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NDA bays for Natwar’s blood, to meet Kalam
Khurana quits poll politics
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LJP holds key in 3rd phase
RJD candidate’s father in police net
Jaitley: UPA communalising
Bihar politics
EC rejects charges against Rao
CBI seeks govt nod to
proceed against Denel
Need for media
commission, says Reddy
Kalam calls for serving humanity
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NDA bays for Natwar’s blood, to meet Kalam
New Delhi, November 4 Besides, the BJP has decided to hold a week-long country-wide agitation on the issue beginning November 8. “An NDA delegation will call on the President on this issue. We have sought time on November 7,” BJP general-secretary and spokesperson Sushma Swaraj told newspersons after a meeting of BJP general secretaries and other senior leaders under the chairmanship of party President L.K. Advani. “Our demand is that Mr Natwar Singh’s continuation as the Minister for External Affairs is untenable and he must quit or must be removed from the Council of Ministers,” Ms Swaraj said. “The tainted Ministers list in the UPA Government is ever increasing...It is unfortunate that a very senior minister’s name has got added to that list. Neither the Congress nor the UPA government can get away as the allegations against Mr Natwar Singh and the Congress has not been levelled by a political opponent, but by a committee appointed by one of the most reputed international organisations, the United Nations,” she said. Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the BJP spokesperson said, “the party condemns the manner in which the Prime Minister gave clean chit to him (Mr Natwar Singh) without going through the report.” “It was only due to the pressure mounted by the Opposition that the government yesterday talked about probing the issue...But no probe can be impartial without Mr Natwar Singh quitting the office,” Ms Swaraj said. Ms Swaraj, who addressed the press conference along with Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha V.K. Malhotra, said the BJP along with NDA allies would also effectively raise this issue in Parliament. Meanwhile, party general-secretary and former Law Minister Arun Jaitley said the approach of the UPA government on the Volcker Committee report had pushed the country’s diplomacy to its “lowest”. In a statement in Patna, which was released to the media here, Mr Jaitley said, “This is an opportunity for the Prime Minister to decide whether he runs a government or merely occupies an office.” “The credibility of the government, governance and the Prime Ministerial Office is at stake. If this credibility is to be restored, the Prime Minister should immediately drop the Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, order a domestic probe by India into the matter and register a criminal case against the persons allegedly involved in this scam,” he said. |
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Khurana quits poll politics
New Delhi, November 4 “I will never fight an election for a MP or MLA,” Mr Khurana announced, addressing people at the launch of Purvanchal Kranti Sangh, a non-political organisation floated for the welfare of migrants to Delhi from the eastern part of the country. Mr Khurana, who was flanked by party leaders Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad, said he had resigned as Governor of Rajasthan to serve the people of Delhi and there was no self-interest involved in his return to the Capital. Both Mr Shatrughan Sinha and Mr Azad, who is president of the Purvanchal Kranti Sangh, addressed the gathering. There would be 16 offices in the Capital where people from the eastern region can lodge their complaints, Mr Azad said. Asked about criticism within the BJP over his floating the Purvanchal Kranti Sangh despite being member of the party, Mr Khurana shot back saying the organisation was apolitical and he wanted to serve the people without any self-interest. |
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LJP holds key in 3rd phase
Patna, November 4 This is evident from a detailed analysis of the outcome of the February elections held this year. In the third and fourth phase, the LJP, going by the figures based on the February elections, had stakes in eight seats only. Barring unforeseen gains, the LJP's fate has almost been sealed in the first and second phase this time and now it depends on the ability of Mr Ram Vilas Paswan to either seal the fate of the NDA or the RJD. This can further be substantiated from the fact that out of 72 seats going to the polls in the third phase in the Koshi region, earlier known as the fiefdom of Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, in at least 10 the victory margins for the NDA or RJD varied between 54 votes and 2000 votes. For instance, the JD(U) had won Lauria seat by a margin of 54 votes, while the BJP won Ramnagar by 250 votes and the RJD had retained Narpatganj and Sugauli seats by a margin of 369 votes and 633 votes, respectively. In all these seats the LJP had secured good votes , but not seats. For the NDA, from 22 seats in 2000 (won jointly by the Samata, JD and BJP), it made significantgains by bagging 35 seats in the February 2005 elections, which meant an increase of 13 seats. If exit poll predictions are to be believed, while the first and second phase of polling indicated gains for the NDA, not much loss is foreseen for Mr Lalu Prasad. According to analysts, the gains by the NDA were primarily from the erosion of the upper caste vote bank of the LJP. But a section of the same upper castes reportedly came back to the fold of the NDA this time as MrRam Vilas did not side with the NDA to form the government after the February elections. Mr Lalu Prasad was least affected in the first and second phase. But in the third phase, Mr Lalu Prasad is more worried of the relativity factor concerning Mr Ram Vilas Paswan as "Koshi region" has dominant presence of Yadavs, Muslims and Dalits. Analysts feel that if Mr Ram Vilas continued as a "spoiler" it would be to the benefit of the NDA. Mr Paswan has also fieleded 32 Yadav candidates from Koshi region, apart from Muslims and Dalits. On the contrary, if Mr Ram Vilas Paswan's association with the CPI helps him to make some inroads into the upper caste votebank of the NDA in some pockets, it may harm to a certain extent Mr Nitish Kumar. The upper caste-dominated CPI leadership in Bihar prevented the party from coming closer to Mr Lalu Prasad this time as the state unit was against seat adjustment with the RJD. Keeping in view the LJP factor, the JD(U) has fieleded 23 Yadav candidates in the third phase. The NDA also has an unexpected friend in the form of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav who recently inducted all the rebel ministers and MLAs of RJD from Koshi region into
his party. In his bid to regain lost glory in the "Koshi region" Mr Lalu Prasad already established truce with Ashish Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, now in Tihar Jail, whose revolt last time following dispute over distribution of ticket had cost the RJD a couple of Assembly seats from
Madhepura.
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RJD candidate’s father in police net
Patna, November 4 The charges came on the heels of recovery of two deer from his hideout at Bettiah in West Champaran on Thursday. Sources in the police said a joint team, comprising of the state police and the Central paramilitary forces, raided the den of gangster Bhagar Yadav and recovered the deer. A huge number of arms and ammunition was also seized. Bhagar Yadav is the president of the West Champaran district board too.His Son,Amar Yadav,is contesting from Nutan constituency in West Champaran. The police had launched a special operation to nab Bhagar Yadav, ahead of the crucial third phase of the Assembly polls on Nov 13, fearing he might disrupt the poll proceedings to influence the results in his son's favour. According to the police, nearly100 cases were pending against him in various police stations and courts. |
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Jaitley: UPA communalising
Bihar politics
Patna, November 4 Mr Jaitley claimed that out of “political frustration”, the Congress and the RJD were trying to communalise the political scene in Bihar by levelling such false charges, not even sparing a neutral body like the Election Commission. Meanwhile, the NDA chief ministerial candidate, Mr Nitish Kumar, today visited the residence of the leader of the Muslim Pasminda Mahaj (backward Muslims) to celebrate Eid. |
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EC rejects charges against Rao
New Delhi, November 4 “The commission unanimously rejects the allegations against Mr Rao as totally unwarranted, reckless and baseless, and expresses its full faith in his integrity, impartiality and unbiased approach towards all sections of society in discharge of the functions entrusted to him by the commission”, the commission said in a press note. It also rejected the UPA demand for repoll in polling stations 46, 47 and 50 of the Bhagalpur Assembly constituency. On November 2, a UPA delegation consisting of senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh and Union Minister Prem Chand Gupta of the RJD and AICC Secretary Ranjit Thomas met the EC and complained against Mr Rao, demanding immediate apology for alleged attempts to “humiliate a particular community”. Mr Singh had said that during an inspection of Bhagalpur town and Nath Nagar areas, Mr Rao had reportedly said that the area was a “Pakistani Mohalla”. |
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CBI seeks govt nod to proceed against Denel
New Delhi, November 4 CBI sources said the agency sought permission for sending letters rogatory (LR), which would have to be issued by a court, to be sent to South Africa and the British Isle of Man Island, where the intermediary firm, Varas Associates, is based. After the permission from the Union Home Ministry is taken, the CBI is set to move the concerned court for issuance of the LR so that the overseas probe could begin. Ahead of this, the CBI had already made a request to the Interpol’s South Africa office and Scotland Yard of Britain seeking details about Denel and its reputation.
— PTI |
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Need for media
commission, says Reddy
New Delhi, November 4 He said the onus to adhere to guidelines was with the media itself and any attempt to do so by any government would not be a welcome step. Accepting that there was need to have a media commission, Mr Reddy said the government was, “considering the idea of having one”. Speaking at the release of the book, “Should there be a Lakshman rekha for News Media”, a compilation of a national roundtable organised by the Press Academy of Andhra Pradesh and Centre for Media Studies in June, Mr Reddy, alluding to the power of the media in the past, drew attention to the declining impact on people. Veteran journalist and former High Commissioner, Kuldip Nayar, who had put forth the demand for a media commission said, there was need for a dialogue between the media and the government. |
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Kalam calls for serving humanity
New Delhi, November 4 The President exchanged greetings with namazis there and later greeted the Rashtrapati Bhavan staff, schoolchildren and members of public, including social and cultural organisations. He urged all to contribute in whichever way possible to help those affected in recent mishaps and sufferings. More than 2,000 persons visited Rashtrapati Bhavan today to greet him and the President met each one of them. |
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