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CPI ask
Cong to form govt by May 22 SP to
support govt from outside Manmohan
Singh: A Profile |
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I will
work for party: Rahul Rigorous
fiscal steps by Scindia govt must Hard
bargaining ahead in Karnataka Crisis
at Centre delays AP ministry formation Commando
hurt at Akshardham dead
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CPI ask Cong to form govt by May 22 New Delhi, May 19 The CPI General Secretary, Mr A.B. Bardhan, told TNS here today that they handed over a fresh letter of support to the Congress. This became necessary after Ms Sonia Gandhi refused to accept the post of the Prime Minister and proposed instead the name of a former Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. The letter addressed to the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, commits CPI’s support to the secular government led by the Congress. Mr Bardhan said he called on Ms Gandhi today morning and assured her that they would support the candidate nominated by the party for the Prime Minister’s post. He also impressed upon Ms Gandhi the need to ensure that the next Prime Minister was sworn in by May 22. Later in the day, Mr Bardhan and the party National Secretary, Mr D. Raja, called on a former Prime Minister, Mr V.P. Singh at his 1, Teen Murti residence to consult him about the common minimum programme (CMP) for governance. Mr Bardhan said they had already forwarded their suggestions but were awaiting a draft from Dr Manmohan Singh. Commenting on reports in a section of the media about clarifications sought by Dr Kalam from Ms Sonia Gandhi about her citizenship, Mr Bardhan asked, It is highly objectionable that the President has been dragged for bolstering up insinuations made by the BJP and the Sangh Parivar.” |
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SP to support govt from outside New Delhi, May 19 Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh said the party's Parliamentary Board had decided to go by the decision of the Left parties. “As the CPM is not joining the
government, we are also not joining it,” Mr Amar Singh said. Mr Amar Singh met CPM General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet this morning and told him the Samajwadi Party would follow the CPM in not joining the government but extend outside support. Mr Amar Singh said the Samajwadi Party's support to a Congress-led government was unconditional but the party would keep its eyes open. He admitted the party had not been invited for consultations on preparing the draft common minimum programme but hoped its suggestions would find place in the document. Asked whether Ms Sonia Gandhi's decision to decline the top post vindicated his earlier stand on the foreign-origin issue, Mr Amar Singh said he had been keeping silent on the matter after the Supreme Court verdict. Mr Amar Singh supported the name of Mr Manmohan Singh for the Prime Minister's post, saying that the former Finance Minister was a man of stature. He said a fresh letter of support to a Congress-led Government was not required as the party had already given a letter to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Mr Amar Singh said Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav had chosen Chief Minister's post over becoming Member of Parliament and would resign from the Lok Sabha to remain in the top post in Uttar Pradesh. |
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Manmohan Singh: A Profile New Delhi, May 19 As a career economist, the unassuming Dr Singh may wish to run the government in a CEO-like manner — although the political checks and balances may warrant a different paradigm. Known to be close to the first family of the Congress, he himself never uttered a single word about his ambitions even as his name as the alternative to Ms Sonia Gandhi for the Prime Minister’s post began doing the rounds. Dr Singh, as and when he assumes office, will have the satisfaction of seeing his “idea” bloom to a great extent. His stint in North Block as the Finance Minister during 1991-96 began in a crisis. The economy was on the brink of bankruptcy, with less than $ 1 billion as foreign exchange, not even enough to clear the bills of two weeks’ import payments. Today, the forex kitty is more than 100 times what he had begun with ($ 118 billion presently) — something he should be proud of. “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come”, Dr Singh had quoted Victor Hugo while making his Budget speech in 1994-95. Perhaps, the time has again come for the nation for welcoming him. In a way the 71-year-old Dr Singh, who was born on September 26, 1932, at Gah (West Punjab), can be credited with the creation of the “great Indian middle class” by unleashing the free spirit of entrepreneurship and wealth creation. His critics, most of whom, ironically, would be his colleagues from the Left parties, had sometimes accused him of ushering in an age of consumerism and pursuing bourgeosie policies. But at least, his admirers say, the policies have changed, in a very fundamental manner, the thinking of Indian people. “When I was the Finance Minister and started the economic reforms programme, we went forward with the process even when others had opposed it, as we thought the direction was right”, Dr Singh, had told The Tribune in an interview recently. The question uppermost in minds of many is whether his political inexperience may become a handicap. Fortunately, he enjoys the confidence of Ms Gandhi which should work as a shield against the murky ways of politics. Educated at universities of Punjab, Cambridge and Oxford, Dr Singh has been a technocract known for his financial skills to hammer out solutions for complex macro-economic issues. He would face many antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions while addressing the basic issues of “roti, kapda aur makan.” Add to this, the rising expectations of the middle class and the fundamental demands of “bijli, sadak and pani,” his plate appears to be already full. In a way, as one of his close associates put it, he carries on his shoulders the burden of the common man. His stint at the IMF and the South Commission should come handy as he deals with the international fora where his economic insight will assist him. In the globalised economy and challenges from the emerging multi-lateral trade regime under the aegis of the WTO, Dr Singh can be expected to forcefully articulate the rights of the developing world. Barring the first two Prime Ministers, he has been associated in the capacity of a professional economist with all Congress premiers. He was Economic Adviser to both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi before taking over an unstinted term of five years as the Finance Minister in Narasimha Rao’s Cabinet. His imprint is writ large in policy making within the Congress as can be distinctly seen from the Congress manifesto where he promises to “ensure a bright and secure economic future for every family of the country”. Even though he has been a key member of the country’s economic think-tank in various capacities, including that of RBI Governor (1982-85) and Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission (1985-87), Dr Singh’s political career received a jolt when he failed to secure the confidence of voters of South Delhi in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. Ironically, despite his impeccably clean and honest image, people had rejected him then. |
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I will
work for party: Rahul New Delhi, May 19 “I don’t think there is any question of power centres in the party. Dr Manmohan Singh is my leader. There will be complete support from the party,” he told reporters. Asked whether he would become a minister in the new government, Rahul said he would not be in the government. “I don’t think I am needed in the government. I am needed in the party. I think there will be many people better than me who will be in the Cabinet.” Asked if he would become party general secretary, he said “I don’t know.” Rahul said Dr Manmohan Singh was an experienced leader who had carried out the reforms successfully. “We have a lot of hope,” he said. Rahul said the choice of Dr Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister had been made by the senior leaders of the party. He said the Congress was not afraid of the BJP but “pitied it as that party did not understand the country’s ethos.” |
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Amarinder’s
plea to Sonia New Delhi, May 19 Ms Gandhi listening to her inner voice had declined to become the Prime Minister of the country despite being elected as the CPP leader and party allies giving letter of support to the Congress-led coalition government and hysterical party workers urging her to reconsider her decision. In a joint statement, the two leaders said the country had given a clear and decisive mandate to Ms Sonia Gandhi and the Congress to lead the fight against communal, fascist, and divisive forces in the country. It was because of her leadership that the people had reposed overwhelming faith in the Congress to give a rebuff to the communal forces, they said, and urged Ms Gandhi to reconsider her decision. |
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Cong workers go on
the rampage New Delhi, May 19 Though the signals given by Ms
Gandhi at yesterday’s meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party
and the flurry of meetings since the morning today gave indications to
the party workers about Ms Gandhi’s unwillingness to change her
mind, they were not in a mood to give up. BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj,
Govindacharya and Uma Bharti were the main targets of attack by
Congress workers with slogans raised against them and their effigies
burnt. Many Congress workers felt the threat of a divide on the
foreign origin issue, given by Sangh Parivar outfits, had influenced
Ms Gandhi’s decision to opt out. Shouting “Sonia Gandhi Zindabad”
and “Desh ki neta kaisi ho, Sonia Gandhi jaisi ho”, they urged her
to change her decision. Nine-year-old Sadhna Bharati was among those
to sit in dharna outside the residence of Ms Gandhi. Several party
leaders, including former MP Satiajit Gaekwad and AICC secretary RPN
Singh staged a sit-in at the gate leading to her house. Workers vent
their anger on those perceived to be talking against their wish of
seeing Ms Gandhi as Prime Minister. The victims included a journalist. |
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Cong men burn Sushma’s effigy Mumbai, May 19 All newly elected Congress MPs from Maharashtra had also decided to submit their resignations if Mrs Gandhi did not reconsider her decision. Meanwhile, angry Congress workers burnt an effigy of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj here who had threatened to tonsure her head. Meanwhile, the security was beefed up outside the offices of the BJP. |
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Rigorous fiscal steps by Scindia govt must Jaipur, May 19 It is apprehended that during 2004-05, the total expenditure on salaries, additional dearness allowance, wages, bonus etc. would go up to 140 per cent of the total tax revenue of the state. This would mean state government employees and pensioners alone would consume the entire tax revenue of the state and hardly any money would be left for development programmes. During the year 1993-94, the expenditure was to the tune of Rs 2198 crore which shot up to Rs 7676 crore during 2003-04. The payment of pensions alone constituted one-third of the expenditure incurred on salaries and wages combined together, Prof. C. S. Barla, Director of Research at the Social Policy Research Institute based in Jaipur, said. The debt on the state government during the past one decade has skyrocketed from Rs 10006 crore to Rs 53509 crore. When the Congress came to power it criticised the outgoing Shekhawat government for its unwise decisions that rendered the state coffers empty and left a heavy debt of Rs 22000 crore. But when the Gehlot government was ousted in December 2003 by the BJP under the leadership of Ms Vasundhraraje Scindia, it left a legacy of a debt of nearly Rs 47000 crore. The government had to float further loans and within five months the figure was over Rs 6,000 crore. This indicates an increase of 18.2 per cent per year the gross domestic produce at the current rates has gone up by only 11.8 per cent. The outgoing Gehlot government had prepared the Annual Plan of Rs 4258 crore for the year 2003-2004 which, according to the statement of the Chief Minister, has been increased to Rs 6398 crore, including the money earmarked for the “100-day Development Programme” taken up by the government. This increase of over 50 per cent came as a surprised many specialists. The Annual Plan for 2004-2005 has been proposed for Rs 6492 crore, which is to be considered by the Planning Commission. The Rajasthan bureaucracy has been working on an exercise to prepare a document to be named as “Economic Vision — 2025”. The idea behind this long-term agenda is to speed up the pace of development in the state. It entails an estimated investment of Rs 3000 billion. While a vision of two decades ahead has to stand the test of changing times, the people of Rajasthan are only anxious to see how the new government embarks upon its development projects and programmes and how it ensures that their fruits were reaped by weaker sections. |
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Hard bargaining ahead in Karnataka Bangalore, May 19 With the parties getting ready for some hard bargaining, a scheduled meeting tomorrow between the Governor and the Congress, and with the BJP, which is the single largest party, may not necessarily yield a quick resolution. JD (S) legislative party leader Siddaramiah met the Governor yesterday and informally staked a claim, saying that the party had support from the Congress. The Congress had initially soft-pedalled the whole situation, indicating that it had accepted the people’s rejection (65 seats down from 132) and was willing to support a
JD (S)-led government which has 59 seats. Slowly, however, the stance seems to have changed, and they are now insisting on a Congress-led government, a la the Maharashtra model, rejecting the J and K model. Many BJP leaders continue to state that they would be willing to support a JD (S)-led government, though JD (S) president Deve Gowda has ruled out any truck with the BJP. The Congress has now upped the ante by actually throwing in a couple of CM aspirants into the ring. |
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Crisis at Centre delays
AP ministry formation Hyderabad, May 19 The new Congress Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, sworn in on May 14, has not been able to form the ministry as he is waiting for an appointment with Sonia. Given the sudden turn of developments in Delhi, it is not likely that the Chief Minister will be in a position to put a Cabinet in place by this weekend. Dr Reddy, in fact, made two visits to Delhi with the list of ministerial candidates to get the nod from Sonia Gandhi. Mrs Sonia’s sudden decision to withdraw her candidature on Tuesday means that it will be a while before she can turn her attention to the Andhra Pradesh ministry formation. The Chief Minister left for Delhi on this morning and is expected to return to the state only after finalising the list. |
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Commando hurt at
Akshardham dead New Delhi, May 19 Surjan Singh Bhandari died around at 4.25am, his brother Commandant Uttam Singh told PTI in Ahmedabad. Bhandari had been suffering from kidney problems and high fever in the last few days, Commandant Uttam Singh said, adding that he died in his sleep. The 26-year-old Surjan, an NSG commando selected from the Army’s Garhwal Scouts in 2000, was part of the elite group that was air-dashed to Gujarat on September 24 after two terrorists stormed the Akshardham temple complex in Gandhinagar. Firing indiscriminately and hurling grenades, the terrorists had killed 39 persons, including devotees and two security persons. The NSG commando team managed to gun down the terrorists in the wee hours on September 25 but lost one of their own men. Surjan was injured in the cross-fire. He was immediately rushed to the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad where he slipped into a coma and was put on a ventilator in a special ward with round-the-clock surveillance. He was shifted to a special ward in the AIIMS at the request of his brothers in October 2003. The deceased commando’s two brothers are also in the defence services. Arrangements were being made to fly the body to Surjan’s native village in Uttaranchal.
— PTI |
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New Delhi, May 19
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