L A T E S T      N E W S

Gadkari issue: RSS says no soft corner for anyone

CHENNAI: Seeking to distance itself from the controversy over business dealings of BJP President Nitin Gadkari, RSS on Friday said the law should take its own course and it does not have a soft corner for anybody. "And those who are found guilty should be punished according to the law", RSS joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabele told reporters on the Gadkari issue after the inauguration of the RSS National Executive Council meet at Kelambakkam on the city outskirts.

Referring to the statement of RSS general secretary Suresh Joshi a few days ago that any individual or organisation indulging in any illegal activity must be subjected to impartial probe and all those found guilty be punished, he said, "The same stand continues".

The three-day meet, being attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and 400 delegates from the country, will deliberate on various issues like illegal immigration from Bangladesh and the proposed Land Acquisition Bill.

Taking exception to the media singling out Gadkari on the issue of alleged land acquisition, he said, "There may be 100 others also (involved in such issue).

"We are not going to discuss it case wise or person wise. We are going to discuss it as a policy of land acquisition. Whoever comes within that will have to stand before the law. That is why we are not giving any soft corner to anybody. We go by policy and have been stressing on that", Hosabele said.

He said "(for RSS) whether the issue of land acquisition or corruption or any other issue, there is no different yardstick. RSS is with the country's interest, nation's interest. Public morality is supreme for us and accordingly we express that." — PTI

Uddhav calls meeting of Shiv Sena MPs, MLAs

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting of party MPs and legislators this afternoon amid reports of deteriorating health of saffron outfit’s patriarch Bal Thackeray. 

Normally a meeting of party MPs is held just ahead of Parliament session but in this case, the winter session is almost three weeks away, so there was speculation over the reason for calling the meeting. 

The meeting, which has got underway, assumes significance owing to reports about 86-year-old Thackeray’s condition. 

Thackeray, who founded the Shiv Sena in 1966, has not been keeping well and, at a Dussehra rally here last week, he addressed party workers via a recorded video message, asking them to support his son Uddhav and grandson Aditya. 

“I have collapsed physically...I can’t walk...I am tired,” he had said in what was seen by many as an indication of his retirement from public life. 

On Thursday, Thackeray’s nephew, Raj, who formed MNS in 2006, met the ailing Sena chief, his fourth meeting in as many months. 

However, talking to reporters after the meeting, Uddhav said Fridays meeting had nothing to do with his father’s health and it was held as per schedule. 

“The meeting was preplanned and not an emergency meeting,” he said. 

In response to a query, Uddhav said, “Everyone is worried about Shiv Sena chief’s health,” and added, “he is receiving medical treatment.” — PTI

TDP loses Yerran Naidu

HYDERABAD: Born in a farmer's family in a remote village, Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu went on to emerge as one of Andhra Pradesh's tallest politicians. The 55-year-old, who died in a road accident in his native Srikakulam district early Friday, was the Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) most familiar face in the national arena. 

A four-time Member of Parliament and a member of Andhra Pradesh Assembly as many times, he always remained loyal to the party which he joined at its inception.

He was in the forefront of the TDP's protests on people's issues. An affable person, he was always accessible to people in his constituency.

Born on February 23, 1957, at Nimmada in Srikakulam district in north coastal Andhra, Yerran naidu came up the hard way and went on to become one of the most popular leaders in the backward region.

The leadership qualities in him were evident in his student days. Yerran Naidu, who obtained a law degree from Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, joined the TDP in 1982 when it was floated by popular Telugu actor NT Rama Rao.

In 1983, he was elected to the state Assembly from Harishchandrapuram in his native district. Belonging to Koppula Velama, a backward caste in the region, he was re-elected in 1985. Denied a TDP ticket in 1989, he fought as an Independent and was re-elected to the Assembly. He later returned to the party fold and was elected for the fourth consecutive term in 1994.

He backed Chandrababu Naidu when the latter led a revolt against NT Rama Rao and became Chief Minister in 1995. He was the government chief whip from 1995 to 1996.

Popularly known as Yeranna among TDP circles, he was fielded by the party in 1996 parliamentary elections. Elected to the Lok Sabha from Srikakulam constituency, he emerged a key TDP leader in national politics. With TDP joining the United Front Government, Naidu became a minister at the Centre, holding the portfolio of Rural Development and Employment.

He retained the Lok Sabha seat in the 1998 and 1999 elections. Two days before polling in the 2004 elections, he survived an assassination bid by Maoists in Srikakulam district. Re-elected to Parliament, he was made the party leader in the Lok Sabha.

In the 2009 elections, Yerran Naidu was defeated by the Congress party's K. Krupa Rani, who was inducted into the Union cabinet last Sunday.

A leader with in-depth knowledge of various issues, Yerran Naidu was a bitter critic of the Congress Party and led a fight against alleged 'misrule' and 'corruption' when YS Rajasekhara Reddy was the Chief Minister.

He had also filed a petition in the high court against YS Jaganmohan Reddy's alleged illegal assets, which led to the court ordering a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Yerran Naidu is survived by his wife Vijaya Kumari, a daughter and a son. — IANS

Judge recuses himself from Kanda bail plea hearing

NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court judge PK Bhasin on Friday recused himself from hearing the bail plea of former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, accused of abetment in the suicide of former flight attendant Geetika Sharma. Justice Bhasin recused himself without citing any reason and posted the matter for November 6 before another Bench.

Kanda on Thursday moved the court seeking bail, challenging the trial court order that dismissed his bail plea.

Geetika, 23, died on the night of August 4-5 at her house in Delhi's Ashok Vihar area.

Her two suicide notes named Kanda and his employee Aruna Chaddha, a former official in Kanda's now-defunct MDLR Airlines, where Geetika had worked. Both denied any involvement in the suicide.

The trial court on September 20 rejected Kanda's bail plea and observed that the investigation was at an initial stage and the release of the accused on bail could hamper the investigation.

The court also asked the police to probe if there was a link between the former flight attendant's death and her pregnancy.

Kanda was forced to resign as Minister of State for Home and Urban Local Bodies in Haryana in the face of public outcry over Geetika's suicide. — IANS

Swamy to Rahul: Fight me in court

New Delhi: After making allegations of fraud against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy has now challenged Rahul to file a defamation suit against him.

Hours after Swamy made the allegations, Rahul’s office sent a letter to him threatening to pursue "all legal actions" against him. Swamy had targeted Rahul and Sonia Gandhi over acquisition of a company that published the now-defunct National Herald newspaper to which Congress gave a loan of over Rs 90 crore.

However, Swamy denied receiving any letter and seemed in mood to fight it out in the court. "Either Rahul Gandhi sends a letter to me or his lawyer. I will throw either of the papers in the dustbin without reading it. My advice to Rahul Gandhi is grow up, go to the court and file a defamation case. I will fight him there," Swamy said. He was quoted as saying by a news channel.

"Our attention has been drawn to your purported press conference of the afternoon of November 1. The allegations made by you are utterly false, entirely baseless and defamatory," the letter said.

Mulayam, Amar likely to patch up 

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and former party general secretary and chief strategist Amar Singh may become friends again.

In a politically significant development indicating that there could be a patch-up soon between the two leaders, the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh has withdrawn all cases of money laundering against Singh.

It is to be noted that the BSP government led by chief minister Mayawati had filed an FIR against Singh, then general secretary in Samajwadi Party, in 2009.

The withdrawal of money laundering cases against Singh indicates the softening of stance taken by the Samajwadi Party chief and a thaw in his relations with the former.

However, the possibility of Singh’s return to the SP camp is still believed to be a far-fetched thought as Mulayam's son and state’s Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is strongly opposed to it.