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Rahul flays BJP for ‘blocking’ anti-graft Bills
AAP govt was like nightmare: BJP
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Ponty case trial from Mar 28
news analysis
UP IAS officers dislike ‘babu’ tag
Gogoi criticised for promising cash to poor
Staff crunch hitting work, says BIS boss
Maria is new Mumbai Police Commissioner
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Rahul flays BJP for ‘blocking’ anti-graft Bills
Belgaum, February 15 “Who is standing against those Bills? We want to pass them. Who is stopping it, the BJP. They don’t allow Parliament to function,” Rahul said at a public rally here. “Today, six anti-graft Bills are pending in Parliament. These are the Bills which are of help to you and give power to you,” the Congress vice-president said as he attacked the BJP. He said: “They (BJP) only talk, we bring progress. Who brought the RTI and the Lokpal Bill? Who gave powers in your hands? The Congress did. Whatever was happening behind closed doors is now open to you because of the RTI.” Ahead of addressing tomorrow's all-women rally at Tumkur near Bangalore, Rahul reiterated that empowerment of women figured prominently on his agenda for the country. He said: “We will pass Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament and also give more power to women in politics.” Rahul had recently appealed the Opposition to support passage of six Bills in the ongoing Parliament. The draft of six legislations on which Rahul has been laying thrust are the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010; the Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2011; the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011; the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2011; the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013; and the Public Procurement Bill, 2012.
Sonia calls its ideology irrelevant
Kochi, February 15
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AAP govt was like nightmare: BJP
“The past 49 days witnessed an unconventional government. It was a government without an agenda and without an ideology. It was a government committed to populism and demagogue,” Jaitley wrote on his website. “Thank God nightmare is finally over,” he said, thus pointing the way the BJP will now be using the “nightmarish” Delhi experience to build opinion in favour of a “proven and experienced party”. The BJP’s biggest threat for its national dream is coming from the AAP and the saffron party plans to make the most of Kejriwal’s style of “clever politics and no governance” and the way he “ditched” Delhi to pursue his “Lok Sabha ambition” against the newbie and also the Congress which backed its minority government. “The BJP was a bigger party. The AAP had no qualms before accepting shamelessly the Congress support in order to prove the majority,” Jaitley says. So while the AAP is banking on its new confrontational style of politics to attract voters in the coming General Election, the BJP hopes it will backfire badly against the Kejriwal’s party the next time India and Delhi votes. Party leaders believe that AAP’s methodology will alienate its main supporters, the urban middle class and young voters, who will see better sense in backing a “much more stable and experienced BJP”. “Most of its MLAs were inexperienced. They lacked maturity. At times, they were outlandish. They had an agitational approach but were foreign to any form of governance. The AAP concentrated its approach only to agitational issues to concoct falsehood and create imaginary enemies and then carry on propaganda on the strength of attacking the imaginary enemies,” Jaitley adds. Along with the AAP, the BJP will also target the Congress for backing the newbie just to “keep the BJP and Narendra Modi out”. The party says that by backing the AAP in Delhi, the Congress has also exposed itself. To keep the BJP out the Congress backed AAP which in turn “dashed hopes of many who wanted to see an alternative politics emerge”, BJP leaders say.
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Ponty case trial from Mar 28
New Delhi, February 15 Additional Sessions Judge Vimal Kumar Yadav, who dropped murder charges against all 21 accused, however, added offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against alleged main conspirator Namdhari and his Personal Security Officer (PSO) Sachin Tyagi. It entails maximum punishment of life imprisonment. "Now, the case is listed for March 28 for recording of the statement of prosecution witnesses," the court said. The sessions court gave elaborate reasons for dropping murder charge and invoking culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Namdhari and Sachin. It said the November 17, 2012 shootout that resulted in the killing of Ponty and Hardeep "seems to be an event which happened suddenly and unexpectedly". "Appearance of Hardeep Singh at the scene was sudden and unexpected, it was he who had fired at the injured Narender Ahlawat (Ponty's manager who is also an accused in the case) and also pumped in several bullets into elder brother Gurdeep Singh Chadha (Ponty). "Thereafter, Namdhari and Sachin used their fire arms and shot Hardeep which resulted in his death... Thus, these acts bring in the culpable homicide by Namdhari and Sachin, within domain of exception 4 of section 300 of the IPC," the court said while framing charges against the accused persons. The remaining 19 accused were charged under attempt to murder in connection with the incident. — PTI
Charges dropped
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news analysis
New Delhi, February 15 Though the Congress would have liked the AAP to continue in Delhi till Lok Sabha polls, party strategists are content with the way things have unfolded. They believe they have achieved the foremost objective behind extending outside support to Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly. “Kejriwal’s goodwill today is not the same as it was when he assumed charge on December 28. There’s potential downswing. He has become synonymous with non-governance and lack of seriousness in addressing issues concerning people. His resignation is an escape from the failure to deliver on ground. People will see this,” Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said when asked to look back on Congress’ decision to back AAP. Loss of AAP’s goodwill in Delhi means part recovery of lost voter base for the Congress which would gain if elections were to be held now. In last Delhi polls, the AAP cut into 16 per cent Congress votes as against 3 per cent of BJP’s. But with Kejriwal failing to deliver poll promises like regularisation of contractual workers, welfare of slum-dwellers and real time action against corruption, the Congress hopes to win back some of its traditional elector base. “The AAP had appealed to two sections, both of which traditionally identify with us - the poor and marginalised and the liberal and forward looking. Both stand dejected. The never before seen across-classes support the AAP got in 2013 polls won’t be repeated now. Moreover, the anti-incumbency Sheila Dikshit faced is over as we have new leadership in Delhi. We would certainly gain,” said a senior Congress leader who advocated extension of outside support to the AAP. In public perception too, the Congress can take a moral high ground that it continued backing the AAP despite Kejriwal’s desperate and routine provocations. Kejriwal called Rahul Gandhi corrupt; got Delhi’s Anti Corruption Bureau after Sheila Dikshit and recently registered an FIR against Cabinet Minister Veerappa Moily alleging favour to Reliance. “Kejriwal tried his best to force us into support withdrawal. We didn’t do that. Eventually he escaped on his own. His credibility has been jolted,” Surjewala reasoned.
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UP IAS officers dislike ‘babu’ tag
Lucknow, February 15 Speaking at the ongoing UP IAS Association’s meeting today, several officers took strong exception to the media continuously referring to them as babus. Asking for the bureaucratic bashing to stop, one officer said the media constantly calls us babus and now former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal referred to us as servants. Senior IAS officer and president of the UP IAS Association, Alok Ranjan, told reporters that the word ‘babu’ had a negative connotation and the officials felt that the media must avoid using it. Addressing the officers yesterday CM Akhilesh Yadav had seriously urged them not to indulge in corruption. He even recalled an anecdote when he made an officer return the bribe money. According to the CM, the officer had taken a bribe in exchange of some work, which was not done. The person who had paid the bribed complained to the CM. After probing the matter, the complain was found to be correct. When the CM confronted the officer, he agreed to return the money. “Giving him a chance I did not take any action against him and let the matter settle”, CM Yadav told the gathering of UP IAS Association.
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Gogoi criticised for promising cash to poor
Guwahati, February 15 The BJP, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) have been very harsh in criticising Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who also holds the finance portfolio, for announcing to provide cash gift to members of BPL families during Bohag Bihu festival, which is celebrated mid-April. Gogoi said he was grateful to the people of Assam to make him the Chief Minister for the three consecutive time and that he would become the longest serving Chief Minister in the state by the next Bohag Bihu. So, he said, it would be his way of saying thanks to the people of Assam by providing cash gift to BPL families. — TNS
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Staff crunch hitting work, says BIS boss
Chandigarh, February 15 Stating that the BIS do not have sufficient staff across the country to keep a check on fake ISI products due to which a reward scheme has been launched to take action against the unscrupulous manufacturers misusing the ISI marks or Hallmark. Those providing information about misuse to the BIS will be eligible for a reward of maximum Rs 5,000 on successful search and seizure. Only 15 per cent of the north Indian customers prefer to buy hallmark jewellery which is lowest in the country while the southern states are leading with 70 per cent purchases, he said. — TNS
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Maria is new Mumbai Police Commissioner
Mumbai, February 15 Maria, a 1981-batch IPS officer, has headed probes into the 1993 Mumbai blasts and 26/11 attacks on the city. The decision to appoint Maria, currently chief of the Maharashtra Police's Anti-Terrorism squad, was taken after a meeting chaired by CM Prithviraj Chavan. - PTI
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New Delhi, February 15
