Five Maharashtra Congress MLAs suspended for two years 

Mumbai: Five Congress MLAs were suspended for two years for allegedly pushing around Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao while protesting against the manner in which the BJP government won the vote of confidence, here Wednesday.

A committee, headed by Speaker Haribhau Bagde will also probe the unprecedented incident in which the suspended legislators and other legislators were accused of blocking the governor's vehicle, preventing him from entering the Vidhan Bhavan for addressing a joint sitting of the Maharashtra Legislature and allegedly pushing him around.

The issue was raised by Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse who demanded that the 12 Congress legislators involved in the unruly incident must apologise or they should be suspended immediately.

Later, the Speaker summoned leaders of Congress and Shiv Sena for a meeting where Congress house leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil tendered an apology saying whatever happened was not intentional.

The Speaker appointed a committee to probe the incident and suspended five Congress legislators rejecting appeals by Leader of Opposition Eknath Shinde and senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal to desist from taking action.

The suspended Congress MLAs are Rahul Bondre, Jaikumar Gore, Amar Kale, Abdul Sattar and Virendra Jagtap.

Denying that they had pushed around the governor, one of the suspended MLAs, Abdul Sattar told media persons that the action against them was rooted in their demand questioning the manner in which the Devendra Fadnavis government pushed through its vote of confidence.

"Everybody saw what happened in full public view... We wanted a meeting with the governor which was not allowed... We were protesting in a democratic manner outside as we were not allowed our say inside the assembly for polling in the confidence vote... We have not demeaned the governor's office in any manner... We shall present our case before the probe committee and also campaign against the minority government all over the state," said Sattar.

BJP leaders termed the blockade of the governor's vehicle and the subsequent pushing around of Governor Rao as "unprecedented in the state's history" while Congress leaders said the BJP was drunk with the arrogance of power in suspending the five legislators.- IANS

Fadnavis govt wins trust vote; Sena, Cong cry foul 

MUMBAI: The 13-day-old BJP government in Maharashtra today won the trust vote in the Assembly but the passage of the confidence motion triggered a huge controversy with the Shiv Sena and the Congress contesting the procedure and claiming it had failed to prove majority.

Calling the development a "black day" in the history of the state, the two Opposition parties announced that they would register their protest with Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao.

Earlier, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar moved a one-line motion seeking confidence of the House in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government, which was put to a voice vote by Speaker Haribhau Bagde.

As the legislators supporting the motion exclaimed "Aye", the Speaker declared it passed, triggering a storm of protest among Shiv Sena and Congress MLAs, who rushed to the Well of the House. Sena earlier in the day formally decided to occupy the main Opposition's space in the Assembly.

"The motion has been passed," Bagde was heard saying over the din. Agitated MLAs of Shiv Sena and Congress were seen arguing with the Speaker even as the decibel level rose steadily, forcing him to adjourn the proceedings.

During the proceedings, members of NCP, which had offered outside support to the BJP government, remained quietly seated.

The Sena had earlier staked its claim to the Leader of Opposition's position and the Speaker had said he would take up its demand after the trust vote as Congress too had demanded the post on the grounds that Sena continues to be a constituent of the BJP-led NDA.

As proceedings resumed, the Speaker announced appointment of Sena Legislature Party leader Eknath Shinde as the Leader of the Opposition in the House.

Led by Shinde, Sena MLAs again took up their protest and called for the confidence motion to be determined by a division of votes.

The BJP has 121 MLAs and, together with NCP's 41, has the support of 162 MLAs, 18 more than required for a majority in the House which has an effective strength of 287. The party has also claimed the support of seven Independents, three of Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi and some others from smaller parties.

Earlier in the day, BJP's Bagde was elected as the Speaker after Vijay Auti and Varsha Gaikwad, the Sena and Congress nominees, respectively, withdrew from the race, sending signals that the trust vote would go through unhindered with the government easily proving its majority with NCP's help.

Unhappy with the confidence motion passed through voice vote, the Sena MLAs said it amounted to "strangling democracy".

"The House should be run as per rules and the Constitution should not be trampled upon. The new government is strangulating democracy. We sought division but the trust motion was passed by voice vote," Shinde said.

Rejecting his contention, however, the Speaker said, "The issue is over. The trust vote has been passed." Fadnavis, joining issue with Shinde, said, "Although there is the word opposition in your designation, the expectation is that you should not oppose each and every issue and support the government's pro-people decisions." Meanwhile, strongly deprecating the passage of confidence motion by a voice vote, former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said it was "unprecedented" in democratic history and demanded that the government seek a division of votes to prove its majority.

"It is a black day for democratic process in Maharashtra.

Never has a confidence motion been passed by voice vote. Until the government proves its majority in the House by division, the government is illegitimate," he told reporters outside the Assembly.

State Congress president Manikrao Thakre held that the motion had "not been passed" as there was no division of votes.

"Being a minority government, it was the duty of the government to pass the motion through division. They are around 25 MLAs short (of majority). The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government fell by one vote in Parliament.

"We will frustrate all attempts to manipulate a majority and not allow the Assembly to conduct any business until the government obtains a fresh trust vote," Thakre said, adding that the party's MLAs will call on the Governor to lodge a formal protest over the issue.

Further, claiming that the Fadnavis government had manipulated the trust vote as it did not enjoy majority in the House, Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said, "Vidhan Sabha stands tarnished today.

"A division would have made it clear whether they have the support of the majority of MLAs. The confidence motion has not been passed." Raising questions about the conduct of the Speaker, Kadam said he would speak to leaders of all non-BJP parties, including NCP, whether a no-confidence motion should be brought against him.

"People of Maharashtra will not forgive the BJP government for what they have done," he said, adding that the party would take legal recourse in the matter. — PTI

MUMBAI: Senior BJP legislator Haribhau Bagde was on Wednesday unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly.

Bagde's name was announced by pro-tem Speaker Jiva Pandu Gavit in the newly-constituted Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Bagde, the MLA from Phulambhari in Aurangabad district, was escorted to the Speaker's chair by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP leader Ajit Pawar, Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and senior most legislator Ganpatrao Deshmukh of PWP.

Fadnavis thanked all the parties for facilitating unanimous election of the Speaker in keeping with the highest traditions of the Lower House.

He described Bagde as a grass root worker and agriculturalist who held several important posts in the BJP as well as the Sena-BJP government in 1995.

Sena leader Eknath Shinde said the party decided to withdraw its candidate after the Chief Minister spoke to party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Earlier, Congress candidate Varsha Gaikwad also withdrew her nomination for the Speaker's post after former ally NCP declined to support her. -PTI

KUALA LUMPUR: International Boxing Association (AIBA) president Wu Ching-kuo on Wednesday said boxer L. Sarita Devi could expect heavy punishment for refusing to accept the Asian Games bronze medal.

The boxer lost in the semifinals of the women’s lightweight competition at Incheon, South Korea, in September, and tried to give her medal to her opponent at the presentation ceremony.

AIBA president Dr CK Wu said the commission will make its ruling “very soon” and forecast a strong penalty.

“She will be heavily punished; there will be zero tolerance,” Dr CK Wu said. “If you accept being the winner, you have to accept being the loser. If everyone behaved like that, what type of competition will we have?”

Sandeep Jajodia, president of Boxing India, last month urged AIBA to revoke Devi’s provisional suspension, saying “it was purely an emotional reaction and not pre-planned.”

But Dr Wu said there would be little forgiveness.

“I said to them, that (apology) doesn’t matter, you need to think before you act,” Dr Wu told the AP.

“She probably will be banned for some time because we want to consider the case that all the referees and judges’ decisions need to be respected.”

Dr Wu said the controversies over scoring at the Asian Games and allegations of impropriety were possibly caused by a misunderstanding of the new scoring system and heightened measures to prevent influencing of judges. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Petrol and diesel prices are likely to be cut by close to Re 1 per litre this weekend on sliding global oil rates.

This would be the seventh reduction in petrol prices since August and the third in rates of diesel since its decontrol last month.

State-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) following the fortnightly review practice, are due to revise rates of petrol and diesel on Saturday.

In all probability, rates will be reduced if the current trend of declining international oil prices continue, industry sources said.

Petrol price was last cut by Rs 2.41 a litre on November 1. On the same day, diesel rates were reduced by Rs 2.25 per litre. A litre of petrol in Delhi today costs Rs 64.25 a litre.

Since August, petrol price has been cumulatively cut by Rs 9.36 per litre.

Diesel price was for the first time in more than five years cut on October 19 by Rs 3.37 a litre when the government decided to deregulated the fuel. This was followed by another cut on November 1 and diesel currently costs Rs 53.35 a litre in Delhi.

Prior to the October 19 reduction, diesel rates were previously cut in January 2009.

Sources said oil firms revise rates of petrol, which was deregulated in June 2010, and diesel on 1st and 16th of every month based on average international oil price and rupee-US dollar exchange rate.

Brent crude fell for a third day amid signs that OPEC members are reluctant to reduce supply even as prices slumped deeper into a bear market. It declined by 82 cents to USD 80.85 per barrel.

Brent has lost almost 30 per cent since its June peak amid speculation that global supply is outpacing demand. — PTI

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court will consider on November 20 CBI's closure report in a coal scam case involving a private firm and persons in which the Supreme Court- appointed special public prosecutor (SPP) has differed with the agency and favoured their prosecution.

Special CBI judge Bharat Parashar sought clarifications from the prosecutors and investigating officer of the case.

"Certain clarifications have been sought. Matter be now put up for consideration on November 20, 2014," the judge said.

On October 27, SPP R S Cheema had differed with CBI's conclusion seeking closure of the case saying the court should proceed against the accused.

He had said there was evidence against the accused and if the court feels, it can take cognisance on CBI's closure report in which the agency has said that "no prosecutable evidence" was found against the company and others, arrayed as accused in its FIR.

If the court takes cognisance on the closure report, it implies that there is sufficient evidence to proceed against the accused.

The SPP, however, had clarified that no tangible evidence could be found against officials of the Coal Ministry.

CBI has filed a closure report in the matter in which it had lodged an FIR against Nagpur-based businessman Manoj Jayaswal, JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd and others for alleged irregularities by the firm in acquiring coal blocks.

On October 14, CBI had filed a revised closure report in the court.

This had come after the court had earlier observed that the probe was "incomplete" and nothing was clear in CBI's closure report and it was irked over the agency adopting different yardsticks in different cases and not following a uniform policy in its investigation.

CBI had earlier told the court that during its probe, it had not found misrepresentation of facts by JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited.

It had lodged an FIR in the case on the allegation that the company had not disclosed to the Coal Ministry that it was already in possession of coal blocks.

The company allegedly signed memorandum of understanding for small periods with a number of companies and added their equity to project their sound financial status at the time of application for coal blocks, CBI had alleged in its FIR.

However, during the investigation, CBI could not find any "prosecutable evidence" against the firm and others and filed a closure report in the case.

The court had earlier sought to know from CBI whether there was "transparency" in the screening committee's decision recommending allocation of coal blocks to JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd. — PTI

LONDON: The families of people who were on board the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 have lashed out at the airline decision that the plane would be declared “lost” by the end of 2014.

According to the Independent, the commercial director of Malaysian Airlines Hugh Dunleavy said that Malaysian and Australian authorities are working towards announcing the loss of the jet formally “by the end of the year”.

He also alleged, in an interview, that the passengers' relatives would have to wait for compensations.

He also Dunleavy claimed that once they have an official loss recorded, they can work on the compensation payments to the families.

The group representing the families of passengers criticized the comments as causing “agony and confusion”. –Agencies

NAY PYI TAW: Asserting that there are "no irritants" in the India-ASEAN relationship, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told ASEAN leaders that a new era of economic development, industrialisation and trade has begun in India and they can be "great partners" for each other.

As India seeks to deepen its engagement with the 10-nation bloc of small and medium economies, Modi said both India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are keen to enhance their cooperation in advancing balance, peace and stability in the region.

"The ASEAN community is India's neighbour. We have ancient relations of trade, religion, culture, art and traditions. We have enriched each other through our interaction. This constitutes a strong foundation of a modern relationship," Modi said in his opening statement in Hindi at the 12th India-ASEAN summit in the Myanmarese capital.

"That is why our world view is similar in many respects; our mutual confidence and trust is strong. We have no irritants in our relationship. We see encouraging opportunities and challenges in the world in similar ways," he said.

Observing that India and the ASEAN have been successful to a considerable extent in pursuing their dreams, Modi said they have laid a foundation for a strong and comprehensive strategic partnership.

"My government has been in office for six months and the intensity and momentum with which we have enhanced our engagement in the East, is a reflection of the priority that we give to this region," the Prime Minister said at the summit held at the sprawling Myanmar International Convention Centre on the second day of his 10-day three-nation tour of Myanmar, Australia and Fiji.

"A new era of economic development, industrialisation and trade has begun in India. Externally, India's 'Look East Policy' has become 'Act East Policy'," he said.

"Rapidly developing India and ASEAN can be great partners for each other. We are both keen to enhance our cooperation in advancing balance, peace and stability in the region," the Prime Minister said. 

"But, our potential is much higher than where we are at the moment," Modi said.

ASEAN, with a population of 600 million, accounts for 8.8 per cent of the world's population.

Presently, India-ASEAN trade is around USD 76 billion, catering to a combined market of 1.8 billion people.

However, India's trade with ASEAN is just three per cent of total ASEAN trade with officials saying there is immense untapped potential.

The two sides have set a target of USD 100 billion for bilateral trade by 2015.

Noting that India has close bilateral relations with each one of the 10 member nations, Modi said it treats the ties with ASEAN with the same importance.

"Today ASEAN has established its own identity and voice in global political and economic affairs. Today, the entire Asia-Pacific region desires integration and cooperation," Modi said.

Observing that the entire Asia-Pacific region desired integration and cooperation, the Prime Minister said, "To achieve this extremely important goal we look at ASEAN, not only for inspiration but also for its leadership; and you have achieved a great deal of success in leading us in that direction." — PTI

MUMBAI: A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Wednesday touched a record high of 28,126.48 points, surpassing its previous high of 28,027.96 points touched Nov 10.

Good buying was observed in banking and auto sectors, while marginal selling pressure was seen in metal sector.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,958.64 points, was trading at 28,043.87 points (at 12.09 p.m.), up 133.81 points or 0.48 percent from the previous day's close at 27,910.06 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 28,126.48 points and a low of 27,958.64 points in the trade so far.

The S&P auto index gained 281.05 points and bankex went up by 213.43 points; while metal index dropped by 35.62 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading at 31.60 points or 0.38 percent up at 8,394.25 points after hitting record high of 8,415.05 earlier in the day.-IANS