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Mayawati to decide on support to UPA tomorrow

LUCKNOW: Attacking the UPA government on several fronts, BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday said that her party will take a call on Wednesday whether to continue its outside support to the Centre.

“We will have a meeting of national executive on Wednesday to reconsider whether to continue support to the UPA government or not,” she said addressing BSP workers at a sankalp maharally here to mark the sixth death anniversary of party founder Kanshi Ram.

Mayawati, whose party has 21 MPs in Lok Sabha and is giving outside support to the government along with Samajwadi Party’s 22 MPs, said the next Parliamentary polls slated to be held in 2014, may be advanced and asked her cadres to be ready for it.

“It looks as if Lok Sabha polls could be held earlier,” she said at the well-attended rally, her first major public event after her party lost badly to Samajwadi Party in the UP Assembly polls.

She attacked the government’s foreign and economic policies, saying its “anti-people” decisions have added to the woes of the people including the deprived, Dalits, minorities and farmers.

On the issue of FDI in multi-brand retail, Mayawati left the door open on her party backing it.

“If the financial situation of farmers and small traders improves because of FDI, we could welcome it in future but currently we do not support it,” the BSP chief said.

Accusing the government of “lackadaisical” approach towards bringing back black money stashed away in foreign banks and various scams, Mayawati asked her party workers to work towards strengthening the organisation while warning them about designs of Opposition parties.

“Since the UPA government has not done anything in the interest of the country and the people, it can go all out to woo the electorate by luring them through tall promises which will not really benefit the people. We have to remain vigilant on this count as well,” she said.

The BSP chief also said no government at the Centre has done anything for landless people in states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, where Dalits, backwards and adivasis have been thrown out of their land.

She claimed that this has forced many to become Naxals or choose a wrong course.

Stressing that the social condition of these landless people was akin to that of Dalits, she asked them to unitedly strengthen her party so that they can improve their lot.

Criticising the statement of the Prime Minister that money does not grow on trees, Mayawati said the Centre cannot shun its responsibilities and instead of putting the burden on the poor and middle class, it would be better to pass some of the burden to the capitalists.

“It will be better to put the burden on luxury items instead on the commodities used by common people,” she said.

On reservation in promotions, Mayawati said her party has been fighting for it but the matter is pending in Parliament where the role of Samajwadi Party has been “disgraceful”. — PTI

CBI can probe wealth case against Mayawati: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it clear that the CBI has not been prohibited from probing the disproportionate assets case against BSP chief Mayawati and issued notice to the Centre, CBI and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister on a plea to review its verdict that quashed the DA case.

A bench of justices P Sathasivam and Dipak Misra issued notice and made it clear that it would only clarify its July 6 verdict, quashing the DA case against Mayawati, on a review petition filed in the case.

“We issue notice to the Union of India, CBI and Mayawati only for this clarification,” the bench said.

The court during the argument made it clear that the CBI “is at liberty to probe the DA case and they can approach the government for this.” 

“We never said that CBI has no power to investigate. It can do so, but has to get sanction from the state government,” the bench said.

The Bench further said its verdict quashing the DA case was not to protect anyone 

The review petition has been filed by Uttar Pradesh native Kamlesh Verma who was an intervener in the case filed by Mayawati in the apex court for quashing the DA case against her.

Seeking review of the apex court’s July 6 judgement, the petitioner has argued that the court had decided the case merely on technical grounds without appreciating the evidence collected by the CBI against Mayawati.

In a major relief to BSP supremo Mayawati, the Supreme Court had on July 6 quashed a nine-year-long disproportionate assets case against her and had pulled up the CBI for exceeding its jurisdiction by lodging an FIR against her without any direction from it.

The apex court had said the DA case against Mayawati was “unwarranted” and the agency proceeded against her without properly understanding its orders which were confined to Taj Corridor case relating to the release of Rs 17 crore by UP government allegedly without sanction. — PTI

Plastic chairs thrown at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

PATNA: Angry people hurled plastic chairs at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday when he reached the Nawada district town to address a public meeting as part of his Adhikar Yatra, police said. The chief minister's tour across the state has often been marred by angry demonstrations by people, raising various demand, but the Tuesday incident is the first time that plastic chairs were flung at him.

A senior police official in Nawada said Nitish Kumar did not sustain any injuries.

The chief minister is touring the state addressing public rallies to mobilise support for the demand that the Central government grant special status to Bihar so that it can access more development funds.

Despite unprecedented security during the Adhikar Yatra, it has witnessed angry protests from people on several occasions.

Para teachers, or teachers on contract with the state government, had held up black flags in some districts, demanding parity in pay and terms of employment with regular teachers.

After some such protests, the district administration in some districts, on instructions from the chief minister, banned people either wearing black or carrying black umbrellas, handkerchiefs and flags, from attending the public meetings.

Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students Union of India (NSUI) and All India Students' Federation also staged protests against Nitish Kumar and showed him black flags in Begusarai, Khagaria, Darbhanga and other places.

ABVP is a frontal students organisation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the NSUI is affiliated to the Congress. — IANS

Sonia Gandhi meets rape victim's family

Jind (Haryana): Amid an outrage over a spate of rape incidents in Haryana, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today visited the family of a Dalit teenaged girl, who immolated herself after being allegedly gang-raped in this district on Saturday.

The UPA Chairperson arrived here at about 10 am and went straight to meet the victim's family. She was accompanied by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Union Minister Kumari Selja and Haryana Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala.

The Haryana Government has drawn flak from all quarters, particularly the Opposition, for its alleged failure to prevent incidents of crime against women.

The 16-year-old girl had sprinkled kerosene and immolated herself after allegedly being gang-raped by two youths in Narwana sub-division of the district.

The victim had breathed her last at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences at Rohtak, where she was rushed to from Narwana Civil hospital with 90 per cent burn injuries.

Police has arrested the victim's neighbour Pradeep, the main accused who had dragged the victim to his house, and his accomplice Naveen, who was also charged with raping the girl. Two more people, including Pradeep's sister-in-law, have also been arrested in the case.

French, US scientists win Nobel Prize for physics

STOCKHOLM: French scientist Serge Haroche and American David Wineland won the 2012 Nobel Prize for physics for work in quantum physics, the prize committee said on Tuesday. 

"The Nobel laureates have opened the door to a new era of experimentation with quantum physics by demonstrating the direct observation of individual quantum particles without destroying them," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement on the award of the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize. 

Physics is the second of this year's crop of awards. The prizes, which reward achievements in science, literature and peace, were first awarded in 1901 in accordance with the will of Swedish dynamite millionaire Alfred Nobel. — Reuters