NEW DELHI: Ending the fortnight-long deadlock, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday staked claim to form the government in the national Capital with outside support from the Congress which it had trounced in the December 4 Assembly polls.

After the political affairs committee (PAC) met this morning and decided to go with the results of the 'referendum' which overwhelmingly favoured the party taking the reins of power, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal met Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and handed over him a letter staking claim to form government.

Fortyfive-year-old Kejriwal, who was the party's face in the elections, will be the new Chief Minister who will be sworn in at a public event in the Ramlila Maidan, the venue of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement for a Janlokpal Bill.

He said he would table a confidence motion in the Assembly and "let's see what happens". This will be the Capital's first minority government.

The date and timing of the swearing-in ceremony would be decided once President Pranab Mukherjee gives his decision, Jung told Kejriwal when he met him.

The Lieutenant Governor told Kejriwal that he would send the proposal of government making to the President for his decision.

After the two-hour-long meeting of the PAC at AAP office in Kausambi nearby Ghaziabad district, Kejriwal said AAP has decided to give a letter to the Lieutenant Governor expressing its readiness to form the government.

"We were called by the Lieutenant Governor to discuss government formation on December 14. We had sought time to take a decision as ours is a party of common people and we want to their views.

"We got responses from the citizens through website, phone calls, SMS and by holding public meetings and most of them favoured government formation by AAP. We are now going to give the letter to LG saying that AAP is ready to form the government," Kejriwal told reporters at AAP's office in Kausambi here.

He said the party held 280 public meetings across Delhi and in 257 such gatherings people favoured formation of government by the party while the rest opined that they it should not take powers.

There has been deadlock over government formation in Delhi for nearly two weeks after the announcement of the results on December 8. AAP has 28 seats while Congress with 8 has agreed to give outside support. BJP is the single largest party with 31 seats in its kitty.

A civil servant-turned-politician, Kejriwal had himself participated in scores of meetings in the last one week to know people's views on government formation.

The debutant party was under pressure to form government after BJP refused to do so and Congress wrote to Delhi lieutenant governor about giving unconditional support to AAP to form the government.

Earlier, both Congress and BJP had attacked AAP for refusing to form the government, saying it was shying away from the responsibilities knowing that it cannot fulfil the promises like cutting the power tariff by 50% and providing 700 litres of free water daily to each household in the city.

After the results of the polls were out, AAP had ruled out taking support of any political party to form the government, saying it will play the role of a "constructive opposition".

Asserting that there was no confusion over the chief ministerial candidate, Sisodia said Kejriwal has been party's choice for the top post.

"There were rumours about who will be the Chief Minister. AAP had said earlier that the party would contest election with Arvind Kejriwal as CM candidate. Then in our manifesto also we have reiterated this. After the election results were out, he was elected as the leader of the legislative party. So Arvind Kejriwal will be the Chief Minister," Sisodia said.

To criticism about holding public meetings on the issue, Kejriwal said unlike other parties, AAP wants participation of public on important issues and to bring real democracy.

AAP, which made an electrifying debut in the polls, was formally launched on November 26, 2012.

It came into existence following differences between Kejriwal and Hazare regarding whether or not to politicize the popular India Against Corruption (IAC) movement that had been demanding a Jan Lokpal Bill since 2011.

Hazare preferred that the movement should remain apolitical while Kejriwal felt the failure of the agitation route necessitated a direct political involvement.

The AAP has led several protests since its formation. Among these was a campaign against an alleged nexus between government and private corporations relating to price rise for electricity and water in Delhi. Another saw the party demanding justice for victims of sexual harassment and rape, including the introduction of a stronger anti-rape law. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Sheila Dikshit, whose 15-year-old reign was ended by Aam Admi Party in the Assembly elections, today made it clear that Congress support to it was "not unconditional".

Welcoming AAP's decision to form the government, she hoped the new party will be able to fulfil the promises made to people.

"We had said that we will give them outside support. The support is not unconditional. I congratulate them for deciding to form government and hope that they will be able to fulfil the promises they made to people of Delhi," Dikshit told reporters.

Earlier, AAP decided to form government in the city by taking outside support from the Congress. The party took the decision to form the government at a meeting of political affairs committee after analysing the results of the public referendum it had carried out in the last few days on the issue.

Dikshit said Congress will continue its support to AAP as long it delivers but expressed doubts whether the party will be able to fulfil all its promises like cutting power tariff by 50% and providing 700 litres of free water daily to each household.

"We will support them as long they deliver. We already knew that it is not possible to fulfil the kind of promises they made," the three-time chief minister said.

"We are extending outside support. It is not unconditional. We are supporting them only for the policies they are talking about. If they can provide relief to the people of Delhi, it is well and good," she said.

The Congress was trounced by the AAP in the December 4 polls as it managed to win only eight seats in the 70-member Assembly.

Dikshit was critical of AAP leaders as she accused them of using "uncivilised" language against the Congress even after it announced support to the new party.

"Their language is not good. It is uncivilized. We can criticize each other but the language should be civil," she said.

Congress general secretary in charge of Delhi Shakeel Ahmed said the party was with AAP. — PTI

Justice Ganguly complains to CJI, says not
addressed correctly by SC

KOLKATA: Denying that he had ever harassed or made any unwelcome advance to any intern, former Supreme Court judge A K Ganguly on Monday complained to Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam saying he was not addressed correctly by the apex court.

"I have been distressed by some recent happenings. I am anguished that the Supreme Court under your Lordship did not address me correctly," Justice Ganguly said in an eight-page-long letter to the CJI, which he said was also being forwarded to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Stating that after deep consideration of all that was going on in the media with reference to some allegations of an intern against him, Ganguly said he was constrained to break his silence.

"First of all, I wish to make it clear that I never harassed nor did I make any unwelcome advances to any female intern. The very suggestion of it, to say the least, is out of tune with my personal conduct," said Justice Ganguly, who is the chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission.

"I have made helpful contributions to many interns both male and female. To this date, I am treated with unbound respect and regards by them," he wrote in the letter. — PTI

NEW DELHI: India and the US may be moving towards a resolution of the stand-off over senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade's case with the envoy getting exemption from personal appearance in a New York Court hearing visa fraud charges against her even as she got her accreditation to the UN headquarters.

Khobragade, who was arrested on December 12 in New York, had been transferred by the government to its mission to the UN with a view to giving her full diplomatic immunity. Her accreditation is expected to be followed by some paperwork at the US state department for which India has already submitted the papers.

Simultaneously, her exemption from personal appearance in the court is a significant step towards a way out of the stand-off created by her arrest and strip search which had evoked a sharp reaction by the Indian government which has been pressing the US to drop the charges against her unconditionally.

Thirtynine-year-old Khobragade, a 1999-batch IFS officer posted as Deputy Consul General in New York, was taken into custody on visa fraud charges as she was dropping her daughter to school before being released on a $2,50,000 bond after pleading not guilty in court.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy here has sought extension of today's deadline for filing the visa and other key details of the Indians employed by it and its officers. This information includes salary being paid to domestic help employed by US diplomats in India. — PTI

New Indian envoy to arrive in Washington amid row over diplomat's arrest

Washington: S. Jaishankar, the new Indian Ambassador to the US, will arrive here tomorrow to take charge amid a raging diplomatic row over the arrest and strip-search of senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade on visa fraud charges.

Jaishankar, who till recently was India's Ambassador to China, arrives in Washington at a time when bilateral ties threatens to hit a low in more than a decade now in the aftermath of the arrest of Khobragade.

In protest against her arrest and her mistreatment by US Marshals, India has demanded an apology and withdrawal of charges against the 39-year-old Deputy Consul General at the Indian consulate in New York.

New Delhi has retaliated by withdrawing a slew of privileges being provided to American diplomats in India for decades. But, the US has refused to drop charges and tender an apology.

Known as one of the brightest foreign service officials of his generation, who played a key role in the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, Jaishankar's first task would be to prevent the relationship from getting derailed any further.

Even as he arrives in Washington, he would have to wait for several weeks before he can formally present his diplomatic credentials to US President Barack Obama at the White House.

Obama, who is currently enjoying year-end vacation with his family in Hawaii, is schedule to return only on January 5.

The White House has not announced any schedule of the President for credentialing of foreign diplomats, which is normally done in groups.

Jaishankar, who is proficient in Russian and also knows Japanese and Hungarian, succeeds Nirupama Rao.

Born in New Delhi in 1955, Jaishankar is son of prominent Indian strategic affairs analyst, commentator, and civil servant K. Subrahmanyam and brother of historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam. — PTI

LUCKNOW: Amid speculation over a possible tie-up between Congress and BSP for the 2014 General Elections, Union Minister and Congress leader Beni Prasad Verma on Monday ruled out any such alliance, claiming that his party would alone win 50 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

“There would be no alliance between Congress and BSP...not till I am around,” Verma told reporters in Lucknow.

“Our party would alone win 50 seats in Uttar Pradesh...people are underestimating us,” Verma said, claiming that the party has emerged as the top choice for Muslims.

A certain section of the media have reported that Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party might come into an alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

To a question, he said he would like to contest from his sitting Gonda seat as well as from his previous Kaiserganj seat in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

“If Rahul Gandhi allows me, I also want to contest from Kaiserganj seat, where there had been no development in the past few years for which I feel bad,” he said, adding that he did not want to leave his sitting Gonda seat either.

On the state government declaring Chaudhary Charan Singh’s birth anniversary as a holiday, Verma said that though the late Prime Minister was an idol for both him and his “brother” Mulayam Singh, he felt that a holiday would hamper government work and will be a disadvantage. — PTI

PANAJI: A local court on Monday extended the judicial custody of Tehelka founder editor Tarun Tejpal for 12 days even as his lawyer moved a bail petition.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Sarika Faldesai extended the judicial custody of Tejpal, after his initial 12-day custody expired on Monday.

Tejpal, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman journalist, has been lodged in Sada sub jail near Vasco town.

The lawyers representing Tejpal on Monday moved a petition before the district court seeking his bail stating that “the accused has not been questioned by police since he was lodged in the judicial custody.”

The petition mentions that Tejpal was only questioned when he was in the police lock-up, and was not interrogated from the time he was remanded in judicial custody.

Hearing on the bail petition would be held on December 26.

Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting a junior woman colleague in a hotel here in early November, was arrested by the Goa Police on November 30.

He has been booked under IPC sections including 354-A (sexual harassment, physical contact, advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures, or any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature), 376 (rape) and 376 (2)(k) (rape by a person of a woman in his custody taking advantage of his official position). — PTI

SRINAGAR: The higher reaches of Kashmir received fresh snowfall even as the minimum temperature across the valley and Ladakh region further fell to settle below the freezing point.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, received 0.5 mm of rainfall during the night and the mercury went down to settle at a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, as compared to the previous night's 0.3 degrees Celsius, an official of the Met Department said.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg received around 1.25 cm of snow and the night temperature recorded a drop of three degrees to settle at a low of minus 9.6 degrees Celsius as compared to 6.6 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Pahalgam hill resort, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, received 20 cm of snow, the official said, adding the mercury there settled at a low of minus 4.0 degrees Celsius, as against minus 2.4 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Qazigund - the gateway town to Kashmir Valley - recorded a low of minus 2.6 degree Celsius, almost three degrees down as compared to the previous night's 0.2 degrees Celsius.

The town received 2 cm of snow, he said. Kokernag, in south Kashmir, which recorded a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, registered a minimum of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius today.

Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a minimum of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius compared to 0.3 degree Celsius the previous night.

Kokernag and Kupwara recorded 12.4 mm and 1.1 mm of rains respectively.

The night temperature also decreased in Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, remained the coldest place in the state as the mercury settled at a low of minus 9.0 degrees Celsius as against minus 6.2 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The Met department has said there is a possibility of light rain or snowfall at a few places in the state.

The Kashmir Valley is currently going through Chillai-Kalan - the 40-day harshest period of winter. — PTI