PATNA: "Don't be scared of floods! When it comes, it brings a lot of fish. Poor people will get fish free of cost and relish it."This and other off-the-cuff remarks by railway minister Lalu Prasad during the current devastating Kosi floods as also in the past are being documented by the state unit of the Janata Dal (U). It will be published in a booklet form.The floods this year have been politicised as never before as all major political players are trying to provide relief to the victims but with...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Court should fix definition of 'terrorist': Raj Thackeray
NASHIK: Reacting to the Bombay High Court's "terrorist" remark on him on the Marathi signboards issue, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday said the court should fix definition of "terrorist".Addressing a college students gathering on career guidance organised by Nashik unit of MNS this afternoon, Raj said, "We are forcing to make signboards in Marathi as per law, but court raps the state over failure to curb my drive and described me as a terrorist.""Does noted social...
Shivraj Patil should resign: BJP
NEW DELHI: With yet another blast rocking the national capital, BJP on Saturday demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil saying he has no right to be in office in the wake of continuing terror attacks in the country.V K Malhotra, BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate for Delhi who visited the blast site in south Delhi's Mehrauli, also demanded convening of an early session of Parliament to discuss the security scenario in the country.Attacking Patil, the BJP leader said, "instead...
Saturday, September 27, 2008
V K Malhotra to be BJP's Delhi CM candidate
NEW DELHI: BJP's Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, will lead the party in the coming Assembly elections in the national capital.Malhotra was chosen as the party's Chief Ministerial candidate at a meeting of the Parliamentary Board which met at the BJP headquarters here."He is an acceptable and senior leader. He has the potential to lead the party in the coming elections and emerge victorious," BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley told a press conference here announcing Malhotra's name.The...
Friday, September 26, 2008
Left, BSP dharna against nuke deal
PATNA: Workers of five Left parties namely CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc, Janvadi Forward Bloc, RSP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday staged a daylong dharna and burnt effigies of PM Manmohan Singh and US president George W Bush here at the income-tax roundabout in protest against the Indo-US nuclear deal and Manmohan’s US visit.It was part of Left parties’ nationwide protest programme. According to CPI state secretary B N Lal, dharnas were staged at the district headquarters of Begusarai, West...
TRS men attack Lanco office
HYDERABAD: A group of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) activists attacked an office of Lanco on Road No. 92, Jubilee Hills in the city on Thursday evening.Police said the attack was in retaliation to an accident involving external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee’s convoy in Nizamabad on Thursday, in which the car of Lagadapati Rajagopal, promoter and former managing director of Lanco and Congress MP from Vijayawada, ran over a TRS worker’s foot when they were trying to obstruct the convoy. But...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Cops identify cyber cafe from where email threat to Advani was sent
SHILLONG: Police have claimed to have identified the cyber cafe from which the email, purportedly sent by Indian Mujahideen terrorists, to eliminate BJP leader L K Advani during his Shillong visit on September 29, was sent. Refusing to disclose the name of the cafe, DGP B K Dey Sawian said the mail was sent from a cafe in Shillong."Definitely the email was not sent by a prankster. It's a two page mail written with specific inputs and details. We are taking it seriously and working on it to trace...
'BSP worker' held for blackmailing Amar Singh
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police claim to have picked up a person for demanding Rs 5 crore from SP leader Amar Singh in lieu of making a statement in his favour before a Parliamentary panel probing the cash-for-vote scam. Hashmat Ali was arrested from Amar Singh’s residence on Thursday. Ali, described by Singh as a BSP worker, had gone to Singh's residence this morning and demanded the hefty amount for changing his statement he had given to the panel, the SP leader claimed at a press conference.Singh said...
Manmohan, Zardari vow to be 'severe' on terror
NEW YORK: Acknowledging that the peace process has been "under strain" in recent months, India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced that cross-LoC trade in Jammu and Kashmir will commence on October 21 and vowed to take "severe action" against any elements directing or involved in terrorist acts, giving fresh momentum for an "an early and full" normalisation of bilateral relations. Unveiling a slew of measures for a "peaceful resolution and saisfactory settlement" of all bilateral issues including...
Amar disappointed with SP-Congress alliance
NEW DELHI: Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Samajwadi Party general secretary hit at the alliance with the Congress.Expressing unhappiness with the state of ties with the Congress, he said, “I am disappointed that Congress MP Rashid Aivi attacked me”.Amar also said that the party has indulged in character assassination. He threatened to expose a lot of big people in the Congress.He went to on say that so far what has happened is worse than a honey trap.It hasn’t been a long time since...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
AL, BNP agree to register with Election Commission (EC )
DHAKA: Major political parties have agreed to contest the December 18 national elections after registration with the Election Commission under the relaxed provisions on party registration, but demanded withdrawal of the state of emergency and deferment of the upazila polls scheduled for December 24 and 28.( The New Age BD )The Bangladesh Nationalist Party explained its stand on the issues to the commission on Tuesday when a four-member party delegation met the chief and other election commissioners.The...
Jamat-ud-Dawa using mosques for jihad: Report
ISLAMABAD: Activists of an organisation led by Lashker-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed are using mosques to issue calls for jihad against the US in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, a media report said on Tuesday.Members of Jamat-ud-Dawa, set up by Saeed after the Lashker-e-Taiba was banned by the Pakistan government, have been operating in the city's posh residential districts like Hayatabad and University Town, where they address people in mosques about the importance of jihad, the...
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Chiru sets up panel to study problems plaguing weavers
HYDERABAD: As a follow-up to his successful interaction with bereaved families of weavers in Sircilla, Prajarajyam party president Chiranjeevi on Monday appointed a committee headed by party's senior adviser K S R Murthy to study the crisis in the handloom sector.Chiranjeevi told the media that the committee would study the problems being faced by the handloom sector and suggest ways to tackle them."I was moved by the pathetic situation of weavers in the region. Instead of just visiting the place...
Rahul as PM? Congress scion says 'question is open'
AMRITSAR/PATIALA: At 7 am, inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, the CCTV repeatedly zoomed in on a white kurta-pyjama clad figure sitting cross-legged and listening intently to kirtans sung by raagis. It was only then that senior Congress leaders as well as the Amritsar IG realized Rahul Gandhi had begun his Punjab darshan with a visit to Harmandir Sahib."We wanted it to be low profile and less noisy," a Punjab Congress leader said. But as it is with his visits, Rahul, by the end of...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Maya takes exception to Guv remarks
LUCKNOW: In a letter sent to governor TV Rajeswar, chief minister Mayawati has said “I was surprised to read your comments in newspapers. You never made any such comment during the previous regime where mid-session transfers were the order of the day.”She added that there could be a few incidents where under unavoidable circumstances, transfers were done.In this context, the chief minister in letter further stated that during the present BSP rule, mid-session transfers were done only where it was...
Chiru to meet people displaced by projects
HYDERABAD: Enthused by the huge response he received from the weavers of Sircilla, Prajarajyam president Chiranjeevi is looking at 'project-affected persons' (PAP) as his next target audience."People affected by SEZ in Mahbubnagar district, tribals being uprooted by the bauxite mining in Vizag area and fishermen facing the threat of evacuation to make way for coastal corridors. Chiranjeevi wants to meet all these sections to know the dark side of the so-called development in the state, " sources...
Friday, September 19, 2008
Modi set to be BJP's anti-terror mascot
NEW DELHI: As the government mulls whether to bring a special law to fight terror, its principal challenger BJP has already got into the act, taking up terrorism in a big way even before dates for the coming assembly polls are announced. It has also drafted Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in what promises to be a high decibel campaign.The top BJP leadership including party chief Rajnath Singh, senior leaders L K Advani and Arun Jaitley, will be joined on stage by Modi, the party's star anti-terror...
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Life term for Bihar JD(U) MLA, four others
PATNA: A suspended JD(U) MLA Sunil Pandey and four others were sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court here on Wednesday for kidnapping noted neuro surgeon Dr Ramesh Chandra. ( Watch )Additional District and Sessions Judge Vijay Prakash Mishra also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them.The court also rejected the bail bonds of four other accused who failed to appear and issued fresh non-bailable warrants against them and showcause notices to those who had furnished their bail bonds.Dr...
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Pressure on govt to act against Bajrang Dal
NEW DELHI: With attacks on Christians spreading across the country, the Centre is under intense pressure to act against the Sangh extreme outfit, Bajrang Dal.Minority leaders are demanding that the Centre take law and order in its hands because the Karnataka government is allegedly soft on the Dal, but the UPA appeared keen to deflect responsibility of taking action on to the state government.On Tuesday, PM Manmohan Singh despatched a fact-finding team, comprising members of the National Minorities...
Chiru training thousands to guard him, handle crowds
HYDERABAD: With film actor Chiranjeevi's camp worried at the reported denial of the state police to allocate additional personnel to the Prajarajyam chief, his close aides are training thousands of young men across the state to get them accustomed to techniques of crowd controlling and policing during his proposed political tour across the state.At present, the star's younger brother Pavan Kalyan is overseeing all security issues . Nearly 150 'commandos' sporting black uniforms are under his direct...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Chiru turns down Cong's challenge for debate
HYDERABAD: Refusing to be drawn into a public debate on the issue of development in the state, Prajarajyam supremo Chiranjeevi said he could not afford to spare time for public debates at this juncture.Talking to the media at the party office on Monday, he said he had more pressing work of the party than getting locked up in public debates on one issue or the other. The megastar was reacting to a challenge thrown by information minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy to him for an open public debate on the...
Court stays custodial interrogation of Amarinder Singh
CHANDIGARH: In a major relief to former Punjab chief minister and senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday stayed his custodial interrogation by the Punjab vigilance bureau in a multi-million-rupee land scam.Admitting Amarinder Singh's petition challenging the Punjab assembly's decision to last week expel him for involvement in the land scam, the high court stayed his custodial interrogation. Justices A K Goel and Ajay Tewari also issued a notice to the...
Monday, September 15, 2008
UPA is only passing time in office: Modi
BANGALORE: At BJP's national executive, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has been at the centre of action, delivering a much-noticed speech to his colleagues and leading a sharp attack on the government's handling of internal security. TOI asked Modi about the media projecting him as a BJP mascot, a rung below L K Advani.Q: Don't you feel your work in Gujarat is almost over and it is time you moved to the national scene?A: As far as a chief minister is concerned, he is part of national politics,...
UPA governemnt not cooperating with Karnataka: Yeddyurappa
BANGALORE: BJP ruled Karnataka has accused the Centre of "neglect and step motherly treatment" on all issues as Congress has turned panicky in the wake of the southern state slipping out of its fold.At the same time the B S Yeddyurappa led government has offered an olive branch to its neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and said it was ready to discuss outstanding inter-state disputes if the Centre took the lead."It is all out of frustration as they are panicky because...
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Cong tickets: Call for merit over quota
NEW DELHI: A desperate call to stamp out the infamous but all-pervasive "quota system" was raised at the CWC meeting, with speakers from poll-bound states saying the practice of the satraps distributing tickets among their supporters instead of choosing candidates on merit should be ended if the party has to fare well at the hustings. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi led the charge with an 'enough is enough' type of exhortation. She said, "We cannot continue with the quota system."What came out of the...
Jaitley not keen on being BJP candidate for Delhi CM
BANGALORE: As BJP gears for a string assembly elections, attention has been focused on the party's chief ministerial choice for Delhi with the name of senior leader Arun Jaitley doing the rounds and being seen by some quarters as an effective nominee to take on the Congress in the Capital.Some BJP leaders have broached the subject with Jaitley who remains uninterested in the prospect, pointing out that he has never been involved in local politics and has no interest in relinquishing his key role...
Former TDP MP Ramachandraiah joins Chiranjeevi's party
HYDERABAD: The political migration towards "Praja Rajyam", floated by Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi, continued today with another former TDP MP C Ramachandraiah joining the party and vowing to work for its success.Ramachandraiah, a former Rajya Sabha member and prominent backward class leader from Kadapa district, joined the new party in the presence of the actor.Ramachandraiah, who was with TDP since its inception in 1982 and held several key positions in the regional party, had resigned from Rajya...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Mega BJP rally to affect traffic
BANGALORE: The big BJP bash, part of its national executive meeting in Bangalore, is all set to throw traffic out of gear around the National College grounds in Basavanagudi on Saturday evening. The international airport road is also likely to be jammed, as most BJP stalwarts will fly back late in the evening.The BJP rally will start at 6 pm at the National College grounds. Over 1 lakh people are expected to participate in the event where many national leaders will speak.VVIP movement from Residency...
Om Prakash Mathur heads BJP poll panel
JAIPUR: The BJP on Friday announced its state election committee for the forthcoming Assembly elections. The committee, which would be presided over by party's state chief Om Prakash Mathur, consists of 17 members.Chief minister Vasundhara Raje, MP Ramdas Agarwal, cabinet ministers Gulab Chand Kataria, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Nathu Singh Gujjar, Rajendra Singh Rathod and party's Mahila Morcha president Suman Sharma are among its members.The committee is expected to take the final call on the list of candidates...
Friday, September 12, 2008
Now, Maya gets a chance to have a go at Mulayam in SC
NEW DELHI: If the bonhomie between Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and the UPA government was followed by a CBI affidavit in the Supreme Court threatening to chargesheet Mayawati in the DA case, then on Thursday the UP chief minister and BSP supremo had enough reasons to smile.For the Mayawati government got a chance to get even with her political rival in a case relating to alleged diversion of huge amounts from the CM's contingency funds by then chief minister Yadav for his brother Shivpal...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sonia bats for Bachchans after Raj remark
NEW DELHI: In the ongoing Raj Thackeray Vs Jaya Bachchan controversy, the Bachchans have got an unlikely supporter. Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed her concern over Raj Thackey's tirade against Big B and Jaya.Margaret Alva, a senior Congress leader confirmed that the party's president is concerned and said, "I have told the Chief Minister that they are disturbing reports and that the government should really see that it does not escalate and threaten the lives and property of people in...
MLA gets jail term for misbehaving with judge
PATNA: The Patna High Court on Wednesday awarded three months' simple imprisonment to suspended JD(U) MLA Sunil Pandey for appearing in a court in an inebriated condition and misbehaving with the judge.Pandey, an MLA from Piro in Bhojpur district, has several criminal cases pending against him.The high court found him guilty of misbehaving with the sub-divisional judicial magistrate of Bikramganj when he was taken to his court for production on April 10 last year.The HC also awarded one month's...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
President Zardari, PM Gilani agree to accept PML-N's resignations
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani have agreed to accept resignations of PML-N's ministers and expansion of federal cabinet.The decision has been taken in a meeting between President Zardari and Premier Gilani in the President House Wednesday. Premier Gilani briefed the president on key issues faced by the government.It was decided in the meeting that resignations of PML-N members of federal cabinet would be accepted soon.Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N)...
Punjab's ex-CM Amarinder expelled from Assembly for 3-5 yrs
CHANDIGARH: Beleaguered former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has been expelled from the Assembly for the next three to five years over corruption charges. He will be asked to vacate his MLA seat.Vigilance Department has been asked to probe the corruption charges against him.Amarinder Singh, who is facing graft charges, on Wednesday, said he feared arrest but will not seek anticipatory bail even as his party rival Rajinder Bhattal asked him to come clean on the allegations.The Congress leader was indicted...
Good news on Kashmir likely before LS polls in India: Zardari
ISLAMABAD: Suggesting that there could be forward movement on resolving the Kashmir issue soon, Pakistan's new President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said there will be "some good news" before the general elections in India slated for next year. "Insha Allah, we will have some good news" on Kashmir before the general elections in India, Zardari said at a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai after being sworn-in as Pakistan's 12th President. He said the PPP government will consult...
Don't embarrass Big B: Sena to Jaya
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna has asked Samajwadi Party MP and actor Jaya Bachchan not to "vitiate' ' the social climate of Maharashtra by making anti-Marathi statements. Stating that Mumbai has given a pan-Indian identity to the Bachchan clan, the newspaper-whose editor is Sena chief Bal Thackeraysaid Jaya's anti-Marathi diatribe at a recent film function amounted to confining Amitabh to Uttar Pradesh. But political observers say the Saamna rhetoric has to be viewed against the Raj Thackeray-led...
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Asif Ali Zardari sworn in as president
ISLAMABAD: Asif Ali Zardari has been sworn in as 12th president of Pakistan at a ceremony in Islamabad here on Tuesday.The oath-taking ceremony was broadcast live from the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.Abdul Hameed Dogar, the chief justice administered the oath to president Zardari.PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari and Asifa Bhutto Zardari were also present in the ceremony.Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, members of the federal cabinet, Chairman Senate, Speaker National...
Congress, SP seat-sharing talks make little headway
NEW DELHI: With Samajwadi Party stoutly resisting the possibility of "friendly" fights with Congress, seat-sharing talks made little progress and the second round of negotiations ended in just 15 minutes on Monday. Both sides dug in as the SP has sought to restrict Congress’s claims to about a dozen seats.Congress is keen that SP either concede or agree to a compromise on some of its sitting MPs while Mulayam Singh Yadav’s colleagues have argued that any such concession will only end up strengthening...
Chiru fans turn to Gandhigiri
TIRUPATI: It’s a metamorphosis the Mahatma would smile at. After goondagiri, Chiru’s fans are now moving towards Gandhigiri. This comes as not too long ago ardent fans of the star attacked the actor couple Rajasekhar and Jeevitha as Rajasekhar, in response to a question by the media, said that Chiru lacked the experience to enter politics.But that was when Chiru was yet to launch Prajarajyam. Now, the party, which purportedly is inspired by the Mahatma, among others has made Gandhigiri its credo....
Monday, September 8, 2008
CPM vows to continue battle on nuclear deal
NEW DELHI: Calling the NSG waiver "another surrender by the Manmohan Singh government", CPM general secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday said the battle against the nuclear deal would be fought in the political arena.Briefing newspersons after the party's two-day politburo meeting, Karat said the Left would continue to struggle against the deal and when a new government came to power after the next elections, it would demand termination of the 123 agreement."The struggle to rescind the agreement is...
SP wooing Chiru to fight Maya
HYDERABAD: The Samajwadi Party unfolded its political gameplan of entering South India as well as extending its fight with BSP leader Mayawati south of the Vindhyas by wooing newly-turned politician Chiranjeevi here on Sunday.In a message clearly intended to convey to Chiranjeevi that the SP can match him in glamour and grandeur, the party's general secretary Amar Singh flew into Hyderabad in a private plane from New Delhi and was met with by his party MPs Jaya Bachchan and Jayaprada, who came in...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
President-elect Zardari prepares to be sworn in
ISLAMABAD: Asif Ali Zardari is expected to be sworn in as Pakistan's president on Monday, capping a remarkable rise from jail, exile and his wife Benazir Bhutto's assassination just nine months ago, an official said.The controversial frontrunner won more than two-thirds of the vote among lawmakers on Saturday, taking power in the world's only nuclear-armed Islamic state and frontline US "war on terror" ally.In a short television address following the result Zardari said his triumph was a victory...
PM, Pranab welcome end of isolation
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who had the biggest stakes in the drama that was played out in Vienna for three days, duly welcomed the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) decision on Saturday after the war was won.The Prime Minister — who had risked the stability of his government on this issue — said after the 45-nation club that controls global nuclear commerce agreed in Vienna to grant India a wavier for conducting international trade that it...
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Zardari set to be new Pak president as poll begin
ISLAMABAD: Members of Pakistan's parliament and four provincial assemblies began voting in a presidential election on Saturday to choose a replacement for Pervez Musharraf, who resigned last month. ( Watch )Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party (PPP) heads a coalition government, is expected to win.The result is due later on Saturday. "God willing, the PPP has a clear majority and the PPP will win. Mr Zardari will become president...
Friday, September 5, 2008
Former Bangla PM Khaleda Zia may be released next week
DHAKA: Detained former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, languishing in prison for over a year on graft charges, may be freed on bail by next week, her lawyers have claimed.However, she will have to go through legal procedures for her release, a senior government leader has said."We expect her to be released as she now needs bail from courts in only two cases," the Prothom Alo newspaper quoted one of Zia's counsels as saying, a day after her high profile elder son Tarique Rahman, who was being...
Zardari backs US against terrorism
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan stands with the US against international terrorism, the Muslim nation's presidential front-runner wrote in a column appearing on Thursday amid furor over a US-led cross-border attack in Pakistani territory.The raid in the South Waziristan tribal region was the first known foreign ground assault in Pakistan against a Taliban haven. The Pakistani government summoned the US ambassador to protest the incursion, which officials said killed at least 15 people, including civilians.An...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Secret letter fallout: UPA govt must go, says BJP
NEW DELHI- Accusing the Prime Minister of “misleading” Parliament and the country on the nuclear deal issue, main opposition BJP today demanded the resignation of the Manmohan Singh government.In a press conference addressed by senior BJP leaders Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha on Thursday over the ‘secret letter’, the BJP slammed the UPA government and demanded a special Parliament session be held to discuss the ‘secret letter’ fallout.UPA has committed a gross breach of Parliament, the party said....
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Bush's letter on N-deal: BJP, Left slam UPA govt
NEW DELHI: Reacting to the disclosure of the secret letter written by US President George W Bush to the US Congress adopting a hardline stand on the nuclear deal, the Opposition parties hit out at the government.Left Parties slammed PM Manmohan Singh and said, “Our stand is vindicated by the disclosure. UPA has betrayed the trust of the nation.”BJP too was not lagging behind in criticizing the government saying the Centre has been “exposed” before the nation now.“This has brought shame to our country,“...
Vote bank politics is protecting terrorists: Modi
NEW DELHI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday criticised the UPA government, saying the Centre lacks commitment to tackle terrorism in the country.Modi said he was waiting for Centre's approval for the anti-terror law for his state. "The Centre is not giving any reason for not approving it which is very surprising," he said."Vote bank politics is protecting terrorists in the country. But in Gujarat there we will be zero tolerance against terrorism," Modi added.Advani who was also...
SAD powers poll entry
Banawala (Mansa): SAD (Badal) on Tuesday used the foundation stone laying ceremony of the 1980 MW thermal power plant at Talwandi Sabo to its full advantage by kick-starting its poll campaign for the parliamentary polls.The loud tone used by former CM Amarinder Singh at an impressive rally in Malwa hinterland recently seems to have forced the Akalis to answer in the same tone. Euphoric and proud projecting itself as the party that would actually rid the state of power shortage, the SAD rank and...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
