Lucknow, July 20:The Allahabad High Court Monday issued notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi on a petition by his uncle challenging his election from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
Varun Gandhi’s uncle V.M. Singh had filed the petition July 1 and the court asked the BJP MP to clear his stand over the issue and listed the case for Aug 25 for the next hearing.
Singh, a Congress leader, had lost the election to Varun Gandhi.
New Delhi, July 20: Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh says ‘I agree’ with what Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi said against Chief Minister Mayawati.
‘I agree with what Rita had said. I would not repent. Mayawati got what she deserved,’ Singh said in a tele-conference he addressed from Singapore Monday.
He said the Congress might expel Joshi so as not to annoy Dalit voters.
Singh said it was high time for the Congress to ‘choose between the Samajwadi Party or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)’ as an ally.
New Delhi, July 20: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence here and discussed several issues, including cross-border terrorism and Indo-US relations.
Clinton went to Gandhi’s residence at 10, Janpath, after meeting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani.
Sonia Gandhi’s son, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, was also present during the meeting.
New Delhi, July 20: BJP Monday demanded a “thorough probe” into the matter after government conceded in Lok Sabha deficiencies in procurement of bullet proof jackets for defence personnel.
“There should be a probe and the accountability should be fixed. Only the minister accepting that there were deficiencies is not enough,” party spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said.
Earlier today in Lok Sabha, Minister of State (MoS), Defence, M M Pallam Raju conceded that there were shortcomings in bullet proof jackets but added these were not “sub-standard”.
Lucknow, July 20: The CPI Monday announced candidates for bye-elections to two seats of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly on August 18.
While Nem Singh will be the party candidate for Moradabad (west) seat, Ram Babu Trivedi will contest from Bidhuna, CPI’s state secretary Girish said.
These seats fell vacant following resignation of BJP MLA from Moradabad Rajiv Channa and MLA Dhani Ram Verma (Bidhuna).
The party will also contest from Kolasla, Padrauna and Mugalsarai assembly segments, he said, adding rallies will be held in all district headquarters on July 31.
Allahabad, July 20: Allahabad High Court today issued notice against BJP MP Varun Gandhi.
Hearing a plea of BN Singh demanding annulling BJP leader’s election to Lok Sabha, the court has issued the notice.
The court has posted the matter for next hearing on August 25.
–Agencies
Pune, July 20:Leader of Opposition L K Advani today demanded suspension of all official talks with Islamabad until a credible proof of necessary action against perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack was given to it.
India should seek extradition of all those involved in cross-border terrorism, including Dawood Ibrahim, who has been given shelter in Pakistan, he said at a function to release Marathi translation of his autobiography “My country, My Life” here.
Raipur, July 19:Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Sunday rejected reports that spurt in Maoist violence in the state was basically due to failure of intelligence network.
Singh, who travelled Sunday to the site in Rajnandgaon district where Maoists killed 29 state policemen in an ambush July 12, said police had prior information of Maoists’ possible attack in the district but police suffered casualties as it was a “well coordinated flash attack” of the rebels.
New Delhi, July 19: With the media reeling under the financial crunch, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni has backed increasing FDI (foreign direct investment) in print media to 49 per cent, saying “it is safe”. “I think it is a good suggestion,” Soni said in an interview when asked about her views on increasing FDI in print media from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.
Rudrapur, July 19: Efforts are on to resolve the strike by a group of contract workers at the Dabur factory in Uttarakhand.
Workers at the factory went on a strike to protest the company’s decision to disallow mobile phones at work, official sources said.
Nearly 50 workers began strike on Tuesday with 10 to 15 of them staging a dharna near the factory premises, the sources said.
However, production at the plant is not affected as majority of the workers have stayed away from the strike.
Assistant Labour Commissioner Vipin Kumar said he was trying hard to negotiate a solution.
Patna, July 19: Bihar’s main opposition RJD today slammed the state’s NDA government for ‘failing’ to make available adequate fertilisers, diesel, kerosene and seeds to farmers as the state experienced ‘scanty’ rains this monsoon and called for declaring the whole state ‘drought-hit’.
Hundreds of RJD activists, led by former union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, state party chief Abdul Bari Siddiqui and deputy leader in the state Assembly Shakeel Ahmed Khan, held demonstration here in protest against alleged apathy of the Nitish Kumar government towards the plight of farmers.
New Delhi, July 19: Alleging that the ransacking and arson at her Lucknow house was a state-sponsored crime, UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, charged with making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati, today demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident.
“I demand a CBI probe into the incident that occurred at my house in Lucknow (on the night of July 15). The party has also demanded it because it is a state-sponsored crime,” 60-year-old Joshi, who was released from jail after being granted interim bail by a Moradabad court yesterday, said here.
New Delhi, July 19: BJP’s drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha polls has not dented the spirit of its veteran leader L K Advani as he plans to embark on another ‘yatra’ across the country with an aimof rejuvenating the party cadre for future battles.
“I will not hold public meetings like I did during my rath yatras in the past. I plan to tour the country to meet my party worker at the local level and convince him that there is nothing unusual about an election defeat,” Advani told reporters.
Kolkata, July 18: Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said Saturday the much-awaited Kolkata Metro extension project linking Tollygunge and Garia will be operational from next month.
“The Metro extension project between Tollygunge and Garia is near completion and would be hopefully inaugurated Aug 23. The journey between Tollygunge and Garia would cover a 4-km stretch and have six stations,” Banerjee said at a press conference at her south Kolkata residence.
New Delhi, July 18: The Central Government has announced the forthcoming governors of seven states.
The Governors of Uttar Pradesh, Pondicherry, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand have been announced as B. L. Joshi, Iqbaal Singh, Sibte Razi, D. N. Duwedi, J. Pahadiya, Margaret Alva and K. Shankaran respectively.
—Agencies
Srinagar, July 18: In a major turnaround, the separatist All Party Hurriyat Conference on Saturday said that it is open to talks with New Delhi for the settlement of the vexed Kashmir issue.
However, the separatist organisation said that it will talk only to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Talking to reporters, senior Hurriyat leader Abbas Ansari said, “We will talk only with the PM.”
Lucknow, July 18: The Samajwadi Party today announced its candidates for three assembly seats, which will go to by-polls on August 18. Geeta Shakya will be the party candidate from Vidhuna, whereas former MP Reena Chaudhary will contest from Malihabad reserve seat, party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said.
Former MLA Rafaqat Hussain will contest from Moradanad (West), he said.
—PTI–
Lucknow, July 18: The Samajwadi Party today announced its candidates for three assembly seats, which will go to by-polls on August 18.
Geeta Shakya will be the party candidate from Vidhuna, whereas former MP Reena Chaudhary will contest from Malihabad reserve seat, party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said.
Former MLA Rafaqat Hussain will contest from Moradanad (West), he said.
–PTI
New Delhi, July 18: Senior BJP leader LK Advani on Saturday lamented that people preferred Congress to BJP in the Lok Sabha polls even as he credited his party with establishing a bipolar polity in the country.
“Election results have shown that the electorate preferred bigger parties and rejected smaller ones. Only Congress and BJP won more than 100 seats… but people preferred Congress over BJP as we had little presence in 150 seats spread across states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal,” he said.
Colombo, July 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa of all support for resettlement of the Tamil civilians, displaced due to fighting between security forces and the LTTE in the north.
During an interaction shortly after the conclusion of the 15th Non-Aligned Summit at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt on Thursday, Singh told Rajapaksa that he had won the war against the LTTE and can now also win the peace.
Lucknow, July 18: UP Congress Chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi was granted interim bail by a court in Moradabad on Saturday. Joshi was arrested after speaking against BSP supremo and state chief minister Mayawati.
The bail plea had been turned down by the Chief Judicial Magistrate on Thursday, who remanded Joshi to judicial custody for 14 days.
Bahuguna faces a string of charges, including making inflammatory speeches and using abusive language. She also faces charges under the prevention of atrocities Act.
BSP under scanner
Moradabad/Lucknow, July 18: In what could douse the raging fire between the Congres and the Bahujan Samaj party in Uttar Pradesh, the state police have booked a BSP MLA for burning the house of UP Congress Chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
FIR has been registered against MLA Jitendra Singh Babloo, accusing of setting the state congress chief’s house on fire on Wednesday night.
BSP’s Lucknow unit president Intezar Abdi has also been booked.
BSP had earlier accused the Congress of torching Bahuguna Joshi’s house and trying to indict BSP for it.
Hyderabad, July 18: The BJP today asked the UPA Government to reconsider its stand towards holding dialogue with Islamabad and said the country was “shocked” over the Indo-Pakistan joint statement issued in Egypt.
“The entire country is shocked over the joint statement issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Egypt saying that terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process,” senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.
Lucknow, July 18: Lucknow police on Saturday filed a case against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA and a local party leader for their role in attacking Uttar Pradesh Congress unit chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi’’s house.
The names of BSP MLA Jitendra Singh and local party leader Imtizar Abdi have been added to the FIR filed in connection with the arson attack on Joshi’’s house.
The Congress had lodged a written complaint against the two BSP leaders for allegedly ransacking Joshi’’s residence here and setting it on fire on July 15.
Amethi, July 18: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Friday lashed out at the Mayawati government for wasting thousands of crores of rupees in building statues and monuments related to BSP serving the political interests of her party.
The Congress leader made this remark while addressing a gathering shortly after his arrival in his parliamentary constituency where he met his supporters in the backdrop of violent protests over power crisis in Amethi.