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 Yadav's Rs 100 crore Chaudhury Charan Singh Degree College at Etawah.

A petition alleging diversion of Rs 80 crore from the contingency funds by Yadav for the college was opposed by then state government in a 2006 affidavit saying there was no truth in the allegation. The apex court had also sought responses of then CM Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother, but both did not even bother to enter appearance or file any affidavit.

Seeking early disposal of the petition filed by Mahendra Nath Rai questioning the diversion of funds, counsel D K Garg cleverly argued before a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam that as there had been a regime change since the last affidavit by the state government, the new dispensation should be asked to file a fresh one stating whether it stood by its earlier stand.

Immediately after the CBI had filed the affidavit expressing its readiness with evidence to chargesheet her, a combative Mayawati had held a series of perss conferences alleging that this decision was taken by the Centre at the behest of Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which closed ranks with the UPA government after its divorce from the Left Front.

Thursday's order of the Supreme Court directing the matter to be posted for final hearing and allowing parties to file their responses, if any, would present an opportunity to Mayawati to dig up government records pertaining to alleged diversion of funds for the Yadav family-owned educational set up at Etawah.

This order could also force both Mulayam and his brother to file their responses to the charges levelled in the petition, which was filed in the apex court three years ago.

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com

Source : Times Of India

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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 Mumbai from all parts of the country."

She added, "I met Congress President Sonia Gandhi today and I also briefed her on the situation and she will probably talk directly to the Chief Minister because she is also very concerned."

On Wednesday, super star Amitabh Bachchan apologised and sought "forgiveness" for certain remarks made by his wife Jaya, in an apparent bid to placate Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and his estranged nephew Raj Thackeray who attacked her for allegedly making anti-Marathi utterances.

"Everything that we possess today is what came to us from this great state and city. We never have and never can look at Maharashtra with disrespect. If inadvertently this is what has been construed, then we apologise and are sorry and seek forgiveness for any sentiments that have been hurt," he said.

Source : Times Of India

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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 simple imprisonment to sub-inspector Daroga Ram and seven days' sentence each to the five constables who escorted Pandey from the jail to the court.

A division bench comprising Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad and Justice Ravi Ranjan passed the order on a contempt petition initiated on an appeal of the Rohtas district and sessions judge. The order was passed under the provisions of Contempt of Court Act.

In course of inquiry conducted on the order of the high court, it was found that the MLA had not consumed liquor when he was taken out of Rohtas jail. It was on way to the court under police escort that liquor was made available to him.

The court acquitted the then jailer of the Rohtas jail of the charges of contempt of court.


Source : Times Of India

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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) had resigned from federal cabinet in central executive committee meeting on May 12, 2008.

An expansion and reshuffling of the federal cabinet is on the cards for sometime this week. "The formal announcement (of the expansion) would be made within the next few days," said sources.

Speaking on the occasion, President Zardari said, “Immediate measures should be taken to provide relief to the people.”

The president further said he believed in supremacy of parliament and offered his full support for stabilizing the government.

Source : The News

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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 by a special committee of the Punjab Assembly for alleged irregularities in exempting 32.10 acres of land for private development in Amritsar during his tenure as chief minister.

"I am carrying anticipatory bail plea in my pocket... but I will not use it," Singh had said.

He had alleged that the Akali Dal-BJP combine government could take any decision against him but he would not leave unchallenged any move to disqualify him from the House.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Bhattal, Singh's bete noire, had said the party stands by Singh but he should explain the allegations against him and let the truth come to fore.

Source : Times Of India

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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 all political forces in Pakistan, both inside and outside Parliament, to forge some kind of a strategy to resolve the Kashmir issue.

This will be taken to the Kashmir Committee in Parliament, Zardari said, adding the work done through back-channel diplomacy will also be part of this.

Source : Times Of India

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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 Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's on-going crusade for Marathi. "If the Sena doesn't raise its decibel level on the issue of Marathi, it risks losing its GenNext grassroots workers to the MNS in the run up to the legislative assembly elections,'' an expert said.

Incidentally, close on the heels of the MNS' campaign for Marathi signboards, senior Sena leader Manohar Joshi had held a press conference to reiterate that Marathi and Marathi 'manoos' constitute the party's agenda since its inception in the 1960s.

"Amitabh doesn't belong to a particular state or region . His art transcends barriers of caste, creed and language . However, Jaya has announced that she and her family belong to UP,'' said the Sena mouthpiece on Tuesday, adding, "Her utterances in the recent past have been a source of mental agony for Amitabh Bachchan.''

Incidentally, the saffron daily also came down heavily on Shahrukh Khan for publicly flaunting his Delhi credentials. "If he (SRK) loves Delhi then why did he come to Mumbai? These people come here, fill up their bellies and then burp in the name of their own states. However, if a Marathi reiterates his affection for Maharashtra , he is branded as parochial.'' Reference to Khan, say Sena watchers, is aimed at placating Bachchan, a close friend of Thackeray.


Source : Times Of India

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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 Assembly, Army chief, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, three services chiefs, governors and chief ministers of four provinces, heads of political parties, members of parliament, foreign diplomats and civil and military bureaucrats attended the ceremony.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was also present on this occasion who was invited specially by Asif Ali Zardari.

PML-N president and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other central leaders were also present on this occasion.


Source : The News

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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 the rival BSP camp.

Both parties argue that compromises on 'key seats' would trigger revolts in their local units. As a solution, Congress is insisting that the alliance be sealed with 'friendly fights' in its traditional seats like Pratapgarh, Rampur, Farrukhabad and Padrauna.

But SP is not ready for this. Congress is worried if these seats were to go to SP's kitty, it could trigger a split in local units, besides reflecting badly on the negotiating skills of party interlocutors.

SP's Ram Gopal Yadav argued that if strong candidates were sacrificed, these individuals could either quit the party or simply not back Congress, implying that BSP would be the beneficiary in such an arrangement. The sticking point saw SP and Congress leave the table, with Yadav saying he would discuss the option of 'friendly fight' with Mulayam, who has also flown to Delhi. This may well be the only way to iron out virtually irreconciliable positions.

AICC is confident the deal would be sealed with the SP and Congress taking on each other in five to six seats. Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, who is part of team led by Rahul Gandhi and which includes UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna, said negotiations were cordial and a consensus had been struck on 90% seats. The negotiations could get tougher as sources said Samajwadis want to give only 12 seats to Congress — nine sitting MPs and three where Congress led SP in 2004 — Khurja, Domariaganj and Bareilly.

What is squeezing the scope for a compromise is personalised rivalries which the parties are not sure they can control and which would defeat the objective of containing BSP.

In Rampur, SP leader Azam Khan has a bitter battle going with former Congress MP Noor Bano, and would work against her even in an alliance while in Pratapgarh, CLP leader Pramod Tiwari and former MP Ratna Singh are unlikely to accept any decision to sit out for Akshaya Pratap Singh, a close aide of Kunda strongman Raja Bhaiyya.

SP is claiming Padrauna where independent MP Baleshwar Yadav, who joined the party during the trust vote, has sought nomination for Brahma Shankar Tripathi. AICC wants the seat for its MLA R P N Singh. The alliance has already set off a churn, with Kamlesh Paswan leaving SP in reserved Bansgaon seat as he saw no chance of getting a nod over Union minister Mata Prasad in an alliance.

Amid the bare-knuckle bargaining, Congress decision to take four SP MLAs in Madhya Pradesh has struck a sore point and, AICC sources said, the issue was brought to the notice of the top leadership.

Besides known seats, Congress sources said it had sought accommodation of SP rebel and actor Raj Babbar from Fatehpur Sikri, P L Punia from Barabanki and Beni Prasad Verma from Gonda.

But Samajwadis are learnt to be readying a BJP MLA for Sikri while they don't want to help Verma who is seen as a traitor. With the newfound allies eager to confront a strongly placed Mayawati with an eye on the post-poll scene, sources said Ajit Singh's RLD is also in contention, but was still to be discussed.

The RLD is seen as a factor in western UP and a broader alliance with him would not let Mayawati have a free run as in the Assembly polls.

However, AICC may want to get extra seats for him when the Samajwadis would want to get him coupled with the Congress share.
Source : Times Of India

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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. Give bouquets in response to brickbats, even if they are of the verbal variety. Here’s how Prajarajyam activists swept the roads in the temple town of Tirupati in a symbolic protest against TDP Telugu Mahila wing chief R K Roja’s remarks against the matinee idol. In a typical Gandhigiri fashion, they offered flowers to the photograph of the film actor-turned TDP activist.

“Henceforth, we would offer bouquets to her whenever she visits the district,” a Prajarajyam leader said. The trigger to the floral response? Addressing mediapersons after the party’s SC Cell meeting here on Monday evening, Roja said Chiranjeevi is a novice in politics whereas she is a known face not only in Andhra Pradesh, but also in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as an actor as well as a politician.

The firebrand actor, who made serious allegations against the Prajarajyam chief a couple of days ago, once again spit fire at Chiranjeevi saying films and politics are two different fields. “We might have acted in films, but in politics we belong to two different parties and we are rivals,” she thundered.

Denouncing the Prajarajyam chief’s comments against the Congress and the TDP, Roja said it would be better for Chiranjeevi to be clear on his party’s policies and agenda instead of throwing mud at other parties.

On the protests by the Prajarajyam workers over her remarks against Chiranjeevi, she said: “Criticisms and counter-attacks are part and parcel of politics. Prajarajyam claims it follows the Gandhian way, but why should its workers stage protests?” she questioned. But who can deny that the roja (rose) offered to her photo and the promise to offer bouquets when she comes visiting by Prajarajyam’s activists are Gandhian enough?

Source : Times Of India

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