The court was recording testimonies of prosecution witnesses in the case, lodged in 1997 at Tughlak Road police station. Besides the legislator, other accused are - Bhikari Lal, Jagdish Prasad, lone woman Kamla Gaur, Masood Ali Khan, Umer and Habib Khan and they have been booked under various provisions of the IPC dealing with rioting, assaulting policemen and trespass.
The court's decision came following a Government's directive to the Directorate of Prosecution that appropriate applications be moved for withdrawing seven criminal cases against other politicians. Requesting the withdrawal of all the criminal cases against MLA Matin Ahmed, Deputy Secretary of Home, Delhi Government, Mukul Koranga, in an official letter, said, "It is requested that the Additional Public Prosecutors concerned may please be asked to move the application in the court of competent jurisdiction for withdrawal of these cases and intimate the position to this Government."
He explained to Alva his stand on the controversial allotment of 100 hectares of prime land at Navi Mumbai to the Videocon group without inviting tenders. He said the state government stood to lose hundreds of crores in the deal, which he alleged was in complete violation of the rules of CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited), to whom the plot belongs.
Rane had opposed the proposal moved by Deshmukh at the cabinet meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday and later held a press conference at which he lambasted the CM. The AICC took a dim view of his continued public tirade against Deshmukh. Congress president Sonia Gandhi will take the final decision on the resignation after she returns from the Beijing Olympics.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Behenji's heir day </b>
Pioneer News Service | Lucknow
Who's the political heir to BSP chief Mayawati? Everyone was left guessing when the lady claimed that she has chosen an able successor to carry on the party's mission in case something happens to her.
"He is not only a Dalit but also a chamaar (her own caste) and is 18 to 20 years younger to me," she said at a party rally on Saturday.
Refusing to divulge details, Mayawati said her successor was being prepared to lead the party but would not be projected as long as she was alive or else vested interests would try to mislead or confuse him.
The letter naming the successor has been handed over to two of Mayawati's confidantes and would only be opened after her death.
However, amid all these announcements, speculation was rife over a party MLC being her political heir. Insiders claimed that the MLC concerned has been assigned the task of a north Indian State to keep him away from UP, though he hails from eastern UP.
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<b>Tirupati temple to give `Bhagavad Gita' to prisoners</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hyderabad, Aug 23 (IANS) <b>In an attempt to bring a change in the mindset of prisoners, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) has decided to gift them copies of "Bhagavad Gita".</b>
The TTD, which manages the affairs of Lord Venkateshwara temple at Tirupati, said it would distribute copies of the holy book among prisoners lodged in various jails in Andhra Pradesh.
<b>The decision was taken at a meeting of the TTD governing body, which looks after India's richest Hindu temple. The board also decided to gift 'Venkanna prasadam' or holy offering from the temple to prisoners at least once a year.</b>
TTD chairman Karunakar Reddy, who presided over the meeting at Tirupati, hoped that distribution of "Bhagavad Gita" copies and 'prasadam' would bring about a change in the attitude of the prisoners.
The governing body also decided to impose a complete ban on footwear in the area around the temple. In a move to maintain the sanctity of the place, it banned footwear in the complexes and lanes around the temple.
The decisions were taken at the last meeting of TTD governing body, whose two-year term expires Aug 24. The governing body, which completed 75 years last month, is engaged in many social and educational activities.
It had introduced 'Kalyanamastu' or mass marriages programme last year to strengthen the Hindu marriage system and to help the poor Hindu families perform the marriages of their children in accordance with Hindu traditions.
One of the richest shrines in the world and often compared with Vatican City, the 16th century Lord Venkateswara temple on Tirumala hills draws over 50,000 devotees every day. The number crosses 100,000 during annual rituals and on important occasions.
Believed to have been constructed in 1570 A.D., the temple earns Rs.5 billion annually through the daily offerings of devotees. It also funds a university and other educational institutions.
The TTD's budget for 2008-09 is Rs.19.25 billion. The temple is expected to earn Rs.1 billion from the sale of human hair, which is part of the devotees' offerings to the deity.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo--> Despite stiff resistance from some state leaders, BJP is inching towards a tie-up with Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal in UP with alliance talks set to enter a decisive phase. The move to seal a deal with the Jat leader would be an important step towards getting BJP back into the frame in western UP.
While Ajit Singh and senior BJP functionaries are in regular touch, some saffron leaders from UP like former chief minister Kalyan Singh and ex-Bajrang Dal strongman Vinay Katiyar are in a sulk and are not present at the party national executive which is underway here. They are strongly opposed to a tie-up with RLD for 25 Lok Sabha seats in UP.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJP takes umbrage to CM's comment on Saumya </b>
Pioneer.com
Staff Reporter | New Delhi
The Delhi BJP has criticised the 'comments' made by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit while reacting to the death of TV journalist Saumya Vishwanathan. Delhi BJP president Harshvardhan and several other leaders have said that how can the head of a Government be so insensitive and feel like stating at her own whims and fancies. This is not the first time that Dikshit has been in the limelight for her controversial statements drawing the ire of citizens and nonetheless the Opposition parties. Advocate of women's rights and the recipient of the best Chief Minister in the country award (by the Journalist Association of India), <b>Dikshit opined that victim Saumya should not have tried to be too adventurous, driving home alone at 3 am in the morning. She added that she should not have been all out by herself knowing that New Delhi is an unsafe city.
"This is an insult to the youth in total who after a day's work returns home. Was this an adventure? On the one hand Sheila Dikshit claims to be a progressive woman leader and showing the dreams of making Delhi like Shanghai or Paris and this is the attitude towards the citizens. Instead of taking ahead of 21st century she has gone back to 18th century," </b>Vardhan told The Pioneer.
Vardhan said that Dikshit is in the habit of demeaning her citizens by sometime stating that Delhiites do not know to walk or people from all States come and stay here and all such things that hurt the sentiments of the citizens," Vardhan said.
Vardhan also reminded about the infamous statement that she would prefer walking than commuting in a Blueline bus. <b>"This tantamount hurt the sentiments of lakhs of commuters who travel in a public transport. Middle class people and poor people travel in Blueline for which she expressed her annoyance in the wake of several accidents due to Blueline bus," </b>Vardhan added.
Former Union Minister Vijay Goel said that it is high time that Sheila Dikshit should go and even the Congress should throw her out from the party for making irresponsible statements most often. "Dikshit is famous for her scathing remarks and now she has targeted the media fraternity. 10 years of misrule has made her arrogant but her euphoria will is ephemeral now," Goel said. Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Jagdish Mukhi too criticised the statement made by Dikshit.
Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra too criticised Dikshit's comments and said that it is too shameful that a Chief Minister of national Capital has made such remarks. "Dikshit should immediately apologise to family of Soumya, her media fraternity and above all the citizens against whom she is in the habit of making irresponsible statements," Mehra told The Pioneer. MCD Standing Committee Chairman Vijender Gupta while expressing shock over the death of Soumya Vishwanathan said that even he was surprised to hear the comments made by Dikshit reacting to her death reports.
Meanwhile Dikshit also came under attack from women activists for her comments on the murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan that 'one should not be adventurous.' Terming Dikshit's observation as unwarranted, women activists have said the Chief Minister should instead ensure safety of citizens, particularly those working late hours.
<b>"It is shocking to hear such a statement from the person who has a 'women-friendly image.' The murder of the girl in the late hours speaks volumes of the safety concerns of women,"</b> activist Ranjana Kumari said.
Referring to Dikshit's comment made soon after the murder of Soumya, Ranjana Kumari questioned the extent of safety of a person on such desolate roads where there is no police presence. "If not the State then on whom will the people depend for their safety. It proves her insensitivity towards the security of the people living in Delhi. Instead of airing such unwarranted statements she should rather concentrate on improving the security scenario in the Capital," she added.
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Somebody ask Sheeila Dixit's Burka wearing daughter, late hour ,bar hobbing in Delhi.
Why Delhi is unsafe ? Why not Sheila Dixit put police force or road then let them stand in front of impotent politician of India.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Violence at Sonia rally </b>
Pioneer.com
Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi
The much-publicised rally by Delhi Government to distribute provisional regularisation certificates to unauthorised colonies turned into a volatile zone with protesting farmers of Kanjhawala getting into fisticuffs with Congress volunteers.
The Sheila Dikshit Government faced a major embarrassment when the farmers started raising slogans against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Government when Gandhi referred to the issue of farmers during her speech at Chhatrasaal stadium.
<b>As slogans continued for over five minutes, angry Congress workers clashed with protesters who were mostly elderly women and men. </b>
<b>The workers threw chairs at the farmers and also broke the barricade and pulled out sticks to beat them up. This happened even as Gandhi was speaking. The workers soon evicted them from the venue. </b>
Congress leaders alleged that the protesters were BJP supporters out to disturb the rally. However, one of the farmers said they were peasants from Kanjhawala and wanted better compensation for their land, which is being acquired. Strangely, it took just 35-odd farmers to spoil the Delhi Government mega show.
<b>The noisy protest drowned her speech and not much could be heard. However, an unfazed Gandhi continued with her address amid din. </b>
The Delhi Congress was showcasing the rally as the launch vehicle for the Assembly election. The rally was organised to counter the one held at Ramlila Ground by senior BJP leader Vijay Goel to protest against temporary regularisation certificates The Goel rally was a huge success.
Despite full support from Delhi Government the DPCC leadership failed to bring people to the venue. The Delhi Congress leadership had assigned MLAs and councillors certain number of buses to bring supporters to the rally venue. The poor show also reflected infighting in the Congress. Despite the effort, the stadium remained largely vacant. When they could not fill the ground, a desperate Delhi Development Minister Rajkumar Chauhan ordered the opening of the gates of the stadium. This led to the entry of even those who were protesting outside the venue.
Meanwhile, Goel organised a protest march from Burari Chowk to the venue with thousands of people.
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This demand President Rule in Delhi. Arrest person who was giving speech and inciting Viloence, it means Sonia Gandhi created riots in Rally.
<b>Nano gets new home, Gujarat signs MoU with Tata</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ahmedabad, October 7: After a controversial stay in West Bengal, <b>Tatas on Tuesday shifted their Rs 1 lakh car Nano project to Sanand near Ahmedabad at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore</b>, delcaring that efforts will be made to roll out the world's cheapest car from a make-shift plant to meet the deadline.
"This is an extremely momentous and happy day for us because we have been through a rather sad experience from a small quarter of residents of West Bengal despite the state government's efforts," Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata said at a joint press conference with Cheif Minister Narendra Modi.
<b>The MoU was signed by Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant and Industrial Secretary Gouri Kumar </b>
<b>Praising Modi for speedy allocation of about 1,100 acres of centrally located land, Tata said the company had a great deal of urgency in having a new location and was driven by the reputation of the state. </b>
"The site in Gujarat, already under the possession of the state government, will help Tata Motors establish a new dedicated mother plant with the shortest possible time lag and least possible increment project cost," he said.
<b>Together with Tata Motors, about 60 vendors would also move to the new location.</b>
............
Meanwhile, reports from Uttarakhand said 'limited production' of the world's cheapest car will take place in Pantnagar.
<b>"Tata Motors officials have conveyed to the state government that limited production of Nano will be held in Pantnagar despite their decision to take the mother plant to Gujarat," said Uttarakhand media advisory committee Chairman Devendra Bhasin quoting Chief Minister B C Khanduri. </b>
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Tight slap on West Bengal politicians. They deserve it and even those elect them also deserve these fools to lead them.
Kudos to Modi. !!! He did it again. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Anand in Sanand as crackers go off in Gujarat
8 Oct 2008, 0330 hrs IST, Vijaysinh Parmar,TNN
SANAND (Ahmedabad): This year Diwali kept its date with Gujarat a good 20 days earlier than scheduled, as the Tata small car heralded its arrival in
the state to the sound of fire-crackers.
As news of Nano finally rolling into Sanand broke, the anticipation of the past few days gave way to widespread celebrations across the state as proud Gujaratis burst firecrackers to welcome the prestigious project. <b>The announcement also sparked off a race to set up hoardings to welcome Ratan Tata and his Rs 1 lakh people's car in Ahmedabad. </b>
<b>At ground zero in Chharodi village, jubilant villagers welcomed the announcement with a bang as they danced to the tunes of the dhol, distributed sweets, threw colour on each other and burst fire-crackers. "We finally got Nano," was the common refrain.</b> And even the disappointment of Ratan Tata not visiting the plant site did not dampen the spirits of the villagers, who had gathered there in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Tata chief.
<b>"We are on the world map thanks to Nano. We are very happy as it is win-win situation for all. Farmers will gain not just with good land deals but also or through better employment opportunities," said Habibkhan Pathan, resident of Chharodi village. "We have been charged up since the Nano project was declared as it will transform the entire landscape of Sanand just as the Tatas changed the scenario in Jamshedpur and Mithapur," said Murazkhan Pathan, a farmer of Kalana village. </b>
<b>In Ahmedabad, the streets erupted with whoops of joy.</b> Gujarat's apex trade and industry body, the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) burst crackers worth Rs 50,000 and distributed 15 kg of sweets as
businessmen danced to the tunes of a band to mark the pathbreaking announcement.
"We wanted to accord a special welcome to the Nano, which is why we decided to burst crackers worth Rs 1 lakh. We will also celebrate today's garba with more joy because of Nano," said Karnavati Club secretary Girish Dani.
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10-10-2008, 04:27 AM (This post was last modified: 10-10-2008, 04:28 AM by ramana.)
Meanwhile Naidu declares:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
Let's divide AP, Telangana a historic necessity: Naidu
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lets- ... du/371360/
Hyderabad, October 9: In a major shift from its policy, the Telugu Desam Party on Thursday for the first time took a pro-Telangana stand and said it was in favour of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
"In deference to the sentiments of the people of the region, the Telugu Desam supports the demand for a separate statehood to Telangana," the party Politburo said in its one-page resolution.
<b>Announcing the decision at the party headquarters in Hyderabad, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu said Telangana was a âhistoric necessityâ and âour party has taken the right decision in this regard.â </b>
The TDP, which was founded by late N T Rama Rao in 1982 to safeguard the âTelugu prideâ and âself respectâ, would continue to uphold these ideals and âwe shall re-dedicate ourselves to the Telugu people,â Naidu said.
The TDP's pro-Telangana stand was not taken for any political aims, he asserted, adding that the party had conducted an elaborate exercise for over two-and-a-half years on the âsensitiveâ issue.
"We do not take certain decisions only for political gains. We go by the people's wishes and respect them," Naidu said.
The TDP will do whatever required âlegally, constitutionally and politicallyâ for the creation of Telangana state, he added.
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Telengana was historically separated from the rest of Telugu speaking land by first the Bahmani kingdom and the Qutub Shahi and Nizam rulers. The meger with Andhra to create Andhra Pradesh was in 1956. A major dirver was Reddy interests that thought that they could consolidate using their members scattered over the three regions. Worked for two to three decades till NT Rama Rao came. Now YSR rebuilt the INC coalition and brought the old interests back. To add to the mix Praja Rajyam by Chiranjeevi was created and has siphoned of CBN's support . So he needs to throw something to stir up the atmospherics.
10-10-2008, 08:49 AM (This post was last modified: 10-10-2008, 05:18 PM by Bodhi.)
<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Oct 10 2008, 04:27 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Oct 10 2008, 04:27 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Telengana was historically separated from the rest of Telugu speaking land by first the Bahmani kingdom and the Qutub Shahi and Nizam rulers. The meger with Andhra to create Andhra Pradesh was in 1956.
[right][snapback]89007[/snapback][/right]
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A "single-exclusively-telugu-speaking-land" is a fantastic myth. it was never a reality of history until the unnecessary subnational regionalist agitation of 1950s that resulted in what you today have. As far as telangana, at least the region north of Godavari were always a matter of now-in-now-out for the telugu rulers' domains before turuShka take over of golkonda, and at times even after. As far as "separating" telangana by Nizam -- in fact Nizams, the first two, had done exactly the opposite. They were the ones who retook the tamilnadu lands in south and controlled at least 20% of maharashtra lands to their west, while sporadically also controlling kannada speaking lands in south-west, in a huge "hyderabad". While balaji and madhavrao had regained a lot of lands from Nizam, British later forced the Marathas to return the lands to their puppet last 3 nizams, and controlled Tamilnadu lands themselves.
If 1956 did anything, it returned Marathi speaking districts to a new Maharashtra state while regaining from TN some of the telugu speaking lands in south (besides some more give and take on "Mysore" into a Karnataka state. So, coming back to telangana, it was never "separated" or "merged" with any telugu land -- such a land never existed until the after-effectes of the martyrdom of the great son of maa telugu thalli, and results of which are seen in the birth of illegitimates such as thackerays.
Break all "language" lands into multiple so that no state can claim any monopoly on a language-ethnic-culture to accumulate unnecessary and fictitious pride into 'state'. decouple the genuine regional cultural pride away from politics by having two-three Telugu-speaking, two-three marathi speaking, tamil speaking, bengali-speaking, oriya-speaking and so on states. likewise break all north indian large states into smaller ones as well.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Modi's open letter to Buddhadev, Mamata on Nano</b>Â
PTI | Kolkata
Barely a week after Tata's Nano found its new home at Sanand, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has asked his West Bengal counterpart Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Opposition leader Mamata Banerjee to work unitedly for development.
"We can't forget that the Marxists were once opposed to industrialisation. Continuity in the industrialisation policy will only help retain the people's confidence," Modi said in an open letter to both Bhattacharjee and Banerjee which was published in a leading Bengali daily on Sunday.
In the letter to Bhattacharjee, Modi said, <b>"The condition for the growth of Nano has not yet developed in West Bengal in view of its present work culture despite your serious efforts... Please don't get surprised at my letter, which I wrote after serious thought... People of West Bengal may think I have snatched Nano to Gujarat. But it is not so. There is no scope of misunderstanding."</b>
"The land (at Sanand) given to the Tata for the Nano plant was acquired for an agriculture university which was allotted another piece of land. The Tatas purchased the land and it is free of any dispute over agricultural or non-agricultural in nature."
Modi in his open letter suggested Mamata to <b>"shun ultra-leftism in opposing the Leftists and show West Bengal the rightist way to usher in development."</b>
<b>"You may raise demands for more industry, more roads, more jobs in your State. Go the rightist way to development,"</b> Modi said.
Modi emphasises in the letter to Bhattacharjee that his Government's industrial policy has a continuity and does not change with the change of party in power.
<b>"From the outset, we sought to take advantage of the policy of economic liberalisation in the competitive society. We wanted big industries... If there is continuity in the industrial policy, the Government may enjoy people's confidence and faith."</b>
"We can't forget that your party (CPI-M) once took the extreme policy of opposing industrialisation. People observed how you disallowed entry of computers and now you are talking of industry. Despite your being in favour of industry, your party and the Government are not with you totally," Modi told Bhattacharjee.
Explaining how his Government made available land for the Tatas' Nano plant, Modi said, "We prepared a land-bank for land acquisition for industry. We also made an industry map in Gujarat. All this has been done to ensure that land can be handed over to entrepreneurs fast. However, that does not mean that all land here is infertile. There is fertile land here too for which compensation has to be made."
Modi pointed out he had no intention to snatch the Nano from Singur to Sanand, asserting "the course of events and Gujaratis' accountability towards industrialisation have brought in the small-car project to Gujarat."
<b>The BJP leader asked Mamata Banerjee to note that opposition parties in Gujarat do not pursue the policy of "opposition for opposition's sake."
"Opposition Congress in Gujarat too has lent wholehearted support to the Nano's coming to Gujarat... We don't do politics over industrialisation in Gujarat."</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Mayawati cancels land for Soniaâs favourite project</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Barely two days before UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in her parliamentary constituency of Rae Bareli, the State Government has cancelled the land allocation process for it.
Principal Secretary (Information) Vijay Shanker Pandey said on Sunday that the State Government was forced to cancel the allocation of land in view of resentment among Rae Bareli farmers and possible threat to law and order.
The Congress termed the State Governmentâs decision as unfortunate and threatened to launch an agitation.
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<b>BJP, Congress fortunes hinge on âspoilerâ BSP</b>
Election Commission sets poll dates in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh; Mayawatiâs party is well prepared
Liz Mathew
New Delhi: Most of the states, especially Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan, that will have elections by the end of the year, will, for the first time, see the presence of a significant third political force vying with traditional rivalsâthe Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawatiâs Bahujan Samaj Party, or BSP, which is seeking to carve out political space for itself in these three states, may actually end up playing the role of a spoiler for both major parties rather than stake a serious claim for power, say many analysts.
Indeed, in Gujarat state assembly elections last year, the BSP didnât win a single seat out of the 166 it contested, but influenced the outcome in close contests by weaning votes away from the Congress. The BJP went on to win the Gujarat elections comfortably.
It isnât just the BSP. Traditional electoral math is also being upended in Andhra Pradesh, which is expected to go to the polls next year with national elections. Film star-turned-politician Chiranjeeviâs newly launched Praja Rajyam party is emerging as a serious spoiler to the ruling Congress and the main opposition Telegu Desam Party, or TDP.
Also See Poll Position (Graphic)
Meanwhile, the BSP has already declared that it would contest all the assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The party has so far named its candidates for 190 of 200 assembly and 13 of 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan, 66 of Delhiâs 70 assembly seats and 62 of Madhya Pradeshâs 230.
Elections will be held in Madhya Pradesh on 25 November, Delhi on 29 November and Rajasthan on 4 December, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.
Chiranjeeviâs entry into politics has upended the traditional electoral math in Andhra, too
âIn the present scenario, the BSP will remain a spoiler. It is squeezed in between the Congress and the BJP as they have not declined in these states as in Uttar Pradesh,â says Sudha Pai, a professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
âThe BSP, which is obviously a rising star and a force to reckon with, is not a winnable party but will eat into the Congressâ share of support base,â maintains Bidyut Chakrabarty, a professor in the department of political science at Delhi University. âBoth the BSP and the Congress draw on same social combination of Dalits and Muslims.â
The BJP holds 173 seats in Madhya Pradesh and 120 in Rajasthanâboth of which it governsâwhile the Congress has 38 and 56 seats, respectively, from the 2003 elections. The Congress, the ruling party in Delhi, won 47 seats in the Capital to 20 for the BJP.
The number of seats the BSP wins would primarily depend on Mayawatiâs ability to translate her skills in social engineeringâpleasing the upper castes and the Dalits equallyâinto votes, Chakrabarty said.
If the performance of the BSP in the Delhi municipal elections in April 2007 is any indicationâit got 9.9% of the votes castâChakrabarty suggests the party could win at least 18 seats.
In the 2003 assembly elections, the BSP had obtained 7.6% of the vote share resulting in two seats each in Madhya Pradesh, while in Rajasthan it managed to win the same number of assembly constituencies with 3.97% of the vote share.
âI think the BSPâs votes will (come) from various directions, not from just one party,â said Manvendra Singh, BJP member of Parliament from Barmer in Rajasthan. âBut it is not going to make much impact as people do not want to waste their votes.â
But the situation in Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh will be different, political leaders say.
âIf Chiranjeevi could gain ground, a large section of TDP votes and its discontented leaders could go to his party. In that scenario, the Praja Rajyam (party) has the scope to be the second largest party,â says V. Kishore Chandra Deo, a veteran Congress MP from the state.
But some Congress leaders are also concerned that Chiranjeevi, who has been drawing large crowds for his meetings, would take away some of their votes. âIf he succeeds in transforming the crowds into votes, he will eat into vote share of both Congress and TDP,â concedes Arun Kumar, a member of the Congress working committee, the partyâs highest policymaking body.
Meanwhile, a third grouping also seems to be emerging in Tamil Nadu too, where it has always been a straight contest between the two largest parties in the stateâthe Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, or DMK, led by chief minister M. Karunanidhi and the All India Anna India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, or AIADMK, led by J. Jayalalithaa. Actor Vijayakantâs Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, or DMDK, has been in talks with other parties, including the Congress, now a part of the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance.
Is Lalu responsible for Mayawati-Sonia face-off?
It was Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's mischief which triggered the face-off between UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
Defying protocol, Lalu completely ignored Mayawati and refused to invite her for the foundation stone laying ceremony for the rail coach factory at Rae Bareli, which happens to be Sonia's constituency.
The event was to take place on October 14. According to sources, Mayawati waited till all the invites were sent out by the railway ministry. The advertisements also appeared in the newspapers, announcing the ceremony. They had prominent pictures of Lalu and Sonia, and not even a reference to the chief minister of the state.
This was it! Mayawati pulled the plug by cancelling the land allotment for the factory two days before the event, claiming that it were the farmers who were opposed to it.
Had she been invited, Lalu would have had to put Mayawati's name above his own on the plaque commemorating the foundation stone laying ceremony. The chief minister of a state gets precedence over a union minister in order of precedence as per the protocol. Also, going by the book, it was imperative for Lalu to invite the state chief minister.
Sources said that Lalu was aware of it but he intentionally decided to keep Mayawati out of the picture. It was not merely an unintended slip on his part.
Actually Sonia, think she is Queen. But Mayawati, is real Jhansi Ki Rani.
<b>Maya of Uttar Pradesh</b>
<b>The Congress believes it can regain political space in Uttar Pradesh by aligning with the Samajwadi Party. This has left Ms Mayawati fuming and she has not hesitated to try and put down Ms Sonia Gandhi, hitting where it hurts the Congress most</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->what was most impressive was the passion which Modi exuded. The passion for development; the passion for an invigorated Gujarat; the passion for the uplifting the living standards of the people in his state and the joy with which he recounted simple yet memorable data-points. For instance, almost all of the milk consumed in Singapore is supplied by Gujarat; or for that matter all the tomatoes that are eaten in Afghanistan are produced in Gujarat or the potatoes that Canadians gorge on are all farmed in Gujarat. But it was industry that was equally close to his heart.
It was almost like a child, that he rushed and got a coffee table book on GIFT: the proposed Gujarat Industrial City that will come up on the banks of the Sabarmarti: something that will put the Dubais and the Hong Kongs of this world to shame. And while on the Sabarmati, it is Modi who has created the inter-linking of rivers so that now the Sabarmati is no longer dry.
<b>He then spoke about how he was very keen that Ratan Tata sets up the Nano plant in Gujarat: he told me how he had related the story of the Parsi Navsari priests to Ratan and how touched Ratan was: the story is, when the Navsari priests, (the first Parsis) landed in Gujarat, the ruler of Gujarat sent them a glass of milk, full to the brim and said, there was no place for them: the priests added some sugar to the milk and sent it back saying that they would integrate beautifully with the locals and would only add value to the state.</b>
Narendra Modi is clearly a man in a hurry and he has every reason to be. There is no question in any one's mind that he is the trump card for the BJP after Advani and Modi realises that. People like Rajnath Singh are simply weak irritants I would imagine. He also believes that the country has no apolitical strategy to counter terrorism and in fact he told me how he had alerted the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the NSA about the impending bomb blasts in Delhi and they did not take him seriously. And then the September 13 blasts happened! It was this resolve of Modi's that I found very admirable. There is a clear intolerance of terrorism and terrorists which is evident in the way the man functions; now there are many cynics who call it minority-bashing but the truth of the matter is that Modi genuinely means business as far as law and order is concerned.
I left Modi's house deeply impressed with the man as Chief Minister: he was clearly passionate and what's more deeply committed. When I sat in the car, I asked my driver what he thought of Modi and his simple reply was Modi is God. Before him, there was nothing. No roads, no power, no infrastructure. Today, Gujarat is a power surplus state. Today, Gujarat attracts more industry than all the states put together. Today, Gujarat is the preferred investment destination for almost every multi-national and what's more, there is an integrity that is missing in other states.
After I finished talking to the YPO (Young President's Organisation) members, I asked some of them very casually, what they thought of Modi. Strangely, this was one area there was no class differential on. They too said he was God.
But what they also added very quickly was if India has just five Narendra Modis, we would be a great country. I don't know if this was typical Gujarati exaggeration or a reflection of the kind of leadership India now needs! There is however, no question in my mind, that his flaws apart, Narendra Modi today, is truly a transformational leader! And we need many more like him!
10-20-2008, 11:01 PM (This post was last modified: 10-20-2008, 11:03 PM by Shambhu.)
Now left will support Mayawati's Basically Secular Party.. <!--emo&:bcow--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/b_cowboy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='b_cowboy.gif' /><!--endemo--> ..(only in regions where there is no Left left in the region, so lefties have nowhere left to go in that region, you see..)
Jiye Sindh!
<b>Vote for BSP in state elections, Left tells cadre</b>
Indicating further closeness with the Mayawati-led party, the Communist Party of India-Marxist has asked its cadre to vote for ânon-Congress secular parties like Bahujan Samaj Partyâ in the coming state elections where the party and the CPI are not contesting.
In addition, Tata may have been influenced by ... law and order 'stability' <b>(however despotically this might be imposed by an authoritarian communal government).</b>
At any rate, by deciding to go to Gujarat, Tata has bestowed unprecedented legitimacy and respectability upon Modi and his ghastly brand of politics. Nothing expressed this as eloquently as the mutually admiring body language in the two men's interaction and by Tata's distinction between the 'Bad M' (Mamata Banerjee) and the 'Good M' (Modi).
Last year, Tata had famously told businessmen: "You are stupid if you are not in Gujarat." Until the Nano project, the Tatas had limited investments in Gujarat through Tata Chemicals in Mithapur.
Now, by relocating the Nano factory, Tata has finally put his imprimatur on Modi's 'leadership' of Gujarat -- <b>although Modi presided over a terrible pogrom of Muslims in 2002.</b>
...(then a lots of kachra on why Tata have bad ethics anyways, bad on environment, bad on labour issues etc)...
In effect, the decision will be interpreted as an invitation to forget the haunting reality of the <b>massacre of 2000 Muslims in 2002 sponsored by the state.</b> (Why dont they make that number 2002, it would be more memorable.)
This was the worst carnage of its kind in Independent India -- and a major assault on secularism and democracy, <b>from which Gujarat has still not recovered</b>. (Only way it can recover is by voting Modi out one guesses?)
Indeed, the victims of the carnage continue to be denied justice and live in fear and insecurity, with scores of cases under TADA and POTA and all manner of harassment, including fake encounters in which DCP Vanzara has been involved.
The recent report of the Nanavati Commission has only added insult to injury by declaring the burning of a train coach at Godhra a planned conspiracy instead of an accident, and by giving a clean chit to Modi. (For a detailed critique of the Nanavati report by Ahmedabad-based lawyer-activist Mukul Sinha, visit nsm org in )
Tata's endorsement of Modi is in line with a long process of the Indian industrialist class gradually reconciling itself with Modi-style Hindutva, helping erase the memory of the Gujarat pogrom, and 'normalising' Hindu communalism.
This is happening at a dangerous moment in India's evolution, when Hindutva attacks on the religious minorities are rising, whether in Orissa and Karnataka, or in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, while the minorities face ethnic cleansing or are victimised in the name of fighting terrorism.
The Indian State has shown no will to stop this and bring the culprits to book by upholding the law of the land.
As the latest National Integration Council meeting showed, even Naveen Patnaik is willing to implement a ban on the Bajrang Dal, if the Centre orders one. But will the Centre muster the courage, or duck the problem of communalism like the Tatas have done?
<b>India's survival as a pluralist secular democracy hinges on this issue.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
SC drops POTA against Godhra train burning accused
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that the charges under Prevention of Terrorism Act against 134 accused in the 2002 Godhra train burning incident in Gujarat shall be dropped and the trial can resume against all the accused under the provisions of the IPC.
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