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New Delhi, May 15 It was a photo-op which sent cameramen into a virtual tizzy. Already a hit with the media, shutterbugs today went crazy when first-time MP from Amethi and Congress party’s heir apparent Rahul Gandhi walked up to his mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to greet her with a rose following her unanimous election as CPP leader.
DMK not to join govt for
now
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Will Mulayam continue as Chief
Minister?
12 with criminal record
win
Vajpayee likely to be NDA leader in LS
Gowda meets Vajpayee
EC LS notification
on Monday
FIR filed in Bofors case
Action against Iraq job agents
ordered
SC: legislative competence no ground to judge
HC jurisdiction
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Rahul seen as alternative power
centre
New Delhi, May 15 Rahul Gandhi queued up with party members and patiently awaited his turn although he was urged by others to go ahead. He handed her a single red rose and, according to those standing close by, wished her good luck. She responded with a mere smile. If Mrs Sonia Gandhi was inundated with flowers, safas and shawls by fawning party members, Rahul Gandhi was next on the popularity charts. A virtual silence descended on the Central Hall when he walked in well before the appointed time of the meeting, There was a rush to greet him and though he gestured to the backbenches, partymen insisted on seating him in the front benches. From then on till the commencement of the proceedings, there was an unending queue of Congress members who came up to greet him. As in the case of Mrs Gandhi, they all came armed with flowers, garlands, angavastrams and shawls, prompting a wag to comment, “We are witnessing the evolution of Rahul Gandhi as an alternative power centre.” There was an air of bonhomie in Central Hall as newly-elected members, AICC office-bearers, a host of Chief Ministers and even defeated MPs greeted each other almost as if it was the first day of school. There were several rounds of bear hugs and handshakes as winners and losers alike greeted each other, obviously ecstatic on the prospect of coming back to power. Among the leaders was Pranab Mukherjee who got a especially warm welcome. He described himself as the “oldest member of the Upper House and now the newest member of the Lower House,” having won his first election to the Lok Sabha. Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, who is recovering from a serious accident, made it for the meeting in a wheel chair. He insisted on going up to the podium to greet Mrs Gandhi, who especially reached out to accept his flowers. Predictably, a host of well-wishers, including Rahul Gandhi, came up to greet him. Film star-turned politician Govinda, who defeated veteran BJP leader and Petroleum Minister Ram Naik, was greeted equally enthusiastically. Mani Shankar Aiyer, who topped Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s hit list, was clearly overjoyed as he moved around, hugging and backslapping his colleagues. The irrepressible Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi continued with his job of Lok Sabha chief whip as he took to the mike several times to restore order. Mr P. Chidambaram, who returns to the Lok Sabha after a gap, sat quietly in the back benches. Outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna sat in solitary splendour while the Gen Next first timers — Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora and Navin Jindal — sat together, clearly overawed at being present in the Central Hall. |
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Sonia elected CPP leader in her absence
New Delhi, May 15 It was only after the election was endorsed by a show of hands that Mrs Gandhi, clad in a black-and-white sari, made a dramatic entry. Congress sources explained that normally the election is conducted in the presence of the leader. Since Mrs Gandhi is the party President, it was stated it would have been embarrassing for her to preside over a meeting called to elect herself. It was, therefore, decided to conduct the election in her absence. |
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Fears on foreign policy misplaced,
says Cong
New Delhi, May 15 A senior Congress leader told The Tribune that such fears were misplaced. Asked what would be the Congress government’s policy on sending of ex-servicemen and private persons to Iraq, the senior leader, who asked not to be identified, said “All this will have to stop”. Diplomat-turned-politician J N Dixit, said “There will have to be more restrictions in this regard,” he said. |
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Jogi comes in wheelchair to greet Sonia
New Delhi, May 15 Jogi, who defeated former Union Minister V.C. Shukla in a keenly fought election, was badly injured in a road accident during election campaign. A former AICC spokesman, Jogi, was suspended by the party in the wake of cash-for-MLAs scam after the BJP victory in Chhattisgarh Assembly poll a few months ago, but it was revoked shortly before he was given a ticket to fight the Lok Sabha elections. Jogi, who is undergoing medical treatment here, also greeted Rahul Gandhi, who was seated in the front row.
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Sushma, husband to quit RS if Sonia
becomes PM New Delhi, May 15 “I along with my husband will resign from the Rajya Sabha as I cannot see myself addressing Sonia Gandhi as madam Prime Minister. The decision has been taken in deep anguish,” she told a Hindi news channel. Even as Ms Swaraj could not be contacted, BJP spokesperson M A Naqvi said: “It is in no way a party decision”. |
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5 allies back Sonia as PM New Delhi, May 15 Among those who have supported Mrs Gandhi’s candidature as Prime Minister of the new government include the Rashtriya Janata Dal, People’s Democratic Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Telengana Rashtriya Samiti and Lok Janshakti. They have also offered to join the government. A full-fledged meeting of all the allies and supporting parties is scheduled for tomorrow where Mrs Gandhi’s candidature is expected to be endorsed formally. It is also likely to discuss the common minimum programme (CMP), currently being drafted by a four-member committee comprising leaders Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, S. Jaipal Reddy and Arjun Singh. |
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DMK not to join govt for
now
Chennai, May 15 The committee authorised DMK president, Dr M. Karunanidhi, to take the decision at the appropriate time. Addressing newsmen after the meeting Dr. Karunanidhi said, “However, I am going to Delhi tomorrow to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and discuss about formation of the government.” Asked whether the DMK’s support to the Congress-led government would be conditional, he replied, “The question does not arise. We contested the elections in alliance and we want a stable government at the Centre.” He said the DMK’s experience being part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was “bitter” but the present government was a different one. Dr Karunanidhi said the DMK demanded the resignation of the Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu not because of the poll results but because of the fraud it perpetrated on the people by deleting their names from voters’ lists. The state government and the BJP had ill treated the downtrodden, government servants and teachers of Tamil Nadu and deleted names of those voters who they felt would not vote in their favour, he said. |
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Will Mulayam continue as Chief
Minister?
Lucknow, May 15 No one has answer to this question. Even state president of the Samajwadi Party Ram Saran Das is not forthcoming. “Only netaji (Mulayam Singh) can answer this question,” he said in a candid confession. “We will decide when we reach the bridge. But one thing is sure that the Samajwadi Party-led government will complete its full term,” the state president said. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said. “The parliamentary board will decide about my fate. If it asks me I will continue as Chief Minister otherwise I will continue to be Lok Sabha member”. Mr Yadav has won the just-concluded Lok Sabha election from Mainpuri by a margin of over 3 lakh votes. He had also won Assembly byelection of Gunnaur by a record margin. In fact there are two leaders who are waiting in the wings to step into Mr Yadav’s shoes. One is Shivpal Singh Yadav, younger brother of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and at present Agriculture Minister in the UP government, while the other is Amar Singh, chairman of newly formed State Development Council, a conglomerate of heads of industrial houses. “It is too early to discuss this issue,” Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav said. “Our role in the formation of secular government at the Centre is not yet clear.” Mr Amar Singh, on the other hand, ruled out that he is in the race for chief minister’s post. “I am not hankering for any post,” he said. Then there could be a dark horse in form of Mohammad Azam Khan, Urban Development Minister in the state. By projecting Khan as Chief Minister, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav may give signals to Muslims that he is their friend. |
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Lucknow, May 15 BSP topped the list in sending at least four such MPs against whom several cases are pending in courts and whose names spell terror among the local people. The heavyweight brother duo of Umakant Yadav and Ramakant Yadav had an easy entry from Machchlishahr and Azamgarh seats, respectively. while Umakant, contesting from jail, forced a humiliating defeat to Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kesar Nath Tripahti, who ended up on the third spot, Ramakant gave a drubbing to Durga Prasad Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, which he had quit to join the BSP. Ramakant had won the same seat in the last elections as the SP candidate. Another BSP candidate who caused a major upset for the saffron party was Mitra Sen Yadav who staged a convincing victory over BJP’s Laloo Singh in Faizabad. Sen has a long and chequered criminal record and has been perpetually changing parties. In Khalilabad, the contest was between three heavyweights but BSP’s Bhalchand Yadav had the final say. Akshay Pratap Singh, who was recently released on bail, wrested the Pratapgarh seat as a Samajwadi Party nominee. —
PTI |
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Vajpayee likely to be NDA leader in LS
New Delhi, May 15 In that event, the outgoing Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani will be the consensus choice to occupy the seat of Leader of the Opposition. Though refusing to make any formal statement on the issue, pending a formal decision which is likely a day before the Parliament session, some top BJP leaders said Mr Vajpayee had been the leader of the NDA and he should continue to hold that position even when remaining in the Opposition. Moreover, they pointed out that if Mr Vajpayee occupied the chair of Leader of the Opposition he would have to attack Ms Sonia Gandhi, who is likely to be the Prime Minister, repeatedly and would also have to be present in the House on daily basis. Another BJP leader pointed out that even in 1989, Mr Vajpayee was the Leader of the Parliamentary Party of both the Houses of Parliament, while Mr Advani was the Leader of the Opposition. The same arrangement could well be continued, he said. |
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Gowda meets Vajpayee
New Delhi, May 15 While BJP avoided any comment on whether the two leaders discussed government formation in Karnataka, party sources virtually ruled out the possibility of the two parties “entering into a marriage of convenience”. —
PTI |
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EC LS notification
on Monday
New Delhi, May 15 The three-member Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner
T.S. Krishna Murthy will hand over the first copy of the notification containing the name of the elected members in the 539-member House to the President, EC sources said. |
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FIR filed in Bofors case
New Delhi, May 15 Earlier, the Delhi High Court had given a clean chit to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the case and quashed corruption charges against the Hinduja brothers — Gopichand, Srichand and Prakash —and Bofors. However, the High Court had upheld charges of cheating (Section 420, IPC) and criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B, IPC) against the Hindujas and that of fabricating documents (Section 465, IPC) against the Swedish company. —
PTI |
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Action against Iraq job agents ordered
Thiruvananthapuuram, May 15 Three of the four Keralites who managed to flee Iraq and returned safely to their homeland recently met Mr Antony at his office this morning and sought immediate measures to prevent the recruiting agencies from cheating others. After listening to their harrowing tales, the Chief Minister rang up the Kollam SP and directed him to take stringent action against those involved in the racket. Hameed, Shajahan and Faisal told him that they paid Rs 70,000 to a job agent in Kollam to obtain Kuwaiti visas. From Kuwait, they had to travel two days to reach the work site. Only after reaching there, they realised that they were at the Mosul military camp in Iraq. ‘’We have been abused by the American soldiers and asked to work at gun point,’’ said Faisal. ‘’Though we were working in American kitchens, we often went without food during our nine-month stay. I am a devout Muslim and I cannot eat pork,’’ he added. —
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SC: legislative competence no ground to judge
HC jurisdiction
New Delhi, May 15 “In appropriate cases, the high court may refuse to exercise its discretionary jurisdiction by invoking the doctrine of forum conveniens,” a three-judge Bench in a judgement said. The court said if a small part of a cause of action in a case arose within the territorial jurisdiction of a high court, the same by itself
might not be considered to be a determinative factor compelling it to decide the matter on merit. The all important question came before the Supreme Court in an appeal, filed by Mumbai-based company, Kusum Ingots and Alloys Ltd, against the order of the Delhi High Court rejecting its petition. |
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