Terror back in Delhi with blast

NEW DELHI, Sept 27: Terror returned to Delhi a fortnight after the serial blasts with two motorcycle-borne youth dropping a tiffin bomb in a crowded south Delhi market that exploded killing a young boy and injuring 18 people.

Meanwhile, opposition parties today accused the UPA Government of failing to combat terrorism, with BJP demanding resignation of Home Minister Shivraj Patil, even as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi called for “immediate action” to bring the culprits to book.

Riding a black motorcycle, the two men in black dress and wearing helmets, dropped a black polythene bag containing a tiffin box opposite an electronic goods shop in the flower market in Mehrauli at about 2.15 pm, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) H S Dhaliwal told reporters.

A 13-year-old boy picked it up to give it back to the bikers. They refused and fled the place but the boy was still keen on giving it to them when it exploded killing him instantaneously and injuring 18 others. Eleven of the injured were rushed to AIIMS where doctors said six were in critical condition. Five of them suffered serious head injuries. Three or four of the injured could be required to be operated upon, Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters.

The explosive shattered the window panes of several adjacent shops in the market located close to the historic Qutab Minar, which was bustling with shoppers. The blast, which caused a crater, left a gory scene where blood was splattered on the road along with shattered glass panes and furniture. PTI

The Parliament has lost " Confidence" motion to the Nation

The drama which unfolded in the Parliament on Tuesday, embarrassed whole of the Nation. Read the chilling story of corruption, bribery, and horse-trading. Also read the comments of experts:

3 BJP MPs ‘sting’ SP men bribing them Rs 9cr to abstain

July 23, 2008, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The plan to ‘trap’ UPA’s vote managers was hatched on Monday evening, if the BJP's version of events is to believed. BJP, struggling to hold on to its flock that was allegedly being poached by the Samajwadi Party and Congress with the lure of lucre, apparently discovered that its MP from Morena, Ashok Argal could actually do a sting to expose the “murky game of buying and selling MPs". Remember Argal? He’s the BJP MP The Times of India wrote about on its front page on Tuesday. Argal, a Dalit, is set to lose his seat in the coming Lok Sabha election because of delimitation. So, he was antsy — and was being targeted by SP leaders. BJP got wind of this and speedily addressed his problem by promising him an Assembly ticket. Argal, in short, had decided he would not switch his loyalty. But SP managers, determined to swell the numbers for UPA, were not giving up on him, claims BJP. Argal is understood to have told his party leaders about their persistence and the leaders, in turn, told him: Trap them. The plan was accordingly hatched. When SP MP from Allahabad, Reoti Raman Singh, called on Argal at his 4, Ferozeshah Road residence late on Monday night, the BJP MP was prepared. Argal told Reoti Raman that not just him, but two more BJP MPs — Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste, both tribals — were willing to jump fence. Reoti Raman is said to have fixed a meeting between the BJP MPs and Amar Singh next morning. This visit of the SP member to Argal's residence is said to have been recorded by stealth on camera by a TV journalist from a TV news channel, CNNIBN, who had been tipped off.

On Tuesday morning, Argal and Kulaste reached Amar Singh’s residence at 27, Lodhi Estate. BJP sources alleged Amar Singh told the BJP MPs that the UPA already had the necessary number of MPs to win the vote. So, he was not in a position to give them too much money. Still, he was prepared to give them Rs 3 crore each for abstaining from voting. To seal the deal by building greater confidence in the BJP MPs, the BJP MPs claim Amar Singh got them to speak to someone on phone who he said was Sonia Gandhi's political secretary, Ahmad Patel. The MPs claim they played along and agreed to the deal. But they pointed out that with television crew deployed 24x7 outside Amar Singh’s residence, it was not possible to carry out wads of notes. Amar Singh is claimed to have offered to have the money delivered. Soon, Sanjeev Saxena, Amar Singh's personal aide, went to Argal's residence with a bag. This visit too is said to be have been recorded on camera, which also captured Saxena taking out wads of currency notes. The BJP MPs claim Saxena gave them Rs 1 crore as “token money" and told them that the remaining Rs 8 crore would be delivered after they had abstained in the trust vote. In the footage which is now with the Speaker, Saxena is is also shown as giving the phone to Argal to speak with somebody whom the BJP MP later identified as Amar Singh.

Osmani to vote for UPA

OUR CORRESPONDENT
Silchar, July 18: Maverick politician and veteran Congress MP from Barpeta in Assam Abul Fazal Golam Osmani has set all speculation at rest by declaring that he would vote for the UPA government during the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on July 22.

Dismissing the buzz that he was toying with the idea of not voting for the Congress, he firmly reiterated his loyalty to his party. He, however, did admit nursing a grudge against the state leadership, especially chief minister Tarun Gogoi, for its hostile attitude towards him.
Talking to reporters at his ancestral home here last night, the septuagenarian denied having attached any condition for his support.

However, his supporters and confidants said the MP had put forward three conditions. He has sought re-nomination as the party candidate from Barpeta Lok Sabha seat. If there is any vacancy from the state in the Rajya Sabha then he should be nominated as a candidate by the Congress. In case he is elected to the Rajya Sabha, the Barpeta seat should be reserved for his elder son Wajed Osmani, a doctorate in history from Aligarh Central University.

Osmani said he had received several phone calls from senior Congress leaders, including foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee and political secretary to AICC president Sonia Gandhi Ahmed Patel, over the past three days, seeking assurance about his support. source: telegraph india

Mayawati withdraws support to UPA government

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has withdrawn her party's support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.

The BSP has 17 members in the Lok Sabha, which has an effective strength of 543. The UPA currently has the support of 220 members. The Left parties, which have 59 lawmakers as a block, extend outside support to the government.

Mayawati has accused the UPA of neglecting Uttar Pradesh and meting out step-motherly treatment to her party and the UP government.

The BSP supremo sent a letter, stating her withdrawal of support, to President Pratibha Patil and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Mayawati added that she will not enter into any electoral alliance with either the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party.Mayawati displayed copies of the letter she had written to President Patil, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Vice President Mohammad Ansari and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.She charged both Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress of misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation and attempting to implicate her in the Taj Corridor case. She accused the Congress of only making false promises. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister said Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal regions had witnessed unprecedented drought, but the Union government did not do anything besides making false promises. "I personally met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked him to give an economic package of Rs 88,000 crore and he promised to do something about it. Till date, nothing had been done," she said. PTI adds:

Similarly, she dismissed another question that whether she took this decision because of the reported warming up of ties between SP and Congress, she said both were down and out in Uttar Pradesh.

Mayawati said she had given an open warning to the UPA in January this year that BSP would withdraw support if the Congress-led coalition 'did not mend its ways' and change its step-motherly attitude towards the state government.

The chief minister said though she had expected that the Congress would stop attacking her and her party for its own political interest, there was no change in the party's attitude.

She said that when the Congress-led coalition replaced NDA, headed by BJP, at the Centre, she had expected that the government would ensure that she gets justice in the Taj Corridor and other related issues.

"But unfortunately Congress proved worse than BJP as instead of ensuring justice, Congress has kept the matter hanging during the last four years for its own political interest," she said.

Mayawati alleged that when her party refused to enter into an electoral alliance with the BJP at the Centre prior to the previous Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party 'falsely implicated' her in the Taj Corridor case to exert pressure.

She also accused the previous NDA government of misusing the CBI and filing a disproportionate assets case against her to tarnish her and her party's image. Source: http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/21maya.htm

PM wants to quit over nuclear deal

PM wants to quit over nuclear deal
Sheela Bhatt

June 19, 2008 23:42 ISTLast Updated: June 20, 2008 00:03 ISTCongress sources told rediff.com late on Thursday night that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is putting the maximum pressure possible on Congress party president Sonia Gandhi to go ahead with the India-US nuclear deal.

The tussle between Dr Singh and some party leaders, who do not want an early general election provoked by the withdrawal of Left support, is on and far from over, the Congress sources added.

Dr Singh would like to resign as prime minister if the Congress party does not back him on the deal. However, negotiations between Dr Singh and the party continue and the final verdict is not out yet.

The prime minister is likely to continue pressurising the Congress leadership before the next United Progressive Alliance-Left parties meeting on the nuclear deal on June 25.

Dr Singh will not have much to lose if he insists on an exit from power because his four-year tenure has ensured his place in history. The final year in power will be the most difficult with international oil prices likely to cross $150 per barrel.

Another factor behind the current political drama in New Delhi over the nuclear deal is a powerful lobby's belief that a strategic partnership with the United States is a win-win situation for India and the US. Dr Singh's supporters think it is time "the Congress calls the bluff of the Left parties" and goes ahead with the nuclear deal.
But it seems difficult for Dr Singh to garner his own party's support for the deal. Notwithstanding the public stand of UPA allies like Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad, Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar [Images] and Dravida Munnetra Kazagham supremo M Karunanidhi supporting the deal, the Congress is well aware that these allies do not want an early election, and certainly not in November. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the mediator between the Congress, the Left parties and its allies, briefed Dr Singh on the issue today.
Dr Singh cancelled all his appointments for Thursday, June 19. An official statement said the prime minister is unwell and running a viral fever.

The prime minister is understandably anguished because it will be embarrassing for him to travel to Tokyo next month for the G-8 summit -- where he will meet US President George W Bush -- after suffering a domestic political defeat on a diplomatic issue of great importance. "The prime minister," a reliable Congress source said, "wants to save his prestige in an international forum." Source: http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/19pm.htm

Sonia Gandhi’s Assam visit

Sonia Gandhi’s hurricane visit to Assam to address a Kishan Rally followed by a trail of natural calamities like rain, breach of embankments, flood added woes of the poor farmers already burdened with debt, disease and destitution. Sonia Gandhi appeared as a Messiah of the farmers but she did not utter any word of hope to the farmers of Assam regarding long time solution of the perennial problem of flood which was the main cause of their poverty.. Addressing the Kishan Rally,she talked of price hike in petrol and diesel and patted the back of Chief Minster Tarun Gogoi for readily reducing the sales tax on these items. She talked of global inflation consequent to the rise of crude oil prices and the need for harnessing nuclear energy. Of course the large gathering had very few genuine farmers and therefore these subjects might not appear completely foreign to them. She spoke of the revolutionary step taken by the UPA government in announcing the Rs. 70,000 crore loan waiver for the farmers which would benefit 22 lakh farmers of the State. Regarding flood, a bold declaration from the UPA Chairman Sonia Gandhi that Assam flood would henceforth be treated as a national problem and dealt with in a war footing would have cheered the people of Assam She reiterated the UPA government’s commitment to implement the Assam Accord. However the AASU delegation complained to the Prime Minister that no progress in implementation had been made since the tripartite meeting presided by the Prime Minister on May 5,2005. The Chief Minister took credit for distribution of tractors,powertillers to the farmers and promised to issue rain coats and Japis to them in future. These are cosmetic measures. Farmers in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur have lost their valuable agricultural land due to erosion and breach of embankments. What they would do with rain coat and Japis?Sonia Gandhi’s visit though ostensibly to address a farmers rally to capitalise on the loan waiver scheme, was prompted to put a brake on the downward slide in popularity of the Congress Party after the arrest of Ripun Bora, ex–Education Minister and trusted lieutenant of the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.The arrest of Ripun Bora has opened a Pandora’s Box and opposition parties are baying for blood of a few tainted Ministers. The Congress Party stands divided and a conspiracy by colleagues is alleged to have landed Ripun Bora in CBI net. One MP is making frequent press statements not complimentary to Tarun Gogoi government and embarrassing to the party. Sonia Gandhi’s stand on the issue of tainted Ministers is not known, but it is reported that she had advised the Chief Minister and the APCC president to take all measures and prepare for the election. Unless the party is revamped and Tarun Gogoi is bold enough to axe the tainted Ministers, the BJP-AGP combine would sweep the Lok Sabha poll. Sonia Gandhi as Congress president and Verappa Moily as in charge of Assam Congress have to do a lot to put the Assam Congress in order. Source: assam tribune

Showcase for Sonia

Showcase for Sonia

It was not the Prime Minister who was going to be in town for the day. It was Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and the appointer of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. As an elected Congress MP of the Lok Sabha, Congress president and member of the dynasty, it is she who commands the allegiance of all Congressmen — not the Prime Minister of the country. It is to her that all chief ministers run to have their problems solved and to make exaggerated claims of their achievements. And it is she who tells them when to drop which minister for crimes small and big — not the Prime Minister. Had Manmohan Singh got elected to the Lok Sabha, things may have been somewhat different. But his having to rely solely on our State to remain a member of the Rajya Sabha without really belonging to this State has not exactly endeared him to the people. Be that as it may, Sonia Gandhi had to begin her election tours a trifle early for the Lok Sabha elections next year, and there was every reason to begin with Asom not merely because she was going in alphabetical order, but also because there are so few Congress-run States left in the country. It made sense to begin with a Congress-run State rather than with a State where the Congress was in the opposition. Besides, had the Congress in Asom not hit the headlines recently with Ripun Bora trying to bribe a CBI investigator? And had not Sonia Gandhi advised Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to drop all ministers in his cabinet against whom there are criminal charges? The fact that the Prime Minister rarely sends instructions on disciplinary measures to Congress chief ministers could not have escaped anyone's notice. Be that as it may, Sonia Gandhi's presence was badly needed in Asom now because the Ripun Bora affair has come as a huge black mark for the Congress. This is not to suggest that the Congress has great respect for the eternal values that our ancestors swore by. The truth is that the Congress has created a new value system for itself. Put in a single sentence it is: Whatever you do, for God's sake do not get caught. There are so many others in the Congress who have committed crimes and bribed investigating officers. But they have been careful not to get caught red-handed. Ripun Bora's crime (as far as his party is concerned) is that he got caught while paying a hefty bribe and thereby shamed his party. He has set the alarm bells ringing for some other ministers of Mr Gogoi's cabinet who also have charges of serious crimes against them. He has made matters extremely difficult for a chief minister who promised a transparent government and lost no time in introducing the Right to Information Act. It must be very hard on him that his ministers have let him down. As such Sonia Gandhi's arrival at this juncture was a windfall of sorts, considering that she is thought to be such a vote-reaper in Congress circles. It did not matter one bit to the Congress that hundreds of buses had to be requisitioned to get enough people for the farmers' rally causing great inconvenience to commuters, or that the failure to get enough farmers for the rally resulted in the farmers' rally being converted to a women's rally. Nor did it seem to matter that people were stopped for about an hour by policemen along the route that her convoy was supposed to take. But what took one's breath away was the half-page advertisement in some newspapers about Asom being on the ‘‘fast track of progress and development’’. As an attempt to showcase the Tarun Gogoi government, it was a record of all the inconsequential things that the State government had done but there was no mention of the total collapse of law and order in North Cachar Hills district where the Black Widow left a gory tally of soft targets, or of the huge chunks of Asom's territory ceded to Nagaland, or the rapid increase of flesh trade in the State, or government-induced alcoholism among the youth or of the deplorable state of education and health care in the rural areas. Obviously, no one expected this government to talk about the large-scale illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis into Asom, and it did not. How thoughtful of a transparent government! Source: sentinel assam editorial 15.06.08

Centre firm to implement Accord: Sonia

By A Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, June 13 – Asserting that the Centre was committed to implementing the Assam Accord in its all aspects, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today and said that farmers’ interests and rural development were two key areas of focus of the UPA Government. Addressing a ‘State-level Kisan Rally’ (farmers’ rally) at the Khanapara Veterinary College playground in the city, Gandhi said that the Congress had all along been striving for development of the State and that it was duty-bound to implement the Assam Accord. “We are committed to implementing the Assam Accord in its different aspects – be it development or checking infiltration,” she said. Gandhi said that modernization of agriculture had been a top priority for the UPA Government and that more funds would be pumped in to boost the sector. Terming the Rs 70,000-crore loan waiver for farmers of the country as a landmark move, she said that the BJP-led NDA Government had done nothing for the farmers. Reiterating its commitment to protect the State from flood and erosion, the Congress president said that the recommendations of the flood task force were being implemented to check the menace. Claiming that the UPA Government was successful in arresting a possible steeper hike in oil prices, Gandhi said that fuel prices in India were still much lower than in its neighbouring countries. “While the BJP was in power, oil price in the international market was Rs 30-40 a barrel which is now Rs 130-140 a barrel. The recent hike, therefore, was inevitable but is still comparatively low considering the unprecedented hike in the international market,” she reasoned. In a veiled reference to the proposed Indo-US nuclear deal, Gandhi said that the changing circumstances made it imperative that prospects of nuclear energy were explored to meet growing power needs. “Nuclear energy has gained much importance in view of the steep rise in global oil prices,” she said.Gandhi had a word of praise for the self-help group (SHG) movement in the State, saying that with 80 per cent woman participation, the nearly 1.5 lakh SHGs of Assam were giving a fillip to woman entrepreneurship in villages. Gandhi further said that the ambitious Bharat Nirman project would change the face of the villages in terms of infrastructure and amenities. Gandhi also said that the Centre accorded priority to the development of minority communities and had set up a special ministry for them. Earlier, the UPA chairperson recalled the sacrifices of the farming community in India’s freedom struggle, and dwelt specifically on the farmers’ revolts of Assam at Patharughat and Phulaguri. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Veerappa Moily, Union Ministers Santosh Mohan Dev and Bijoy Krishna Handique, senior leader Margaret Alva and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhubaneswar Kalita were present at the dais. Earlier, Sonaram Bardoloi and Deepali Senapati, two model farmers, felicitated Sonia Gandhi. Source: assam tribune

Sonia to visit Guwahati as scheduled: APCC

Sonia to visit Guwahati as scheduled: APCC By our Staff ReporterGUWAHATI, June 10: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhubaneswar Kalita today said there is no change in Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s Guwahati visit on June 13. He said Sonia will address the farmers’ rally soon after her arrival on June 13, and then take part in the Sankardev award-giving ceremony and a cultural programmes at Pragjyoti Cultural Centre of Performing Arts. At a dinner meeting at 8 pm, she will interact with party leaders and take stock of the situation in the State.

Opposition stir on eve of Sonia visit

By our Staff ReporterGUWAHATI, June 10: As many as ten parties of the State will march to Raj Bhavan on June 12, on the eve of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s visit to the State, and submit a memorandum to the Governor demanding dismissal of the State Government for its failure on all fronts. The parties will also oppose the hike in prices of petrol, diesel and LPG.