<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->So who called him in to film the encounter? The UPA or the MPs themselves? <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I had posted this question earlier: what's the history of PVNR and him getting in trouble over bribing the JMM MPs back in 90s. Then it was reported that it could have been a inside job since PVNR didn't exactly toe the Gandhi clan and had more enemies inside INC than outside (Mani Iyer, Arjun etc..).
Any parallels here?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>PM: Advani should do some introspection </b>Hitting back at LK Advani for levelling charges of incompetence against him, Manmohan Singh asks the BJP leader to do some "introspection" over his role when Gujarat was burning.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Moron Singh gone insane, this jerks lose his sleep when terrorist are in jail and go for party when innocent people dies. What a jerk? shameless .
<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Jul 22 2008, 05:03 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Jul 22 2008, 05:03 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Interesting. So Sardesai would have released the CD later and maligned the MPs and their parties. Total double laddos. And now he has kaddos.
Was Sardesai working for vested interests to blackmail the ruling party or what? So who called him in to film the encounter? The UPA or the MPs themselves? Wonder if the Speaker will go after the Ruling alliance and TV network for suborning MPs?
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I think they wanted to expose it the Bangaru way. BJP was the target since UPA is getting the flak for the bribes. They wanted to shift the blame with media exposure.
These MPs shorted this plan by going to the parliament. This bribing case can explode and run for atleast 5 years. Look for the UPA side to keep this charges low and keep it out of the media.
<b>US business lobby elated over trust vote result</b>
Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC | July 22, 2008 22:30 IST
The US business lobby, which was monitoring the trust vote on a minute-by-minute basis, was ecstatic over the outcome when the Indian Parliament voted to support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's [Images] decision to move forward with the US-India civilian nuclear agreement, with Ron Somers, president of the US-India Business Council, describing it as "an historic victory for India and the globe."
Consequently, the USIBC pledged to energise the US Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Coalition for Partnership with India and also expressed elation over reports that the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency would consider approving its safeguards agreement with India on July 25, "setting the stage for consideration by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to waive conditions relative to India, ending India's nuclear isolation, and enabling civilian nuclear trade in technology and fuel by the entire 45-nation body."
Somers predicted that "India's responsible record in developing its existing civilian nuclear power programme will bring much-needed talent and innovation to the 'nuclear renaissance' underway, necessary to stem global warming."
The USIBC, acknowledging that July 25 would be the next 'key date' in this process, said, it would be waiting for the IAEA's clearance of the safeguards agreement "to end India's nuclear isolation."
Somers acknowledged that once this vote by the IAEA is in, the NSG must reach consensus to exempt India from certain conditions enabling civilian nuclear trade with India before the US Congress can ratify the so-called US-India 123 Agreement and hence "time is tight."
"The US Congressional calendar is jam-packed between now and the US presidential election," in November, he said, but said the USIBC was "encouraged by the recent statements made by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Joe Biden, who says he will find time to press for ratification of the 123 Agreement so long as India is able to complete its steps."
Somers was apparently referring to a recent interview by Biden with rediff.com when he said that even though the time "is very, very, tight," it was "possible" for the deal to be ratified by Congress, and that "I am going to push like the devil," and that "if they (India) gets their end done. I am an optimist. I am not going to say it (the Congressional clock) has run out."
"The USIBC and the Coalition for Partnership with India will be front and center in this debate to ensure Congressional passage," Somers said.
He pointed out that India has a total installed capacity of 135,000 megawatts, mostly comprised of thermal power, which is carbon-emitting, causing global warming, and that India's Nuclear Power Corporation has a goal of augmenting this capacity by as much as 30,000 megawatts to 60,000 megawatts over the next 20 years, "requiring investments in excess of $100 billion."
Somers said that "US companies look forward to cooperating with Indian companies to achieve this important energy security infrastructure build-out," and noted that of the world's existing nuclear powers reactors, which number 400, India's reactors total only 22, while the US, which has the most number of nuclear reactors in the world has over a 100.
The USIBC formed in 1975 under the aegis of the US Chamber of Commerce is the premier business advocacy organisation representing over 280 of the largest American companies investing in India, along with about two dozen of India's largest global companies.
On June 12, when the USIBC celebrated its 33rd anniversary, its new chairman, Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, and the first ever woman to head the organisation, spoke of how imperative it was for this deal to be consummated for both the benefit of India's development and energy requirements as well as for the US in its efforts to forge a strategic partnership with India.
If you folks have the time read the Issac Asimov's series The Foundation. Most peole pay attention to the first character Hari Sheldon. I suggest paying attention to the other charcters like Hardin and Mallow
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Half of the BJP MPs will abstain in the Vote
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BJP MPs were present in full force. Information or source was wrong.
I think JMM and Mamata did the magic.
Now Soren will be CM of Jharkhand, Mayawati will be fighting CBI, Laloo will be enjoying loot from Railways and Chara scam.
Manmohan will be enjoying bribes from all over world.
politics party claims it TDP two MPs. But then he is pro-YSR so take it with a grain of salt.
I think there were abstainees and cross voters.
Mayawati is claiming that UPA/NDA didnt want a Dalit PM. But that begs the question as MMS would have submitted the recommendation to dissolve the hosue and hold elections so he can be care taker. And next electiosn will be who knows.
All the parties will try to find out how there was a shortfall. I dont know if such an exercise was taken by NDA after the 1998 vote.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->But that begs the question as MMS would have submitted the recommendation to dissolve the hosue and hold elections so he can be care taker. And next electiosn will be who knows.
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He will stay there not as a care taker but as appointed one till he will sign some more contracts/deal including land, defence etc. He is sitting there to collect bribes for Sonia and his own great grand Childern.
The Congress has reason to celebrate, as has the Prime Minister. Having accomplished the task of mustering a majority in Parliament after being reduced to a minority, the UPA Government can now continue to be in office. It has overcome the immediate threat of losing power following the Left's decision to withdraw support over the surreptitious manner in which the contentious India-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement is being foisted on the nation. Yet, it will be no exaggeration to suggest that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet stand denuded of moral authority and the power they will henceforth wield will be seen as tainted if not illegitimate. For, although the UPA Government has won the vote in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday evening, the manner in which it stacked up numbers in its favour has resulted in its losing the trust of the people. It is at best a pyrrhic victory which will delight only those who have scant regard and even lesser respect for ethics and probity in politics. The scandalous scene witnessed by millions of people, courtesy live telecast of proceedings inside the Lok Sabha, of three BJP MPs depositing bundles of currency notes, given to them to abstain from voting and thus help the Government to survive, on the table of the House, has not only served to substantiate stories about Opposition MPs being bribed but also exposed sanctimonious and self-righteous UPA and Congress leaders for what they really are: Cynical politicians who can stoop to any level to retain power, never mind the consequences of their deed, namely the erosion of people's faith in democracy. Critics would argue that it would be naïve to expect the Congress and its 'friends' to act any differently; a party that is scornful of democracy cannot be seen to be upholding the dharma of parliamentary traditions. Let us not forget that another Congress Government had won a confidence vote by bribing MPs; coincidentally or otherwise, Mr Manmohan Singh was the Finance Minister of that Government. His 'conscience' had not bothered him on that occasion too.
However, it would be wrong to attribute the UPA's success entirely to Parliament being reduced to a bazaar. <b>The BJP, despite its bluster, has once again failed abysmally to fulfil its role as the main Opposition party. Its leadership appeared divided on the issue of defeating the Government; its political management and coordination left much to be desired; and, notwithstanding Mr LK Advani's sharp attack, it failed to enthuse its MPs to close ranks and act in a determined manner. The quarry was in sight, the goal was achievable, but the BJP floundered, and miserably so. But if we were to dispassionately look at the debate that preceded Tuesday's vote, we would find that Mr Advani has emerged taller than the Prime Minister.</b> The latter's reply to the debate, which begins with a vitriolic personal attack on Mr Advani and meanders into an unconvincing report card of his Government's 'performance' and equally, if not more, unpersuasive defence of the nuclear deal -- which increasingly looks like a 'private treaty' rather than a bilateral agreement -- proves three points. <b>Mr Singh is not an 'accidental' politician; he is small-hearted; and, he is mean-minded. It does not behove the Prime Minister of India to resort to such deplorable language. Meanwhile, it is not surprising that the Americans were first off the block to congratulate Mr Singh, even before the votes had been counted and the result was officially declared. After all, not many Prime Ministers 'report' to the US President.</b>
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Mind you he was at the RSS meeting in Mehsana which was off limits to the press but for some morsels of news.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> it is not surprising that the Americans were first off the block to congratulate Mr Singh, even before the votes had been counted and the result was officially declared. After all, not many Prime Ministers 'report' to the US President.
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on Redif
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Merely hours after voting, one of the MPs who cross-voted, Shivanna of the Janata Dal-Secular told rediff.com that he changed his mind at the last minute and decided to vote for the UPA, defying his party, which only two days ago decided to vote against the government, and also issued a whip to that effect.
And -- hold your breath -- he is the JD-S whip, effectively meaning Shivanna the MP flouted an order issued by Shivanna the party leader!<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--emo&:roll--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Sena MP still missing!!
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Renge Patil's 'disappearance' since the past four days has become a controversial topic. "I am sure, I will be speaking to him either tonight or tomorrow," he said.
"Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray had also called me and asked about my father's whereabouts," Balasaheb said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
BJD MP cross-votes, will be kicked out of party
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Swain, who represents Aska Lok Sabha constituency in Patnaik's native Ganjam district, voted in favour of the UPA government defying the party whip.
When contacted, Swain said he voted according to his 'inner voice'.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ah, the 'inner voice'; yet again. Page straight of Sonia Gandhi's book.
Either Advani bungled up as the biggest holes were in his ship or he engineered it. We'll never know.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Main opposition BJP was the worst sufferer with 6 of its MPs voting for the motion moved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Leader of the Opposition LK Advani admitted as much when he said that 10 MPs crossed over to the other side.
Advani said that the real UPA strength was only 265 but they "managed" 10 more.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Apart from cross voting, 10 NDA MPs absented from the House during voting.
Suspended BJP MPs <b>Sombhai Patel, Babubhai Katara, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Chandrabhan Singh (Madhya Pradesh), Haribhau Rathod (Maharashtra), Manjunath (Karnataka) and Sangliana (Bangalore)</b> voted for the motion, admitted BJP leaders. Woman MP from Udupi <b>Manorama Madhwaraj </b>absented herself during voting after being present earlier in the day.
<b>PP Koya (Lakshadweep) </b>and <b>Ramswarup Prasad (Nalanda)</b> were the two JD(U) MPs. Two of BJD MPs were also believed to have cross voted. One Akali Dal MP is also said to have cross voted, while a Shiv Sena MP <b>Tukaram Renge</b> was absent.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Cross voting and absentees
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>UPA wins vote, loses trust </b>
Pioneer.com
Kumar Uttam | New Delhi
House shaken by display of bribe money; BJP MPs say Rs 3 cr offered to abstain
It was another shocking display of how money power is used to save Governments -- three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs walked into the well of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday with two bagfuls of currency notes that the Government's crisis managers had offered for them to abstain from the trust vote.Â
Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste (both from Madhya Pradesh) and Mahesh Bhagora (Rajasthan) stunned the nation by flashing wads of currency notes inside the Lok Sabha while it was debating the confidence motion moved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The role of SP general secretary Amar Singh, party MP Reoti Raman Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel, the political secretary of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, is under the scanner and a leading news channel is said to have caught the entire episode on tape. The 'men in question' have denied the charge.
If that was not enough, <b>Bahujan Samaj Party MP Brajesh Pathak revealed in the Lok Sabha that a CBI officer dropped in at his South Avenue residence on Tuesday morning and warned him against supporting the Opposition on the confidence motion "or face dire consequences".</b> The BSP MP also showed documents that the alleged CBI officer gave to him, revealing that the Investigating Officer in the disproportionate assets case against party chief Mayawati had given her the clean chit and she would be let off in case they bailed out the Government from the crisis.
But all hell broke loose in the Lok Sabha when the three BJP MPs took out several wads of currency notes to accuse the Government of buying out MPs to win the trial of strength.
Looking at the Press gallery, the BJP members alleged that an SP leader had promised them Rs 3 crore each, of which Rs 1 crore was paid in advance. Mahesh Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste also claimed that the Government managers had attempted to "buy" them. "We were contacted on Monday and told the deal would be struck in Le Meridian, but that could not take place. Later, SP MP Reoti Raman Singh came to meet us at 12.30 am at 4 Ferozeshah Road and said 'please come with me to Amar Singh's house, where the deal would be finalised'," Kulaste said. The Ferozeshah Road house in question is occupied by Argal.
<b>"On Tuesday morning, Ahmed Patel (Congress) discussed the deal with us. Thereafter, we went with Reoti Raman Singh to Amar Singh's house, where he offered us Rs 3 crore -- Rs 1 crore each as advance -- there and then. But we refused to take the money and said it should be delivered at 4 Ferozeshah Road," Kulaste said.</b>
Mahavir Bhagora, another BJP MP who had displayed the wads in the House, claimed that a man came to the residence about 20 minutes later with two bags full of cash and put it on the table. "I asked him to open the bags to show whether the cash was real or fake. Then he took out Rs 1 crore in cash," he said. Argal added, "A man telephoned Amar Singh, who told me this money is an advance for the deal."
No sooner did these MPs "muster the courage", BJD MP Archana Nayak claimed that she was also offered cash and a party ticket by top Congress leaders to vote in favour of the UPA or abstain during the trust vote.
The revelations created a flutter in the House, forcing Deputy Speaker Charanjit Atwal to adjourn the house briefly. It was preceded by a heated exchange of words between the treasury and opposition benches.
Leader of the opposition LK Advani called it a "black day in the history of Parliament". He demanded that the Lok Sabha Speaker should hold a detailed investigation. "When I initiated the debate on this confidence motion on Monday, I hinted that money power was being used to influence MPs to vote for the Government. The treasury benches were quick to ask for the proof. There can be no proof more solid than what our party MPs have presented on the floor of the House," Advani told The Pioneer. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said what was needful should be done in the case.
While the opposition benches said it was unprecedented that such a shocking revelation had been made in Parliament, people on the other side claimed that it brought back the memories of AIADMK MP R Soundarajan opening a suitcase of Rs 5 lakh in 1988 and alleging that he was being bribed to change sides.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee immediately called an all-party meeting to discuss the matter, where the three BJP MPs briefed him about the incident. The Speaker asked the MPs to give in writing what they had to say.
When the House reassembled, there were noisy scenes with charged-up MPs of the opposition refusing to allow the members of the ruling alliance to speak on the confidence motion. Even the Prime Minister was not allowed to reply and he had to lay on the table of the House his speech.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJP masterstroke makes Cong loser in long run </b>
Pioneer.com
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
As a stunned nation watched the sad spectacle of wads of currency notes on the table of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Mr Clean of Indian politics -- <b>Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- sat impassively, betraying no emotion. The man of the hour must have realised he could do little now to erase the perception that he had won the trust of the House by buying and alluring MPs and putting a shameful blot on the face of the Indian democracy.Â
</b>
In a way, history came full circle after 15 years when former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao bought the JMM MPs to save his Government. But then Rao never claimed to be a paragon of virtue and the issue at stake was only the survival of his Government. But in the extant case, at stake was not only the fate of the Congress-led coalition but also the future of the controversial nuclear pact with the US.
<b>Before the shameful bribing scandal rocked the House, there were wild charges of Rs 25 crore being offered to MPs to cross sides as also allegations of "NRIs funding" and "foreign hands" out to buy and influence Indian lawmakers. These allegations would have died down as frustrated "ramblings of the losers" had the BJP not caught the UPA "poachers" red-handed. But now the charges will stick like quick fix. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>The Government's image has taken a severe beating and it will be impossible for Mr Clean to wipe the coat of tar that has blackened his persona.
With one masterstroke the BJP has silenced all those who insinuated it was trying to bail out the Government to please Uncle Sam. Even though its leaders kept on clarifying that the Opposition was sincere in toppling the Government, the Congress was successful in creating confusion in the Opposition camp. It also gave BSP chief Mayawati a temporary chance to wrest the Opposition space from the BJP.</span></b>
But the main Opposition party now has reasons to be satisfied with the course of events. It has got major ammunition to run a sustained campaign to demand the Prime Minister's resignation. The country has already entered the election mode and it would be difficult for the Government to undo the damage it has suffered.
Three weeks from now, when Parliament meets for the monsoon session, the Opposition will make it difficult for the Government to even conduct the House proceedings. With inflation at an all-time high and the Government facing the grave charge of corruption, the BJP surely has everything going for it. The party's strategists would surely work out a campaign to convince the country that the UPA Government has compromised India's long-term security interest and mortgaged its foreign policy to its American masters.
The manner votes were bought and the hurry with which the Government went ahead with the controversial deal has already sown seeds of doubt in the minds of the people. If the BJP could touch the country's nationalist chord and galvanise its core supporter base, it would have won the political battle against the UPA in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP must also take a serious look into its shortcomings. Its failure to keep flock together and poach on the Congress MPs exposed the absence of a Pramod Mahajan-type manager. The party also unwittingly gave the impression it was a house divided on the nuclear issue and several of its stalwarts rarely spoke against the deal.
If the Congress and its allies should be ready to pay the political cost for the PM's obsession to carry on with the nuclear misadventure, it would be interesting to see the development on the formation of the Third Front. The motley assembly of regional parties and the Left is not a homogeneous conglomeration and, with its regional satraps wielding little influence in one another's territory, the grouping is unlikely to change the political landscape of India.
<b>The BJP will also gain in a big way because the anti-Congress sentiment is at its peak and suddenly the secular-communal debate has taken a back seat</b>. In fact, the anti-Muslim angle to the nuclear deal would push on the defensive so-called secular messiahs like Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav.
<b>Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should have known better that by allowing his crisis managers to engage in such Machiavellian tactics, he could at best score a pyrrhic victory. But eight months from now, when he goes to seek a fresh mandate from the people, he will find it difficult to buy the trust of the nation.</b>
Because not everyone is up for sale in this country. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Jul 22 2008, 06:09 AM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Jul 22 2008, 06:09 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Half of the BJP MPs will abstain in the Vote
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BJP MPs were present in full force. Information or source was wrong.
I think JMM and Mamata did the magic.
Now Soren will be CM of Jharkhand, Mayawati will be fighting CBI, Laloo will be enjoying loot from Railways and Chara scam.
Manmohan will be enjoying bribes from all over world.
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The source said that his information was half which was an approx. But cross voting and absentee was done. I had mentioned that they need to poach only 2 MPs from each party to get their vote to win. It was a matter of 1-2 MPs from each party
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>Cross voting, abstention help UPA scrape through
</b>
PTI | New Delhi
Posted online: July 22, 2008
Massive cross voting and abstentions from the Opposition, especially the NDA, helped the Government score a comfortable victory in the confidence vote in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday night, belying all predictions of a close contest.
Main opposition BJP was the worst sufferer with 6 of its MPs voting for the motion moved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Leader of the Opposition LK Advani admitted as much when he said that 10 MPs crossed over to the other side.
Advani said that the real UPA strength was only 265 but they "managed" 10 more.
BJP leader Shahnawaz Husain said that the party had suffered in a major way because of desertions by MPs from Karnataka, where the party had recently scored a handsome victory in the Assembly elections.
Almost all the other NDA constituents -- BJD, JD(U), Shiv Sena and Akali Dal suffered from MPs, who defied their party whips.
Cracks also developed in the TDP and JD(S) on account of cross voting.
Apart from cross voting, 10 NDA MPs absented from the House during voting.
Suspended BJP MPs Sombhai Patel, Babubhai Katara, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Chandrabhan Singh (Madhya Pradesh), Haribhau Rathod (Maharashtra), Manjunath (Karnataka) and Sangliana (Bangalore) voted for the motion, admitted BJP leaders. Woman MP from Udupi Manorama Madhwaraj absented herself during voting after being present earlier in the day.
PP Koya (Lakshadweep) and Ramswarup Prasad (Nalanda) were the two JD(U) MPs. Two of BJD MPs were also believed to have cross voted. One Akali Dal MP is also said to have cross voted, while a Shiv Sena MP Tukaram Renge was absent.
