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Cong steps up attack on Modi over Vanzara’s letter
BJP calls it conspiracy
Gujarat Govt yet to decide on officer’s resignation
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Missing coal files issue rocks Parliament again
No FIR for now against Delhi CM Dikshit: HC
Centre mulls UT status for Hyderabad
For troops, Pak border teams biggest threat
Girl dies after being ragged at industrial unit
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Cong steps up attack on Modi over Vanzara’s letter
friend-turned-foe
‘cbi must take note of the letter’ — Meem
Afzal, Congress spokesperson
New Delhi, September 4 "The courts and the CBI must take note of this letter which shows how the Gujarat Government under Modi used police officers to their ends and then ensured they did not even get bail. There is a clear resentment against the policy of the state government," Congress national spokesperson Meem Afzal said. He was referring to Vanzara's letter which states that Gujarat cops were "simply implementing the state's policy on anti-terrorism.” In another breath, the Congress trashed suggestions of its hand behind the sudden anti-Modi revelations over the past three days. "We do not indulge in conspiracies. It has been said that threads of this (read anti-Modi) conspiracy can be traced to 10 Janpath. That's a lie. The BJP should look within and it will find roots of these developments in its own house. Everyone knows of the ongoing infighting in the BJP," Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal said. While the sting showing Modi's nod to subversion of the justice system to protect Shah in Tulasiram Prajapati fake encounter case surfaced two days ago, leading to a PIL in the Supreme Court, Vanzara's letter (written from Sabarmati Central Prison) surfaced yesterday. Asked why the Congress was putting its trust in the claims of Vanzara, himself an accused in several fake encounters, including Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Ishrat Jahan, Afzal said the party was simply seeking cognisance of fresh facts just as everyone else was. "A serious claim has been made by Vanzara. He refers to state's hand in encounter killings. We are demanding a thorough probe into the veracity of these claims and in the meanwhile the resignation of Gujarat CM," Afzal said. The Congress reiterated its demand for the resignation of Modi citing the sting CD that recorded a conversation between BJP MPs Prakash Javadekar and Bhupendra Yadav who are caught saying Modi has given a go ahead to the "plan of protecting Shah in the Tulasi Prajapati case". Prajapati, an OBC, was the sole witness to the fake encounter of Sohrabuddi Sheikh, who was gunned down in December 2005. Amit Shah, the then Home Minister of Gujarat, is facing trial in these cases. "The BJP loses no time in seeking the resignation of our ministers and even the PM on small matters. Now it must ensure that Narendra Modi resigns over these serious charges in the sting," Afzal said.
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BJP calls it conspiracy
New Delhi, September 4 BJP leaders dismiss Vanzara’s letter-bomb as “baseless”, in fact calling it a “conspiracy” by the Congress considering its timing. But there are apprehensions that the explosive charges in it could be used as evidence against Shah, against whom cases are alive in the trial
court. BJP’s political opponents made the most of the Modi-related development. The Rajya Sabha saw a massive ruckus with the SP, the
BSP, the Left and BJP ally-turned-foe JD(U) leading the attack, demanding his resignation and causing several adjournments. As soon as the House met for the day, some Congress members displayed banners that read “Chief Minister Gujarat Must Resign” but soon other parties took over, raising slogans against the “terrorist Gujarat Government”. Demanding that they may be allowed to raise the issue in the House, they insisted that the former police officer’s letter was a proof that Modi was in full knowledge of all that was happening in the state at that time. They relented, allowing Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to move the Land Acquisition Bill, after efforts by the government’s floor managers and a statement by the Chair that if they wanted a discussion on the issue they could give a
notice. BJP members vociferously defended Modi in the House, saying that matter pertaining to states should not be discussed in Parliament. But the party refrained from giving any official statement on the central leadership’s view on
Vanzara, leaving the issue to the Gujarat BJP. “He is just a frustrated man,” a senior leader commented. A point of view is that
Vanzara, in his attempt to leave a window open, has not really said much against
Modi. “It is Shah that Vanzara is aiming at. The BJP can use it to tell voters that Modi is being targeted by the Congress. It also signifies that Modi always stands by justice, ” he said. While the party dismissed Vanzara as a “non-issue”, it is apprehending more attacks on Modi in the days to come. Though the
pro-Modi camp believes Vanzara’s letter will bring the party together, his detractors offer a more practical view point. “Delhi abhi door
hai,” a leader quipped, adding: “Wait and watch”. RSS and BJP leaders are expected to meet over the weekend to discuss the most important issue pending before the party. While the clamour of “Modi for PM” is growing in the party, Vanzara’s letter seems to have added a new dimension to the scenario. Sources say the RSS leadership is trying to assess the damage caused by Vanzara’s charges and is working on a strategy to build a case for him under its “September plan”. A meeting of RSS and BJP leaders is scheduled over the weekend to finalise the strategy, they say.
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Gujarat Govt yet to decide on officer’s resignation
Ahmedabad, September 4 Sources in the state Home Department confirmed receipt of Vanzara’s 10-page “letter of resignation” -- a virtual chargesheet against Modi and his erstwhile Minister of State for Home Amit Shah (presently the BJP in-charge of Uttar Pradesh) - and said it had been forwarded to the chief minister’s office for a decision. The Home Department maintained that since the chargesheet had already been filed against Vanzara in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case -- though it could be revised since the Supreme Court had directed clubbing it with the fake encounter case of Tulsiram Prajapati -- the suspended IPS officer seizes the right to resign, nor could he seek retirement on superannuation till the case was decided by the court. The state cabinet, which met in Gandhinagar today under the chairmanship of Modi, is also learnt to have discussed in detail the possible repercussions of Vanzara’s open letter and decided to keep the resignation in abeyance till further scrutiny of the technical issues raised by the home department. Legal experts, however, said technically the chargesheet filed in the Sohrabuddin encounter case no longer holds ground and the entire process would start afresh in view of the Supreme Court’s directive to club the two cases. Claiming that no political party would have allowed a chief minister to continue in office even for a day if he faced charges such as those against Modi in various cases, state Congress president Arjun Modhvadia said the developments in the last three days had exposed Modi’s “politics of murder” and his and his government’s involvement in large scale corruption, and demanded his resignation immediately. He said the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated to such a level that criminals were finding Gujarat their safest haven because of police inaction as the Modi government had totally ruined the morale of the police force. The party gave a call for a state-wide bandh on Friday to press for Modi’s resignation.
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Asaram’s bail plea rejected
Jodhpur, September 4 The District and Sessions Judge (Rural) Manoj Kumar Vyas dismissed the bail plea after two days of hearing arguments by Asaram’s counsel K K Manan and perusing prosecution's detailed reply. The court rejected the defence counsel’s arguments raised over the FIR, medical report and statement of the girl who was sexually assaulted, Additional Advocate General Anand Purohit told reporters. Asaram (72) was sent to jail on Monday after he was remanded in 14-day judicial custody by a court here. Asaram was arrested in Indore following an FIR lodged by the victim that she was sexually assaulted by him. Asaram’s counsel alleged that the police had worked under the pressure of media and prepared FIR in a hurry. He contended that the FIR against Asaram does not stand as there are several lacunae in it. He has been booked under sections 376, 342, 506 and 509 of the IPC, section 8 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and sections 23 and 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act in connection with the alleged assault. The defence claimed that the victim was not minor as was being claimed and in fact was an adult. So, the charges under POSCO against Asaram also do not stand. — PTI
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Missing coal files issue rocks Parliament again
New Delhi, September 4 The demand came after the government, following a series of meetings, bought peace with the BJP by agreeing to a discussion on the matter in Parliament. "The PM must come forward and volunteer to be probed in the missing coal files issue. If he wants his name to be cleared, he must come forward. The coal allocation scam is the most serious of all scams we have known in the past. Here the PM's role is under doubt," Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said leading submissions on the issue around 2.30 pm when the House assembled after severe disruptions on the matter. Led by the BJP, the Opposition in both Houses (in the Rajya Sabha BJP's Arun Jaitley led the charge) demanded immediate registration of an FIR in the missing files issue saying the files were "stolen". Parties said the inability of the government to register a case was causing suspicion about its intentions. "If you don't register a case, your intentions will be doubted. An FIR must be immediately lodged because these files are not simply missing. They are stolen," said Sushma, citing 189 missing coal files which the CBI had sought from the government during the ongoing coal allocation scam probe which the Supreme Court is monitoring. The BJP referred to some media reports to say the Attorney General (AG) had submitted a list of missing files and most of these pertained to influential Congress leaders. Mentioning another newspaper report, the BJP said a senior CBI officer has stressed the importance of questioning the PM in the coal allocation issue to determine the truth and considering this report the PM should offer to be probed. Except RJD's Prabhunath Singh who talked of prosecuting the CBI officer who dared to point a finger at the PM, all opposition parties demanded immediate action on the coal file issue. UPA's outside supporter SP also took the occasion to ask the government whether the CBI "was acting at someone's behest". The TMC, however, wanted the coal files of all block allocations since 1993 investigated.
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No FIR for now against Delhi CM Dikshit: HC
New Delhi, September 4 The Delhi government had approached the HC seeking quashing of the August 31 order of the trial court. The HC has asked BJP leader Vijender Gupta, the complainant, and Delhi Police Commissioner to respond to the government’s appeal. Appearing for the Delhi government, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Siddharth Luthra had contended that Gupta had filed the complaint solely relying on the Lokayukta report and without producing any material to substantiate the allegations.
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Centre mulls UT status for Hyderabad
Hyderabad, September 4 “The proposal is on the table but no final decision has been taken. There is a valid argument for making Hyderabad a Union Territory,” a Congress source said. The idea is gaining currency in the backdrop of continued mass agitation in the Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions, jointly referred to as Seemandhra, against bifurcation of the state. Hyderabad remains the main sticking point with people from Seemandhra unwilling to give up their claim on the bustling state capital.
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Avoid policies that hurt developing world, PM tells rich nations
New Delhi, September 4 In a statement here before leaving for St Petersburg to attend the G-20 Summit, he noted that there were encouraging signs of growth in industrialised nations while there was a slowdown in emerging economies which were facing the adverse impact of significant capital outflows. “I will emphasise in St Petersburg the need for an orderly exit from the unconventional monetary policies being pursued by the developed world for the last few years, so as to avoid damaging the growth prospects of the developing world,” the Prime Minister said. Manmohan Singh observed that the G-20 has emerged as the premier international forum for discussing global economic issues and its 8th Summit was taking place against the backdrop of persisting challenges and vulnerabilities in the global economy. It was important that G-20 encouraged and promoted policy coordination among major economies in a manner that provided for a broad-based and sustained global economic recovery and growth. India, he said, has been an active participant in this endeavour as co-Chair of the Working Group on the “Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth”. “At the Summit, I will once again emphasise that the G-20 should ensure primacy of the development dimension in its deliberations, focus on job creation, promote investment in infrastructure as a means of stimulating global growth and create potential in developing countries to sustain higher growth in the medium term. There is also an urgent need to reform institutions of global political and economic governance,” the PM added. He said St Petersburg is also the place where the idea of the BRIC grouping was born in July 2006. As per the practice during the last few G-20 Summits, an informal meeting of BRICS (Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa) Leaders would be held on the margins of the G-20 meeting to exchange views on the agenda of the summit. The main theme of the 8th G-20 Summit is starting a new cycle of growth through quality jobs and investment, trust and transparency and effective regulation. Besides India, the G-20 brings together countries such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Russia.
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For troops, Pak border teams biggest threat
Along the Line of Control, September 4 BATs have been carrying out frequent operations along the LoC, the two most well known being the beheading of an Indian soldier in January and the killing of five soldiers last month. Besides covert attacks, BATs, according to BSF officers manning the LoC, are also involved in sniping at Indian forward defended locations (FDLs), as fortified positions on the LoC are called, and planting mines and IEDs on the Indian side of the LoC. BATs comprise terrorists, jihadis, criminals or fundamentalists, who are not just expendable, but the employment of whom can also be plausibly denied. It is these elements which carry out the actual killings. Operational support and training is provided by the ISI and Pakistan army’s Special Services Group (SSG), which is reported to maintain a separate detachment for the same. Logistic support is made available by local army formations. SSG elements are also known to accompany BATs, providing fire support and technical assistance. “Though they undertake significant risk in launching their operations, they are not in a position to assault our FDLs once their presence has been detected. On coming under fire, they are forced to fall back,” said the commandant of a BSF battalion, who claims to have foiled five BAT attempts in the past 11 months in the Rajouri-Poonch sector. While some BATs have been successful in carrying out their missions on the LoC or to a limited depth in Indian territory, the BSF and the army have also managed to foil many such attempts. “There have been many instances of cross-fire, where intruders have been forced back, but at times it is difficult to ascertain whether it as a BAT action or infiltration attempt,” an officer said. Operations by BATs are organised and well planned, often involving months of recce and patient observation to identify targets and spot weak links.
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Girl dies after being ragged at industrial unit
Mumbai, September 4 In her suicide note, Rahane named 10 of her batchmates, including four girls, for mercilessly ragging her which forced her to take the extreme step. Rahane, who was trained at an Industrial Training Institute was undergoing apprenticeship as a trainer at a unit of Bosch India. She had been selected for further training at the company’s headquarters in Germany. In his statement to the police, Pranali’s father alleged that she was mercilessly ragged by her batchmates over this. On the basis of her statement, the police has now arrested all the persons. — TNS
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government’s approval to fake encounters of alleged terrorists such as Sohrabuddin Sheikh, the ruling Congress stepped up attack on the Chief Minister seeking a CBI and court-led probe into the contents of Vanzara’s letter.
