Showing posts with label CONGRESS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CONGRESS. Show all posts
Monday, 14 April 2014
PM MANMOHAN SINGH ismisses Baru’s claims, "baseless and mischievous’"
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
G.K. Vasan NOT TO contest Lok Sabha polls
While chances of Congress forging an alliance in Tamil Nadu was growing slim, senior party leader and Union Shipping Minister, G.K. Vasan, on Tuesday declared that he would not contest the polls.
"I will not contest. I will tour all 39 constituencies and campaign for candidates. I want to ensure unity and an increase in vote share for the Congress," he said.
Addressing a press conference, the former TNCC president said he had told about his decision to the party high command. Mr. Vasan said after a long time, the party in Tamil Nadu had got an opportunity to fight the elections alone. Congress workers across the State were elated at the prospect and are looking forward to work for candidates in all 39 seats.
On the reason for the party not able to stitch an alliance, Mr. Vasan, in an apparent reference to the DMDK and the DMK, said that parties in Tamil Nadu have opted for "opportunistic alliances."
"When the results come out and the vote shares are declared, those who did not align with us will regret the decision… Some of them were with us for long and enjoyed the power. But they have left at the last moment. This will certainly be taken to the voters," the union minister pointed out.
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Modi asks Mulayam-"Why so many riots in UP"
"Congress, SP and BSP are misleading the people by wearing the veil of secularism to conceal their failures," the Gujarat Chief Minister told a massive rally in Lucknow on Sunday
Unleashing a scathing attack on the troika of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday accused them of covering up their failures by creating a hype over "threat to secularism" and said their "extermination" was certain in the upcoming general elections.
"SaBKa vinaash tay hai (their extermination is certain)" he said while accusing the three parties of "divide and rule" and relegating secularism to a mere "election slogan." Secularism for the BJP, he said, was an "article of faith" which placed "India First" and "united people" on the path of development.
Personally directing his attack on SP supremo Muyalam Singh, Mr. Modi said: "There have been 150 riots in the one year rule of your son (UP CM Akhilesh Yadav). In Gujarat, in the last 10 years there have been no riots. You try and compare with us? Our heads bow in shame due to your politics and goondagardi." To correct Mr. Modi, the SP came to power in 2012 making it two years of Mr. Yadav's rule.
"Netaji conceded defeat"
Addressing the last of his party's eight rallies in UP at the massive Ramabai grounds in the State capital, Mr. Modi took the SP chief head on, claiming that Mr. Singh had "conceded defeat" in his address in Allahabad. "Netaji says don't compete on the size of the crowds at the rallies. It means he has already admitted defeat. He is asking me to fight on development issues. I'm glad he has been forced by us to talk about development and leave his old ways. I am in favour of development politics and have been urging political parties to end their votebank politics.
From a stage that adorned a huge poster of Atal Bihari Vajpayee with "272 plus" imprinted on it, the Gujarat Chief Minister evoked the former PM's Lucknow connection.
Continuing his attack on the SP, Mr. Modi said the party was divided into two camps, the "Samajvirodhi Party" (anti-social) and the "Sukhvadi Party," which indulged in fun. "(Ram Manohar) Lohia's soul will not be at rest. He would have been pained by the SP's acts."
Poking fun at the power situation in UP, Mr. Modi said "you have reservation in electricity supply as well, only in Netaji's area."
Alleging that Mr. Singh was spreading lies (on Gujarat's development), he said: "Don't criticise Gujarat, first give an account of your work and progress in UP."
Mr. Modi hit out at the alleged Muslim appeasement policy of the SP and compared the number of applicants for the Hajj pilgrimage in UP and Gujarat saying the minority community was better off in his State.
"Despite only having a quota for 4800 persons, Gujarat receives Hajj 38,000 applications. In UP, which is ten times bigger, there are only 35000 applications. If Muslims were in good shape under you, even they would perform the Hajj."
Mr. Modi also targeted the SP's most prominent Muslim face, Urban Development Minister Azam Khan, mocking him on a recent incident when the State police machinery was set into action to retrieve the Rampur MLA's lost buffaloes. Though he attacked Union Ministers Salman Khurshid and Sri Prakash Jaiswal for corruption allegations against them, Mr. Modi avoided mention of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who flayed the Gujarat development model in his rally in Kanpur.
With the elections coming up, the BJP's chief strategy in UP is the consolidation of the non-Yadav OBC votes. Mr. Modi did not miss out on raking up his own background as an OBC while contending that the coming decade would belong to the "OBCs, Dalits and the suppressed classes."
Along with senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, and Party president Rajnath Singh, Mr. Modi shared the dias with Dalit leader Udit Raj, former Army chief V.K Singh and former RAW chief Satish Tripathi, all of whom joined the party recently.
Kalyan Singh back in BJP
The BJP also formally inducted the posterboy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Kalyan Singh, who, the BJP chief said would be given "some top responsibilities" and not be restricted to the post of a common worker. There are speculations that the BJP chief could be fielded from Lucknow and Mr. Modi could contest from Varanasi.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
MODI SAYS Congress playing fraud with armed forces
Slamming the “delay” by UPA in granting ‘one-rank, one-pension’ for ex-servicemen, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Congress of playing “fraud” with the armed forces and mocked Rahul Gandhi’s pitch on fighting corruption.
Addressing a ‘fateh’ (victory) rally with leaders from the ally Shiromani Akali Dal on the dais, the Gujarat Chief Minister, who donned a saffron turban, also dismissed as “rumours and a pack of lies” the controversy about migration of Sikh farmers from Kutch region in his state, promising that no Sikh farmer will have to leave Gujarat.
He described the BJP-SAD alliance in Punjab as a symbol of Hindu-Sikh unity which has put to end the “Congress’ game of divide and rule”.
In his 30-minutes speech at a packed ground, Mr. Modi was unsparing in his attack on Congress and said the party was now throwing pepper instead of dust in the eyes of the people to befool them, a reference to the pepper spray incident in Lok Sabha involving an expelled Congress MP during the taking up of Telangana bill.
The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate took potshots at the Gandhi family and Congress for targeting other parties on corruption.
“I am surprised that the leader of Congress is now engaged in raising fingers on other political parties on the issue of corruption, when the entire ABCD has become the identity of the corruption of Congress. When Rajiv Gandhi was ruling the country as Prime Minister, there was no other party but only Congress, which was in power from Parliament to Panchayat.
“At that time he had said that when he sends a rupee from Delhi, only 15 paisas reach the village. What was this ‘Panja’ which used to rub the rupee (one rupee coin) and it would turn into 15 paisa,” Mr. Modi said, vowing that if he is elected Prime Minister he will occupy the top seat as a “chowkidar”(warchman) and won’t allow the ‘Panja’ (hand) to cast its shadow on the state treasury.
He hit out Congress on one-rank, one-pension issue.
After Rahul Gandhi’s push, the government accepted the long-standing demand of ex-servicemen for ‘one-rank, one-pension’ and allocated Rs. 500 crore for the fund a few days back. This decision is expected to benefit around 30 lakh retired personnel of the Armed forces.
Mr. Modi wondered why the government did not bring this proposal in previous budgets even as it was in power for last ten years.
“The government, which is sitting in Delhi has always been playing a farce with the Armed Forces. Before this also, a number of times, the Finance Minister of Congress had made announcements about One Rank One Pension (OROP) but never fulfilled it.
“Even this time since I am repeatedly talking about it, they have announced it but this is a “fraud” (dhokha) with you. Had Congress party been honest, they had the chance to it in 10 budgets from 2004 to 2014. But they did not do it,” Mr. Modi said.
Maintaining that had the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee come to power in 2004, this would have been done, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, “only our government will be able to implement it.”
Mr. Modi also appeared to be reaching out to UPA ally National Conference as he mentioned Union Minister Farooq Abdullah among the leaders from whom he learnt how the administration is run.
“I worked with Bansi Lal, Parkash Singh Badal, Om Prakash Chautala, Farooq Abdullah and I saw how administration is run. What could I learn from Badal Sahab, helped me a lot in running the government in Gujarat. Being with these seniors helped me a lot in administration,” he said.
National Conference was earlier with NDA while BJP is likely to have an alliance with Chautala’s INLD this time as well.
Accusing Congress of cheating people, Modi said, “Now since they felt that you have become aware, they have engaged in throwing pepper in Parliament. Those, who used to throw dust are now throwing pepper so that people fail to see the sins and the bad governance of Congress.”
On the issue of alleged displacement of Sikh farmers from Kutch region of Gujarat, he said that it was a false propaganda from certain elements.
“I assure that no Sikh farmer will be displaced from Kutch and Gujarat,” he said amidst applause from the gathering.
“If any officer does anything wrong he will go but no Sikh farmer will be displaced from Gujarat,” he said.
“The people who are misguiding on the issue are posing a threat to the country,” he said adding that “the entire country is one“.
He applauded that both Punjabis and Gujaratis are moving on the path of development and live together in many countries.
On the issue of SAD and BJP alliance, he said it is “troubling Congress as its policy of divide and rule had failed“.
Professing his love for Punjab and its people, Mr. Modi said that music and food of the state is a favourite in Gujarat too and recalled how he had strived to build an earthquake ravaged Gurudwara in Lakhpat in Gujarat.
He also lashed out at Congress for allegedly forgetting freedom fighters liken Lala Lajpat Rai. “For Congress only Gandhi family is making sacrifices for the country,” he said
He also lauded the contribution of Punjab in his endeavour to build statue of unity in Gujarat.
Holding that his only aim is development, he said before polls NDA is National Democratic Alliance but when in government it will be National Development Alliance.
The only aim of NDA is “development” of the country, he said.
The BJP leader, who was offered a ‘turban’ at the rally, said he will keep the sanctity of turban at all cost.
“My responsibility is to keep the respect of turban intact...I will fulfil the responsibility of tradition of sacrifice...the country will flourish and farmers will be satisfied,” he said.
Friday, 21 February 2014
INDIA can take difficult decisions, Sushma praises Sonia
NEW DELHI: The passage of Telangana bill indicated that this country can take "difficult" decisions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
In his concluding remarks on the last day of the 15th Lok Sabha, he said the manner in which the Telangana Bill was passed was another example that the country was capable of taking difficult decisions.
Unlike the disruptions and the slogan shouting, the House witnessed bonhomie and camaraderie on the last day with P ..
Mr. Kejriwal delhi protest on bill
“If the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed then….I would quit as the Chief Minister of Delhi.”
“If power politics is not sorted out in Delhi, Kejriwal will quit his CM office and sit on a Dharna”
“If the police officials will not obey his orders, Delhi CM will quit from his primary duties and will stage protests.”
By now we have got used to such dramatic headlines. The man-turned-messiah will QUIT if issues like bijli, pani, corruption, fuel and so on are not sorted out instantly. Now my reaction or rather a question to him as a citizen of the country would be that if you would keep quitting as the chief minister of Delhi for every damn reason, could you please explain how do you plan to change the entire system? I am sure an ex-IIT working in a highly paid job in some MNC certainly can’t. Neither can an employee of Indian Revenue Services do so. We gave you this post to utilize the power to bring about the change which we were looking forward to, since last so many years. And all we get after a couple of months are your threatening dramas to quit. If you had to quit then why did you actually contest for the elections, in the first place?
It is not an individual but a chair which holds the authority. You lose the chair, you lose the authority! Haven’t you heard of the grandma stories in which the fairy gave a magic wand to the little boy but also took a primes that he will never misuse it? Since our childhood we have known that in order to kill the ghost we need a magic wand but the rider was that we could not misuse it.
When we grew up, we came to terms with the reality that the magic wand which our grandmother spoke about was nothing but the authority we earn in order to do justice to the system. You cleared the entrance examination of one of the prestigious engineering institutes; obviously it would not have been an easy task. Had you quit at that point of time would you be standing where you do today?
Your idea behind threatening (personally I would call it black-mailing) the system to either comply to your orders or you would resign is born out of the fact that in these 65 odd years after the independence the political parties or babus per se with all their ill-intentions and deeds have led us to believe that the politicians crave for glamour and money which are the byproducts once you win the elections.
Do you also believe in this notion, dear CM? If not then why do you keep harping the same old tune of quitting if this does not happen if that does not happen. It just dawned on me that if a few issues concerning a single city can compel you to leave your post and go back home, then how do you plan to take charge of 28 states and seven union territories? I seriously shudder at the thought of having a Prime Minister who sits on dharnas to change the system instead of diligently making use of the power to do away with corruption and lawlessness.
Mr Kejriwal, I am sure you know that system is not a switch which can be turned on and off as per your or our wishes. There is a certain procedure which has to be followed for anything to take the shape of a law. If you feel you really have the guts enough then why don’t you make use of your intellect and your authority which the people gave you to bring about the change all of us are looking forward to?
The long forgotten home-spun ‘Gandhi cap’ which you and your party workers wear would appear nothing more than a bait to draw our attention towards a party which is here to reinforce the ideology of the Father of our Nation. But the great man who we fondly refer as ‘bapu’ just refused to give up! QUIT was the word which never existed in his dictionary. Rather he advocated and gave his blood and sweat to show the British, the exit door in his Quit India Movement.
One can well imagine the kind of protests Gandhi would have had to face to do away with issues like poverty, expanding women’s rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability-when he had to fight not just with the ruling British Raj but more importantly with the stringent and rotten system of our society which just could not accept the change Bapu wanted to bring in. But today we are an independent nation with proper laws and the strength of educated and open minded citizens who are there to back the leader who promises to make diligent use of his power. So what is the need to quit at the drop of a hat?
The term Satyagraha was coined during Mahatma Gandhi’s fight for independence which means protesting in a peaceful manner. This word has been misinterpreted by our political leaders now-a-days. A single issue crops up and they are ready to leave their prime job and are out on streets to protest!
“Satyagraha” is a Tatpuruṣa compound of the Sanskrit words satya (meaning “truth”) and Agraha(“insistence”, or “holding firmly to a view”). Satyagraha was an intelligent move to instill a feeling of democracy amongst people and to keep the evil intentions of the British at bay, without causing any loss to human life or property. Fighting violently against a system which was festooned not just with arms and ammunitions but with stringent laws resulted in our heroes like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and the likes sacrificing their lives for our freedom.
I am not at all against the extremists. We have just heard the stories of the freedom struggle, just read the anecdotes, just saw our actors reliving their lives but certainly we were not a part of that era which witnessed blood-shed everywhere. The scene was totally different, anarchy prevailed, there was total chaos and lawlessness which led these young and brave freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh to take the law in their hands.
But today the scene is totally different. We do not have ‘Viceroy’s of India’ who were once permitted to indict all sort of atrocities on the populace. Today we have an elected member representing on behalf of the people, there is a proper system in place. Everyone-be it our PM or some Ambani or some Bachchan, all need to adhere to a certain laid down principals of living in a developed society. So where and how does the need to go on a strike or a dharna or quitting the office, arise from?
Today, Mr Kejriwal you are sitting on the chair of a CM and you have all the media attention, so you can very conveniently keep endorsing your ‘good gesture’ of quitting from your post but go and ask a fragile five-year-old child fighting cancer in some hospital, go and ask the athlete participating with a broken limb in this winter Olympics, go and ask a CEO of a company which is suffering losses due to modernization of machinery and low cost goods from China, go and ask the widow of a soldier who has three kids to take care of all on her own-they will tell you that if they QUIT they will die. They will exist no more, if they even dare to quit!
So from next time if you plan to quit from your job if some police officials or jal nigam or bijli vibhag employees are not acting as per your commands then I have a suggestion that you could resume with your previous job, as there is no room for quitters-on the battle field at least!
- See more at: http://www.theindianrepublic.com/tbp/mr-kejriwal-enough-quit-drama-100026694.html#sthash.w03dpTyM.dpufGovt trying to change its image anti-corruption bills: Mayawati
The government today left open the possibility of giving effect to Rahul Gandhi's pet six anti-graft legislations through ordinances after the Opposition parties did not agree to extend the current Parliament session.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath responded by stating, "We will discuss the matter" when asked by reporters if the government would take the ordinance route on the bills.
He also indicated that the government would consider what views President Pranab Mukherjee may have in regard to promulgation of ordinances.
"We will discuss the matter.... What are the views of the President.... Because the country needs the anti- corruption legislations which are pending.... But despite all my efforts, the political parties did not agree to extend the session," Kamal Nath said.
Meanwhile, BSP chief Mayawati said, "though we support the bills, they should have come much earlier. Now the government, which itself is involved in corruption, is trying to change its image through the bills".
The extended Winter Session had started on February five.
Nath said that despite his attempts to persuade them, the political parties did not agree to extend to the session.
"They have not agreed despite the fact that these bills have been pending since 2011, 2012, 2013 and have gone through standing committees. It is not that these bills have come in the last two, three months. So, very unhappily, the government has no choice but to adjourn the House sine die," he said.
Rahul Dravid feels it is time for Zaheer Khan to start GAME
Former captain Rahul Dravid feels it is time for Zaheer Khan to start deliberating on his future as it would be difficult for the senior pacer to survive the rigours of five Test matches when India tour England later this year.
Zaheer, who made a comeback to the Test team during the disastrous tours of South Africa and New Zealand after a long injury lay-off, failed to trouble the batsmen.
Although he bowled 51 overs and took a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Wellington Test against New Zealand recently, he looked far from impressive.
“Can he survive five Test matches in England? I am not so sure,” Dravid was quoted as saying by‘ESPNcricinfo’
“I think it is a question he deeply needs to ask himself. He doesn’t want to end up being someone who struggles his way through to the end. It can be really hard. And we have seen, he struggled to back up time and time again in these two series. So that’s an issue he needs to consider, Indian selectors need to consider,” he said.
With 311 wickets in 92 Tests, Zaheer is the second most successful India seamer after Kapil Dev but his career has been plagued by injuries.
Dravid said he would hate to see Zaheer end his career on a low.
“He has been a great bowler for India, arguably the finest India fast bowler since Kapil Dev. I would hate to see Zaheer Khan end his career bowling 120-125 kph and limp away from international cricket.
“He has done a great job to get himself fit for these two series and to be fair, he has bowled well in patches, he has bowled consistently,” said Dravid.
Talking about Indian spinners, Dravid said in the past also they had struggled in overseas conditions and people need to be patient with them.
“We will need to show some patience with our spinners, whether it is R Ashwin or whether it’s (Ravindra) Jadeja, it’s early days for both in international cricket,” he said.
“We have seen some greats of Indian cricket, including Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, take a long time to get used to bowling with a Kookaburra ball in overseas conditions.
“I thought we were a little bit impatient with Ashwin. We haven’t given him as much a run as I would like, so I think there is an opportunity for him to get back into the side and play a few more games. He will only learn if he play more games,” insisted Dravid.
THE GAME : Dhoni is a defensive captain - Mohinder Amarnath
"A captain has to lead from the front. Not a single Test captain in the world bats at number seven" says the former India cricketer
Former India cricketer Mohinder Amarnath says the time has come to remove Mahendra Singh Dhoni from captaincy as his “defensive approach” has resulted in the country’s prolonged failure on foreign soil.
“Dhoni is a defensive captain who allows opposition to make a comeback in the game. His record is good at home pitches only like any other Indian captain. There is nothing special about it. We need aggressive captains like Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi to win matches abroad,” Amarnath said.
India had lost successive overseas Test rubbers in England (0-4) in 2011 and Australia (0-4) in 2011-12 and more recently in South Africa (0-1) and New Zealand (0-1).
India’s last overseas Test win came against the West Indies at Kingston in June 2011. Dhoni’s dismal away record stands at five wins out of 23 Tests, while losing 11 games.
“A captain has to lead from the front. Not a single Test captain in the world bats at number seven. What kind of example you are going to set. I sincerely feel that this is high time to relieve him from Test captaincy and although he is a match winner in ODIs, they should look at an option in shorter format as well,” said the hero of India’s 1983 World Cup triumph.
Asked about his choice for future captain, he said Virat Kohli looked good to shoulder the responsibility.
“Gautam (Gambhir) was an option who had the experience but since he is out of contention now, Virat is an obvious choice. He has shown leadership qualities at various levels. I think there should be different captains for different formats,” the 63-year-old said.
Amarnath also lashed out at India coach Duncan Fletcher whose appointment, he thinks, hasn’t yielded desired results.
“I don’t understand what is the use of having him (Fletcher) if he is not delivering. Everyone is talking about the players, captain but nobody is raising questions on coach and support staff. I think Indian team needs an Indian coach.
“A coach’s job is to help players to play to their potential and in the past we have achieved laurels with our own coaches,” the former selector said.
MSD N Team India returns home
The Indian cricket team led by M.S. Dhoni returned from New Zealand after losing both One-Day International and Test series, in what turned out to be a disastrous tour.
Soon after landing here on Wednesday night, all the team members took connecting flights to their respective cities.
India lost the five-match ODI series 0-4, followed by two-Test rubber 0-1 against a lowly-ranked New Zealand.
The Indian cricketers now have a short break prior to leaving for Bangladesh on February 23 to compete in the Asia Cup.
The Asia Cup commences on February 25 and India will begin its campaign against the host on February 26 at Fatullah.
Asia Cup will be followed by ICC Twenty20 World Cup, starting on March 16 in Mirpur.
fool-proof security to IPL: Shinde
The government on Friday said it will not be able to provide fool-proof security to Indian Premier League matches due to the coming Lok Sabha polls.
“Due to general elections, it will be difficult to provide adequate security to IPL matches,” Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi.
Sources said the Home Ministry has conveyed to BCCI that it would be able to provide adequate security personnel only after the general elections which are expected to be over by mid-May.
IPL matches are likely to be held between April 9 and June 3.
More than 1.20 lakh Central paramilitary force personnel, in addition to State police forces, are expected to be deployed for the multi-phased Lok Sabha polls which are likely to be held in April-May.
The sources said that the Home Ministry has started preparing for the massive exercise of mobilising 1.2 lakh personnel from different paramilitary forces to be deployed for poll duties.
Paramilitary forces are also deployed in Naxal-affected States, Jammu and Kashmir and the north eastern States
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