New Delhi, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has refused to endorse finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for the President's post, giving a twist to the race. Banerjee told a TV channel, "I love Meira Kumar, she is very soft spoken, Gopal Gandhi has done good work, Kalam was a good president. Pranab may be the son-of-the-world but if you ask me my choice, I will go with Kumar, Gandhi and Kalam. But if Congress wants to go with Pranab, its their choice." The comment puts a question mark on Mukherjee's bid to wade into the race. While Congress is still to announce its preference for the top post, there is also a section in Congress that feels Mukherjee cannot be spared for the for the President's post because he is crucial to the government. If the West Bengal CM vetoes the finance minister, it may be difficult for Congress to evolve a consensus around his ...
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New Delhi, The achievements of the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal on Thursday came in for question with key ally Congress asking it to "talk less and work more", saying it was not known as to which of the promises had been implemented by it so far. "Till now, we don't know which project has been converted into ground reality because things are at promise and announcement level only. A large number of farmers have been committing suicide in West Bengal and unemployment is also on the rise. I want to say that they should talk less and work more," Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters here. He was asked to comment on the performance of the state government on completion of one year next week. Reacting to the comments of Chowdhury, Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, "I do not know who has said this but we don't rate any Tom, Dick and Harry to comment on our leader because Mamata Banerjee is beyond criticism of these small fries who can't even prove themselves during elections." ,Dastidar said the mismanagement of the Congress in addressing the Air India issue could be seen by everyone. "Pilots are going on strikes. Some are ...
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New Delhi, Asking partymen to draw lessons from the previous polls, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today said that leaders must shed factional behaviour and fight as one disciplined team as the party braces to face a series of state elections in the coming months. "We must all shed all manner of factional behaviour, and fight as one disciplined team at all levels. That will be the single-most important factor to decide whether we win or lose. "People look to us-- but we need to show them our commitment and our unity if we are to convert this sentiment into electoral victories," Gandhi said addressing a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party here, which was also attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Commenting on the elections results in the five states including Uttar Pradesh, where the party could not perform as expected, Gandhi said, "While we can take satisfaction in the fact that we returned to power in Manipur for the third time and formed the government in Uttarakhand, the results in Punjab and Goa are very disappointing. "In Uttar Pradesh, even though we did not perform as well as we had hoped to, we increased our vote share quite considerably and ...
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Rohtak, Congress leader and former Haryana minister Krishan Murti Hooda has announced to stage a one-day dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in protest against alleged "double standards" of the anti-corruption crusaders -- Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev. Hooda, who had been a minister in the Bhajan Lal government in early nineties in Haryana, alleged that the campaign of Anna and Baba Ramdev was anti-Congress and pro-BJP as they could not see corruption of the BJP. "I have sought permission from the Haryana Congress president for holding the dharna. As soon as the party gives me the go-ahead, I will seek permission from the Delhi government for the protest,'' he ...
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Amethi, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday cut short his visit to his parliamentary constituency here and rushed to Assam where over 100 people died in a boat tragedy in Brahmaputra. The Congress leader, who had to fly from here for Delhi in the evening, winded up his three-day visit in the forenoon and left for Assam, Congress sources said. The review meeting of Jagdishpur assembly segment, which was scheduled to start around 11am, was advanced and got underway at 9am after which Gandhi left for the Fursatganj airstrip, the sources said. Gandhi had arrived here on April 30 for the first time after UP poll debacle to review the party's ...
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New Delhi, The eight Congress MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha by their party for disrupting the House over the Telangana issue blocked the main entrance of parliament for nearly half an hour Thursday. Ponnam Prabhakar, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, M. Jagannath, K.R.G. Reddy, G. Viveknanda, Balram Naik, Sukender Reddy Gutha and S. Rajaiah sat on the steps of the Parliament House just before the day's sitting began at 11 a.m. Other MPs were thus forced to use other gates to enter the building. The MPs held placards which read "Honour Your commitment, Give separate Telangana state" and "Fulfil your commitment, Honour Telangana sentiment", and raised slogans supporting their demands. They also appealed for peace in Andhra Pradesh saying that a Telangana would be created soon. "I appeal to students not to commit suicide because Telangana will be created soon. They should realise their dreams," Jagannath said. The MPs had Wednesday too staged a protest in the Parliament House ...
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New Delhi, The ghost of Bofors returned to irritate the ruling Congress 25 years after the scam broke in 1987, as an interview of the main source of information on the deal, whose identity was revealed for the first time on Wednesday, said that former PM Rajiv Gandhi did not benefit from the payoff but Quattrocchi certainly benefitted from it for being close to the Gandhi family. While Congress used the interview to highlight the clean chit to Rajiv, main opposition BJP focused on the claim that Rajiv and his family did nothing to prevent the cover-up to ensure that Quattrocchi was protected. In the interview, former Swedish police chief Lindstorm, who owned up being the whistleblower in the payoff case, said there was no evidence to suggest that Rajiv had taken a bribe in the Bofors deal but that he did nothing to prevent the cover-up that followed in both India and Sweden to protect Quattrocchi. Training its guns on Congress, BJP said it would raise the Bofors issue in Parliament. With a discussion pending in this session on procurement for the armed forces, the Bofors issue is waiting to be dug up to hit out at the government. "The entire government of India at ...
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New Delhi, Congress MPs from Telangana who were suspended from the Lok Sabha Tuesday staged a protest against the decision at the parliament complex here Wednesday. The MPs, who were suspended for four days for disrupting parliament's Budget Session while demanding the formation of a Telangana state, sat with black strips of cloth across their mouths and holding placards demanding that a new state be carved out of Andhra Pradesh. Due to the disruptions by the MPs, the lower house of parliament Tuesday could not function during the second half of the day's sitting. Later, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal decided to suspend MPs Ponnam Prabhakar, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, M. Jagannath, K.R.G. Reddy, G. Viveknanda, Balram Naik, Sukender Reddy Gutha and S. Rajaiah. However, even after the suspension, they continued to sit in the ...
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New Delhi, The Congress Monday said it was "open minded" about suggestions on choice of the next president and that it would consult its United Progressive Alliance partners on the issue. Responding to ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar's reported support for an apolitical candidate, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury said it was the party's duty to listen to views of its allies. She said the party's core committee will discuss the matter. "These are the suggestions given by our respected allies. We are open-minded. These will be placed before the concerned committee at the appropriate fora for discussion," Chowdhury said. Answering queries, Chowdhury said any person occupying the post of president acts impartially. "I do not see insecurity or fear or where they belong and we have in the history of India only one president who has not been aligned with political party. I don't consider it a qualification or a disqualification," Chowdhury ...
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New Delhi, The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday hit out at the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for its inept handling of the controversial Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project. BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that her party was upset at the manner of the government prolonging executive decisions before the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Commenting on the latest status in this case before the apex court, Sitharaman said it looks as if there is a paralysis in the decision-making of the government. "This is one example where a decision which could be taken by a government is yet again being pushed to the Supreme Court. We have been repeatedly from the party's side saying that there is a paralysis and executive decisions are also now getting pushed to the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court," said Sitharaman. "When this matter was already subjudice and therefore if it is in the Supreme Court, we respect it and decision of the court will be honoured, I am sure by everybody but the fact remains that decisions on these matters much before it went to the court I suppose could have handled even by the government," she added. The ...
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New Delhi, With an eye on the Gujarat assembly election due at the end of the year, Congress is preparing to chip away at chief minister Narendra Modi's development plank by challenging the "vibrant Gujarat" slogan. Congress on Tuesday attacked the CM's style of governance and his development model, saying Modi's slogans lacked substance. "The entire concept of vibrant Gujarat is nothing but a very big myth," AICC spokesman Manish Tewari told TOI. He added that the myth needed to be discarded in the interest of the people of Gujarat. Slamming the BJP government in the state, Congress said the truth was far from what was being claimed on human development indices, growth and even inflow of FDI in the state. "The focus will be on exposing the truth," Tewari said. Congress's state unit is reworking its strategy, attacking Modi's development claims instead of concentrating on slamming him for the 2002 communal riots. Congress's new game plan saw leader of opposition in Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil's pointing to a CAG report that criticized Gujarat government for bad management and corruption in internal security. "Before giving any advice to the central government, the CM ...
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New Delhi, With the presidential polls coming up in July, Congress is having to keep UPA allies like the Trinamool Congress in good humour. TMC chief Mamata Banerjee too has decided not to go in for confrontation with Congress at the moment, it seems. As a result, the Congress high command has decided to put on hold the appointment of a new PCC chief in West Bengal till the presidential polls get over. This has been communicated to a senior Congress leader from the state who was here last week and met both Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi. The Bengal Congress unit has been waiting for a new chief since Pradeep Bhattacharya was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. But the party in Bengal needs a full-time president to deal combatively with TMC. Even while TMC and Congress are coalition partners in the state, the relations between the so-called allies have only deteriorated in the last year since they overthrew Left Front and came to office last May. For Congress, it is a battle for survival against the growing strength of TMC in the state. TMC, on the other hand, has been trying to wipe out Congress from Bengal and take up the entire ...
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New Delhi, Narendra Modi's penchant for turning any praise from the Centre into a political weapon against Congress has the Centre tread with care. Rural development ministry has granted CM Modi an additional Rs 100 crore for good work in "drinking water and sanitation" but exercised caution to underline that Gujarat is among the seven states who are being rewarded. The letter from RD minister Jairam Ramesh to Modi mentions that Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Punjab, Tripura and Tamil Nadu have utilized 60% of their funds under 'national rural drinking water programme', prompting the Centre to make additional allocations for the coming year. In contrast, the letters to other CMs are direct, stating "since your state has performed well, I have decided to give an additional allocation of Rs 98.20 crore (Tamil Nadu)". The reward is part of RD's drive to distribute "unspent" money in the current financial year among performing states instead of returning them to the finance ministry. Sources said the precaution taken in correspondence with Gujarat was typical of Congress's compulsions as well as Modi's guile, made more sensitive by December polls. With an ...
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New Delhi, Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy was on Tuesday elevated to cabinet rank to take over as railway minister replacing Dinesh Trivedi, who was forced to resign after Congress caved in to Mamata Banerjee's pressure. Widely expected to roll back at least the lower class passenger fare hike proposed by Trivedi in the Railway Budget, Roy, 57, was sworn in as cabinet minister at a special but brief ceremony by President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He was currently serving as Union minister of state for shipping and had earlier served as minister of state in the railway ministry before Trivedi took over last July. The ceremony was attended by vice president Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the UPA chairperson and cabinet ministers including ministers of Trinamool Congress. Trivedi was forced out by Trinamool Congress after he incurred the wrath of party chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who was opposed to his proposal to increase fares in the railway budget last Wednesday. Trivedi resigned on Sunday. The Congress leadership caved in to the Trinamool demand for replacing him with Roy. On Monday, Banerjee had ...
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New Delhi, Congress has decided to nominate mega star Chiranjeevi to Rajya Sabha, consolidating PRP's merger with the party in Andhra Pradesh. The party has also fielded Uttarakhand dissident Harish Rawat loyalist and former minister Mahendra Singh Mehra to the upper house from the state. The decision seems forced by the standoff over Congress decision to make Vijay Bahuguna the chief minister. It was felt that fielding an "outsider" would have risked cross-voting from protesting MLAs and they have settled for a local. While the choice of Mehra satisfies the local equation, he being close to Rawat and being a Thakur makes the decision a balance between the various factors that are at the core of party protest in the hill state. Instead, Congress has nominated Satyavrat Chaturvedi, the present retiring MP from the state, from Madhya Pradesh. Congress has interestingly decided to field its candidate Abdul Mannan from West Bengal, a clear decision to put TMC chief Mamata Banerjee under pressure. The TMC has been insistent that Congress stay out of RS race and instead transfer its vote to its fourth candidate. Congress is ahead of TMC in terms of votes at its disposal for ...
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New Delhi, Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi appeared to be on the brink of losing his job within hours of presenting a budget that was hailed by Congress as "forward looking" but savaged by his own party, Trinamool Congress, as "anti-people" for proposing an across-the-board passenger fare hike. In a swift retaliation to the defiance of Mamata Banerjee's direction to not raise fares, the West Bengal chief minister faxed a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to sack Trivedi and replace him with her loyalist Mukul Roy. There were indications that Congress will have to grudgingly agree to Mamata's demand for fear of offending an ally whose 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha are crucial for the government's survival. The scenario kept changing through the day. Initially, after the Congress and PM supported the budget, it appeared the UPA was willing to risk Mamata's wrath. The surmise was that it had stitched up support from elsewhere - SP, BSP or both - and was no longer averse to losing, if it came to that, a restive and demanding ally. However, late at night it seemed Congress, too, had been taken by surprise. Pranab Mukherjee called up Mamata to ask her to not ...
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New Delhi/Dehradun, Congress Party on Wednesday defended its decision to select Vijay Bahuguna as Uttarakhand Chief Minister instead of senior leader Harish Rawat, saying there is no difference within the party and the matter will be solved after due consultations. Terming the ongoing row over the appointment of Bahuguna as hype created by the media, Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said: "There is no difference within the party of any kind. This is an internal matter of the party. It is not necessary for the MLAs to be present there. It never happens that all the MLAs are present during the swearing-in-ceremony of the chief minister. This is media hype. The matter will be solved after due consultations within the party. "I assure you everything will be normal. Vijay Bahugunaji is the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, he has taken the oath of office. The party is committed to solve the problems the people of the state faced in the last five years," he added. Alvi further said Harish Rawat will surely attend the Parliament session. "There is no rebellion within the party. This is media hype. He (Harish Rawat) will surely come to the Parliament," he said. Meanwhile, ...
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New Delhi, Preparing to take on the UPA government as Parliament opens for the budget session on Monday, opposition NDA on Sunday worked out an aggressive strategy with the focus on "assault on federalism". With most of the opposition parties, including those outside the NDA combine, as well as some ruling UPA allies like Trinamool Congress and DMK ready to protest against the Centre's interference in state matters, the NDA will ask for a discussion on assault on federalism, it was decided at the NDA parliamentary party meeting held at NDA chairman L K Advani's residence on Sunday. The NDA has also decided that it will take on home minister P Chidambaram on the floor of the House instead of boycotting him as it did in the winter session. Since the discussion on "assault on federalism" will need the home minister's presence and replies, NDA leaders decided against continuing the boycott. The government, however, may have just escaped an opposition barrage in the House over its decision to ban cotton exports. By withdrawing the notification on Sunday, the government seems to have avoided disruption of the House right from the start as NDA leaders had decided to take it ...
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New Delhi, Dismissing all talks of any mid-term elections at the Centre following the poor show by the Congress in the assembly polls to five states, the Congress today said the UPA at the Centre is strong and stable and would complete its five-year term. While stating that the talk of mid-term polls was a natural off-shoot of the party not performing as per expectations in these polls, Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari, however, ruled out any mid-term polls. "I think there are take aways from any election. Our performance has not been as per the expectations. However, the UPA at the Centre is strong, stable and has been given a mandate to govern for five years, it will complete its term," Mr Tiwari told reporters here. Asked for his reaction on a statement by Trinamool leader and Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi in this regard, Mr Tiwari said, "Mr Trivedi has given a clarification on his remark. So, nothing more needs to be said on this matter. No need to comment on a matter of speculation." ...
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New Delhi, There was no question of the prime minister stepping down, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said Wednesday after the party's dismal show in state elections and stressed that the results will not "damage" the UPA government. "The question does not arise," Gandhi said when asked if there was a possibility of Manmohan Singh stepping down and the Congress selecting another leader for the post. "I do not think the results will damage the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government," Gandhi told reporters outside her residence after reviewing the results in five states with party leaders here. Asked who would be the party's candidate for prime minister in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, she said: "This is 2012." The party came a poor fourth in Uttar Pradesh, barely scraped past the BJP in Uttarakhand and lost in Goa and Punjab. The only silver lining was Manipur where it retained ...
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