New Delhi, November 19: Eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani today pleaded for the disqualification of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan for alllegedly resorting to paid news in the assembly polls in the state last year.
Jethmalani, appearing for BJP’s Kirit Somaiya before the Election Commission which is hearing the petition against Chavan, said that the former Cheif Minister did not properly present election expenses.
New Delhi, November 19: Facing a storm over land scams, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa arrived here tonight to meet BJP central leaders and hit out at the opposition parties demanding his ouster.
“Who are they to force me to resign?” Yeddyurappa said on his arrival when asked to comment on stepping up of pressure by Congress and JD(S) for his resignation.
Yeddyurppa reached here after being summoned by BJP leadership following the controversy on allocation of prime urban land to his family members.
Kolkata, November 19: CPI(M) leader Md Selim today said Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s open reference to increase in corruption was an indicator that her party was looking for “an escape route” from the series of scams her party was embroiled in.
“Whenever Congress is in trouble, it looks for an escape route and particularly after Supreme Court has asked Prime Minister to file an affidavit in the wake of 2G spectrum scam,” Selim told a TV channel here.
New Delhi, November 19: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said the 2G spectrum scam would not have taken place had he been the prime minister.
“Hota hi kyun (Why would it have happened at all)?” Modi said when asked how he would have tackled the scam had he been the prime minister.
He was fielding questions at a seminar organised by India Today media group on “State of states in India”.
–Agencies
Bangalore, November 18: An embattled Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, facing allegations of nepotism and favouritism over land deals, today called off his Delhi visit.
The BJP High Command had summoned Yeddyurappa to the national capital for a discussion on the alleged land scams after opposition Congress and JD(S) upped their ante on the issue, seeking his resignation.
The BJP core committee met in Delhi to discuss the Karnataka crisis today.
New Delhi, November 18: As Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa faces charges of nepotism over the handling of government land, a signature campaign has begun within the BJP in Karnataka for a leadership change in the state.
As many as 61 party MLAs have signed for a new Chief Minister, BJP sources said. The renewed demand for change in leadership comes even as the Opposition has asked Yeddyurappa to step down — like Ashok Chavan in Maharashtra — for allegedly denotifying government land around Bangalore in favour of his family.
Chennai, November 16: Pressing for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum scam, AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa Tuesday wondered why was the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), including the DMK, shying from such an inquiry.
In a statement issued here, Jayalalithaa said: “If all the alliance partners of the UPA, barring the DMK of course, are clear that their hands are clean, why should they shy away from a JPC probe?”
Ranchi, November 16: The Jharkhand government might ask the Centre to allow it to pay double the compensation amount in exchange of forest land to complete major irrigation projects, including the one pending for the past 40 years, officials said.
As per norms, if a state government wants to acquire some forest land for a project, it has to provide an equal area of land for afforestation.
“We will ask the Revenue department to take up a survey and identify government land fit for afforestation in exchange of forest land,” Chief Secretary A K Singh told reporters here.
Lucknow, November 16: With cinestars Jaya Prada and Sanjay Dutt in tow, expelled Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary Amar Singh is all set to formally launch his own party in the new year.
“I will make a formal announcement about my plans soon after the conclusion of a march I propose to lead from Allahabad to Gorakhpur between Dec 1 and Dec 30,” Singh told reporters here Tuesday.
He came here to meet his supporters after the Supreme Court offered him interim relief on his plea on issues related to his expulsion from the SP.
New Delhi, November 16: BJP today sent a legal notice to Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh for his “insidious remarks” against party president Nitin Gadkari and demanded that properties owned by him, Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra be made public.
BJP Secretary Kirit Somaiya sent a legal notice to Singh for his remarks against Gadkari. Singh had alleged that Gadkari had amassed huge wealth in a short span of time and his antecedents should be checked.
“A legal notice for defamation has been served by Kirit Somaiya’s lawyer which asks for apology from Digvijay Singh…
Mumbai, November 16: Shiv Sena on Monday came to the support of former RSS chief K Sudarshan, who is under sustained attack for his remarks against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and slammed the Congress for letting its cadre go “berserk on the streets” in protest.
The lead editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamna called upon Hindus to rise and respond to attacks on RSS offices, apparently referring to burning of Sudarshan’s effigies and attacks on RSS offices by Congress workers over the weekend. The RSS has “promoted national pride for years” and so should not be questioned, it added.
Lakshimpur, November 15: Accusing BJP of indulging in hypocrisy over the issue of corruption, Congress on Monday demanded that BJP president Nitin Gadkari should disclose his assets and sources of income.
“Gadkari should disclose where are the properties he had acquired in the last 10 to 15 years and his source of income. A high level inquiry should be done,” party general secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters here.
Bhopal, November 15: Reacting to Congress protests against former Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief K.S. Sudarshan, cadres of the Tarunai Manch, an RSS wing, Monday pelted stones at the state Congress office here, but were pushed back, the police claimed.
Some Congress workers gathered near the Congress office but police prevented a direct confrontation between the two groups, and controlled the situation by pushing back the Tarunai Manch activists.
Fursatganj (UP), November 15: Amid storm in Parliament over reports of various scams, including 2G spectrum allocation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said the government was taking “strong action” on the issue of corruption.
“It is an important issue and we need to be very strict on corruption… the government is in the process of taking strong action,” he told reporters here.
Lucknow, November 15: Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh Monday ordered a probe into Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari’s assets and wondered how a man who drove a moped now had property worth thousands of crores of rupees.
‘He (Gadkari) today possesses property worth thousands of crores of rupees… How does he own such property? It should definitely be probed by the Enforcement Directorate or the Revenue Intelligence,’ Singh told reporters at the Amausi airport here.
Allahabad, November 14: Expelled SP leader Amar Singh today accused party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav of having turned his outfit into a “family-owned business”.
“What do I say about Mulayam Singh? He has turned the party into a family-owned business and got rid of people like me who were loyal but with whom he had no blood ties,” he said.
“This has enabled him to drag all his family members into politics, though often with disastrous results,” Singh, who was the party’s national general secretary until his expulsion earlier this year, told reporters here.
Patna, November 14: Flaying Rahul Gandhi for his ‘Bihar Shining’ remarks, BJP today said the Congress would get a “befitting reply” as the NDA was set to return to power in the state.
Senior BJP leader and party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said India was indeed shining in 2004 when the slogan was coined by the NDA, but the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government lost the polls despite the development ushered in by it.
Mumbai, November 14: NCP chief Sharad Pawar was today admitted to a private hospital here for blood pressure-related check-up.
“Pawar was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital late this afternoon for blood pressure-related check up. He is stable and there is no cause for concern,” an aide of the Union Agriculture Minister told PTI.
Pawar, 69, will be discharged in a day or two, he said
–Agencies
Balarampur (West Bengal), November 14: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Sunday urged the people to unite in the fight against the Maoists and uproot them from the state.
“Maoist activity is the biggest problem in our state. They are creating hindrance in development work. They are also obstructing the schools and panchayats from running smoothly, besides killing innocent people,” Bhattacharjee said at a rally organised by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
New Delhi/Patna, November 14: Intensifying its attack on Congress, BJP today alleged that “other” cabinet ministers are also involved in the 2G spectrum scam along with A Raja who have sullied the clean image of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and “will also have to go” along with the Telecom Minister.
In a public rally in Najafgarh in south-west Delhi, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said, “This money was not only looted by Raja… Congress leaders were also involved…. Money has not only gone to Chennai. It has benefited Congress also”.
Lucknow, November 14: The RSS today said associating the outfit with terrorism was a “political conspiracy” and banning it was “impossible” since the organisation was “in the hearts of the people.”
“Relating RSS with terrorism is a political conspiracy. Banning it is mere impossible as the organisation lies in the hearts of people”, its Joint General Secretary Duttatriye Hosbale said while addressing a programme here.
Rampur, November 14: Union Minister Farooq Abdullah was in his elements as he surprised the audience at a religious function here by singing a ‘bhajan’.
73-year-old Abdullah broke into a devotional song at a gathering of religious leaders and devotees at the annual Kalki Yagna Mahotsav at Chambal town, 50 km from here, yesterday.
“Van van dhoonda, ghar ghar dhoonda, nahi mile more Ram. Tera ghar nahi milta, hum jaaen toh jaaen kahan,” sang the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister while interacting with those present at the function, where he had been invited by the organisers.
–PTI
Bhopal, November14: Congress General Secretary, Digvijay Singh today said that no purpose would be served by banning the RSS.
“There are a number of organisations that are linked with RSS and if the RSS is banned, these will continue its work,” Digvijay told PTI.
He said that earlier also, the RSS had been banned but the experience was not entirely happy or successful.
The Congress General Secretary said that senior BJP leader L K Advani had often said that all Muslims were not terrorists but only Muslims were found involved in terrorism.
New Delhi, November 13: BJP today asked Congress to put a stop to attacks on RSS offices by its workers in protest against K S Sudarshan’s remarks on Sonia Gandhi and warned that failure to do so would lead to nation-wide agitations on corruption in 2-G Spectrum, CWG and Adarsh Housing Society.
New Delhi, November 13: Under attack from the Congress, the RSS and the BJP today expressed regret over the derogatory remarks against Sonia Gandhi by its former chief K S Sudarshan and described them as “unfortunate”.
The RSS, which had yesterday distanced itself from the controversial comments of Sudarshan, today went a step further by issuing a statement expressing regret.