Mayawati slams EC for transferring top state officer

LUCKNOW: Criticizing the Election Commission for transferring a top state official, UP chief minister Mayawati on Wednesday said that such action
could demoralize the officialdom ahead of the first phase of polling and may lead to law and order problems in the state.

"Removing of the officer just due to political reasons on basis of their baseless allegation will demoralize officers of the state due to which law and order problem could erupt in the state. EC will be responsible if there is any terrorist or Naxal problem or any incident happens with me or any other leader during campaigning," Mayawati told reporters here.

The EC on Tuesday had ordered transfer of UP principal secretary of home, Fateh Bahadur Singh following complaints from the opposition.

Assuring the commission that the BSP government in the state was committed to hold free and fair polls, Mayawati said that she had given orders to its officers to follow directions of the commission and ensure that there should be no violation of model code of conduct during the elections.

"I have not only directed the officials, but also party candidates, office-bearers and workers that they must adhere by the model code of conduct and cooperate with the government machinery," she said.

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Maneka lodges complaint against Lalu for Varun remarks

BADAUN (UP): BJP MP Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday lodged a complaint with police against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad for his alleged remarks that he
would have "crushed" her son Varun Gandhi under a roller for his anti-Muslim speeches.

"The RJD chief Lalu Yadav has threatened to kill Varun Gandhi by crushing him with a road roller in front of crowd of thousands of people and used derogatory words," she said in a letter to SSP, N Ravindran here.

"I came to know about this during my Badaun visit", Maneka said referring to the remarks attributed to the railway minister.

She demanded that the SSP lodge a complaint against Lalu Prasad Yadav under sections 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and arrest him immediately.

Addressing an election meeting in Kishanganj in Bihar, the Railway Minister said "had I been country's home minister, I would have crushed Varun Gandhi under the roller and destroyed him without caring for the consequences for his hate speech against Muslims".

Following the comments, the Kishanganj district administration had filed an FIR against Lalu Prasad accusing him of attempting to create communal disturbance.

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Cong may review Tytler, Sajjan candidatures

NEW DELHI: Apparently concerned over the political fallout of hurling of shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram, Congress on Tuesday indicated it was open to review the candidatures of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were facing allegations of involvement in the anti-Sikh riots.
"Congress is a large party and it takes considered decisions at appropriate time. Let us see what solutions emerge in the future," party spokesman Ashwini Kumar said at the AICC briefing held hours after the incident.

Kumar was asked to comment whether the party would withdraw nominations to Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, a demand also made by the BJP.

A section of Delhi unit of Congress has demanded reconsideration of candidature of Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, both facing allegations of involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

"A large number of Sikhs in the country are already seething in anger for the last 25 years since the 1984 riots. Instead of pacifying them, the party has added to their agony by giving Lok Sabha tickets to Kumar and Tytler from South Delhi and North-East Delhi parliamentary seats," a senior Congress leader from Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) said on the condition of anonymity.

Another DPCC leader said the incident involving a Sikh journalist hurling a shoe at Chidambaram over CBI clean chit to Tytler in the riot case has once again highlighted the issue in the run-up to the general elections.

"The incident has polarised the community across the country, stepping up demands for withdrawal of the nomination of the two accused leaders," he said.

The Congress leader cautioned that ignoring the sentiments would hurt party's poll prospects not only in Delhi but throughout the country.

Around 50 Sikhs were detained in the national capital after they tried to break a barricade and march towards Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's residence to protest the detention of a journalist who hurled a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram.

Hundreds of Sikhs, including women, had gathered at Jantar Mantar soon after the news spread that a Sikh journalist threw a shoe at the minister and was detained by police.

Jarnail Singh was protesting against the clean chit given by CBI to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Raising slogans against Tytler and the Congress, around 50 protestors tried to jump the barricade erected at the Parliament Street and march towards Gandhi's residence. However, they were stopped by police.

All the protestors were taken into custody, a senior police officer said, adding they were released later. Some of the protestors were also seen thrashing the photograph of Tytler with shoes.

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Chiranjeevi ready to lend support to form fourth front

HYDERABAD: Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi has expressed his support to the efforts to forge a "Fourth Front" at the national level.


"Being secular we cannot join BJP. Since TDP is part of Third Front and Congress part of UPA, we cannot join them. I thought like-minded parties will be there who are looking for support to form a "Fourth Front". This is mutual," Chiranjeevi, Praja Rajyam Party chief told reporters after a meeting with Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh and Sanjay Dutt on Monday.

"I am here for exploring a possibility of like-minded, secular, non-Congress politicians. Can they come together, can they emerge as force? A force to ensure a healthy polity," Singh had said.

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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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