Rift in SP as Amar Singh threatens to quit

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has threatened to quit over party member Azam Khan, who he said insulted him. “SP can exist without me but not without Azam Khan, it appears,’ said an upset Amar Singh.

Trouble started when actress Jayaprada was renominated as the SP candidate from Rampur. Azam Khan asked the leadership to remove Jaya from what he saw as his political turf.

Mulayam Singh Yadav then asked a sulking Azam Khan to contest the high-profile minority seat himself.

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I would have crushed Varun under a roller: Lalu

KISHANGANJ(Bihar): RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Monday said he would have "crushed" BJP candidate Varun Gandhi
under a roller for his anti-Muslim
speeches if he had been the country's Home Minister.

"Had I been the country's home minister, I would have crushed Varun Gandhi under a roller and destroyed him without caring for the consequences for his hate speech against Muslims," Prasad told an election meeting here.

The Railway minister recalled how he and his party had frustrated the "communal" BJP's bid to storm to power at the Centre in 2004 Lok Sabha polls and taken on those raking up the issue of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin.

Attacking Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, the RJD chief alleged, "Nitish is sitting in the lap of L K Advani, who was directly involved in pulling down the Babri mosque, but his dream will never come true."

LJP President and Union minister Ramvilas Paswan, who was also present, charged Kumar with 'misleading' the minorities by claiming to be secular "while playing into hands of the BJP".

The two leaders were speaking after the filing of nomination by RJD candidate and Union minister Taslimuddin for Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat.

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BJP gives 9 seats to allies in UP

LUCKNOW: BJP has alloted nine seats to its allies Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Janta Dal(U) in UP. RLD will contest on seven parliamentary seats
while JD (U) will fight on two seats. BJP will contest on 71 out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

JD (U) has been given Salempur and Badaun seats. From Salempur, Ravi Shankar Singh alias Pappu Singh, MLC from Ballia, is expected to be JD(U)'s candidate. Singh is the grandson of late prime minister Chandrashekhar's brother, disclosed a party source.

Earlier, JD (U) had demanded three seats but BJP has decided to field its own candidate in Meerut from where party is expected to field a traders' leader. The trader community had not got due representation in ticket distribution, said a party source.

RLD as announced earlier will contest on seven seats. RLD chief Ajit Singh will contest from Baghpat and his son Jayant from Mathura. Other seats allotted to the party are Hathras, Nagina, Muzaffarnagar, Amroha and Bijnor.

The two allies had also asked for Saharanpur and Sambhal but the BJP has decided to field its candidates on these seats.

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Before accusing UPA, remember Parliament attack: Sonia to Advani

GORAKHPUR: Lashing out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on
Sunday said those who did not have any other issue were raising the issue of terrorism.

The BJP, before accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, should also remember the riots during the tenure of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, she said addressing a rally in the Bansgaon constituency in Gorkhpur district, 300 km from Lucknow.

"Advani, before pointing a finger at us, should recollect that the attack on Parliament took place during the regime of the NDA besides the communal riots in Gujarat," she said at the rally during her tour of the state's Poorvanchal area.

She also noted he was the same person who was the home minister when his cabinet colleague had escorted terrorists to Kandahar and now is "nurturing his dreams of becoming the prime minister of the country."

Gandhi mentioned that Gorakhpur was the same place where the then British rulers lodged a case against Jawaharlal Nehru in 1940.

"A case was lodged against him (Nehru) in 1940 after which he was sentenced to an imprisonment for four years. This - the land of Lord Mahavir and Gautam Buddha - has contributed significantly to the freedom of the country," she said.

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Rahul Gandhi files nomination papers from Amethi

LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday filed his nomination papers from Amethi parliamentary constituency.


Rahul was accompanied by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadara, brother-in-law Robert Vadara and state unit chief Reeta Bahuguna Joshi to Sultanpur district headquarters.

Sonia will file her nomination papers at Rae Bareli on April 6, he said.

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Mayawati slams Maneka over Varun row

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Saturday hit out at Pilibhit MP Maneka Gandhi for politicising the Varun Gandhi
row.

In a snub to Maneka Gandhi, Mayawati said if the BJP MP knew a mother's pain, she would not have endorsed the hate speeches of her son Varun Gandhi for which he has been booked under NSA, PTI reported.

Hitting back at Maneka, who had said that the UP Chief Minister did not understand a mother's pain since she was not one, Mayawati said that if she was a good mother she would have inculcated the right values in Varun.

"Had Maneka inculcated good values to her son (Varun) he would not have to spent night in the jail. She must apologise not only to me but to the entire nation for her shameful and unfortunate comments", Mayawati told reporters.

Justifying the action of Pilibhit district administration to charge Varun under NSA, Mayawati said that in case riots had erupted, thousands of mothers would have rendered childless.

Maneka should understand pain of thousands of mothers, she said.

"Maneka kewal ek bete ka dard samajhti hain but main karodo beton ka dard samajhti hun" (Maneka only understands the pain of one son but I feel pain of crores of sons), Mayawati said at a hurriedly called press conference.

Maneka had on Friday attacked Mayawati for targeting her son and attributed political motive behind the move to keep him in jail during election time, PTI says.

"Ma ka dard samajhne ke liye ma hona zaruri nahi hai. Mother Teresa bhi ma nahi thi lekin unhone pyar pure vishwa ki janta ko diya". (It is not necessary to be a mother to understand her pain. Mother Teresa was not a mother but she bestowed her love on the people of the entire world)," Mayawati said.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that no one would be allowed to vitiate law and order situation of the state irrespective of their parties and position.

29-year-old Varun was held under NSA in connection with his hate speeches in Pilibhit last month.

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In jail, Kandhmal riots accused gets BJP ticket

PHULBANI: Manoj Pradhan is the prime accused in last year's ethno-communal riots in Kandhmal and currently behind bars. But that hasn't stopped
BJP from giving a ticket to Pradhan to contest from the communally-split G Udayagiri assembly seat.

More than 600 people were arrested in connection with the violence that left over 40 people dead in Kandhmal after the killing of senior VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in August last year. Cops described Pradhan as a "prize catch". "Pradhan, in his 30s, was picked up from a lodge in Berhampur on October 15. Belonging to the tribal Kandh community, Pradhan was the field commander who allegedly led mobs at various places and engaged in violence," police said. "He (Pradhan) has been booked in over one dozen cases including murder and arson," police added. But the BJP disagrees.

"Pradhan has nothing to do with the riots and the administration has fabricated the charges against him. The whole purpose is to defame BJP," state party spokesperson Nayan Mohanty told TOI.

"Pradhan will file his nomination papers and contest the elections from inside the jail. There is nothing wrong with it because a number of leaders have done the same in the past. The polls will prove Pradhan's popularity," Mohanty added.

The saffron party's intention to hardsell its Hindutva agenda is also evident from its giving Lok Sabha ticket to Orissa Hindu Jagaran Sammukhya president Ashok Sahu, a retired IPS officer who blamed "Christian terrorists" for Saraswati's murder, from Kandhmal, which comprises three tribal Assembly segments of G Udayagiri, Phulbani and Baltiguda.

The BJP's move hasn't gone down well with over 3,000 Christians in five relief camps in Raikia, G Udayagiri and Tikabali blocks. Julian Digal is one such. It has been seven months since he escaped death and fled to a relief camp at Tikabali.

In between, the relief camp has been shifted while his wife and two children have moved out of Kandhmal district. But Julian refuses to return home before the elections are over. "We don't enjoy camp life, but we can't go back till the elections are over. Violence is a distinct possibility during the polls, but we can't afford to risk our lives," said Julian.

"We are scared to return to our villages. Although tension has come down, there will be elements who want to create fresh trouble for Christians during the elections. Hence, we would consider leaving the relief camp after the polls," said Dharmendra Pradhan of Katadi village in Gardingia panchayat. "During the peak of communal violence, around 25,000 people lived in the camps. Most of them have returned to their villages, but a few are still staying at the camps. They should return after the polls," a senior officer said.

Evidently, the polls have made the people feel even more vulnerable. While it's possible that Hindu and Christian groups could turn violent again, the entry of Maoists, especially to reignite the ethno-communal discord during the polls, could worsen the situation. "There could be attempts by certain groups to whip up communal passions during the polls. The Maoists' plan to target specific groups could also cause violence by tribals," a cop said.

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BJP promises to rebuild Ram temple

NEW DELHI: The BJP has revived its pet Hindutva themes of rebuilding Ram temple at Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir as it released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The saffron party also promised to give 35 kg rice or wheat per month at Rs two per kg for BPL families, which is seen as a counter to Congress' offer of rice at Rs three per kg.

The BJP manifesto comes after 11 years as the party had released NDA manifestos along with its coalition partners in 1999 and 2004.

The BJP had then refrained from making any reference to the Ram Temple issue, saying it remained on the party's agenda but was not a part of the NDA's national agenda for governance. The party promised to enact strong POTA-like laws to tackle terrorism.

BJP also sought to reach out to the armed forces promising them exemption from income tax and introduce 'One Rank, One Pension' scheme. They also promised a separate pay commission for the armed forces.

In another populist promise, the party said it would raise the slab of tax exemption of salaried class to Rs three lakh per annum. For women, the limit would be Rs 3.5 lakh per annum.

Reaching out to farmers, the BJP said it will waive off all current loans and provide fresh loans at four per cent interest rate.

The BJP’s manifesto also promised to retrieve Indian money stashed abroad. There is also a promise to provide bicycle to school-going girls in Below Poverty Line families:

BJP manifesto promises promotion of alternative sources of energy and interlinking of rivers. The party also promised to build one million houses for the poor every year.

The BJP said it would bring down interest rates on housing loans to make urban housing affordable and give complete tax exemption to citizens above the age of 60.

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Both Lalu, Paswan eyeing PM's post

PATNA: Though the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party have formed an alliance severing ties with the Congress, there is competition for the post of the prime minister.

While RJD boss Lalu Prasad has always been vocal about his desire to become the prime minister, LJP counterpart Ramvilas Paswan, too harbours the amibition for the country's top job.

"Every person in politics wants to become the prime minister. If I don't say that it would be hypocrisy," Paswan says.

"All politicians
dream to become the PM," Prasad says too. Paswan elaborates that there are two situations when one becomes the prime minister. "First, when his party emerges as the single largest party with adequate numbers and second, when a coalition is cobbled up with like-minded parties."

"In the second case, a person on whom a consensus is arrived becomes the PM," he says and adds that in the past, H D Deve Gowda became the PM despite less than adequate seats since the partners were unanimous on him. But all such presumptions would depend upon the poll outcome.

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BSP eyes Muslim, north Indian votes

MUMBAI: The BSP is eyeing north Indian and Muslim votes in the metropolis, with four of its six candidates from Mumbai seats being either of the two communities.

"The party will soon declare names of the two remaining candidates, who will also be either Muslim or north Indian, in a couple days," BSP state president Vilas Garud said on Thursday.

"North Indians, Muslims and Dalits form a major chunk of voters in the city. However, these communities are being neglected. They want somebody who is from amongst them and would serve them better. This is the reason for giving tickets to north Indian and Muslim candidates," he said.

North Indians are upset with the treatment meted out to them while Muslims are looking for a new secular party which can serve them better, Garud added.

Meanwhile, Congress nominee from Mumbai North Sanjay Nirupam said, "BSP is contesting not to win the polls but to indirectly help communal parties by dividing votes...BSP is here to eat into the Muslim and north Indian votes of Congress in Mumbai. They are here to help BJP and Shiv Sena by dividing the votes."

Muslims and north Indians constitute 40% of around 80 lakh voters in Mumbai. Marathis, Gujaratis, Marwadis and others comprise the rest, he said.

BSP has fielded Mohammed Ali Shaikh (South Mumbai), Atahar Siddique (North West), Ashok Singh (North East) and Lakhminder Khurana (North Mumbai).

Candidates for South-Central and North-Central are yet to be declared.

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