Politics

Azamgarh, August 25: BJP MP from Azamgarh Sadar constituency Ramakant Yadav was today arrested in connection with murder and attempt to murder cases lodged against him.

“BJP MP Ramkant Yadav was arrested from Pathlipur Bazar area this evening and taken to Deedarganj police station,” Deputy Inspector General of Police K K Tripathi told.

A case of murder and attempt to murder was lodged against the MP on July 12 by Ulema Council after a clash between Yadav’s supporters and Council activists in Jagdishpur area of Azamgarh district in which one youth was killed and two others injured.

Lucknow, August 25: Attacking the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh over the law and order situation, Samajwadi Party today said women are not safe in the state which has a woman chief minister.

“Women are not safe in the state which has a woman chief minister,” Leader of the Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Shivpal Singh Yadav told reporters here.

New Delhi, August 25: Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has sent feelers to expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh to join his party.

“I have spoken with him and I have very candidly told him that he is not alone. I am too small a fry to invite him to my party but it will be my fortune to enable him to do something to be active in politics through the platform of SP,” Amar Singh told television channels.

Itanagar, August 25: In a fresh set back to BJP, its national secretary and former Arunachal Pradesh MP, Kiren Rijiju, has resigned from the party to join the Congress ahead of the assembly polls in the state in October.

The jolt to the BJP unit of the north eastern state came at a time when the party was facing dissensions in Rajasthan and the central leadership was grappling with serious problems at the national level.

New Delhi, August 25: The Congress party on Monday said veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani should apologise to the nation as he had “not spoken the truth” on the cash for vote scam, the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 1999 Kandahar hijack episode.

“On all the three issues, the country wants an explanation from Advani and the BJP… The nation wants answers. At the least, he should apologies to the nation,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here, commenting on the issues that cropped up in the backdrop of the expulsion of senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh.

New Delhi, August 25: The Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) today refused to be drawn into the Shourie-BJP war, rejecting the rebel BJP leader’s suggestion that the Sangh take the command of the party to rejuvenate it.

”We are a cultural organisation, not a political party, we can’t interfere in BJP affairs,” RSS Spokesperosn Ram Madhav here said, reacting to Mr Shourie’s yesterday’s remarks about top party leaders and the need for the Sangh to save it.

Mr Madhav said, ”The Sangh’s Swayam Sewaks are there (in the party),” and they would do whatever was needed.

Lucknow August 25: Buoyed by its performance in the recent assembly by-elections when it checked a clean sweep by the ruling BSP on the four seats, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has decided to go all out to expand its base in the state.

“It is time for us to span out to parts other than the western region which has remained a stronghold of the RLD since long,” party sources here said.

Patna, August 25: A parliamentarian from Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) is planning to invite Jaswant Singh, sacked from ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his book on Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah, for a series of lectures on partition.

Rajya Sabha MP Ejaz Ali said he has decided to support the former union minister, who was ‘unfairly expelled from the BJP for presenting historical truths’ on Jinnah.

Indore, August 25: Former RSS chief S Surdarshan here today said Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah was committed to undivided India.

On being asked if he considered the Muslim League leader secular, he said, “Jinnah had many facets. He was once associated with Lokmanya Tilak and was totally committed to undivided India.”

On Jaswant Singh’s expulsion from BJP, he said, “it is an internal matter of the party.”

Mumbai, August 25: Emboldened by its unexpectedly good performance in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress seems to be doing everything it can to
put the alliance partner NCP on the back foot. All India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijaya Singh is learnt to have made a strong pitch for the Congress to contest the assembly polls alone this time.

New Delhi, August 25: Ending the suspense over its ties with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Congress on Monday said the party’s electoral alliance with Sharad Pawar’s party in Maharashtra will continue. But this came with the rider that the Congress is set to adopt a tough posture for more seats from its ally during the Assembly elections.

New Delhi, August 25: BJP, which acknowledged the fickleness of its fair weather fans, on Monday hit out at former Advani aide Sudheendra Kulkarni for his attack on the party.

“It took 13 years for Mr Kulkarni to realise that he is not comfortable with the BJP’s ideology. That he is out of sync with BJP’s beliefs never donned on him when the party was in power. Mr Kulkarni, who made a lateral entry into BJP was given positions of power and authority,” BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad said.

New Delhi, August 24: India today told Swiss banks that it was not interested in fishing expedition of details of money stashed with them but will work on specific cases.

“They (Swiss Bankers Association) have not refused (to divulge information). They have suggested they are not for fishing and we are also not interested in fishing their whole list (of bank accounts),” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters late tonight.

His comments come a day after Swiss banks said India was not welcome on a name-fishing expedition.

New Delhi, August 24: The BJP was tonight believed to be weighing options on the action it may take against Arun Shourie who let off a fusillade against the party leadership and virtually dared it to act against him.

Party sources said the course of action against Shourie could be decided against the backdrop of the swift action taken against Jaswant Singh who was expelled last week.

“The party has taken note of the utterances of Mr Shourie. It shall be responded to appropriately after discussions,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said here.

New Delhi, August 24: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tonight assured Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee that he will speak to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue of continuing CBI probe into the theft of Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel medallion from Vishwa Bharati University.

“Pranab-da has assured me that he will definitely talk to the Prime Minister on the issue”, Mamata told media persons after a meeting with Mukherjee here, close on the heels of CBI conveying to the University authorities that it was closing the investigation into the theft more than five years ago.

Erode, August 24: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin today inaugurated a Rs 7 crore MRI scanner in the Government Headquarters Hospital here.

Later talking to reporters, he said the government was taking steps to dispose off effluents released by textile and tanning industries and drawn up a plan and forwarded to Finance Commission for sanction.

—Agencies

New Delhi, August 24: Almost a month after clearing the Solar Mission, the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change today gave nod to National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency enabling about Rs 75,000 crore worth of energy transactions that are likely to cut down annual energy consumption.

“In doing so, it (the mission) will, by 2015, help (the country) save about five per cent of our annual energy consumption and nearly 100 million tonnes of carbon dio-oxide every year,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said while approving the mission.

Amravati, August 24: Congress aspirants for the Assembly polls staked their claims before party observer and AICC Secretary, Mohan Prakash, amidst slogan shouting by their supporters at two different venues on Monday.

While Guardian Minister Sunil Deshmukh and other important leaders of the party in the district participated in one programme held at Rangoli Lawns, President Pratibha Patil’s son, Raosaheb Shekhawat, arranged a different party convention to present his claim for candidature before the party observer.

Mumbai, August 24: Maharashtra cabinet may meet for the last time tomorrow as the dates of assembly elections are likely to be announced on August 25.

The code of conduct may come into effect from August 26 and hence the cabinet meeting is crucial, as more populist schemes could be announced thereafter.

The five year term of the Congress-NCP Government ends on November 3 and the elections, which could be in two phases are likely to be held in October, ahead of Diwali on October 17.

Siliguri , August 24: A total of 138 people would contest Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) polls.

SMC with 47 wards will go to the polls on September 13.

Congress and Trinamool Congress combine is likely to give a tough challenge to the ruling Left Front candidates.

Trinamool Congress candidates would contest in 24 seats while Congress has fielded candidates in 23.

New Delhi, August 24: Seeking to take the sheen out of the BSP victory in the assembly bye-polls in Uttar Pradesh, Congress today alleged that the elections were not fought by the ruling party but by the state government.

“In these bye-elections, administration openly worked for the BSP. The bye-polls were not fought by the BSP but by the UP government,” AICC General Secretary in charge of the state Digvijay Singh told reporters here.

In the assembly bye-elections for four seats in the state, the BSP won three seats while the Rashtriya Lok Dal won one seat.

New Delhi, August 24:Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday said he will examine the issue of reported unwillingness of Swiss authorities to divulge the names and other details of Indians who hold secret, illegal accounts with banks there.

“I have just read this in the newspaper. I will talk with the Swiss banks later and then comment on the same,” Mukherjee told reporters at his office at the North Block, reacting to a report on the matter.

Chandigarh, August 24: In a development that could help the ruling Congress ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls, BJP has decided to part ways with Indian

National Lok Dal led by former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala.

The BJP, whose state leadership had strongly objected to the alliance with the INLD last year after the two parties went separate ways in 2004, has been unhappy with the number of seats being offered by INLD to them for the polls.

BJP leader Vijay Goel said, “We have decided to go it alone in Haryana”.

New Delhi, August 24: With his name not figuring in the CBI chargesheet in the coffin scam, former defence minister George Fernandes on Monday demanded an apology from Congress for alleging his involvement in the 2002 case.

“I needed no ‘clean chit’ from the CBI to know that the aluminium casket purchase issue had never even come to my table during my tenure as defence minister let alone my drinking the blood of martyrs, as the Congress accused me of doing,” the JD-U leader said in a press statement here.

Chandigarh, August 24: In a development that could help ruling Congress ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls, BJP has decided to part ways with Indian National Lok Dal led by former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.

The BJP, whose state leadership had strongly objected to the alliance with the INLD last year after the two parties went separate ways in 2004, has been unhappy with the number of seats being offered by INLD to them for the polls.

BJP leader Vijay Goel said, “We have decided to go it alone in Haryana”.