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As BJP allies lobby for Cabinet berths, senior leaders tightlipped
Civic society groups want Modi to shun tainted MPs
‘CMs who couldn’t deliver must quit’
Cong mulls sending Chidambaram to RS from K’taka
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Anti-Modi Facebook posts
Copter scam
First pilgrims leave for Hemkund Sahib
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As BJP allies lobby for Cabinet berths, senior leaders tightlipped
New Delhi, May 24 Allies are also in touch with the BJP leaders to lobby for Cabinet berths. So while Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal met Rajnath yesterday, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu will meet Modi ahead of the swearing-in. The buzz is that the TDP wants at least four berths in the Cabinet. It has six MPs in the Rajya Sabha, while 16 were elected to the LS. A berth will also be allocated to Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP, which won six seats in the recently concluded elections. Paswan is also lobbying for his son Chirag. Their advantage is that being Dalit faces they will also fulfil the quota requirement for the community in the government. Paswan met Rajnath and so did Anupriya Patel, the leader of Apna Dal. Meanwhile, today’s most discussed meeting included the one between Modi and his key aides — Amit Shah and BJP general secretary JP Nadda. They reached Gujarat Bhawan almost together to meet the PM-elect, giving rise to speculations that Modi’s close confidantes are due for key positions in the party organisation. This also means that Rajnath Singh may be among those who take oath of secrecy on May 26 along with Modi. The Tribune had on May 19 reported that Himachal Pradesh leader Nadda was among the contenders for the post of the party president. “It is either the top organisational post or a berth in the Cabinet for him,” a senior leader said. “Nadda and Shah proved their mettle in these elections. Important state elections are slated in the next six months and the RSS and Modi want a 100 per cent strike for the BJP,” a source said. Later, Shah also met Rajnath Singh. Former party president Venkaiah Naidu and senior leader Uma Bharti also met Modi. Republican Party of India chief Ramdas Athawale also knocked at the doors of the Gujarat Bhawan. Rajnath Singh’s Ashoka Road residence kept buzzing with senior leaders making a beeline. Prominent among those who met him included Maneka Gandhi, Udit Raj, Vijay Goel and Ram Lal. Sources say Modi is personally screening biodata of all those he wants to include in his Council of Ministers to tap their potential and scrutinise their business interests. Apparently, Modi has made it clear that lobbyists, whether from BJP or outside, will not be welcomed. His “compact” Council of Ministers is expected to include 20-odd senior ministers and nearly 30 ministers of state. The buzz is that he may consolidate related ministries and make one Cabinet minister in charge. The speculations
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Civic society groups want Modi to shun tainted MPs
Ahmedabad, May 24 In a letter to Modi, the two organisations have pointed out that according to the affidavits filed by the elected MPs along with their nomination papers, 186 of the 541 newly elected MPs have criminal cases registered against them, constituting 34 per cent of the total strength in the Lok Sabha. This included 112 MPs (21 per cent) facing “serious” criminal charges like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, dacoity etc. In the BJP alone, 98 of the 281 MPs (35%) have criminal cases registered against them. Of them, 63 MPs (22 %) have serious charges pending against them. The organisations have pointed out the percentage of elected representatives with criminal background was 24 in the 2004 elections, which went up to 30 per cent in 2009 and 34 per cent this time. These organisations reminded Modi that he had promised that if he was voted to power, he would provide a clean government. Court to hear plea
A Delhi court today agreed to hear a plea filed by a local resident seeking order to restrain the police and other central forces from providing security to newly-elected tainted
MPs.
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‘CMs who couldn’t deliver must quit’
The call for accountability was made today by two tall leaders — newly elected MP from Amritsar Capt Amarinder Singh and party’s Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Kumari Selja. Speaking to The Tribune after the meeting of Congress Parliamentary Parliament in the Central Hall of Parliament today, Capt Amarinder said: “Everyone who is responsible for defeat should quit or at least offer to quit. I firmly believe that Congress chief ministers who failed to deliver in their respective states and also state party president who presided over defeat should offer their resignations to the Congress president. Let the leadership then take the call.” Amarinder cited past conventions to cement his point. He referred to how he offered to resign as Punjab CM when the party lost in 2007. “Again in 2012, when the Congress lost in Punjab under my leadership, I offered to resign. I was the Punjab Pradesh Congress president then,” he said giving a clear message to Partap Singh Bajwa, present Congress chief in Punjab, to offer resignation owning moral responsibility for defeat. Joining the demand for accountability, Selja wondered why Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda did not offer to resign when the sole seat the party won in the state was the one his son Deepender Hooda represents. “He should have offered to quit. The party leadership could have either accepted or rejected it. The CM has a lot to introspect,” she told The Tribune.
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Cong mulls sending Chidambaram to RS from K’taka
Bangalore, May 24 Tensions between the two neighbours had also come out in the open in the wake of kidnapping of Kannada film icon Rajkumar by forest brigand Veerappan (a Tamilian) in 2000. A rattled Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, has told the party’s Central leaders, including AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, about his reservation on pushing the case of an “outsider” to the Upper House when the party is facing political challenge in the state. He said in the event of a stand-off with Tamil Nadu on sharing of Kaveri waters, Chidambaram’s nomination from Karnataka can become a political issue. However, despite Siddaramaiah’s objections, the Congress high command is expected to persuade the party’s state leaders to accept Chidambaram’s candidature in the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.
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Protests over police action against Goan youth
Panaji, May 24 The cyber crime cell of Goa Police had moved a local court seeking custodial interrogation of accused Lavu Chodankar claiming that his FB post was a larger gameplan to “promote communal and social disharmony” in the state. The District and Sessions court had yesterday rejected anticipatory bail plea of Chodankar, who is currently out of station. Goa businessman Atul Pai Kane, who heads the BJP-led Goa government’s committee on investment and industrial policy, had lodged a complaint against Chodankar. The police had filed an FIR under Section 153(A), 295(A) of the IPC, besides Section 125 of the Representation of People Act as well as Section 66-A of the Information Technology Act. The protestors led by cybercrime expert Dr Samir Kelekar and representatives of Congress and Aam Admi Party (AAP) today staged their agitation outside the police headquarters. — PTI
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8 killed in Rajasthan car crash
Abohar, May 24 Preliminary investigation indicated the victims were returning to Rawla after attending a marriage function at Nathan Wali Thehadi village. Their Maruti Swift car rammed into a tractor-trailer laden with wheat around 6 km from the Amarpura level crossing. All eight occupants of the car suffered serious injuries. Witnesses said the car, which was reportedly travelling at a high speed, got trapped under the trailer. The injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital, Suratgarh. While five of them died on the way, two died at the hospital. Another victim, Veena (25), who was referred to district hospital at Sriganganagar died today. The deceased been identified as Kalawati (55), her son Kashmir Singh (35), granddaughter Priya (12), grandson Rahul (8), driver Rakesh Kumar (22), Komal (10) and Goldy (5). The bodies were handed over to the families after a postmortem this afternoon. In another case, 22 students of Fatehabad (Haryana)-based Bal Bharti School were injured as the bus they were travelling in overturned near Dhanna village on the Sidhmukh-Rajgarh road. The students were going on an educational tour to Pilani in Rajasthan. The accident occurred after both rear tyres of the bus burst, the police said. Three of them have received head injuries and have been referred to a super-speciality hospital.
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NHRC notice to J&K over bonded labour at brick kiln New Delhi, May 24 Not alone in rescue, these children are part of 65 families, which migrated from Chhattisgarh's Janjgir Chhapa tribal district to Rajouri in the hope of a better life. A 13-year-old says he used to make 1,000 bricks a day. The BMM has moved the National Human Rights Commission, which has issued a notice to J&K authorities in the matter. BMM's Nirmal Gorana, who led the rescue team after receiving a tip-off from his Chhattisgarh colleagues, says: "We rescued them from living hell. The administration was part of the raid team to free workers but never issued any release certificates which means these people can't get rehabilitation benefits under the Bonder Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976." The Act mandates that district authorities will issue release certificates to bonded labourers and pay Rs 1,000 per person as interim relief. Once release certificates come, workers become eligible for a rehabilitation sum of Rs 19,000 each.
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India allowed partial withdrawal of Agusta bank guarantees
New Delhi, May 24 “The Milan court partially upheld the complaint lodged by the Indian Defence Ministry and thereby revoked the order issued by the judge on last March 17,” said a statement by Finmecannica, parent company of AgustaWestland. AgustaWestland had resisted India’s attempt for “calling of certain first demand bank guarantees provided with reference to the contract for the supply of 12 AW101 VVIP helicopters for 228 million Euros (Rs 1,818 crore) maximum against a call seeking to cash 278 million Euros (Rs 2,217 crore),” the statement said. After the Rs 3,600 crore deal was cancelled on January 1, India had initiated the process to seize bank guarantees deposited in banks in Italy and India. While the money deposited in Indian banks was cashed, the Italian court had stayed the process of seizure in that country. Finmeccanica said: “It (the company) will assert its rights to recover the aforesaid amounts in the arbitration process already initiated.” India has been working on procedures to claim more than 650 million Euros (Rs 5,470 crore) from the company in the form of seizure of bank guarantees and imposing penalties. — PTI
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First pilgrims leave for Hemkund Sahib
Dehradun, May 24 Meanwhile, the yatra to Kedarnath resumed after three days today. A batch of 400 pilgrims proceeded to the shrine from Sonprayag. The pilgrims were stopped at the Sonprayag camp due to bad weather.
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New Delhi, May 24
