<b>Indira took money from US: Basu</b>
PTI[ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 06:02:00 PM ]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com//arti...235899.cms?
KOLKATA: Veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu on Monday said that he was not sure whether Congress and CPI, which were "friendly" with the former Soviet Union had received funds from the Soviet secret service KGB but the <b>"Americans had funded Indira Gandhi and Congress" to curb the Communists in India</b>.
"I can't say whether the KGB had provided funds to them. Both the CPI and the Congress had good rapport with them, the former Soviet Union. But CPI has already denied it", Basu said.
"The former US Ambassador to India Daniel Patrick Moynihan had stated this in his book. But how much money they have paid I do not know. But had he not written the book we would not have come to know about this", he added.
Basu, however, refused to comment when asked whether his party would demand a probe in the light of disclosures contained in "The Mitrokhin Archives II:The KGB and the World."
Jane's Intelligence Watch Report - Daily Update
> 16-Sep-2005 11:03:15
> Volume/Issue: 12/184
>
> The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M) and the
> Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) have
> established a border regional committee, the Asian Age
> reported on 15 September. The foundation of the
> committee is the latest evidence of cross-border
> co-operation between the two groups, following the
> announcement by CPN-M chairman P Prachanda and CPI-M
> General Secretary Ganapathy in early September that
> the two groups would 'fight together and establish
> communism and socialism'. According to Indian police
> sources, Nepalese and Indian Maoists launched their
> first co-ordinated operation in June 2005 in the
> village of Madhuban, on the Nepalese border in Bihar.
> Fears of a resurgent Naxalite campaign in India (the
> Naxalites are revolutionary groups named after a
> peasant uprising in Naxalbari, West Bengal in 1967)
> increased following the creation of the CPI-M from two
> former Naxalite organisations in October 2004.
> Previously the Naxalites were widespread but deeply
> factionalised. The creation of the CPI-M appeared to
> be a direct attempt to mirror the success of the CPN-M
> in Nepal. Since then, violence has been on the rise in
> Indian states such as Bihar, Jharkand, Chhattisgarh
> and Andhra Pradesh, all states with a strong Maoist
> presence. As no co-ordinated national policy has been
> devised in India to deal with the Maoist threat, and
> with Nepal unable to effectively counter the CPN-M,
> the CPI-M's capabilities and influence will continue
> to grow.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Red harlots </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Indians who have come of age after the fall of the Berlin Wall will perhaps find the disclosures contained in The Mitrokhin Archive II mildly shocking, if not outright amusing. Most of them view India's political class as bereft of ethics and morals, so it is unlikely to offend their sensitivities that some of our well-known politicians with a fetish for mouthing socialist clichés were nothing more than harlots of Moscow during the days when red was the dominant colour of what was then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Others are likely to laugh over the fact that comrades and their fellow travellers were happy to settle for such small sums of money that pale into insignificance when compared to the thousands of crore that now change hands for favours doled out by those in power. But for those who grew up during the tumultuous decades of the '60s and '70s, <b>the Mitrokhin exposé brings back memories of how India's politics - and, by extension, policies - were mortgaged to Moscow and sacrificed on the altar of sham ideological commitment. </b>
In the guise of pursuing the path of non-alignment, our politicians of that period deftly led the country into the sphere of Soviet influence; the nation continues to carry the burden of the debris of that disastrous experiment of aping the Soviet model for a fistful of roubles, although the Cold War in which India chose the wrong side is now of no more than academic interest. There was nothing ideological about exercising that choice; it was born of the lure for Moscow's 'gold'.
That leading lights of the Communist movement who aspired to be in the vanguard of the revolution, the path to which Lenin had declared lay through Calcutta and Shanghai but never quite crossed the Great Wall of China, as well as "socialists" in the Congress who proudly displayed the badge of India's poverty to prove their loyalty to the cause, were regularly funded through KGB operatives, therefore, does not come as a surprise. Mitrokhin has merely confirmed what has been known all along.
Which is not to suggest that we need not bother ourselves about the disclosures. While it can be argued that India was not the only country where the inheritors of Stalinism were doling out money to influence the course of politics and the framing of policy, it would be morally wrong to accept the tame defence put up by the Congress, the CPI(M) and the CPI and, to use a favourite Indian expression, let bygones be bygones.
Seen from Moscow's perspective, the handouts were perfectly justified as they were part of official Soviet policy to push the frontiers of Kremlin's control - in east Europe tanks were used to physically dominate territory and people, elsewhere, for instance in India, cash was used to dominate politics. What is unjustified is the ease with which our politicians allowed themselves, and in the process the national interest, to be compromised.
<b>It serves little purpose to name individuals, most of whom have long departed from this world, but those who still fly the red flag or swear allegiance to an ideology that has been discredited and disowned in their 'fatherland' should be exposed for what they are: Defenders of the indefensible who, given a chance, will do what their leaders did. </b>Tragically for them, Moscow has run out of gold and Russia is no longer interested in influencing the course of Indian politics or in feathering the nests of comrades. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Where are those chest beater Roys, Chatterjies and others? FOILies are dead silent after book/report came out.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Mitrokhin Archive II , HOW INDIAN LEADERS STATEMENTS
1. Ambika Soni
" Congress Party general secretary Ambika Soni told the BBC the author had no evidence for his claims. "
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4257764.stm
2. Abhishek Manu Singhvi
"One can't even comment on them," said Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a Congress party spokesman.However, Singhvi said the Soviet Union was a source of strength for India in the Cold War era. " We are proud of it," he said.
âThis is pure sensationalism not even remotely based on facts or records,â
âThese are all vague allegations,â he said pointing out that they were not the officially released USSR archive records and were based on papers âstolenâ by a person who defected to the West in 1992. They are not official recordsâ.
âThey should not be dignified by reaction,â he said adding âit is the version of a person who is publishing it after 15 years of his defection and 50 years after everybody involved in the incidents was present. Almost everyone has died. There is no way of checkingâ.
Source: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
3. CONGRESS AND LEFT : " Neither party was willing to officially go on record although an AICC official rejected the charges as âa bunch of liesâ.
âThe allegations are very serious. But perhaps they are meant to boost the sale of the book. We have no doubt they are a bunch of lies,â the official said about the extracts from a new book on KGBâs global operations which appeared in a London paper today. "
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050918/asp/...ory_5253087.asp
4. Former foreign secretary K. Raghunath, who was also Indiaâs ambassador to Moscow, said:
âAnybody who makes such sweeping comments should be able to substantiate them. Prima facie, the charges made in the report look absurd.â
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050918/asp/...ory_5253087.asp
5. Sharad Yadav.
He said: âIf it is true, it teaches us that till our people are empowered enough to influence the political class, leaders will be guided by rich and powerful countries. It tells us our foreign policy has never been independent.â
6. D. Rajah, a leader of the Communist Party of India, which supported the Soviet Union, said the authors' claims were
COMMENT : "untrue, false and concocted."
"I dismiss it with the contempt that it deserves".
7 . Kuldip Nayar, a veteran journalist who has exhaustively chronicled that era, said:
âI canât talk of the media being on the take but it was well known then that suitcases of money used to change hands.â
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,...57,00.html
8. Veteran Indian journalist Kuldip Nayyar, who has extensively covered Indira Gandhi, said there was nothing new in the book.
âThe Congress-KGB links were an open secret at that time. This doesnât come as a surprise to me,â
Source: http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/09/19/kgbindia.shtml
9. BJP party spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said âThe perception of Congress-KGB links has always been there. The book only makes it stronger. We want a federal probe into this,â
Source: http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/09/19/kgbindia.shtml
"We demand a statement from the Congress," said BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. "These are serious allegations."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
09-22-2005, 05:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-22-2005, 05:18 PM by Bharatvarsh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sources close to the CPI (M) leadership say that the party leaders are in no mood to relent and will press for restrictions on its distribution and sale in India where it is scheduled for release on October 5. Officially, all that Mr Biswas is willing to say is, ''Before the book hits the stands, we want it to be revised.''
http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?m...t&counter_img=1<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Commie fascists trying to supress the truth by book banning, wonder where Shabana is now since she doesnt seem to care when commies openly try to ban books and restrict their sale.
I will buy book and will post all gem regarding traitor commies and Congressi on net. <!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
See http://www.2nt1.com/archive/pdfs/com-com/int80-5.pdf ,
$500,000 To Communist party of India in 1980; P230/34 , December 29, 1980;
Help in printing equipment
http://www.2nt1.com/archive/pdfs/com-com/sovmin-83.pdf
Also, http://www.2nt1.com/archive/pdfs/com-com/int91-7d.pdf in general
for communist journalists in Moscow.
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Communists see themselves as an alternative in State
Staff Reporter
People have rejected TDP, BJP and TRS , says Narayana
# Negative campaigning by TDP and inflammatory speeches by TRS leaders counter-productive
# Coordination among Congress and Left parties and the good work done by the Government have paved the way for victory of the combine
# Poll results and post-flood situation in the State to be discussed during the party's conference in Hyderabad slated for October 9
VIJAYAWADA: State secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) K. Narayana on Wednesday observed that the existing political scenario in the State was conducive for the Left parties to strengthen their base and emerge an alternative political front.
Addressing a press conference here, Dr. Narayana said that elections to civic bodies proved that people rejected the negative campaigning by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and inflammatory speeches by leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Parties criticised
People had vehemently opposed the TDP, the TRS and the BJP and reposed confidence in the Congress-Left combine. The TDP conducted its poll campaign in an "irresponsible manner" while the TRS tried to derive political mileage by stirring regional sentiments, he said. The opposition of the TRS to the special package from the Centre for development of the region had contributed to its debacle.
"Coordination among the Congress and Left parties and the good work done by the State Government in the last 15 months have paved the way for a thumping victory of the combine in the elections," he said.
Committed to alliance
Referring to the attempts of the TDP to woo elected representatives of the CPI in some municipalities, Dr. Narayana said though the posts offered were coveted, the party had politely declined the proposal as it was committed to the pre-poll alliance.
The CPI leader pointed out that the CPI had won a significant number of wards and divisions in 12 municipalities and four municipal corporations respectively.
Issues on the agenda
Issues like poll results and post-flood situation in the State would be discussed during the party's two-day State-level conference in Hyderabad slated for October 9. "Differences between the CPI and the CPI (M) are negligible and we will work together to strengthen our base in the State," he said.
Trade unions backed
Dr. Narayana said that the party supported the call given by the trade unions to observe one-day national strike on September 29 in protest against privatisation of public sector undertakings. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government should stick to the National Common Minimum Programme, he said.
<b>Countrywide strike by Left stalls India</b>
Why to call for strike when they are running country? Just call for no confidence vote. Very simple and hassle free. Whole drama is just a joke.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Advani wants White Paper on Red money </b>
Yogesh Vajpeyi / New Delhi -Pioneer
*Also look at CIA, ISI funds, * Blasts guilty silence of UPA Govt------ In a bid to put the Congress-led UPA Government supported by Left parties on the mat over the Mitrokhin Archives II exposures, the BJP on Sunday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to come out with a White Paper on "foreign funds pumped into India since Independence to pollute itspolitics."Â Â
And the party doesn't want the White Paper to be confined to the KGB, whose ex-agent Mitrokhin has revealed that the Congress and the Communist parties were regular recipients of Soviet slush money during Indira Gandhi's heyday.
"It must cover all foreign sources, including the CIA and ISI," BJP president LK Advani told mediapersons.
Mr Advani reiterated the party's demand for a probe into the Mitrokhin revelations by a sitting Supreme Court judge. "It is the biggest scandal of Indian politics since Independence and the UPA Government has a responsibility to come clean," he said.
But the BJP leader was quick to point out that the issues raised by these revelations went well beyond individuals or even parties. "Some of the charges made are such that the reputation of the entire country gets sullies in the process," he maintained.
Addressing a Press conference, Mr Advani referred to some of the glaring examples cited in the Mitrokhin expose. <b>"According to it the KGB pumped over £10 million to support Indira Gandhi and undermine her opponents during the 1975 Emergency; it subsidised elections of 21 non-Communist politicians, including four ministers in 1977; 10 out of 30 agents it had in India in 1978 were Indian intelligence officers," he said.</b>
Citing the ex-KGB spy's claim that by 1973, ten leading Indian newspapers and one leading wire service were on Soviet pay roll, Mr Advani said, "This must be fully investigated since the freedom of speech is at stake." In the face of such grievous charges, the posture of<b> "total reticence or blatant evasion" adopted by the two key UPA constituents virtually amounted to an admission of guilt, Mr Advani argued.</b>
"It will be less than honest and far from convincing to sidetrack these allegations as having been fabricated by an individual or any conspiring power," he said, pointing out that Cambridge scholar Christopher Andrew who compiled the Mitrokhin Archives had an impeccable reputation for integrity.
The tone and tenor of the BJP leader made it clear that if the Congress and its Communist allies thought they could let the sleeping dogs lie by prevaricating on the issue, the party is all set to prove them wrong.
"Unless our demands are conceded, we will agitate the issue vigorously in and out of Parliament," he warned the ruling alliance.
Releasing a letter he, along with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh had written to the Prime Minister on September 23, Mr Advani urged the PM to make a detailed statement on the issue without further delay.
The BJP leader said revelations about the Communists being on Moscow's pay roll should not come as a surprise to anyone except the uninitiated.
He reminded that the Communist Party of India was just the Indian chapter of the Communist International, controlled directly from Moscow.
"No wonder that it collaborated with the British during the Quit India Movement of 1942, Even after Independence, in 1962, it had no qualms justifying the Chinese invasion," he added.
While the BJP leader seemed to enjoy taking pot shots at the Left, it was the Congress establishment led by Sonia Gandhi that was his primary target.
In this context he referred in detail to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act passed by the Congress Government in the '70's, which banned acceptance of foreign funds by government officials, politicians and political parties and even the media without the government's permission.
"The law bans them from accepting even hospitality from any foreign country. Was this not a monstrous fraud on democracy that at a point of time when an ordinary newsman or a naïve member of a legislative assembly could become subject to severe penalties if he was to accept an invitation to visit a foreign country, those in the Government were accepting crores and crores without any hesitation?" he asked.
Training his guns against the Sonia Congress establishment, the BJP leader sought to distinguish Manmohan Singh personally from the lot.
"Their silence is understandable. The country, however, hopes that the Prime Minister will respond boldly to our plea and clinch the issue," Mr Advani said.
He praised Mr Singh's "courage" in apologising to the nation for the '84 riots in the last session of Parliament.
"He personally had nothing to do with those crimes. The situation is very similar today," the BJP leader noted.
Almost egging him to act boldly and without caring for repercussions from Sonia's Congress, Mr Advani said that If Mr Singh announced that the Government will come out with a White Paper and set up a judicial inquiry, he would be the two-fold cause of patriotism and integrity in public life.
"And he would simultaneously redeem the country of the stigma that may stick to us because of these exposures," the BJP president concluded.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Left leaders meet Sonia Gandhi
October 04, 2005 18:37 IST
Concerned over the plight of thousands of people evicted recently from slums in Delhi's trans-Yamuna area, a delegation of Left leaders, accompanied by former prime minister V P Singh, met United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, demanding that a national legislation be drafted to resettle squatters with no land rights.
The delegation submitted a memorandum to Mrs Gandhi, demanding that the government come out with a legislation to rehabilitate squatters near their place of occupation.
"We have urged the government to bring about a legislation to protect the rights of the citizens living in slums and till that happens, we have stressed that no demolition should take place," Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters.
*
'No government takes the poor seriously'
Alleging that 'nothing' has been done to improve the condition of the urban poor, as promised by the government in its common minimum programme, Singh said it was important that forced evictions be immediately stopped and those evicted be allotted dwellings at least within two kilometres of their place of occupation.
The leaders, who also included Communist Party of India general secretary A B Bardhan, Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas and Revolutionary Socialist Party leader Abani Roy, demanded ratification of the Draft National Slum Policy of 2001 under which several steps are outlined for the development and upgradation of urban slums.
"We have also suggested that, keeping in mind land shortage, vertical construction can also be made," Bardhan said, adding that the leaders have also sought time from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding the issue.
CPI(M) `deserters' to meet tomorrow
Staff Reporter
KOCHI: A section of political leaders who have `deserted' the CPI(M) are meeting here to formulate the draft programme and constitution for a new political party.
Nearly 20 leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh will meet at YMCA campsite in Aluva on October 6 to discuss the programme and constitution of the new party, said V.B. Cherian, trade union leader.
The name of the new party would be announce on October 7, the anniversary of the Russian Revolution after a rally. The draft prepared at the meeting would be discussed at a conference to be held at Jalandhar in December, he said.
Though the new party would adhere to the 1964 programme of the CPI(M), it would not subscribe to the dilution of the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal and anti-monopoly policies pursued by the CPI(M), Mr. Cherian added.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Anti-Hindu Communists want Distribution of temple lands in Tamil Nadu</b>
By Dr Jagan Kaul
intellibriefs.blogspot.co...chive.html
<b>The Tamil Nadu CPMâs demand for confiscating and distributing the Hindu mutt endowment lands to the poor is outrageous, anti-Hindu and anti-secular. It deeply violates the religious sentiments of the majority Hindu community. </b>These lands donated by the devotees were historically meant for the purpose of use and sustenance of the religious places in perpetuity. The government in its capacity as a âtrusteeâ and not an âownerâ has no power to alter that course. Doing so will be prejudicial to greatly sacred Hindu tradition and it will violate the âtrusteeship covenantâ.
That the irreligious CPM in a calculated strategy is focusing upon the temple lands in its national campaign shows its utter disregard towards the Constitution and the Hindusâ religious rights. The central purpose for unleashing this venomous strategy against the Hindus religious properties is to cultivate electoral dividends to be harvested during the forthcoming elections. On the broader side, it once again opens up the question of illegal government control of temples and mutts in Tamil Nadu seriously violating the religious rights and sentiments of over 80 per cent of the national population.
To extend the government jurisdiction exclusively upon Hindu places of worship and their estates while leaving similar entities of other religious formations outside the draconian control speaks volumes about the hypocrisy exercised by the administration. Furthermore, if distributing temple properties amongst the poor is a worthwhile and noble cause, then how many church and mosque properties has the government distributed amongst the poor? Or do they not subscribe to that philosophy and, therefore, are out of bounds to such generosity?
Government control over Hindu religious places is a deliberate policy of radically altering Indiaâs cultural complexion.
It is a sad yet lawless story of unconstitutional usurpation of Hindu temples and their estates by the government and becoming their self-appointed trustee and then violating the trusteeship covenant by diverting their resources for other than Hindu religious purposes. Since Hinduism, like other religions in India, is not a state controlled or managed religion therefore, it is far beyond its competence to divert temple revenues, change physical structures and/or sell/transfer their lands or estates for non-Hindu religious purposes.
By controlling Hindu temples and their estates, the government is depriving Hindus of their fundamental âreligious rightsâ guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Indian Constitution. According to Article 25 of the Constitution, all persons are equally entitled to the right to profess, practice and propagate religion. While Article 26 provides that every religious denomination âshall have the right (a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes; (b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion; © to own/acquire movable and immovable property; and, (d) to administer such property in accordance with lawâ.
The Indian Parliament through an Act in 1991 legislated that<b> âthe status of religious places, as on August 15, 1947 shall be retainedâ.</b> The faithful implementation of this law itself will require the authorities to revert the control of places of worship of Hindus to the community governance.
The term âsecularâ was incorporated in the Constitution of India by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. <b>A secular government cannot legitimately be involved in the operation and management of religious places since secularism firmly stands for the separation of state and religion. With unjustifiable exception of Hindu religious entities this principle is held high in Tamil Nadu. In the case of Hindus, the State Government has chosen to act above and beyond the limitations imposed upon it by the Constitution</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>PM rips into Left for its wild propaganda</b>
Pioneer
Though the Bihar cloud watered down the importance of Congress Chief Ministers' conclave, one vital message that came out from the two-day meet is the toughening of the party's stand on the Left. While Congress president Sonia Gandhi clearly asserted that the pro-people schemes in the common minimum programme was her party's agenda, <b>Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly ripped into the Communists' for indulging in wild propaganda.</b>
The Prime Minister not only spoke against populism, he also warned against creating false expectations as the "Government functions under limitations." Though he was addressing the Congress Chief Ministers' conference, his assertions must have left the Communists' ears burning.
His candid expressions, coming just after the letter given to the Left on BHEL controversy, is being seen as a fresh warning to the anti-reforms forces within the ruling combine that sustaining welfare schemes won't be possible without new avenues of resource generation.
The Prime Minister said, "Populism and populist gimmicks no longer impress people. Hard work does. Promises like free electricity and others that cannot be sustained will not fetch results. Actual performance does make a difference." His own party never shies away from making promises to waive off farmers' loans and offer free electricity to win elections. The Prime Minister later hinted that he wanted his chief ministers to listen to his advice.
Dr Singh also said, <b>"we must reduce subsidies for the rich and divert these resources into investment and employment generation. There is an urgent need for the restructuring of public expenditure. If we want to generate resources for investment and employment generation then we must make bold to generate revenues and equally important, alter the profile of expenditure."</b>
The Prime Minister also appeared hurt by the persistent criticism of the foreign policy by the Left, which goes to the extent of questioning the Prime Minister's commitments.
In his own subtle way, Dr Singh sent a firm message to the Left by saying: <b>"Our people are patriotic. They understand what is in the best interest of our country. Be it our economic policy or foreign policy, or our national policy. The party must explain what our thinking in Government is to the people. It must ensure that false expectations are not generated. It must ensure that deliberate disinformation by vested interests is countered."</b>
He added: "The people of India will never question the patriotism of the Congress party. Let no one question our intentions and motivations, even if they disagree with our policies. We have only one intention and one motivation. To build an India that is strong, that is prosperous, that is liberal and caring, that is inclusive and secular."
Considering that a day before, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi made sweet noises about the importance of a welfare state, the Prime Minister's tough talk is bound to jolt the Left yet again.
The Prime Minister was equally candid when he spoke of the growing disenchantment of the people with the system. He said, "What is the happiness index of the average citizen vis-a-vis the Government? My own surmise is that <b>there is considerable dissatisfaction with governance and agents of governance." </b>Warning that despite the optimism generated by good economic growth, people were pessimistic about governance, he added, "we cannot ignore the growing desire of an increasingly informed people for better governance, for higher standards of morality and for courage in dealing with the challenges at hand."
By his confessions, the Prime Minister was clearly hinting that he was aware of the Government's failures and compulsions, and the inefficacy of the delivery system, but he made it clear that wanton insult of the ministers and Government decisions wasn't the answer to major problems.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Asansol rigging: Whither ECI?
Oct 8 2005
Pioneer
Dipak Ghosh
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Asansol by-election held on September 29 was widely viewed as a litmus test of the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s commitment to hold rigging-free elections in West Bengal. For the first time in the history of any election, the ECI introduced central government employees as presiding officers in each of the polling stations. This was in obvious response to the report filed by Mr Afzal Amanullah, the Bihar cadre IAS officer who acted as special observer for West Bengal in the 2004 Lok Sabha election.
Mr Amanullah had been shocked by the partisanship displayed by the West Bengal government employees, who manned the booths. Each and every one of them were members of the CPI(M)-controlled Coordination Committee of State Government Employees. Besides, the policemen who were supposed to give security to the voters and ensure free and fair polls were, down to the last man, Marxist loyalists. They were members of the CPI(M)'s Non-Gazetted Police Karmachari Samity. After seeing the shocking scale of rigging, Mr Amanullah had recommended in his 13-page final report that the entire polling to the 42 parliamentary constituencies be countermanded.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Came via email:
Since Prakash Karat, Secretary of CPI-M is a good chummy and an admirer of Venezuelan Present Chavez, will Karat also recommend a similar move to the UPA government in the next deliberations of the coordination committee?
What is good for communist regime in Venezuela should also be good for the coalition regime in Bharat supported by the communists.
-xxx
Missionaries Ordered to Leave Venezuela
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Venezuela's Chavez Orders U.S. Missionary Group Working With Indigenous Tribes to Leave Country
Press Writer, The Associated Press
BARRANCO YOPAL, Venezuela Oct 12, 2005 â Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered a U.S.-based Christian missionary group working with indigenous tribes to leave the country Wednesday, accusing the organization of "imperialist infiltration" and links to the CIA.
Chavez said missionaries of the New Tribes Mission, based in Sanford, Fla., were no longer welcome during a ceremony in a remote Indian village where he presented property titles to several indigenous groups.
"The New Tribes are leaving Venezuela. This is an irreversible decision that I have made," Chavez said. "We don't want the New Tribes here. Enough colonialism!"
He accused the missionaries of building luxurious camps next to poor Indian villages and circumventing Venezuelan customs authorities as they freely flew in and out on private planes.
The group is involved in "true imperialist infiltration, the CIA, they take away sensitive, strategic information," Chavez said, without elaborating. "And on top of that, exploiting the Indians."
"We don't want to abuse them, we're simply going to give them a period of time (to) pack up their things because they are leaving," Chavez said to applause from hundreds of Indians who sat under tents in Barranco Yopal, a remote village on Venezuela's southern plains.
Nita Zelenak, a New Tribes representative reached by phone, declined to comment on Venezuela's decision or say how many missionaries are working in the country.
The New Tribes Mission specializes in evangelism among indigenous groups in the world's remotest places. The organization says it has 3,200 workers and operations in 17 nations across Latin America, Southeast Asia and West Africa.
During the ceremony, Chavez granted 15 property titles for more than 1.65 million acres to the Cuiba, Yuaruro, Warao and Karina tribes. The documents recognize collective ownership of ancestral lands by communities with some 3,000 people.
"Previously, the indigenous people of Venezuela were removed from our lands. This is historic. It is a joyful day," said Librado Moraleda, a 52-year-old Warao from a remote village in the Orinoco River Delta.
Moraleda received a land title and government pledges of $27,000 to build homes and plant cassava and plantains.
Chavez says he is leading a "revolution" for the poor and that defending the rights of Venezuelan's 300,000 indigenous people is a priority.
But poverty remains severe in many Indian communities, and some said they need more help beyond land titles.
"We want the government to help us with hunger, with credit," said Yuaruro Indian Pedro Mendez, 26. He said his community had asked for an electrical generator and loans to help plant more crops.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Source
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mangalore October 14, 2005 7:43:30 PM IST
Three people suspected to have links with naxalite groups in Andhra Pradesh have been arrested here last night, police said today.
Talking to reporters here today, IGP (Western Range) Suresh Babu said the arrested people were identified as Venkatreddy from Kodadi near Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh, Syed from Malur in Kolar district and Madhusudhan from Byrapura in Sakhleshpur near Hassan.
The trio had been moving in the city in a van last night. As part of routine checking, the police had stopped their vehicle and on suspicion arrested them. While Rs three lakh cash and a pistol was seized from Venkatreddy, Rs one lakh cash and a revolver was recovered from Syed.
During interrogation the trio revealed that they had been proceeding to Kerala to purchase some weapons and ammunition.
It was also found that Venkatreddy had been earlier arrested by the Andhra police for supplying seven weapons to naxalite outfit Janasakthi. Of them, the police could recover only three weapons.
The arrested people were produced before the court today for seeking police custody.
<b>The prime accused Venkat Reddy possesses M Sc, B Ed, M Phil degrees and owns a college named 'Maharshi College' at Kodad. He is also a professor in the same college. But for the last 4 years he has been supplying arms to the CPI -ML Janashakti, a Naxalite organization after purchasing them from Karnataka and Kerala with the help of Madhusudhan and Mohammad Syed. He also revealed that the present Rs 3 lac that he possessed was brought to purchase arms and he was on his way to Palakkad in Kerala to procure them.</b>
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<b>Sringeri mutt swamiji appeals to Chief Minister against naxalism</b>
Staff Reporter
Mutt work is being hindered by anti-social activities, says Sri Bharati Theertha
AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING: Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh (left) handing over the light to the Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh to inaugurate Sri Bharati Theertha Seva Prathisthana's anniversary celebrations in Bangalore on Sunday. The former Bihar and Jharkand Governor M. Rama Jois is seen. â Photo: K. Murali Kumar
BANGALORE: <b>As the Sri Bharati Theertha Seva Prathisthana founded by the 36th peethadhipati in the unbroken line of acharyas who headed the Sringeri Sharada Peetam established by Adi Sankara around 820 AD, celebrated its third anniversary, Sri Bharati Theertha Swamiji on Sunday appealed to the Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh to end naxalism that has spread in the region where the ancient mutt is located.</b>
The swamiji said the work of the mutt in providing succour and spiritual values was being hindered by the presence of "these anti-social elements", and people living in the area were dogged by fears of all kinds.
The organisation founded in his name is working in Bangalore, and elsewhere, and MLA and former Minister D.K. Shivakumar, a patron of the foundation, used today's function to appeal to the Chief Minister for a plot for its building in the city. It was a plea that evoked immediate response from Mr. Dharam Singh who made an announcement and promised to provide a site at the earliest.
The Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Mr. Dharam Singh, senior police officer Jyothi Prakash Mirji, who headed the Karnataka Special Task Force against Veerappan, and C.V. Nagash, lawyer, were felicitated.
The former Bihar and Jharkand Governor and retired judge Rama Jois, who presided over the function, regaled the audience with quotations from Sanskrit and said awards and honours were meant to show that its always better to be right and not compromise on ethics.
I know we have some sort of an unwritten consensus on not posting Bidwai's garbage but this is interesting..
http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/19bidwa...?q=tp&file=.htm
Whats going on ? commies trying to make SG their own ? alsoo interesting was the spin that open economy was 'conservative' while protectionist measures are somehow progressive.. weird.
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