<b>UPA Govt lost all credibility: Advani</b>
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/...00807101821.htm
New Delhi (PTI): The UPA Government lost all credibility, its words cannot be believed, said the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate and leader of the Opposition L K Advani.
He also said that a minority government had bartered away the national interest through back-door.
The Congress has entered into an unprincipled, opportunistic alliance in a desperate bid just to hang on in power for some more months, Advani said.
The UPA is pretending that it is still enjoying majority despite Left's withdrawal of support, he added.
He also stated that the draft safeguards agreement circulated by Government proves that assurances by the Prime Minister in Parliament have not been honoured.
He said that there is an apprehension of horse-trading and the Government should seek confidence at the earliest.
<span style='color:red'>
Advani added that there is a conspiracy afoot to present the nation a fait accompli on the nuclear deal by rushing through the back-doors.</span>
<b>
Raj Babbar meets Sonia</b>
New Delhi (PTI): Congress on Thursday succeeded in securing the support of rebel Samajwadi Party MP Raj Babbar, who met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and backed the nuclear deal.
"The government is in crisis and no bargaining should take place in such a situation," said Babbar, a known detractor of SP General Secretary Amar Singh, after meeting Gandhi.
He said the Congress policy on the nuclear agreement was in favour of the country and "I have conveyed my support to the Congress President".
Asked whether he would contest the next Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket, Babbar said: "It is still 11 months for the election. I will contest from Fatehpur Sikri and this will not be on a BSP ticket".
Babbar said he was in favour of developmental policies being pursued by the Congress-led UPA.
Asked whether he was getting something in lieu of his support to Congress, he said, "I am not into wheeling-dealing. I am a small politician and not powerful enough to make any demand".
NC undecided over supporting UPA in trust vote
New Delhi (PTI): National Conference chief Omar Abdullah on Thursday refused to disclose which way his party would vote on the UPA government's confidence motion but said it would actually be a vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
"We will review the issue in its entirety and decide on our stand... the trust vote will be a vote on the deal," he told reporters after meeting CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat at the latter's office here.
Abdullah, who met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee last evening, said it was an international deal and "if we vote in its favour, the government stays. But we will take a decision later."
At their meeting, Karat is understood to have briefed the President of the NC, which has two members in Lok Sabha, about the Left's stand on the issue. The top Left leader also presented him a copy of the book released today, which compiles the notes exchanged between the UPA and the Left parties at the meetings of the Committee on the nuclear deal.
To questions on the Muslims' stand on the deal with the US, Abdullah said, "if it is good, it will be good for the nation and equally good for both Muslims and the Hindus."
He said his party looked at the Indo-US deal only as a deal and not a communal issue.
Mukherjee had met the National Conference President yesterday and sought his party's support during the trust vote.
No end in sight to UPA-Left row: Karunanidhi
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Wednesday stated that there is no sign of any positive development to settle the Left-UPA row over the Indo-US nuclear deal till now.
In a brief chat with reporters here, Karunanidhi, who tried to mediate between Congress and Left parties on the issue, said he would not like to add to the confusion by commenting over the Left parties' withdrawal of support to the Manmohan Singh government.
He, however, rejected the suggestion that the alliance had suffered a setback following withdrawal of support by the Left parties. "I don't think so."
Karunanidhi, who played a vital role along with CPI(M) leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet in the formation of UPA at the Centre, also did not agree to the view that it was a setback for the parties which had launched a fight against communal forces in the country.
"In future, a more conducive atmosphere would emerge to take on the communal forces," he added.
If BJP had any sense in them they would start labelling the UPA as communal.
a. Pandering to Muslims and Christians while walking all over Hindus: does that not have "communal" written all over it?
b. Or is it "communal" to demand equal opportunities for Hindus and to ask for a stop to appeasement of Muslims and Christians?
The UPA etc are making the public believe in (b). Any thinking person will say it is (a) that is "communal". If allowed to go unhecked, (B) will become truth for people. Just like a hundred other absurd things have become "truths" for Indians.
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Shambu, we are in Ulta-Pulta world. The minute BJP's able to shake of this 'communal' label around their neck, it's fortunes could change. It's failed miserably in countering this propaganda. If one looks at the kind of policies and governance Congress has offered in past 50+ years, it easy to see who's really communal.
I've heard Western journalist who talk of parties that are 'secular' or 'pious' but Indian media use 'secular' or 'communal' and communal has negative implications.
<b>
Manmohan keen on seeking early vote of confidence</b>
Vinay Kumar
Date of Lok Sabha session to be made known today
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday met President Pratibha Patil and stated that he and his Cabinet colleagues were keen on seeking a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha as early as possible.
âThe precise date on which the Lok Sabha will be summoned for this purpose will be communicated to the President by the Prime Minister by Friday evening,â a press communiqué issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
The meeting lasted for nearly half-an-hour.
On Thursday, the President requested a meeting with the Prime Minister in view of the political developments following the withdrawal of support by the Left parties to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Dr. Singh returned from Japan after attending the G-8 summit in the early hours of Thursday.
The President had also taken note of her meeting with Samajwadi Party leaders, who reiterated their support to the UPA by submitting a letter of support afresh.
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<b>
Shocking betrayal: Karat</b>
Vinay Kumar
Weâll make it âpolitically impossibleâ to clinch nuclear deal
Prakash Karat
NEW DELHI: A day after the four Left parties formally withdrew their support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, they sharpened their offensive and vowed to make it âpolitically impossibleâ for the Manmohan Singh government to go ahead and clinch the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal.
Attacking the government for approaching the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the safeguards agreement in the nuclear deal before securing a trust vote in Parliament, the Left parties described the move as a âshocking betrayal of a moral commitmentâ made to the country and the people.
âWe know how to fight against the deal and we will make it politically impossible for the government to go ahead with the agreement,â CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat told a press conference at the party headquarters here on Thursday.
CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan, Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas and other senior Left leaders were present.
He said External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had announced on Tuesday that the government would send Indiaâs safeguards agreement to the IAEA Board for approval only if it won the trust vote in Parliament. Mr. Mukherjee also stated that he had consulted the Prime Minister who was in Japan.
âComing hours after the announcement that the Left parties had decided to withdraw support to the government, this was a solemn commitment to the country that the government would not proceed to the Board of Governors of the IAEA till it proved its majority in Parliament,â Mr. Karat said.
âIt is shocking that less than 24 hours of such a statement, the IAEA has announced that at the request of the Government of India, the text has been submitted to the Board for its consideration.
Shoking betrayal - my foot.
If in any state they believe that congress has chances then left will go for seat adjustments with congress in that state on one pretext or other.
<b>
Deceitful action, says Advani</b>
Neena Vyas
âCountry made a laughing stockâ
Government has gone back on its assurances: BJP
âIt is pretending that it still enjoys majority supportâ
NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliance on Thursday expressed its âoutrageâ at the âdeceitful and duplicitousâ action of the United Progressive Alliance government in approaching the International Atomic Energy Agency for ratification of the proposed India-specific safeguards without the government establishing its majority in Parliament.
At a press conference called after a meeting of NDA leaders, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani demanded the Prime Minister âimmediatelyâ seek a vote of confidence ânot only on the nuclear dealâ but to generally demonstrate that it enjoyed majority support in the Lok Sabha.
Present at the press conference were senior leaders of the Janata Dal (United) and a representative of the Akali Dal.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders said the Biju Janata Dal and the Shiv Sena leaders were not present as the meeting was called at short notice.
Mr. Advani took strong objection to the circulation of the draft agreement with the IAEA after people âacross the worldâ had access to the document.
He said the NDA suspected a âconspiracyâ to âpresent the nation with a fait accompli on the deal by rushing through it behind closed doors.â
While people all over the world were first to get access to the document, in India it was made public several hours later. âThis government has made our country a laughing stockâ by this action, he charged.
âNo government â least of all a minority government â can be permitted to make commitments on an issue as fundamental to the countryâs long-term interests and national securityâ as the issue related to the nuclear deal.
Mr. Advani charged the government with going back on its assurances and promises made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee that nothing would be done without first taking a vote of confidence.
Using the âfig-leafâ of an âunprincipled and opportunistic allianceâ with the Samajwadi Party following withdrawal of support by the Left, the government was âpretending that it still enjoyed majority support, a statement issued by the NDA said.
The charge was that the government was ârunning away from facing its moment of truth,â that is, the confidence vote.
Asked whether the NDA would have floor coordination with the Left to ensure the governmentâs defeat, Mr. Advani said that was ânot needed. I am optimistic the majority of MPs will vote against the government.â
âSurreptitious meansâ
Mr. Advani alleged that the government with using âsurreptitious meansâ to expedite the nuclear deal. He demanded that Parliament be convened immediately and a trust vote be taken âto quell any further horse-trading by a desperate governmentâ.
On the draft before the IAEA, Mr. Advani said India was a nuclear weapon State but the draft would bring India on a par with other States that were not nuclear weapon States. That was not acceptable.
Punters bet high on UPA trust vote win
Palak Shah in Mumbai | July 11, 2008 03:10 IST
Bets of nearly Rs 500 crore have been accepted in the satta bazaar or the illegal betting market over the past two days, with punters riding high on odds that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government will survive a confidence or trust vote in Parliament.
The amount is expected to cross Rs 2,500 crore before the date of the confidence vote is announced. Major bets have been accepted from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Kanpur, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
The settlement would take place though 'hawala', or illegal foreign exchange trading, after the results are announced.
The United Progressive Alliance government has been reduced to minority after the Left parties withdrew its support of 59 lawmakers due to differences over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
At least 272 seats are required to prove a majority in the 543-member House. The UPA currently has 224 seats of its own and the UP-based Samajwadi Party (SP) has assured support of 39 MPs, which takes its tally to 263.
Bookies think the UPA would not get more than 274 seats, so they are offering higher payouts to punters who bet their money on seats above 274.
According to one punter, the market expects cross voting by four SP lawmakers but UP Chief Minister Mayawati would not allow at least two other lawmakers of her Bahujan Samaj Party, who are in jail, to travel to New Delhi for the vote, reducing the halfway mark.
"Yet, we are sure the UPA will get more than nine seats from small regional parties, but cannot cross 280-seat mark," he said.
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