 |
|
Push development plans,
PM urges new CMs CBI files FIR against
Jogi, son Maharashtra to hand over Telgi case to CBI Cong dilemma hits Oppn unity
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sonia flays PM for condoning corruption Party searching for answers
Shiv Sainiks to take on SP, NCP CVC didn’t give any names to
PM, says govt
|
||||||||||||||
|
Push development plans,
PM urges new CMs New Delhi, December 9 This was decided at the luncheon meeting chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the residence of BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu. The meeting, organised to celebrate the landslide victory of the party in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, was attended among others by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and six of the seven BJP Chief Ministers. Having pushed the ‘development agenda’ aggressively in the just concluded Assembly polls, the Prime Minister wanted the BJP Chief Ministers to make an earnest effort to fulfil the promises made by them before Assembly polls, while assuring adequate Central support. An assessment of each BJP-ruled state would help the party and the Government to take corrective steps and identify the thrust areas ahead of polls. To ensure that the Centre supplemented the state governments’ effort to fulfil the promises, Mr Vajpayee was understood to have asked the BJP Chief Ministers to prepare performance report/action plan for their respective states. Briefing newspersons after the meeting, Mr Naidu said the CMs meeting would formulate an action plan to achieve ‘Mission 2004’ — by winning 300 seats for the party and two-third majority for the NDA in the Lok Sabha Election. Besides newly elected Chief Ministers — Ms Uma Bharati of Madhya Pradesh, Ms Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan and Mr Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh, others who attended the meeting were Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parikkar. Only Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Gegong Apang could not make it to the meeting. The three new Chief Ministers were asked to draw up priority plans and come up with a proposals for implementation during the first year. During the meeting, the Prime Minister was understood to have assured them adequate Central funds to suit their requirements, besides Central intervention and help wherever necessary. In this context, they were asked to submit a ‘requirement report’ to enable the Finance Minister to take appropriate steps. Mr Vajpayee was also understood to have asked the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharati to sit together and sort out the issues relating to ‘electricity-sharing’, ‘assets sharing’ and ‘cadre adjustment’ between the two states.” Mr Raman Singh said that he already had a preliminary discussion on the power issue with Ms Bharti and indicated that the Chhattisgarh Government could work out a temporary mechanism for supplying more electricity to Madhya Pradesh pending a formal arrangement, which would take a few months. The Centre, too, would extend a helping hand and there would be more coordination between the Centre and the states since both governments belonged to the same party, Mr Naidu said adding “there was no dearth of funds and there is only need for better planning and implementation.” |
|
MPs exhorted to prepare for Lok Sabha elections New Delhi, December 9 Addressing the party’s Parliamentary Party meeting, Mr Vajpayee said, “the Opposition cannot face the defeat in the assembly elections and they will make efforts to vitiate the atmosphere. So, we should be careful”. The Prime Minister said the party’s victory in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had brought about a change in the country’s political atmosphere. He attributed the win to team work. He told the meeting, attended by the three newly-sworn in Chief Ministers, that they should chalk out two plans — one for 100 days and the other for long term. They should make efforts to immediately provide basic amenities, including adequate power and water, to the masses, he asserted. Mr Vajpayee told the meeting that the party should now begin preparations for the Lok Sabha polls slated for next year. He said people have a lot of expectations from the party and, therefore, there was need to chalk out short-term and long-term plans for welfare of people. Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani told the meeting that the Assembly polls would provide the necessary morale booster to the party which now has to begin preparations for ‘Mission 2004’, that is Lok Sabha elections. Hitting out at the Congress, Party President M Venkaiah Naidu said it was ‘shameful’ that Congress was indulging in all kinds of tactics in Chhattisgarh to retain power. Thanking the party leadership and cadres for BJP’s victory, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharati said the emphasis on development and good governance during the campaign had yielded rich dividends. Her counterpart from Rajasthan, Ms Vasundhara Raje, said the election campaign by party’s top leadership, led by the Prime Minister, had galvanised the cadres ensuring victory for the party. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said the party’s move not to project anyone as chief ministerial candidate was one of the factors that enabled it to defeat Congress. He said Ajit Jogi’s efforts to break the party and other such tactics had failed since people of the state were fully with BJP. Besides the three CMs, the Parliamentary Party honoured four other leaders who had played a key role in the party’s win in the assembly polls. They are party general secretaries Pramod Mahajan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley. Surprisingly, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ravi Shankar Prasad did not find a mention for the honour. |
|
CBI files FIR against Jogi, son
New Delhi, December 9 An FIR was filed before a designated court against Jogi, Amit and Congress MP P R Kunte following the Chhattisgarh Government’s decision to hand over the case to the agency, CBI sources said. The case alleges that Jogi used “unfair” means to prevent the BJP from forming government in the state despite having a majority. Meanwhile, the telephone on which talks were held and recorded between Ajit Jogi and ‘disgruntled BJP leader’ Virender Panday happened to be a ‘one-way phone’ because the Bharat Sanchar Nigam had barred Mr Pandey’s outgoing call facilities for non-payment. Mr Panday, who was a star attraction at the Luncheon meeting hosted by Mr M Venkaiah Naidu for exposing Jogi in the act of purchasing MLAs, disclosed to newspersons that it was sheer luck on his part that the call came from the other side. “I was worried that the BSNL would disconnect the phone,’’the recordings could not be possible, Mr Pandey, a low profile office bearer in the BJP set-up, said.
A CBI team is going to Raipur tomorrow to question Amit Jogi. The suspended Congress leader is himself in New Delhi and he is likely to be summoned to the CBI headquarters for interrogation.
— PTI, UNI |
|
Maharashtra to hand over Telgi case to CBI
Nagpur, December 9 Announcing this at the state Legislative Assembly while replying to a debate in the House, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said the Democratic Front government had decided to hand over the case to the Central agency after due consideration. Mr Bhujbal, who is also the Home Minister, said legal formalities into the handing over process would be completed soon. Mumbai: Investigators from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the fake stamp racket masterminded by Abdul Karim Telgi have unearthed the evidence of a senior police official taking money from the accused, sources here say. The SIT has so far raided several houses belonging to arrested Assistant Commissioner of Police M.C. Mulani and his relatives in Pune and Sangli and recovered incriminating evidence against him. In submissions before the Pune Judicial Magistrate M.N. Bondre, Public Prosecutor, Raja Thakre said investigators have sealed bank accounts belonging to Mulani and claimed that it had substantial evidence to prove that arrested police officer M.C. Mulani had taken money from Abdul Karim Telgi. Documents seized from Mulani’s houses reveal that he had taken a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from Telgi for removing the names of his wife and daughter from the FIR prepared in the fake stamp case. Mulani had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 2 crore, but this was reduced following negotiations.
— UNI, OC |
|
|
Cong dilemma hits Oppn unity New Delhi, December 9 The Leader of the Opposition, Mrs Sonia Gandhi has not been able to follow the usual practice of convening her regular floor coordination meetings with other opposition parties this session precisely because the Congress is unable to choose between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Now that the BSP has split with the ruling NDA, the Congress will like to forge ties with it and invite it for the joint opposition strategy sessions. It is, however, unable to do so as it will mean inviting the SP’s ire. “Please understand our dilemma..... we have not yet severed our links with the SP, so how can we embrace the BSP,” said a senior Congress leader, stating that being a minor player in Uttar Pradesh, it is becoming a hard choice between two “undependable and unpredictable” parties. Since the Congress is still mulling its choices, it has abdicated the job of calling floor strategy sessions to CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee. The latter tested the waters last week when he invited the BSP for the meeting of opposition parties.It turned out to be an embarrassing affair with BSP MP Rashid Alvi striking a sour note when he objected to the presence of SP leader Ramji Lal Suman. In an angry response, SP General Secretary Amar Singh threatened that if the BSP is invited, their party will henceforth not attend the joint opposition strategy sessions. Faced with an angry ally and a division in the opposition ranks, CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee refrained from inviting the BSP for today’s floor coordination meeting. Denying they had been pressurised by the SP, Mr Chatterjee maintained that it was decided to continue with the old arrangement as the BSP had chosen to raise “bilateral issues” at a meeting which was essentially meant to chalk out a joint strategy in Parliament on national issues. The Congress’s dilemma on “BSP vs SP” was evident as party spokesperson S. Jaipal Reddy had no ready answer when questioned about the line-up for today’s meeting. He maintained that since it is the CPM which had convened the meeting, it was for its leader to decide on the guest list, adding that the BSP was perhaps kept out because of the SP’s objections. He said Mr Chatterjee had decided to follow the past precedent as no fresh decision on this issue has been taken. As far as the Congress is concerned, Mr Reddy maintained it has yet to take a formal view on the BSP’s inclusion in the opposition ranks. “As and when the Congress calls a meeting, we will take a view on it,” he added. |
|
Sonia flays PM for condoning corruption New Delhi, December 9 Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting today, Ms. Gandhi said: “This particular campaign saw new lows being reached. Never has a Prime Minister condoned corruption so brazenly, as he has done these past few weeks.” She said he was not alone in lowering the standards of the campaign. Ms Gandhi said his Cabinet colleagues propagated many falsehoods while a no-holds barred campaign was mounted by a BJP backed by huge resources. She also refused to buy the BJP claim that Hindutva did not figure in their poll campaign. Ms Gandhi’s cutting remarks, however, stuck an incongruous note given the occasion: it was her birthday and both at her residence and at the meeting leaders and supporters had lined up to wish her. Both the President and the Prime Minister sent her greetings cards. Ms Gandhi also referred to the Jogi episode. Expressing anguish, she said Mr Ajit Jogi should never have written the letter he did to the Governor, extending Congress support for the splinter group of BJP legislators. “This simply could not be condoned,” she said. Attacking the BJP for its handling of the Judeo issue, Ms Gandhi said it was more interested in who was responsible for the recording than that a minister was caught red-handed. The minister had admitted taking the money and yet the BJP was terming it as fabricated. Describing the party’s performance in the recent Assembly elections as disappointing, she said the state governments in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had become victims of a strong anti-incumbency sentiment. “We have to draw appropriate lessons from our defeat in these states and prepare ourselves better for the many challenges ahead,” she said. |
|
|
Party searching for answers New Delhi, December 9 While Natwar Singh spoke of the need to promote a second-rung leadership (he also offered to step down), Mr Kamal Nath made a strong plea for projecting the Congress as a party of the future. According to him, both Hindutva and secularism had lost their electoral appeal and were dead issues and argued that the party should move on. Calling for swift action former Orissa Chief Minister J.B. Patnaik said the Congress was faced with a real challenge as the BJP had built up a formidable party organisation with huge resources. The BJP, according to him, had a hidden agenda. It also had hidden support of organisations like the RSS. He said even the network of schools (Saraswati Shishu Mandirs), run by a BJP frontal organisation, were used in the campaigns. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, who has all along opposed pre-poll alliances with smaller regional parties, changed tack and expressed himself in favour of such poll pacts. Giving a detailed analysis of the Madhya Pradesh results, Mr Singh admitted that their campaign had failed to project the government’s achievements. He disagreed with the perception that the BJP had fought the election only on the development agenda, stating that the RSS cadres were running a strong communal campaign in the hinterland. Although there was no discussion on the Jogi incident, veteran leader Arjun Singh did refer to it, welcoming the action taken against him, stating that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had taken the right step in suspending him. |
|
Uma Bharati, Vasundhara to resign from LS New Delhi, December 9 CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee said that the three Chief Ministers entering the House in “procession” was against the decorum of the House. “Personally, I have congratulated all of them and I wish their success. They have the people’s mandate with them”, he said. Congress member Mani Shankar Iyer said if at all they had to be present in the House, they should have occupied the rear benches. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that they were still members of the House and should given a rousing send-off. “Parliament is like a family whether we are in the Opposition or in the government. The members should not use this occasion to politicise the issue”, she said. Speaker Manohar Joshi also greeted the three new Chief Ministers. Ms Bharati and Ms Raje will resign from the Lok Sabha while the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister will retain his seat in the Lok Sabha till he gets elected to the state Assembly. |
|
|
Chhattisgarh may have tribal Deputy CM New Delhi, December 9 “Suggestions for having a tribesman as Deputy Chief Minister have come. I will sit down and decide. May be, I will take three to four days to take a decision,” Mr Raman Singh, who is set to expand his council of ministers soon, told newspersons here. Mr Raman Singh, who met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani and BJP President Venkaiah Naidu here, said since many tribesmen had been elected as BJP MLAs, it was his duty to give them “appropriate position”. There are 26 tribal MLAs out of the 50 BJP members, who got elected to the Chhattisgarh Assembly. Refusing to draw into the Judeo and Jogi episodes, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister merely said the two episodes had been referred to the CBI. Admitting that Naxalism was a major problem in the state, he said a solution had to be found within the constitutional and democratic framework. |
|
|
Shiv Sainiks to take on SP, NCP Mumbai, December 9 Reacting to protests organised by rival political parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Mumbai, Mr Thackeray told party organ Saamna that Shiv Sainiks would take such outfits on the street. “My Shiv Sainiks are ready for a tit-for-tat policy. Do not compel us to adopt it, that will cost you dearly,” Mr Thackeray was quoted as saying. On Sunday, the Samajwadi Party had organised a protest rally of North Indian migrants to Mumbai. Mr Amar Singh, the party’s national leader and Mr Abu Asim Azmi, its Maharashtra chief, warned that they would “break the hand” raised against migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Both the SP and the NCP are trying to woo the substantial number of voters from northern India ahead of the Assembly elections next year. The Shiv Sena itself had made attempts to expand its base to the North Indians by organising events like the Chath Pooja and promoting North Indians like member of Parliament Sanjay Nirupam. He is also editor of Shiv Sena’s Hindi mouthpiece Dopahar ka Saamna. However the sena has chosen to consolidate its traditional Maharashtrian voter-base in preparation for the elections by attacking North Indians. Mr Thackeray challenged SP leaders to hold a similar rally in Assam, where Biharis had been killed over the same issue. He clarified that the Shiv Sena was not against people from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, but its agitation was confined to jobs for sons-of-the soil. |
|
CVC didn’t give
any names to PM, says govt New Delhi, December 9 The CVC dwelt upon the need to remove the “misplaced fear” of vigilance in the minds of senior public sector executives which often lead to hestitation on their part in reaching decisions, Minister of State for Home and Personnel Harin Pathak told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. The minister said the CVC delineated various measures which could be taken to build both autonomy and accountability in the functioning of the PSUs. Besides, the CVC also gave a briefing in respect of various initiatives of the commission during the past year. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
In
video (
