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Laloo postpones rally Patna, December 21 “I have decided to postpone the proposed ‘Garib Kisan Rally’ to end the controversy arising out of the commission’s directive against the RJD and filing of a case against me,” he said here. Accusing the NDA of trying to “exert pressure” on the Election Commission to get his rally postponed, the Railway Minister said he decided to hold the public meeting at a later date to avoid any confrontation with the EC. He dismissed the charge that he had
floated the model code of conduct by distributing money among poor women in the Bihta area, near here, on Saturday. “There was no ulterior motive behind distributing money among the women for buying sweets as they wanted to celebrate my elevation as Railway Minister,” he said. An FIR was filed against Mr Yadav yesterday on charges of attempting to bribe the electorate and his party was threatened with derecognition by the EC over the money distribution episode. The commission had directed the Railway Board not to run special trains or divert any trains for the December 23 rally. It deputed a special observer, Sayan Chatterjee, to monitor the rally and despatched its Adviser K.J. Rao to oversee the situation. The three-member commission had taken suo motu notice of media reports of his “serious” violation of the model code of conduct. The commission had also issued a notice to Mr Yadav, asking him to explain why action (derecognition) should not be taken against the RJD under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order. Accusing him of “disregarding and failing” to abide by the model code of conduct and the lawful directions of the EC for conducting a free and fair poll, the commission asked him to reply to the notice by 3 p.m. on December 24. The national executive of the RJD would meets here tomorrow to discuss the strategy for the Assembly poll and other related issues. The meeting, apart from discussing the circumstances leading to the cancellation of the December 23 rally, would deliberate on evolving a strategy to defeat the NDA in the Assembly poll, Bihar Law Minister and party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed Khan said. The meeting would be attended, among others, by the RJD President, Chief Minister Rabri Devi and all MPs and MLAs. The meeting would also discuss a draft to be presented before the commission while explaining the party’s views on the alleged violation of the model code by Mr Yadav, Mr Khan said. He said the meeting would discuss at length the issues to be highlighted during the campaign and enlist the achievements of the Rabri Devi government. Meanwhile, Bihar opposition parties today alleged that the Railway Minister was forced to postpone the party’s rally under duress. BJP spokesperson Kiran Ghai said Mr Yadav postponed the rally after he apprehended its failure after the Election Commission took a tough stand over the alleged violation of the model code of conduct to make the rally successful. She claimed that Mr Yadav could not escape from the close vigil maintained by the EC. LJP chief Narendra Singh claimed that the RJD would realise its strength in the Bihar Assembly elections, which would culminate in the ouster of the Laloo-Rabri regime. He alleged that Mr Yadav postponed the party rally to avoid the EC’s wrath and added that the RJD chief was more eager to misuse government machinery than to believe in his own strength towards making the rally a successful event. Bihar
Samata Party President P.K. Sinha said politicians had been taught a good lesson by the bureaucracy, by taking exception to the violation of the model code of conduct and added that the EC should work in a
non-partisan manner. Meanwhile, Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer began investigations against the Railway Minister today in connection with the alleged violation of the model code of conduct. Senior Patna Police Superintendent N.H. Khan and other senior police officers had been asked to supervise the investigations. The outcome of investigations would largely depend on witness accounts of villagers who had allegedly accepted money from Mr Yadav for ‘’buying sweets’’ to celebrate his appointment as the Railway Minister. ‘’At least 100-odd people are engaged in removing banners, posters and dismantling welcome arches in Patna town, Danapur, Masaurhi, Paliganj and Patna city following enforcement of the model code of conduct,’’ Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami told reporters here.
— PTI, UNI |
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NDA asks PM to axe Laloo New Delhi, December 21 Leading the Opposition attack in the Lok Sabha, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said, “It is strange that the Cabinet Minister has distributed money whether for sweets or anything else, and now he is defending himself openly.” Does not he know that even money given for sweets during election period is a bribe? Prime Minister should take an action against him, he thundered. He said currency notes of Rs 100 were distributed by Mr Laloo Prasad not for removing poverty but with the aim of winning the forthcoming Assembly poll. Expressing dissatisfaction over the government’s response on the issue that the matter was within the purview of the Election Commission and it was for this constitutional authority to decide, members of the BJP and its allies walked out of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Rejecting the Opposition demand for an explanation by Prime Minister, Leader of the House in Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee said “neither Prime Minister nor anyone else has to decide about it. The question of collective responsibility of the Cabinet does not arise. It is for the Election Commission to decide.” NDA members, led by Leader of the Opposition Jaswant Singh, walked out of the Rajya Sabha after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said show-cause notice has been issued by the Election Commission to the RJD President who has been given time till the afternoon of December 24 to reply. The government would not be able to say anything on it in the House until Laloo Prasad responds to the notice, Azad said. “The Leader of the House has let us down with his response. We have still some hope from the Prime Minister,” Vajpayee added before NDA members left the lower House. Meanwhile, the Congress steered clear of the controversy saying it was a matter between the Election Commission and the RJD chief and instead trained its guns on the BJP for its double standards in the matter. “It is for the EC to determine whether any thing wrong was committed. It has given time till 3 p.m. on December 24 for the RJD to respond. We will not like to make any comment before that,” party spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters. Making a scathing attack on the BJP, which had demanded dismissal of the Railway Minister and derecognition of his party, he reminded the saffron party of the sari tragedy in former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Lucknow constituency ahead of the last Lok Sabha poll. “It does not lie in the mouth of the BJP to talk about moral values,” he said referring to the tragedy in which 25 women were killed. He also sought to make a distinction by saying that the EC had issued the notice to Laloo Prasad as RJD chief and not as Railway Minister. Replying to a question whether in view of the development, the Congress would not tie up with the RJD, Sharma made it clear that the EC action would have no bearing on the Congress strategy for the Bihar poll.
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BJP displeased over Speaker not naming Laloo New Delhi, December 21 The Speaker should have named Mr Yadav while making a statement on adjournment in the House, the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, attended by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and party president L.K. Advani, observed here today. Briefing newspersons about the meeting, BJP Parliamentary Party spokesperson V.K. Malhotra said the meeting expressed its displeasure that instead of reprimanding Mr Yadav, the Speaker blamed the NDA for disruption of the House. The BJP felt that Mr Yadav had “insulted” the House by not making a statement on the train accident in Mukerian and instead going to Patna to attend party work. He said the responsibility of running the House smoothly lies more on the government, including the UPA and its allies, the Left parties. Addressing the meeting, Mr Vajpayee said the government was “disintegrating” and the situation in the country was “not good”, Mr Malhotra said. He said the former Prime Minister also regretted that the NDA was not able to raise people’s issues in Parliament because of other matters. The party also discussed the elections in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana. On the issue of violation of model code of conduct by Mr Yadav, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi demanded that the Railway Minister be dropped from the Cabinet by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Modi charged Mr Yadav with mounting pressure on the Dalits, who were “bribed” by him, through official machinery to make a favourable statement that they had received the money to buy sweets and not to vote for his party. The BJP leader said the prompt action by the Election Commission and the subsequent decision by the RJD to cancel the December 23 rally had exposed Mr Yadav, as it had been proved beyond doubt that without the support of official machinery, he could not manage crowd for his rallies. “In fact, there should have been hundreds of FIRs against RJD activists in every district of Bihar for violation of the model code of conduct, but officials are so much terrorised that they look the other way,” Mr Modi alleged. He urged the Election Commission to take all possible steps to ensure free and fair elections in the state. |
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