“It appears that Rahul’s own intellectual bankruptcy had led him to seek advise from his party leader Digvijay Singh and that was the reason he (Rahul) was putting his foot in the mouth,” Uma Bharti told reporters on her way to Ayodhya.

Mumbai, December 18: The Shiv Sena Saturday advocated strong friendship with China if India wanted to ‘neutralize’ Pakistan and also secure a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

In an editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamna’, the Sena said that it is high time India realises that the US will not budge over crucial issues like the UNSC and Pakistan without a nod from China.

Itanagar, december 18: The Voluntary Arunachal Sena (VAS) today demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu on moral grounds following the admittance of Special Leave Petition (SLP) by the Supreme Court against him on charges of corruption.

In a press statement, the organisation alleged Khandu of involvement in corruption and alleged withdrawal of Rs 68 crores PDS bills.

Terming the continuation of Khandu as surprising, it said that even the Chief Minister of Maharashtra had to resign over charges of corruption.

Ghaziabad, December 17:Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief and National Democratic Alliance convenor Sharad Yadav Friday termed the 2G spectrum scam as the “biggest-ever loot of the country’s property” and lambasted the government for it.

Yadav, calling for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G issue, said at a press conference here the people of the country should decide the fate of the “scamsters who had brutally looted the exchequer of the country”.

New Delhi, December 16: India today said it will continue to take up the issue of Pakistan diverting American military aid against it with the US till the time there is a “final solution” to the problem.

Defence Minister A K Antony said the past experience and track-record shows that instead of using the American military aid in the fight against Taliban, Pakistan is diverting it against India.

Vadodra, December 16: BJP leader and TV star Smriti Irani expressed doubt over Rahul Gandhi’s ability to lead the country and said the young Congress MP maintains silence over important issues facing the country.

“How can you hand over the country’s command to Rahul who keeps quiet on important issues raised in Parliament?” she said.

Talking to reporters here, the President of BJP Mahila Morcha described as “eyewash” the CBI raids on former Union Telecom Minister A Raja’s house and residence of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.

Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), December 15: Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha today held the UPA government responsible for the washout of Parliament’s winter session.

“It was because of the UPA government, Parliament could not function,” Sinha claimed at a news conference here referring to the sine die adjournment of parliament, following the Opposition’s demand for Joint Parliamentary Committee inquiry into the 2G spectrum scam.

Bangalore, December 15: Battling allegations of corruption and nepotism, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today said he would soon release “documentary evidence” on scams during the Congress and Janta Dal (Secular) regimes in the state.

“I am now ready with documents. The question crossing my mind now is whether I should release them before the Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections or later”, he told reporters here.

New delhi, December 15: Having got “no justice from Parliament,” the National Democratic Alliance announced here on Tuesday that it was ready to take the issue of corruption in the United Progressive Alliance “to the people.”