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Azad had declined to move into the official residence of the outgoing chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed since that residence was located in the heart of summer capital Srinagar causing inconvenience to the people and traffic on the busy Maulana Azad Road. Mufti had spent over Rs 3 crore to re-do up his official residence.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><i>Family planning minister asks Muslim women to produce as many healthy kids as they want, says Mulayam govt will pay Rs 1,400 per child</i><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Check this, what Indian policians are reading. link
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ram Vilas Paswan
Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers and Lok Janshakti Party president
<b>After getting into politics I hardly get the time for reading</b>. The day starts on a hectic note and ends like that. <b>And then I am not that fond of reading books. When I have not read any book this year, how can I say which one was my favourite?</b> But that does not mean that I donât read. I keep myself updated reading a lot of newspapers and magazines. And, yes, "social justice" is my favourite topic and I donât miss anything on this. <b>I read every article on social justice whenever I come across it in newspapers, magazines, booklets, pamphlets or even a book. But I donât remember the name of any</b>.
<!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Arun Shourie
BJP member of the Rajya Sabha, former Union minister, writer and journalist
<b>It is difficult for me to pick up one book since I read two books in a week</b>. But three novels were particularly interesting and striking. I liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon because it is a story told by the son about a parent. The son is not abnormal but thinks differently and it is a very well written book.
The other books which I liked were The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (translated by Lucia Graves) and The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago. The book Shadow is very nicely written, where nothing happens but the novel grips you, while in the Gospel, it is a reconstruction of Jesusâ story from the eyes of Mary Magdalene. The way it is written, one is almost transported to that period. It is so real.
In the non-fiction section, I was particularly impressed with two books written by Oriana Fallaci about Islamic fundamentalism in Europe. The two books are The Rage and the Pride and The Force of Reason. <b>I read almost a hundred books a year</b>.
Chandrababu Naidu
Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and president of TDP
I am not reading any fiction nowadays. <b>Since one and half years I have been reading more about agriculture and rural poverty. I am concentrating on studying research work in these areas.</b> In the age of globalisation and liberalisation, Indian farmers are exposed to the international market, without proper preparation to face it. In many fronts, our farmer was made vulnerable as the reforms lacked a human face in implementation. I am studying the opinions of different people who have done pioneering work in making agriculture viable.
The Jayati Ghosh Committee report, the Central Task Force on Agriculture recommendations and experiences of Brazil and China in making their farm sector remunerative and competitive are some of my recent readings. Recently my friends gave me the book Banker to the Poor written by Dr Muhammad Yunus who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
I started the self-help group and microcredit movement in Andhra Pradesh. It is very interesting to know that a man who started the Grameen Bank with a meagre $27 is now able to serve 60 lakh people in his country. I am yet to start reading the book.
<!--emo&<_<--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='dry.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Lalu exceeds brief, calls meet on Bihar </b>
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | New Delhi
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Political stunt, says Nitish
In an unprecedented move, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has convened a meeting of senior officials from different Ministries to take stock of various developmental projects being carried under different Central Government schemes in Bihar.
The meeting, scheduled for February 2 at Rail Bhawan, has raised eyebrows in the concerned ministries and departments.
The letter, a copy of which is with The Pioneer, has been issued from the office of none other than Sudhir Kumar, officer on special duty in the Railway Ministry.
The letter says that 'Minister of Railways has desired to hold a meeting on 2.2.2007 at 4 pm with the concerned officers of Planning Commission, Ministry of Road Transport, National Highway Authority of India and Bihar Government.'
The meeting aims at 'reviewing the progress of Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana, the construction and upgradation of national highways, and the schemes taken up under 12th Finance the deadline of January 29 for the officials concerned to submit the detailed report on the financial and physical progress of these schemes.
Terming Lalu Yadav's move as nothing but 'a political stunt' to mislead the people, State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday evening said that Yadav did not know the rules and regulations governing the functioning of the Union Ministries. "All the Ministries have their works to look after. Ministers are informed the rules and norms for the effective functioning of the Ministries at the time of taking oath itself," he said.
Kumar, who met Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to discuss the expeditious implementation of various projects in the State, said that many politicians were not able to digest the progress being made in the State ever since the regime took the charge. "It is these people who ruined the State for 15 years and now cannot believe the development works taking place across the State," he said.
He said that 890-km roads were to be constructed by the Central agencies in the State. "The tenders have not yet been invited. We have sought the help of the Planning Commission in this regard. Hopefully, the tenders would be invited by February 26 and thereafter the works would start," Kumar said.
Kumar said that his Government would distribute ration, kerosene cards to the families living below the poverty line. "Unfortunately, the faulty parameters set by the Union Rural Development Ministry to identify such families would affect many households in the State. As per the existing norms, only around 66 lakh BPL families would be benefited from the scheme. If the parameters are changed slightly, around 90 lakh families would be benefited," he said.
He said that he has sought the intervention of Planning Commission deputy chairman Ahluwalia to look into such anomalies in the policies of the Union Rural Development Ministry. "It shows that how insensitive the Ministry (headed by senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh) is towards the poor of the State," he added. http://o3.indiatimes.com/lalupm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
whether he makes it or not, he is already behaving as 1.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Lalu exceeds brief, calls meet on Bihar <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Does he know what he is doing or just Gundagardi by Laloo?
Its shame MMS is allowing this behavior.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>IITians float political outfit </b>
Neelam Pandey | New Delhi
To make existing democracy vibrant
With a zeal to bring a change in the current political system and to make the existing democracy vibrant, a group of IITians and young professionals on Tuesday floated a <b>new political outfit, Bharat Punarnirman Dal. </b>
While dreaming big, the young enthusiasts are gearing up to take up smaller battled like the upcoming Assembly and civic bodies elections. They will also contest the MCD elections here.
At the launch, party president Ajit Shukla, an IIT Mumbai (Mechanical Engineering) alumni, said his party members have been working at the grassroot level for the past three years before the formal launch of the party. "We realised that no change can be brought without changing the political system and hence made a small beginning by floating this outfit," Shukla added.
The party has already an active band of 5,000 members out of which 3,000 are from Andhra Pradesh. The members coming from all walks of life are the main contributors in providing the much-needed fund. "The objective of the party is to restore the credibility of the political system and to nurture politicians by choice and not by chance besides making democracy more democratic," said Ravi Kishore, another IIT Mumbai (Aerospace) alumni who also dons the hat of vice-president of the party.
High on the IITians' mind is their distaste for political opportunism and given a chance, they claim, they would attempt infusing rationality into the system.
On quota, Shukla said, "Though reservation can only be a temporary phenomenon, it should be provided to the deserving ones only."
The party is also drafting unique policies such as introducing age bar leading to retirement in politics and giving a choice to voters to reject or recall the candidates.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Here comes another, lets see whether they are front face of any pinkoos?
Any info about them are welcome/
New Delhi, Jan. 19: Lok Janshakti Party chief and Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan will be going to Riyadh, the capital of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on January 24 to address a meeting of dalit and minorities.
Mr Paswan has been recently elected as chairman of the Dalit-Minoritiesâ International Forum after a two-day international conference of dalit miniroties held in New Delhi the last month.
The conference was addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union ministers Shivraj Patil, A.R. Antulay, Sushilkumar Shinde and others, former Prime Ministers V.P. Singh and I.K. Gujral and others, besides foreign delegates.
Mr Paswan said a large number of Indian dalits and Muslims living in Riyadh would address the meetiung.
<b>The LJP chief, who is trying to build the international forum of these communites on the model of another organisation, had recently threatened to confront the Indian industrial captains on the issue of reservation in the private sector</b>, saying that his party is ready to hit the streets on the issue if necessary.
<b>India 's top bureaucrats to need US seal of approval </b>
Jatin Gandhi
New Delhi, February 2, 2007 (Hindustan Times)
Indian bureaucrats now need an American stamp of approval before they can qualify as top brass. Starting this year, three US-based universities will train officers at different stages of their careers and only those who get a 'satisfactory' report will be empanelled for promotion.
The government has chosen the John F Kennedy School of Government (KSG) at Harvard University, Duke University, and Syracuse University to carry out the task. Initiated by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the move is a follow-up of the recommendations of an expert panel headed by YK Alagh. It is part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ambitious plan to revamp the bureaucracy.
The first module of training for 95 IAS officers with 28 years of service concluded last week. The four-week training programme on 'Governance Challenges for India' was held at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and was designed jointly with KSG.
<b>The officers who attended it will need a certificate from KSG before they can move on to the next rank of additional secretary or secretary. </b>
<b>Many officers are angry. "There is a lot of irritation in the batch," a joint secretary who participated in the programme told Hindustan Times on Saturday. "Neither KSG nor IIM-A have the experience or competence to issue us certificates," the officer said.</b>
<b>Another officer said the programme was 'out of context'. "The case studies were not from our situation. The complexities of India are very different,"</b> he said.
But the government is unfazed. On Wednesday, the ministry signed a similar agreement with Syracuse University, New York, and IIM Bangalore to train officers with 15 years of service in April. Duke University will conduct a programme for officers with nine years of service.
"There has been criticism... But this is just the beginning and things will get better," said LK Joshi, who signed the agreements as secretary of the ministry. Satyananda Mishra, who replaced Joshi as the ministry's secretary on Thursday, was unavailable for comment.
E-mail Jatin Gandhi: jatin .gandhi@hindustantimes.com http://tinyurl.com/23dq4w
I was removed under US pressure: Natwar
Suspended Congress leader and former external affairs minister Natwar Singh on Tuesday alleged that he was removed from his post under US pressure and hinted at joining the Samajwadi party.
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<b>Showering praise on the Samajwadi Party, Singh said it was a secular party, which was a 'big thing.' </b>
Singh also claimed that Justice R S Pathak had approached him for being nominated to the International Court of Justice.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, speaking on the occasion, said no one will be allowed to ruin Natwar's political career.
"<b>We know that you have been cheated. It has been the tradition of the Nehru-Gandhi family to ruin people in this fashion whether it was T T Krishnmachari or Krishna Menon," Yadav said. </b>
He said SP wanted to reap the benefits of Natwar Singh's vast experience since 1996 but it could not materialise.
"Now the moment has come in a natural way...You (Natwar) will not find a better party than SP," Yadav said.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Showering praise on the Samajwadi Party, Singh said it was a secular party, which was a 'big thing.'<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Now Mullah Yadav party is called secular. <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Launching a veiled attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he said, "Only those who are born in the country could understand religion, knowledge, prayer, charity, which are the hallmark of our culture." <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So called Jat-Rajput suddenly realized India's ethos, is he saying he was brain dead when he licking die-nasty behind? He is good example of exploiter and opportunist.
Canât say no to Lalu so Govt upgrades Rabri security, tells Bihar to pay for it
NITISH GOVT: State responds: she already has enough, 95 security guards
NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 6: Bowing to political considerations of an important ally, Lalu Prasad Yadavâs Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Centre has made an exception and decided to provide National Security Guards (NSG) cover â an elite commando and anti-hijack force â for his wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi.
----------------------
The Ministry conveyed its decision to NSG on December 21 last year. A day later, NSG relayed a message to Patna asking for facilities like:
⢠Bullet-proof car for Rabri Devi and two identical cars for NSG with trained drivers.
⢠Mobile phone with roaming facility for the NSG task force head along with telephone and STD facility for the force
⢠Police operator with radio sets, both handheld and to be mounted on vehicles.
⢠Suitable built-up accommodation with facilities for one officer, three junior officers and 28 NSG commandos.
⢠Firing range and suitable training area.
On January 8, the Union Home Ministry formally informed Bihar Chief Secretary of its decision.
Incidentally, <b>while she was CM, a 125-man company of the Central Reserved Police Force was deployed for security of her residence and the area around it. CRPF records show that this company was one of the 24 given to Bihar for anti-Naxal operations</b>. But as the prerogative of deployment of Central paramilitary forces lies with the state government, there was little the CRPF could do.
NEW DELHI: Manmohan Singh may be the Prime Minister but for Murli Deora, Sonia Gandhi is the boss.
The petroleum minister wore his loyalty on his sleeve on Thursday while announcing a reduction in motor fuel prices the second after November when he said the move was prompted by UPA chairperson's concerns over rising cost of daily living.
"This reduction restores petrol and diesel prices to June levels and fulfils Mrs Gandhi's vision (that the benefit of any decline in crude will be passed on to the aam aadmi). The reduction in diesel prices will help reduce prices of items used by people across the board," Deora told TOI.
This is perhaps one of those rare instances when a cabinet minister announced a major decision without either taking credit himself or giving it to the head of the government. Last June, the price of petrol was raised by Rs 4 a litre and that of diesel by Rs 2 when crude climbed to $75/barrel.
(No, it's not a rare instance of that. The reason is simple. Everyone bows down to the alien christo queen. If you don't, her foreign backers in the US and the Vatican will have you killed. Or her Congress goons will, like they have been trying with Raoul Gandhi's rape victim and victim's family.)
The reductions affected on Thursday and earlier in November each time Rs 2 on petrol and Re 1 on diesel have washed away the June blues.
By giving Sonia full credit, Deora is clearly trying to shore up the UPA chairperson's image of a leader concerned over people's welfare. Even at the cost of reversing his own public stand on the issue.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->There's more (total of 2 pages) at TOI. But I couldn't read more of the sycophancy.
Does this mean that shahabuddin's political career can continue after he returns from prison? The RPA, representation of people's act, disqualifies criminals who have been convicted for jail terms greater than 2 years. Loopholes!!
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Two-year jail for RJD MP Shahabuddin
Patna
The judgement finally came on Friday evening and for the first time the controversial RJD MP Mohd Shahabuddin was awarded two years jail and Rs 1,000 as penalty by the designated CBI judge in an assault case. The MP was convicted on Thursday but the designated judge had reserved his order.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Mumbai: <b>Unaccounted wealth worth Rs 35,000 crore, 10 Swiss bank accounts</b>, prime property in metro cities, stud farms and Hawala connection.
What started out as a random scrutiny by the Income Tax department is turning out to be perhaps the biggest case in the history of Indiaâs I-T investigations.
The taxmen claim to have netted Pune-based businessman and racehorse owner Hasan Ali, <b>who could well turn out to be Indiaâs fourth richest man.</b>
The Enforcement Directorate is now waiting for Aliâs account details from the Swiss Bank to finally nail him.
Known for his affluence and interest in breeding thoroughbred horses, Ali was questioned after the raid on his premises across Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabdad and Bangalore. However, the taxmen failed to procure documents and necessary warrants to arrest him. Ali now seems to have gone underground.
Narasimha Rao a 'sanyasi' in politics: PM
[ 31 Mar, 2007 1317hrs ISTPTI ]
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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday showered praise on late P V Narasimha Rao hailing him as truly a sanyasi in politics and a moderniser who was steeped in tradition and ethos.
The eulogy for the late Prime Minister, who made Singh his Finance Minister in the early 1990s, came at a function organised by Rao's brother.
"I will always cherish the unique opportunity I had to work with him. He was a friend, philosopher and guide in many ways. As I saw him from close quarters, he was truly a sanyasi in politics," Singh said.
The Prime Minister's remarks come ten days after Congress MP from Amethi Rahul Gandhi created a stir by his statement that had anyone of Gandhi family been active in politics, the Babri Masjid would not have fallen.
Rao was Prime Minister during the fateful period when the Masjid was demolished in 1992. Singh said Rao was a moderniser who was steeped in country's tradition and ethos.
"He was a rare scholar, statesman who gave a new sense of direction not only to our economic policy but also foreign policy," he said.
Rao's command over several languages was not just a linguistic capacity but made him a pan-Indian personality equally at ease in Karimnagar, Pune, Banaras and Delhi, he said.
05-15-2007, 11:30 AM (This post was last modified: 05-15-2007, 12:10 PM by Husky.)
<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+May 15 2007, 12:50 AM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ May 15 2007, 12:50 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Man Mohan Singh has assets worth Rs 3.96 crore
[right][snapback]68778[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->MMS won't mind me citing his words back to him: "Muslims should have first claim on resources".
MMS, please part with your 39.6 million Rupees and give it to all the 'islamic Indian minorities' who ever voted for you.
When he's done that, all other Congress members, then all communists, christians and psecularists should hand out their money, other assets and resources to India's muslims.
Hindus are exempt because they never made such a statement.
<b>Mayawati's assets are worth Rs 52 crore</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->As per an affidavit filed by Mayawati along with her nomination papers for the UP Legislative Council bypoll in Lucknow on Monday, Mayawati disclosed that she owns diamonds and jewellery worth Rs 51 lakh.
According to the details of her movable and immovable assets, she has Rs 52.27 lakh in cash while Rs 12.88 crore is deposited in banks, financial institutions and non-banking financial companies.
Mayawati said that <b>she has Rs 50,87,529 in the form of gold, diamonds and silver</b>.
Of this, <b>she has 1034.260 gm of gold, 76.040 gm of diamond and 18,500 kg of silver dinner set. She also has murals worth Rs 15 lakh</b>.
Mayawati declared that <b>she has three commercial and two residential buildings in New Delhi worth Rs 37.82 crore. She has a commercial building of 3628.02 sq ft worth Rs 2.05 crore, another of 4535.02 sq ft of Rs 1.27 crore and one of 34,112.26 sq ft of Rs 15.50 crore.</b>
Of the<b> two residential buildings, one of 1.08 acres worth Rs 97.42 lakh is in Lucknow while another of 2194.4 sq yards worth Rs 18.02 crore is in New Delhi</b>.
In her affidavit, she claimed that no cognisance has been taken against her in any criminal case nor has she any vehicle in her name or any shares and bonds of any company.
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Very poor. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->