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Led by Modi, Yeddyurappa, Pokhriyal skip BJP conclave
HAT-TRICK FOR INDIAN MISSILE PROGRAMME Azad submits Telangana report, no decision yet |
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Evasive PC doesn’t quite remember if he offered to quit
Six additional MI-17 copters to fight Naxals
Cash-for-vote scam: Police gets nod to prosecute BJP MP
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Led by Modi, Yeddyurappa, Pokhriyal skip BJP conclave
New Delhi, September 30 To add to Advani’s woes, who is set to start yet another yatra, Modi admirers like Gujarat in-charge Balbir Punj pronounced the Gujarat Chief Minister as “the best prime ministerial candidate”. Chief spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad was quick to correct: “The BJP has several leaders competent enough to become Prime Minister” but this decision will be taken “by the Parliamentary Board at the appropriate time”. While Modi’s decision to stay away from the meet was known a day earlier, the ousted Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Uttarakhand, Yeddyurappa and Nishank, added to the embarrassment of Advani and Gadkari, instrumental in removing them under pressure from their rivals. Modi was so piqued with Advani and Gadakri that the latter’s telephonic conversation did not move the Gujarat CM, though few here bought his alibi of not leaving Gujarat during Navratra fasting. Sources confirmed that right from the beginning, Modi was miffed with Advani’s yatra. And contrary to the general impression, what displeased him was not that the yatra was being flagged off by Nitish Kumar in Bihar. A senior leader confided that Modi’s lack of enthusiasm made Advani abandon the idea of starting the yatra from Gujarat’s Karamsad village. Modi had reportedly told Advani that his yatra was "unnecessary and irrelevant". Modi, also eyeing the Prime Minister office in the event of the BJP heading the next government, sees in Advani a potential obstacle. Despite repeated efforts to secure a categorical reply, Advani has refused to clarify on his Prime Ministerial aspirations. But Modi is not upset with Advani alone. He is equally annoyed with Gadkari, who has re-inducted his bête noire Sanjay Joshi into the part and handed over the charge of UP to him. Joshi, a BJP former organising secretary, was forced out of the party in 2005-06 through a conspiratorial sleazy CD, allegedly made at the behest of Narendra Modi. To rub salt into Modi’s wounds, Joshi and Uma Bharti have reportedly been invited to participate in tomorrow’s discussions on UP. Then there is former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, who went out kicking and screaming in July following the Karnataka Lokayukta’s report on illegal mining, because Advani refused to step into Parliament for the monsoon session until Yeddyurappa was removed. To slight Yeddyurappa further, his arch rival in the party state unit, Ananth Kumar, is organising Advani’s yatra. Sources said Yeddyurappa wanted to accompany Advani in the yatra through Karnataka but was asked to stay away due to his chequered past. A slighted Yeddyurappa now plans to start off on his own yatra in parts of Karnataka about the same time as Advani enters the state! The third dissident is recently-deposed Uttarakhand Chief Minister Nishank. He too was suddenly replaced at Advani’s behest after the party patriarch decided upon his yatra. Sources said Advani feared that while touring Uttarakhand, BJP workers owing allegiance to BC Khanduri and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari may raise questions about the alleged scams and scandals in the state.
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HAT-TRICK FOR INDIAN MISSILE PROGRAMME
Balasore (Orissa), Sept 30 "The trial of Agni-II surface-to-surface missile, conducted from Launch Complex-IV of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at around 9.30 am, was successful, meeting the mission objectives," ITR director S P Dash said. The indigenously built Agni-II, developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), has already been inducted into the armed forces and is part of India's strategic deterrence arsenal. "It was a hat-trick after successful trials of Shourya and Prithvi-II on September 24 and 26, 2011, respectively. The successful launch once again proved reliability of the medium range missile," DRDO spokesman and scientist Ravi Kumar Gupta said. The two-stage, solid fuel propelled Agni-II, developed by Advanced System Laboratory (ASL) and other DRDO laboratories, has a length of 20 metres, diameter of one metre and weighs around 17 tonnes, they said. It is equipped with a special navigation system to achieve high degree of accuracy. The system is also equipped with anti-ballistic defence counter measures. It can be transported both by rail and road, they said. The missile reached an apogee (peak altitude) of 220 km and hit the target. All radar, telemetry systems, ectopic system tracked and monitored all parameters throughout the trajectory. Two ships located near the target point have tracked the missile in final stage, a DRDO official said. With this success story, India also is planning to test by next month "Agni-2 Prime", an advanced nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a strike range of around 3,000 km, defence sources said. — PTI
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Azad submits Telangana report, no decision yet
New Delhi/Hyderabad, Sept 30 Azad, the general secretary in-charge of party affairs in the state, is believed to have briefed Gandhi about the situation in Telangana region in the wake of the fortnight-long strike in support of the creation of a separate state during the meeting. This is the first meeting between Gandhi and Azad on the Telangana issue after her return from the US. The Congress high command had in July asked Azad to hold consultations with leaders from Telangana, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions on the issue and elicit their views. During the interactions, the leaders, who are divided deeply on regional lines, had stuck to their known stands. While Telangana MPs and MLAs have resigned from their posts demanding that the Centre and the Congress immediately announce the formation of a separate state, their counterparts from the other two regions have opposed any move to bifurcate Andhra. Meanwhile, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao and other leaders of the Telangana movement today left for New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urge him to take an early decision on formation of a separate state. KCR said that the 30-member delegation would also call on Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and other key leaders tomorrow. — Agencies
‘All-party meet soon’
The TDP and MIM are waiting to see what is the Congress position. We are waiting for the official position of all parties, after which we will convene an all-party meeting. — P Chidambaram,
Home Minister
No work, no pay
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided not to pay salaries to employees and teachers from Telangana region who have been taking part in the ongoing indefinite strike, in accordance with an AP High Court order. |
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Evasive PC doesn’t quite remember if he offered to quit
New Delhi, September 30 Chidambaram, while giving out his ministry’s monthly report card, evaded queries on his status in the 2G case. Similarly, he neither acknowledged nor denied references to his offer to resign at the height of the controversy after the Finance Ministry’s 2G note became public. Asked if he had resigned at all, Chidambaram said with a straight face, “My memory is short. I do not remember whether I offered to resign.” Further probe into whether he had offered to resign thrice, as believed, brought a smile to the former Finance Minister’s face as he said, “I am poor at counting too. I am learning numeracy only now. Moreover, nothing in that question concerns the Ministry of Home Affairs.” Today, the Left Parties led by the CPM joined the BJP in seeking his resignation from the Cabinet on grounds of his alleged role in the scam, as highlighted by the note. The demand for the Home Minister’s resignation was made formally by the CPM following its two-day Politbureau meeting that ended today. Rejecting Chidambaram’s contentions that the chapter had been closed after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee clarified that the note was just a background paper, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said, “We sympathise with Pranab Mukherjee, who has to do the onerous task of rescuing his colleague. But there is mounting evidence of Chidambaram’s role in the 2G scam and he must answer whether his action of going along with the action of former Telecom Minister A. Raja did not cause losses to the exchequer. That is the point. Chidambaram must resign from the Cabinet. So far as we are concerned, this chapter is not closed.” Karat added that the fire of the 2G controversy might well reach the PM’s doorstep.
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Six additional MI-17 copters to fight Naxals
New Delhi, September 30 "Letter of Intent was issued on September 6 (this year) for hiring of six MI-17 or equivalent helicopters on wet lease for anti-Naxal operations," Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here. These additional air-combatants will be fully armoured and will be deployed to assist in the deployment, reinforcement and casualty evacuation of troops of the CRPF, the ITBP, the BSF and state police personnel involved in counter-Maoist operations. At present, a total of nine helicopters are deployed for similar duties in the Naxal operations grid. These include four MI-17 choppers of the IAF in Chhattisgarh. Chidambaram also announced that the current strength of the CRPF is being enhanced from 71 battalions to 76. "A decision has been taken to deploy five newly raised CRPF battalions in Left-Wing Extremism-affected states after completion of their counter-insurgency operations training. "With this, the number of battalions deployed for anti-Naxal operations would rise to 76," he said. Apart from the CRPF, the BSF has deployed 10 battalions and the ITBP has deployed five battalions for similar tasks. Every battalion of these forces has about 1,000 personnel. The Home Minister also said the Central government has sanctioned Rs 100 crore "to the Left-wing extremism-affected states for the scheme of construction and strengthening of fortified police stations". —
PTI
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Cash-for-vote scam: Police gets nod to prosecute BJP MP
New Delhi, Sept 30 Argal and two former BJP members of the Lower House, Faggan Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora, had entered the well of the
Lok Sabha on July 22, 2008 flashing wads of currency notes they said the Congress Party had paid them in return for support of the UPA trust vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal issue. Of the three saffron rank MPs involved in the controversy, Argal is the only
sitting member whose prosecution permission the Delhi Police had sought from Speaker in her capacity as the Presiding Officer of
the House.
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The BJP’s two-day national executive began here today amidst sulking and boycott by regional satraps Narendra Modi, BS Yeddyurappa and Ramesh Pokhriyal
Nishank.
