‘Politics’ Articles
Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Election Commission Wednesday expressed its “strong disapproval” of Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily’s remarks on raising the cap on LPG cylinder supply ahead of the Gujarat elections and asked him to be “circumspect in future.”
Moily, whom the commission Tuesday asked to explain his remark over LPG cap being increased from six to nine, in his reply to the commission Wednesday accepted that he made the announcement.
The commission said the remarks amount to violation of Model Code of Conduct as the first phase of the Gujarat elections are slated for Thursday. The second round is on Dec 17. Counting in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where polls were held Nov 4, will be on Dec 20.
“..the commission hereby conveys its strong disapproval of your above action and cautions you to be circumspect in future,” the panel said.
In its letter to the minister, secretary Harbans Singh said that though he said that the government is yet to take a decision in the matter, it has emerged that the cap on the supply of the subsidized LPG cylinders is being raised from the present six to nine a family a year.
“The commission is of the considered view that your above mentioned reply amounts to announcement of promise of financial grant by the government, which the Model Code of Conduct prohibits during its operation when the election process is on,” the poll panel said.
The poll panel said that when the Model Code of Conduct becomes effective, ministers and other authorities cannot make any announcement of any financial grants.
It said the announcement is thus “a clear violation both of the letter and spirit of the Model Code of Conduct.”
In his reply to the commission that was submitted Wednesday morning, Moily said there has been widespread demand from all sections of society, particularly women, for raising the cap on supply of domestic LPG cylinders.
In an event Tuesday, Moily told reporters that the LPG cap is “likely to go up definitely from six cylinders to nine cylinders”.
The minister said the decision to raise the cap will be taken by the union cabinet “very shortly”.
The government had, in September, limited the supply of subsidised LPG to six cylinders per household in a year.
Subsidised cooking gas costs Rs.410.50 per 14.2 kg cylinder at present. Additional requirements have to be bought at the market price of Rs.931.
Moily said as the capping decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, it would also decide on raising the cap.
Asked about the time-frame for the decision, he had said: “I think as early as possible.”
The government will have to provide an additional Rs.9,000 crore per annum if the cap is raised.
The petroleum minister had said the government was working on a “certain formula” to neutralise the impact of any additional subsidy burden, and he has had two rounds of discussions with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on the issue.
Tags: New Delhi
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Impatient over the delay in passing a bill that promises reservations for Dalits and tribals in job promotions, the BSP Wednesday stalled both houses of parliament, directly attacking Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Hamid Ansari.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, apparently, tried to hit two birds with one stone by telling Ansari that running the house was his responsibility, and putting pressure on the government by asking her party members not to let the Lok Sabha run.
A day after Ansari suggested scrapping or shifting the question hour as members were regularly disrupting the proceedings, Mayawati stunned the Rajya Sabha by blaming the chairman for non-functioning of the upper house.
“I am not ready to listen to anything…,” Mayawati said, interrupting the question hour.
“…The house does not run after 12. You are the chairman of the house. It is your responsibility that the house is in order,” she said.
Certain comments which launched a direct assault at the chair were however expunged later.
Ansari said he was “upset” by the comments and it would be difficult for him to work in such conditions.
“I am upset, it will be difficult to work in such a situation,” he said told some members, according to an MP present in a meeting soon after the house was adjourned.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and several key leaders were present at the meeting.
According to highly-placed sources, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up Ansari after the incident and expressed his concern over the development.
Mayawati, however, defended her remarks and accused the government of not being serious about passing the promotion quota bill.
She said both the government and “BJP and company” had assured that the quota bill would be taken up after the house debated foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.
By convention, members do not cast personal aspersions on the chair.
The chairman presides over the question hour while zero hour and subsequent proceedings are generally conducted by the deputy chairman.
A cabinet minister, who did not wish to be named, called Mayawati’s outburst “pressure tactics”.
“She is using pressure tactics by disrupting the Lok Sabha over coal blocks issue so the government pushes the jobs quota bill,” the minister told IANS.
Both the Congress and the BJP, meanwhile, made calculated comments terming Mayawati’s remark on Ansari “unfortunate”.
“It is unfortunate (Mayawati made the remarks)…the chairman made certain observations Tuesday, we should watch our conduct,” Congress spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Renuka Chowdhury told reporters.
BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said: “It is unfortunate. The government is responsible for the situation, it is because of their behaviour they (BSP) are behaving like this.”
The upper house has witnessed repeated disruptions over the past week over the constitution amendment bill on promotion quotas.
While the BSP is pressing the government to pass the quota bill so that Mayawati can showcase it as a victory to her voters in Uttar Pradesh, the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in the state is dead opposed to the legislation to keep its other backward classes vote bank intact.
The Congress is in a bind as both the SP and the BSP helped the United Progressive Alliance win in parliament the crucial vote on allowing 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail last week.
Congress managers have been trying hard to end the logjam over the jobs promotion quota bill but have achieved little success so far.
An all-party meeting called by Ansari failed to find a solution.
Government sources said they were still hopeful of working out a compromise formula but agreed that the SP was proving to be a tough customer.
The Congress tried to hit the middle ground by saying the bill was an emotive issue for both the SP and the BSP but said it was different from FDI in retail.
“It is an emotive issue in a large state like Uttar Pradesh but it is different from the FDI issue,” said Chowdhury.
The Congress also said it could not force its views on any other party (read the SP).
“It is not for us to spell out our stand and force it down on any other party,” she said.
Tags: New Delhi
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Trinamool Congress legislator Sikha Mitra Wednesday admitted being apprehensive about attending the West Bengal assembly following fisticuffs between members of her ruling party and the opposition.
“I don’t know which party was involved, but whoever has done it is highly deplorable. It was a heinous act and should be condemned. After the incident, I am highly apprehensive about attending the assembly,” said Sikha Mitra, who is the wife of Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra.
Mitra’s comments come a day after the assembly witnessed a scuffle between ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition Left Front members that left three legislators hospitalised.
The legislator from Chowringhee constitency in Kolkata also refused to abide by the party’s diktat that important functionaries, ministers, parliament and assembly members seek permission in advance from the party before speaking to the media. She called the directive “a Talibani fatwa”.
“I do not live in a land where I will have to abide by a Talibani fatwa. I am not sorry for my comment and I stick to what I said. I stated the truth and have no qualms in saying what is true. There are many such truths to be said,” she said.
“Why should I be sorry? I am answerable only to the people who have elected me and no one else. If we the elected representatives indulge in fistfights, then how can we have the moral right to judge the wrongs committed by the common man? Who will judge our follies?” Mitra added.
“I have not received any official communication as of yet and can only comment after I get it,” Sikha said about media reports which claimed she was suspended from the party for her outburst.
The legislator earlier attracted the party’s wrath when she filed a defamation case against her party leader and state industries minister Partha Chatterjee.
Chatterjee allegedly had made defamatory remarks earlier this year against Sikha Mitra after she attended a programme at the rival Congress’ headquarters in the city.
Tags: Kolkata, West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Wednesday said the claims made by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi that Sir Creek was being “handed over” to Pakistan was “unsubstantiated” and “mischievous” as they came a day before the first phase of theassembly elections in the state.
“The prime minister has received a letter dated 12th December 2012 from Narendra Modi, making unsubstantiated allegations and statements about discussions with Pakistan on the Sir Creek issue,” a PMO statement said.
“The contents of the letter and the timing of its release to the public, even before it was formally received in this office, raise questions about the motives behind its issue. The writing and release of this baseless letter by the Chief Minister of Gujarat in his “personal” capacity, a day before elections in the state, is mischievous,” it added.
The first phase of the Gujarat elections are slated for Thursday, while the second phase is on Dec 17. Counting is on Dec 20. Modi, a senior BJP leader, who has been the chief minister of the state for two terms, is tipped to return to power once again.
The PMO also said that the discussions with Pakistan has been carried out by successive Indian governments since the dialogue process began in 1998 and continued after former prime minister and Bharatitya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore in 1999.
“The allegation in the letter that Sir Creek is about to be given to Pakistan is untrue. Therefore, the other conclusions drawn by Modi from this alleged fact are also not real,” the statement said.
“It also seems that Modi has written his letter without making any efforts to ascertain the facts from the government of India,” it added.
Modi, who signed the letter as a “concerned citizen”, said that the prime minister should stop the dialogue with Pakistan on Sir Creek issue and demanded that it should not be handed over to the neighbouring nation.
Sir Creek is a 96-km-long disputed area between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands, which opens up into the Arabian Sea. The Sir Creek divides the Kutch region of Gujrat and Pakistan’s Sindh province.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kheda/New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Cricketer Irfan Pathan Wednesday shared the stage with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at an election rally in Kheda, signalling the ruling BJP’s desire to woo the youths and the minority community ahead of the balloting for the state assembly.
Pathan was with Modi during the rally for the second phase of elections in the state Dec 17. The first phase polling will take place Thursday.
The BJP has not fielded any candidate from the state’s main minority community in the polls but has been making efforts to woo the community to widen its electoral base. Former state deputy chief minister and Congress leader Narhari Amin joined the BJP last week.
Congress leader and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid took a dig at Modi over Pathan’s presence at the rally.
Khurshid said Modi was trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat to ensure his victory. He said in an election one cannot expect the opponent to fight as “you would expect”.
“I am surprised he is fighting it in this manner,” he said.
BJP MP Smriti Irani defended Khan’s presence and said that people would vote for the party on the basis of development brought about by Modi in the state.
She said the Congress was “demonising the player (Khan)” and “hitting below the belt”.
Tags: Kheda, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi,
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to stop the dialogue with Pakistan on Sir Creek and demanded that it should not be handed over to the neighbouring nation.
“I am writing on a serious issue of talks being held on Sir Creek being handed over to Pakistan. Any attempt to hand over Sir Creek to Pakistan would be a strategic blunder considering the history and sensitivity of the region,” Modi said in his letter.
In his letter, the two times Gujarat chief minister, said : “I would earnestly request you to stop this dialogue with Pakistan at once and Sir Creek should not be handed over to Pakistan.”
Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is tipped to returnto power in the state for the third time, signed the letter as a “concerned citizen” as the state is going to the polls Thursday. The second phase of the poll is on Dec 17 and the counting is on Dec 20.
“I am writing to you at this juncture as I was told that a decision is being taken on Sir Creek issue on December 15,” Mr Modi said in the letter.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik is likely to visit India on December 14-16.
Sir Creek is a 96-km-long disputed area between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands, which opens into the Arabian Sea. The Sir Creek divides the Kutch region of Gujrat state in India and the Sindh province of Pakistan.
Tags: New Delhi, New Delhi,
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Wednesday launched a verbal assault on Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari, forcing the upper house to later expunge her more harsh remarks.
BSP chief Mayawati’s comments during question hour were expunged at three points, where she had launched a direct attack on the chair.
Other comments on the adjournments of the house were retained.
“I am not ready to listen to anything…” Mayawati had said, interrupting the question hour.
The comment following this was expunged.
“…The house does not run after 12. You are the chairman of the house. It is your responsibility that the house is in order,” she said.
Some comments at two more points were removed from the records.
The chairman appeared upset over the remarks.
Tags: New Delhi, New Delhi,
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Admitting that the state police had made “some mistakes”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday urged people not to brand them as bad but praise their good work instead.
“No matter how much good they (police) do, if they commit even a slight wrong, people criticise them and ignore the good they do,” Banerjee said here at a state police programme.
“Good deeds should be praised and wrongs should be condemned, but it is highly unacceptable that people often ignore the good and brand the police as bad by citing only their follies,” she said.
She said police firing in Nadia district last month which claimed a life and police action against villagers in Birbhum district in which over 30 people were injured were “mistakes”.
“Barring these two incidents, can anyone point out any wrong police have done? They work in rain, fire and all kinds of adverse situations. When they do something good, people should praise them,” she said.
She also highlighted the “embarrassing” low strength of police and blamed the erstwhile Left Front government for the lack of modernisation, which the force badly needs.
Tags: Kolkata, , West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Election Commission Wednesday expressed its “strong disapproval” of Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily’s remarks on raising the cap on LPG cylinder supply ahead of the Gujarat elections and asked him to be “circumspect in future.”
Moily, whom the commission Tuesday asked to explain his remark over LPG cap being increased from six to nine, in his reply to the commission Wednesday accepted that he made the announcement.
The commission said the remarks amount to violation of model code of conduct.
“..the commission hereby conveys its strong disapproval of your above action and cautions you to be circumspect in future,” the panel said.
In its letter to the minister, secretary Harbans Singh said that though he said that the government is yet to take a decision in the matter, it has emerged that the cap on the supply of the subsidized LPG cylinders is being raised from the present six to nine a family a year.
“The commission is of the considered view that your above mentioned reply amounts to announcement of promise of financial grant by the government, which the Model Code of Conduct prohibits during its operation when the election process is on,” the poll panel said.
The commission said that when the Model Code of Conduct becomes effective, ministers and other authorities cannot make any announcement of any financial grants.
The panel said the announcement is thus “a clear violation both of the letter and spirit of the Model Code of Conduct.”
Tags: New Delhi
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Impatient over the delay in passing a bill that promises reservations for Dalits and tribals in job promotions, BSP chief Mayawati Wednesday tried to hit two birds with one stone by telling Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari that running the house was his responsibility and putting pressure on government by asking her party members not to let the Lok Sabha run.
‘She is using pressure tactics by disrupting the Lok Sabha over coal blocks issue so the government pushes the jobs quota bill,’ a cabinet minister, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.
A day after Ansari suggested scraping or shifting the question hour as members were regularly disrupting the proceedings, Mayawati stunned the upper house by telling the chairman that running the house smoothly was his responsibility.
‘You will go (away) at 12… (The) house should run. To ensure this is your responsibility. When it will be 12, then you will not be seen,’ she said.
Mayawati later defended her remarks and accused the government of not being serious about passing the bill.
She said both the government and ‘BJP and company’ had assured that the bill on would be taken up after the house debated foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.
Under rules and conventions, members are not allowed to cast aspertions on the chair.
The chairman presides over the question hour while zero hour and subsequent proceedings are generally conducted by the deputy chairman.
Both the Congress and the BJP termed Mayawati’s remark on Ansari as unfortunate.
‘It is unfortunate (Mayawati made the remarks)…the chairman made certain observations Tuesday, we should watch our conduct,’ Congress spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Chowdhury told reporters.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said: ‘It is unfortunate. The government is responsible for the situation.’
The upper house has witnessed repeated disruptions over the past week over the constitution amendment bill on promotion quotas.
While the BSP is pressing the government to pass the bill so that Mayawati can showcase it as a victory to her voters in UP, the SP is dead opposed to the legislation to keep its other backward classes OBCs vote bank intact.
The Congress is in a bind as both the SP and BSP helped the United Progressive Alliance win the crucial vote on allowing 51 percent foreign direct investment in multi brand retail in parliament last week.
Congress managers have been trying hard to end the logjam over the jobs quota bill but have achieved little success so far.
An all-party meeting called by Ansari failed to find a solution.
Government sources said they were still hopeful of working out a compromise formula but agreed that SP was proving to be a tough customer.
The Congress tried to hit the middle ground by saying the bill was an emotive issue for both the SP and BSP but said it was different from FDI in retail.
‘It is an emotive issue in a large state like UP but it is different from the FDI issue,’ said Chowdhury.
The Congress also said it cannot force its views on any other party (read SP).
‘It is not for us to spell out our stand and force it down on any other party,’ she said.
Tags: New Delhi
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party Wednesday held the government responsible for the non-functioning of both houses of parliament.
“Running the house is the government’s responsibility. They should control both the SP (Samajwadi Party) and the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party). Parliament is not functioning because of the ruling party… perhaps the Congress does not want the houses to function,” BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said.
“During the debate on FDI in retail, the Congress climbed on the elephant; now the elephant has climbed over the Congress,” he said, taking a jibe at the ruling party and its supporter BSP, whose election symbol is elephant.
The BSP, which opposed foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha and voted against the opposition sponsored resolution against FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha, thus helping the government win the vote on the issue.
“The BJP was quiet after the government accepted our demand to probe lobbying by Wal-Mart. It was the BSP that disrupted both the houses,” he said.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned amid slogan-shouting by members of the BSP who demanded early passage of the bill for quota in promotions for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned halfway through the question hour when the BSP members created ruckus over coal blocks allocation.
“The BSP’s behaviour in the Rajya Sabha is known, but they also disrupted the Lok Sabha. All of a sudden, halfway in the question hour they remembered the coal scam? Because their friends had forced adjournment of the other house,” Hussain said.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla Wednesday termed as “unfortunate” remarks by Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati targeting Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari over repeated disruptions in the house.
“It is unfortunate,” Shukla told reporters here, when his reactions were sought on Mayawati’s remarks made in the house which is slated to take up a bill to provide reservation in promotions to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Mayawati stunned the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour Wednesday when she told the chairman that running the house smoothly was his responsibility while he was not to be seen in the house after 12 noon.
The chairman of the house normally presides over the house until noon and the deputy chairman routinely takes over after he leaves at around 12 noon.
Mayawati, who has been pressing for passage of the constitution amendment bill to provide reservation in promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes since the beginning of the winter session, said it was the responsibility of the chairman of the house to ensure its smooth conduct even after 12 noon.
The Samajwadi Party is stoutly opposed to the bill, and has vowed not to allow it to be passed.
Its members have raised slogans against the bill and stalled efforts by the government to take it up for passage in the house.
Both SP and BSP, political adversaries in Uttar Pradesh, support the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre from outside.
Shukla said efforts are being made to find a solution to the impasse.
Asked about Mayawati’s remarks that it was also the responsibility of the government to see that proceedings were not disrupted, Shukla said the government makes all efforts to ensure that proceedings in the house are smooth.
He said the government could not be held responsible if members raised slogans near the presiding officer’s chair.
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