Hyderabad, The CBI Thursday arrested Andhra Pradesh excise minister Mopidevi Venkataramna in an illegal assets case linked to YSR Congress leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. Earlier, Minister for excise Mopidevi Venkatramna was questioned by CBI officials for over six hours at Dilkusha Guest House, the camp office of the investigating agency. The minister was questioned about the land allotments made to Vanpic company for a port project when he was minister for infrastructure and investment in the cabinet of Jaganmohan Reddy's father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. ...
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Mumbai, Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari today told the visiting Pakistani journalist delegation that if the BJP-led NDA came to power in the next general elections, they would continue with the policies adopted by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee while dealing with Pakistan. 'We will continue the same policies which were in use from 1998 till 2004 but were backtracked by the UPA in last eight years,' Mr Bhandari told the delegation of journalists during an interaction. The 17-strong media delegation from Pakistan, made up of representatives of various main line newspaper and TV channels inlcuding Dawn, Jung, ARY TV and Geo TV, are visiting Mumbai and Pune between May 21 and 27. The visit by the Pakistan delegation reciprocates a visit of 23 Mumbai Press Club members to Karachi in November, last year. ...
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New Delhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has expressed herself against MPs' demand to sport red beacons atop their cars in Delhi. In a meeting of Congress parliamentary party executive, Gandhi made it clear that more red beacons in Delhi would create problems. However, she said it should be left to states to take a decision on the issue in their jurisdiction. The Congress president stated this when senior party MP P C Chacko raised the issue during the meeting seeking her view on the matter, sources said. Her remarks came close on the heels of a debate in the Lok Sabha last week which saw MPs from across the political spectrum making a strong demand for being given the right to sport red beacons atop their vehicle and said they would approach the Prime Minister in this regard. They had said that the privileges committee of the Lok Sabha had made recommendation to the effect and sought to know why the government was delaying the measure. Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi had also yesterday come out against red beacon lights on the cars of lawmakers saying in the current climate of cynicism, it could become the "butt of ridicule and derision" "The current climate of ...
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New Delhi, Army Chief General V.K. Singh has still not consented to attending the official farewell tea party hosted by the Ministry of Defence in order to avoid his brief profile being read out, including the controversial date of birth in front of Defence Minister A.K. Antony and other top officials. The organisers have contacted the Army Chief's office several times for his consent and are worried that delay is being done to avoid the official function that will start with mention of personal details, including the date of birth of General Singh on which he has been at loggerheads with the Ministry of Defence. The Joint Secretary (Establishment) as per the norms will read out General Singh's profile, provided by his office. It is followed by speeches from the Defence Minister, the Defence Secretary and other top officials of the ministry. The event used to end with the handing over of a plaque. The Army Chief claims that he was born on May 10, 1951, whereas the Ministry of Defence considers his year of birth to be 1950. The organisers are worried that the official farewell tea party to be held on General Singh's retirement date could be used by the Army Chief to ...
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New Delhi, In yet another twist, the controversial Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill was on Monday referred to the select committee of Rajya Sabha, further delaying the setting up of the anti-graft ombudsman which has been hanging fire for 42 years. The bill, on which debate had remained inconclusive in the Rajya Sabha during the last winter session, was referred to the select committee through a motion soon after minister of state for personnel V Narayanasamy moved it for consideration and passage. Interestingly, the motion for referring the bill to the select committee was moved initially by Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agrawal. This was strongly objected to by BJP, Left parties and BSP, with their members arguing that only the minister concerned could move such a motion and accusing the ruling coalition of "using the shoulder" of "friendly opposition" party. After high drama marked by arguments and counter-arguments over whether rules permitted any other member to move such a motion, the government yielded and the motion was moved by Narayanasamy which was immediately passed by voice vote. He said the 15-member committee would have to submit its report by the first day of ...
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New Delhi, Asserting that the Central Government is not serious about passing a strong Lokpal Bill, social activist Arvind Kejriwal has said Team Anna would decide its future course of action after the budget session of parliament ends. "We are waiting for the parliament session to get over. Our future strategy and agitation will be announced after that," Kejriwal told media here. "We do doubt their (government) intentions. When the budget session was so big then why did they not get the bill earlier? Why on the last day? They could have got it 15-30 days earlier, so defiantly there is a doubt over their intentions," he added. Earlier, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and Team Anna member Kiran Bedi has said the Central Government is not serious about endorsing an effective Lokpal Bill, since it would be like sounding the death knell for corrupt politicians. "The Lokpal Bill is a very tough law for people who are corrupt and they also happen to be in power. They also know that there is enough proof against them. It will be very difficult for them as they will be investigated and like former telecom minister A Raja they will go to jail because whistleblowers ...
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New Delhi, The nation today paid homage to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed in a suicide bomb attack on this day 21 years ago. President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the departed leader's wife and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi went to the late leader's memorial 'Vir Bhumi' here and paid their respects. Rahul and Priyanka also paid floral tributes at the memorial of their father, who was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu during a poll campaign. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal and Urban Development also paid homage to Gandhi. Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra was present on the occasion. School children waving national flags were also present at the memorial. A speech by the late prime minister, during which he talked about preserving the dignity of institutions, was played at the ...
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Ingredients: 200g Paneer - cut in 1/2" cubes 1 capsicum-cut into thin long strips 2 tbsp. oil 5-6 flakes garlic - crushed 2 tbsp. ready made tomato puree 1/2 tsp sugar & garam masala 3/4 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp dhania powder Salt to taste Preparation: In a small frying pan, add oil and garlic and as soon as the oil is hot, add the tomato puree, salt, sugar, red chilli powder, dhania and garam masala. Mix well. Add capsicum and sautee for one minute. Now add the cottage cheese mix well and mocrowave high uncovered for 3 minutes and serve ...
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Lucknow, Keeping with its promise of giving fresh impetus to infrastructure in the state, the Akhilesh Yadav-led Uttar Pradesh government has expedited work on the ambitious Agra- Lucknow Greenfield Expressway project and has selected a consultant for the project. The consultant has been entrusted with the task of preparing a concept report on the project that will cut the travelling time between Lucknow and Agra from six hours to three-and-a-half hours. Officials told IANS that the eight-lane eco-friendly expressway is proposed to be constructed on a "minimum distance formula" through Public Private Partnership mode and is envisaged to provide a smooth link from Greater Noida to Lucknow via Agra. The consultant appointed for the expressway, covering a distance of 365 km, has been asked to prepare the "preliminary feasibility reports on economic, geographical, physical and social parameters" of the project. The expressway will also help motorists cover a distance of about 530 km from Greater Noida to Lucknow in five hours instead of current time of nine hours. Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC) Anil Kumar Gupta said the government's move ...
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Chandigarh, The Punjab government today honoured flamboyant left-hander Yuvraj Singh with a cash prize of Rs one crore for his 'outstanding contribution' in India's World Cup victory last year. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal presented the all-rounder a cheque for Rs one crore in recognition of his sterling performance during the ICC Cricket World Cup-2011. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Punjab Olympic Association (POA) President Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa were also present on the occasion. Yuvraj, who recently returned from the US after successful treatment of germ cell cancer of lung, has been away from the game for quite some time. He had a meeting with the Chief Minister recently where Mr Badal had also offered him land somewhere in Chandigarh to establish a sports academy. Mr Badal also honoured Ms Shabnam Singh, mother of Yuvraj Singh during the function held at the Punjab Bhawan ...
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Ingredients : 1 litre milk 2 tbsp sugar 10 tsp vanilla essence Method : Boil the milk till it becomes thick. As soon as it is cooled add the sugar and vanilla essence and blend well using a blender or mixie. Cool it in the refrigerator and again blend well. Keep it in the freezer and your Vannila Ice Cream will be ready with in two ...
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New Delhi, A woman officer in the Cabinet Secretariat has been found involved in leaking the top secret letter by Army Chief General V K Singh to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, pointing out various gaps in India's defence preparedness. The Joint Secretary level officer, who handled intelligence agencies in the Cabinet Secretariat, has been sent back to her Indian Economic Service(IES) cadre for necessary action for leaking this sensitive letter to the media, informed sources said. Intelligence Bureau (IB), which was tasked with probing the leak, had earlier given a clean chit to General Singh in the 'leakgate' which had created a furore in the political establishment. The issue had also rocked the Parliament and certain political leaders had demanded ouster of the Army Chief, holding him responsible for the leak. General Singh, who is retiring on May 31, had expressed his outrage over the leakage and dubbed it an act of treason. Similarly, Defence Minister AK Antony too had termed it an act of betrayal and both he and the Army Chief had called for the strictest punishment to those involved in the leakage of the letter. The probe by IB was ordered by the ...
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Chandrapur, Anna Hazare has expressed that he would welcome like-minded people like General VK Singh after his retirement as army chief to be a part of his team to fight corruption. Hazare said he would be happy to have General Singh as a part of this team, if the Army chief was interested in joining it. "I am personally not inclined to ask or request anyone to join our agitation against corruption but we have fought two wars - one against Pakistan and the other against Bangladesh during my service in the Army, now we have to fight the enemy within us", he said. "And we need like minded people in our team and if interested, General VK Singh is welcome to join us after his retirement. It would be his choice", Anna told reporters last evening when they asked him whether he would like to invite General Singh to join his team. "Anna's invite to General V K is most appropriate. Imagine if ex-servicemen join Anna they can become a formidable voice against corruption", Team Anna member Kiran Bedi tweeted today. Last month, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal while extending support to Gen Singh had said that they were sure that the Army chief will take a decision on what he ...
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New Delhi, Nearly three weeks after recording his statement, the CBI has sought certain clarifications from Army chief Gen V K Singh on his allegation that Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore to clear the purchase of a fresh batch of Tatra trucks. A CBI team visited the Army chief's office on Thursday evening as the agency needed some clarifications, sources said. They added that the CBI also wanted clarity on the issue of delay on part of the Army chief in approaching the agency as the incident had taken place at least one-and-a-half years ...
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Lucknow, The UP government on Friday scrapped former CM Mayawati's projects for Dalits and those named after their icons. The money allocated for such projects would be diverted to fulfill poll promises like Rs 1,000 monthly allowance for unemployed youth, pension to farmers above 65 besides laptops and PC tablets for students. Sources said the attempt was to ensure that welfare schemes benefit every section of the society and not just Dalits. The Friday's move would affect 26 schemes being handled by 13 departments involving Rs 4,861.72 crore. Most of this money was utilized for maintaining parks and memorials built in the memory of Dalit icons and scholarship programmes for Dalit students besides those launched in the name of BSP founder, Kanshiram. But the government clarified that work that had already started like in the case of Kanshiram Awas Yojana will not be stopped. But such projects will not be renewed. The government also stopped reservation of government contracts for SC/ST bidders that Maya introduced in June 2009, saying it was affecting the quality of work and a more competitive bidding process would benefit the state. The decisions were cleared at ...
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New Delhi, Procedural decks have been cleared for Nitin Gadkari to get a second term as BJP chief, with party office-bearers approving an amendment which would enable functionaries to get two back-to-back tenures. He will be the second BJP chief to serve two consecutive terms. L K Advani was the first to get two straight terms before the party amended its constitution to bar the incumbent from getting re-elected as party chief. A meeting of party office-bearers approved the amendment which, though generic, appears to have been specifically scripted to implement the wish of RSS leadership to continue with Gadkari for another term. However, the amendment will be so worded to ensure that back-to-back terms to heads of party units, from the national president right down to the district level, are given only in exceptional circumstances and don't become the norm. The amendment is set to be adopted at the two-day meeting of the BJP national executive beginning on May 24 in Mumbai. Although the re-appointment is required to be ratified by the party's national council, getting the nod of the larger body will just be a formality, and Gadkari can start functioning ...
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New Delhi, The Janata Dal (U), joined by its arch political rival RJD, on Thursday criticized Karnataka Police and central agencies for arresting Muslim youths on terror charges from different parts of Bihar "without informing the local police". Raising the issue during zero hour in Rajya Sabha, JD(U) member Shivanand Tiwari demanded action by the home ministry against the agencies responsible for such arrests which were made without taking the state police into the loop. He said even after the recent meeting on NCTC, where everyone spoke about cooperation and coordination, Karnataka Police picked up many youths from certain areas of Bihar in a unilateral action. "Why didn't the Karnataka Police inform Bihar Police? Is not such an act questionable?" asked Tiwari. Supporting the contention, RJD member Ram Kripal Yadav said it was condemnable that "we are treating Muslims as terrorists without concrete evidence". An eight-member team of Karnataka Police had arrested Chinnaswamy Stadium blast suspect Mohammad Kafeel Akhtar alias Kafeel from Barsamela village under Keoti police station area in Darbhanga district on Sunday. Akhtar is an Islamic Studies teacher at ...
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New Delhi, Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh has withdrawn his petition against Army Chief General VK Singh in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe and informed that he would now move appropriate authority for justice (read Delhi High Court). Tejinder's name was dragged in the defence bribery offer controversy after VK Singh said he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by a defence purchase lobbyist [pointing at Tejinder without naming him] for clearing the purchase of 600 substandard vehicles. In his petition, Tejinder Singh had sought CBI inquiry against Army Chief General VK Singh alleging that he misused his power, including alleged illegal phone intercepts. Reports said Tejinder Singh now decided to withdraw the petition arguing that if the case is pursued several top-secret documents could come out in public domain. He reportedly told the apex court that he would not pursue the case with documentary evidence in the High Court. A Delhi court earlier hearing the defamation case filed by Lt Gen Tejinder Singh against V K Singh and four others over bribery allegations transferred it to the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) on May 5. ...
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New Delhi, At least 25% of Central schemes are named after late PM Rajiv Gandhi. Planning Commission data suggests that government runs 58 schemes named after eminent people, MoS for Planning Ashwani Kumar said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Of these, 16 schemes bear Gandhi's name like Rajiv Awaas Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Shashaktikaran Abhiyan, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowships for ST students etc. Eight schemes are named after late PM Indira Gandhi such as Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana, Indira Awaas Yojana, Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme. There is one institute named after former PM and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee. And, two schemes were named after BJP stalwart Deen Dayal Upadhyaya of which one Deen Dayal Hathkargha Yojana was continued till the 10th Plan. Schemes are also named after Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, B R Ambedkar, Zakir Hussain, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Maharishi Sandipini, Khuda Bakhsh, the minister said. Babu Jagjivan Ram, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Rani ...
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Varanasi, Refusing to comment on the Ayodhya issue, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti has said she remained unapologetic about her association with the campaign that led to the demolition of the Babri mosque. "I am never worried that my name is associated with Babri mosque demolition case. In fact, I feel that my association with Ayodhya movement will be a boon for my upcoming seven generations. I am unapologetic for being involved with Ayodhya movement. I have never repented for this and I still do not regret it," Bharti told media here. The CBI has appealed in the Supreme Court that senior leader Lal Krishna Advani along with other leaders should face trial in the demolition case. The agency opposed the separation of trial of eight accused leaders -- Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya and Sadhvi Rithambara -- from 41 others, mainly kar sevaks, allegedly involved in the demolition of the disputed structure on December 6, 1992. It said separation of the trial, which has found favour with the trial court and the Allahabad High Court, is totally erroneous. CBI has challenged the ...
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