Congress is afraid of me, says Kumar Vishwas

Amethi: AAP leader Kumar Vishwas today said that his chief aim was to talk to the people of Amethi about the problems being faced by them even as he alleged that the locals here had only experienced unemployment, bad education and poverty.

Amethi is the seat represented by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.

Kumar Vishwas. Ibnlive

Saying that "Congress is afraid of me", Vishwas claimed that the people of Amethi were now ready to cast their vote in favour of development.

Addressing the people at public meetings at places like Ramnagar, Saraikhema, Munshiganj, Kauhar, etc., Vishwas said that the upcoming parliamentary elections would see the myth being shattered that, "the people of Amethi are slaves of a particular dynasty".

PTI

Oppn leaders in three civic bodies meet Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Alleging corruption in all the three BJP-led municipal corporations, Leaders of Opposition belonging to Congress today met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanding regularisation of daily wagers and contractual employees of the civic bodies.

Leader of Opposition in North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Mukesh Goel, Leader of Opposition in East Delhi
Municipal Corporation (EDMC) Varyam Kaur and Leader of Opposition in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) Farhad Suri met Kejriwal and submitted a memorandum to him.

Arvind Kejriwal. Firstpost image

"We submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister seeking immediate permanent status to the daily wager safai karamcharis, beldars and employees working in other departments of the corporations," NDMC said in a statement. They also alleged large-scale corruption in the Corporation under the BJP-rule during the last seven years.

"BJP is involved in nepotism...The party has sidelined all rules and regulations in giving contracts, making purchases and taking other decisions," the memorandum said.

The three Congress leaders requested the Chief Minister to announce regularisation of daily wagers and contractual employees working in all three corporations, the statement said.

"AAP had promised to remove corruption from the Delhi Government departments and all three Corporations. We hope it will investigate these matters. We also assure full cooperation from our side," Goel said.

PTI

Chidambaram’s son Karti in executive committee of TN Cong unit

New Delhi: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress today released the second list of office-bearers and executive committee members of its Tamil Nadu unit, prominent among them being Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti.

The list includes some former MPs and MLAs, besides Karti, who has been made an executive committee member.

PTI

A total number of 18 persons were added to the executive committee list, pushing the strength of the panel to 61. While five party leaders have been made vice presidents, five others were made general secretaries.

A party release here said Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the proposal for adding some more names in the list of Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee office-bearers and executive committee.

According to Congress sources, the new list has included the names of leaders, who felt that their supporters did not find a place in the previous list.

Anywhere between 10 to 12 supporters of two Union ministers have been accommodated in the executive committee of the additional list, a senior party leader said.

The sources said the party is yet to finalise the names of its president in five districts, including Nagapattinam and Coimbatore.

Earlier, the party had released the first list of office-bearers in December last year, consisting of 17 vice presidents, 29 general secretaries and 54 district presidents.

The state unit has been reconstituted after 12 years, while some DCC chief have been changed after 15 years.

PTI

UPA’s policy responsible for rise of Maoists, tribal misery: Karat

Bhubaneswar The CPI(M) today held the UPA government's economic policy responsible for the suffering of tribal people and rise of Maoism in the country.

Agency.

"Following the neo-liberal regime, natural resources are being looted and tribals fall prey to it. While tribals suffer due to loss of forests, Maoists take advantage of the resentment of adivasis," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told the second national convention of Adivasi Adhikar Rastriya Manch here.

Stating that the UPA government from 2004-13, has diverted 2.43 lakh hectare of forest land for different projects, Karat said tribal people were the ultimate sufferers.

Referring to the large-scale illegal mining in Odisha, he said the tribal people were again victims of such a practise.

While mine owners earned money, tribal people faced different problems. Karat also blamed BJP and RSS for dividing tribal people on various issues and trying to create conflict in the name of religion.

PTI

Cong will focus on people between BPL and middle class: Rahul

Raipur: Hinting at a shift from traditional pro-poor politics of his party, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today said after the coming Lok Sabha elections, the party will focus on the uplift of those who fall between below poverty line category and the middle class.

"Congress party has done a great job for the downtrodden families, to bring them above the poverty line in the past five to ten years.

Rahul Gandhi. PTI

"After we form the government after the Lok Sabha elections, the focus will be on a new category which is above poverty line and below the middle class, catering to carpenters, taxi drivers, masons whose population is about 70 crore," Rahul said. He was interacting with party office-bearers and elected representatives of panchayat and urban bodies at the Balbeer Juneja Indoor stadium here this evening.

"After elections, there will be a deep change in Congress. Party will connect and listen more to its workers," he said. Taking on BJP, he said those trying to wipe out Congress would disappear themselves. "The BJP leaders say they want to remove Congress from the country. But the Opposition does not understand the history, that we are not an organisation, we are an ideology. The ideology of brotherhood, respect and love. No one can wipe out Congress and whoever tries to do so, will vanish," he said.

The party will have to win cent per cent seats in Chhattisgarh, Rahul added.

He also held closed-door meetings with the party delegates.

PTI

Alagiri slams DMK for asking more security for Stalin

Madurai: Hitting out at the party for seeking additional security to his younger brother MK Stalin, suspended DMK leader MK Alagiri today said only those who have done something wrong would need more security.

"Only those who have done something wrong need security. My security is my supporters," he said in response to DMK asking Centre to upgrade Stalin's security, especially in the backdrop of sibling rivalry and with the leader turning out to be its star campaigner for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

MK Alagiri. AFP

He further said that no one had approached him for any sort of compromise.

Alagiri said he had been told that the party was mulling issuing him show cause notice (asking why he should not be expelled) and wondered if it was any compromise.

The suspended DMK leader declined to make any comment on DMDK.

His remarks against DMDK founder Vijayakant and a possible alliance between the two parties, had proved to be his undoing, resulting in his suspension from the party.

Alagiri also denied having said that he would make public evidences regarding violations in the DMK party elections on his birthday on 31 January.

On the incidents of burning his effigy in various places, he said "those who burn my effigy are celebrating my birthday in advance".

He said no body had approached him for peace talks. "When they (DMK) have issued me notice, how will they come for talks?", he asked.

PTI

BJP slams Chidambaram for his comments on Modi

New Delhi: BJP today hit back at P Chidambaram for questioning Narendra Modi's knowledge about the economy, saying the Finance Minister thinks he is the "principal repository of all economic wisdom" even when the country's growth story is being turned into a "nightmare".

BJP leader Arun Jaitley also targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the economy had not been managed well even though he was an economist.

P Chidambaram. PTI

Lashing out at Chidambaram, Jaitley said he "believes that he is a principal repository of all economic wisdom. It is a different matter that he along with the other members of the UPA's dream team to manage the economy, have presented to the country not a dream but a nightmare."

The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said, "This statement (of Chidambaram) comes from a keen student of economics who can be credited with pushing India s GDP growth to below 5 pc".

He said observers today do not share Chidambaram's opinion about Modi. "In fact, the revival of the investment cycle is being linked to a change in government where Dr Singh and Mr Chidambaram go out and Mr Modi comes in."

Complimenting Modi for steering the economy of Gujarat to a high growth trajectory, he chided Chidambaram by questioning him on the economic knowledge and understanding possessed by his "de facto Prime Ministerial candidate" Rahul Gandhi.

The BJP leader said political administrators who manage the economy are not known by their academic attributes but by the footprints of performance they leave behind.

In this context, he cited the examples of former Prime Ministers Narasimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayee who find a "special mention" in history for building consensus on economic issues and asserting themselves to overrule their critics.

He said unlike Modi, Chidambaram and Singh did not have the ability to overrule their critics and "caved in even when obsolete suggestions were made by their Party leadership."

Jaitley said Modi has demonstrated clarity and effectiveness in generating and expediting economic activity in Gujarat and "His ability does not require certification of Mr Chidambaram."

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had commented that the amount of economics that Modi knows can be written on the backside of a postal stamp.

PTI

Treat MPs as per VIP protocol: DGCA tells private carriers

New Delhi: In a controversial decision, government has asked private airlines to give special privileges like lounge access and faster security clearance to MPs, sparking a furore with some politicians denouncing it for not being in sync with the times.

According to a reply to a Parliament question in August last year, a 2007 protocol is "to be followed by all concerned, including private airports and airlines".

New VIPs in the air? PTI

It includes reserved lounge facilities, complimentary tea, coffee or water, free access to the terminal building and designation of one officer of airport as Protocol Officer to extend all facilities and courtesies to MPs, as per the reply given then by Minister of State for Civil Aviation KC Venugopal.

Following numerous complaints by MPs that private airlines was not adhering to the protocol, the civil aviation ministry has been reminding the carriers to extend the courtesies.

As criticism mounted over such privileges, the ministry today went into a damage control exercise, saying no fresh directive has been issued to airlines to provide special privileges to MPs.

The protocol provides instructions to be followed by all airlines and airport operators in case of MPs and ministers.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said no "fresh guidelines" have been issued in this regard but hastened to add, "There may have been a circular in 2007...I am not aware what exactly it says".

"You are saying fresh guidelines have been issued. No such guidelines have been issued," he said. "No guidelines have been issued to private airlines
for extending any protocol to ministers and MPs," DGCA chief Prabhat Kumar said, maintaining that it has not given any instruction to private airlines to extend any such facility to MPs.

Air India has been the only airline which has been extending such courtesies to the MPs so far.

Slamming the decision, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said it reflected "a special kind of disconnect with the reality", an apparent reference to demands for austerity from the political class.

Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam said he does not support any such move. "I think it is better to travel like a common man. Moreover, our MPs already get executive class tickets. So, if they want something bigger than this, I feel it is not necessary."

Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel said, "The whole issue of privileges to MPs by Air India or private carriers is blown out of proportion, there is nothing even earlier to suggest that there is preferential treatment."

"Beyond a point, certain courtesies are extended. This is not something to be so much of an issue because every carrier, along with VIPs, also gives a lot treatment to CIPs (commercially important people)," Patel, a former Civil Aviation Minister, said.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, who heads the parliamentary panel that deals with civil aviation matters, said, "the privileges are nothing much which are given to MPs. They are just facilitated.... When the MP goes for check-in, special handling takes place. These privileges (which have
existed for so long) have been normal at both airports as well as railway stations."

Parliament's 'Committee on Violation of Protocol Norms and Contemptuous Behaviour of government officers with members of Lok Sabha', had raised the issue with the Civil Aviation Ministry last year.

The committee is learnt to have said airports and airlines were not adhering to the guidelines on protocol norms and courtesy to be extended to MPs.

PTI

Delhi HC asks Centre for representation on ‘Vande Mataram’

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to consider a representation seeking appropriate directions to treat national song 'Vande Mataram' on par with national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana'.

A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana told this to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Law Ministry while disposing of a petition which sought directions for amendment in the National Honour Act 1971.

Representational image. AFP

Petitioner Gautam R Morarka pleaded before the bench that directions should be given to the Centre in this regard so that proper dignity and respect should be maintained when 'Vande Mataram' is played or sung.

"Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ directing the respondents (MHA and Law Ministry) to issue appropriate order/
direction with respect to the song 'Vande Mataram' for ensuring that due courtesy is being observed when the national song is sung or played on the lines of national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana'," the petitioner said.

The bench asked Morarka to approach the Home and Law ministries again to pursue their pending representation on the issue.

"By judicial direction, we cannot grant you the relief sought in the petition," the bench said.

"The representation, which is pending before the ministry concerned, shall be considered. The petition is disposed of," it said.

PTI

Booster shot for AAP in Mumbai, rebel Congressman joins

By Vishwas Waghmode

Mumbai: The Mumbai unit of the Congress party was dealt a small but significant blow on Wednesday with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) roping in former Mumbai Regional Congress Committee general secretary Ajit Sawant. The Mumbai arm of the AAP, widely believed to be the strongest after the Delhi team, is expected to make a dramatic debut in the Lok Sabha election.

Sawant will join the AAP in Mumbai on Thursday. His entry into the AAP is especially significant as the former Mumbai Congress spokesperson is believed to be partly responsible for the Congress's poor performance in the February 2012 elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. He has also claimed that hundreds of Congressmen will follow him into the Aam Aadmi Party.

Congress in jeopardy. AFP

Sawant rebelled against the party after a candidate he was backing was refused a ticket. He then went on to support several other Congress rebels who contested against official party candidates, critically splitting the Congress vote share in about a dozen seats. He was eventually suspended from the party following his criticism of the ticket distribution system and election strategy of the party.

Despite a pre-poll alliance with NCP, the Congress could win only 52 seats in the civic body out of 227. It had contested the civic elections alone (without a prepoll tie-up) and had won 70 seats in 2007.

The BMC election was a critical one for the Mumbai Congress. Not only is the BMC the country's richest municipality with an annual budget outlay of Rs 28,000 crore this year but it also considered one of the most politically powerful civic bodies where senior politicians have cut their teeth including former Union minister Murli Deora, former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and NCW member Nirmala Samant Prabhavalkar, all former Mumbai mayors.

"Though the Congress party has given the freedom to the country, it has failed in keeping the communal forces out of power, which is posing a danger for the country. Now, the AAP is emerging as the common man's party and will pose a big challenge to the Congress party in the upcoming elections," Sawant told Firstpost about his decision to join AAP.

"AAP is raising issues faced by the common man, which has led me to join the party. It is a good platform to raise and address the common man's issues," explained Sawant, charging that the Shiv Sena-BJP ruling combine and the opposition parties such as congress, NCP and MNS in BMC are hand in glove with each other and are unconcerned about the problems faced by Mumbaikars.

Sawant claimed that hundreds of Congress party workers would join AAP in the coming days. "I know the problems being faced by Congress party workers and will try to address these. And this will result in Congressmen joining AAP in huge numbers," claimed Sawant.

PM faces protest at Waqf conference

New Delhi: A conference attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was disrupted here on Wednesday by a man who said none of the government schemes for the minorities were reaching the beneficiaries.

As soon as the prime minister concluded his speech at the launch of the National Waqf Development Corporation Limited (NAWADCO) in Vigyan Bhavan here, promising more steps to empower minorities, a man, later identified as M. Faheem Baig, stood up and shouted that none of the schemes were reaching the people.

Manmohan Singh. AFP.

"There is no need for a new scheme when government cannot ensure the implementation of the existing welfare schemes," Baig shouted as Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and other dignitaries seated on the stage looked on.

"I have written 150 letters to you but my voice is not being heard," Baig said before being gagged and escorted out of the conference hall.

NAWADCO is a new central public sector enterprise under the minority affairs ministry and will work towards the development of the 4.9 lakh Waqf properties in India, the largest in the world. The revenue generated from the assets would be used to benefit the Muslim community.

The prime minister later asked Minority Affairs Minister K. Rahman Khan, who was also present at the event, to meet Baig and "hear his views and consider his petition"

IANS

Decoding Rahul’s big ‘idea’: In Bihar, it means getting caste equations right

By Manoj Chaurasia

Patna: It is not long ago that Rahul Gandhi denounced as 'complete nonsense' the ordinance of his own government seeking to neutralise the Supreme Court's verdict on convicted lawmakers. His theatrics forced the UPA government to withdraw the ordinance. It cost Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad his Lok Sabha membership and left him ineligible for contesting any election. Against this backdrop, the Congress vice-president's recent discovery that the RJD is a great 'idea' has left many in the political circles utterly confused.

During his recent interview with a television channel he defended his party's efforts to tie up with the RJD, claiming the alliance was with an idea, not a party or any individual. What exactly is the 'idea'?

Rahul Gandhi. PTI

Rahul may be thinking in abstract ways, but political observers here are convinced that the real reason for the Congress love for Lalu's party is grounded more in hardcore political calculations.

According to them, the combination of Congress-RJD and other such like-minded regional parties makes them a formidable alliance in a state where caste has been the deciding factor in any election. Past records reveal that whenever these parties have fought together, the main rival—here, read the BJP— have bitten the dust.

So when Rahul talked about going with an "idea", he indeed had in his mind the clear strategy not to allow any division in secular votes. It is the only way his party could stop Narendra Modi from capturing power in Delhi.

The secular alliance comprising the RJD, the Congress, the LJP and the NCP had won 29 of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2004. The RJD had won 22 seats of the total 26 it contested and the LJP of Ram Vilas Paswan had bagged four seats out of eight whereas the Congress ended up winning three seats out of total four seats it contested.

The result, however, was disastrous for the parties in 2009 Lok Sabha polls. The NDA won 32 seats — Nitish Kumar's JD(U) won 20 seats and the BJP 12 seats. They had decided to go it alone and ended up undercutting each other.

The RJD could win only four seats out of 28 it contested whereas its alliance partner, the LJP drew a blank although it had fielded its candidate son 12 seats. The Congress, on the other hand, put up even a more dismal performance and won only two of the 39 seats it contested alone.

Soon after the results were out, the entire media was quick to attribute the NDA's success to Nitish's agenda of "development" and "social engineering". What they failed to note was that there was a sharp division in secular votes. The Congress had decided to go it alone after being handed a poor deal in the seat-sharing arrangement. The RJD-LJP had spared only three seats for the party.
There were at least 19 seats where the Congress had finished third. Although it won only two seats, it spoiled the chance of the RJD-LJP combine putting up a good show by fielding candidates in all the seats. This is gauged from the fact that on the most of the seats where the NDA candidates emerged victorious, their victory margin remained thinner - as low as 9,000 votes.

For example, in Madhubani, the BJP candidate Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav won by a slender margin of a little over 9,000 votes as the Congress cut into 1,10,000 votes of the RJD candidate – he polled 1,52,000 votes. Similarly, in West Champaran, BJP candidate Dr Sanjay Jaiswal managed to win in a bitter contest involving filmmaker Prakash Jha (LJP) and Congress candidate Sadhu Yadav. The BJP candidate won by a margin of a little over 47,000 votes; the Congress candidate polled 70,000 votes.

Likewise, in Jhanjharpur, the JD(U) won by a margin of 72,000 votes. The Congress secured 86,000 votes here. In Araria, the BJP won by a margin of 22,000 votes. The Congress' tally here was 49,000 votes and in Muzaffarpur the JD(U) won by a margin of 47,000 votes. Here the Congress polled 1,08,000 votes.

Besides pure electoral arithmetic what appears to have prompted the Congress to tie-up with the RJD is the strong sympathy wave in favour of the latter post his conviction and imprisonment in the fodder scam. While most of the 44 accused of the case got bail from the lower court itself, Lalu's bail plea was rejected by the CBI trial court and then the Jharkhand High Court. He finally secured it from the Supreme Court. These developments have created a minor sympathy wave for him. Also, Lalu has his strong support base in the Yadav-Muslim combination which remained by his side even during his bad days.

Many observers feel development as a poll plank has been overhyped in Bihar. It is caste combinations that finally matter. The Congress sees a favourable realignment of powerful caste groups if it allies with the RJD. This probably explains best Rahul's 'idea'.

Reddy dares Centre to table AP-reorganisation Bill in same form

Hyderabad: Raising the pitch of his attack on Centre, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today challenged it to place the AP Reorganisation Bill 2013 in Parliament in the same form it was referred to the state Legislature.

"I challenge them to put the same Bill, which they referred to us, in Parliament. If it is accepted, I will get away from politics," Kiran Kumar challenged.

N Kiran Kumar Reddy. AFP image

In an informal talk with reporters this afternoon, the Chief Minister noted that the Bill in its present form would not even be admitted in Parliament.

He alleged that the Central government "deceived" the President by sending an in-comprehensive Bill to him. "The President doesn't scrutinise the Bill. Its the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Law Ministry that scrutinise the Bill," he said in reply to a question.

Kiran justified his request to the President to give three more weeks time for the state Legislature to discuss the Bill and express its views. "Is it justified to return the Bill when only 86 out of 280 MLAs spoke and expressed their views," he asked.

PTI

CPI-M claims recent CBI chargesheet on Nandigram vindicates its stand

Kolkata: The CPI-M Wednesday claimed that the recent chargesheet filed by the CBI has vindicated its stand that the developments leading to the Nandigram firing, seven years back, were a "conspiracy" against the then Left Front regime.

Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Surjya Kanta Mishra charged West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress of "double standards" as it refused permission to the CBI to prosecute six police officers involved in the firing while demanding interrogation of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee -- the then chief minister.

Representational image. Ibnlive

"The chargesheet is a proof that the accusation that Bhattacharjee had ordered the police firing is baseless," Mishra, leader of opposition in the state assembly, told media persons here.

He said the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation mentions that only eight persons were killed in police firing.

"According to the chargesheet, six others died of injuries sustained from sharp cutting weapons which police do not possess. It was with the miscreants who had assembled at the spot on that day (March 14, 2007)," Mishra said.

Fourteen people died when police tried to enter Midnapore district's Nandigram.

He said the police tried to enter the area to re-establish the rule of law and mend a bridge that was demolished by the agitators at the behest of the Trinamool Congress, the Maoists and other such forces to cut off the area from other parts of the state.

"The gathering was illegal and with ill motive. The standard operating procedure was followed during the firing," he said.

"The chargesheet submitted after so many years vindicates our stand that a conspiracy had been hatched against the Left Front government," Mishra said.

"The campaign after March 14, 2007 was aimed at maligning our government," he said.

Accusing the state government of "double standards", Mishra said the Trinamool government did not give permission to the CBI to prosecute six police officers involved in firing and sought investigation into Bhattacharjee's role into the incident.

"In fact, these officers as also the executive magistrate who ordered the firing now occupy responsible positions in the state government," he added.

IANS

Despite differences, am not quitting AAP: Capt Gopinath

After speaking out against the Aam Aadmi Party's move to reverse the decision on FDI in retail in Delhi, then calling the tendency to label all dissent within the party as akin to the functioning of the Gulag, then going on to blog against the demand for the suspension of policemen after Law Minister Somnath Bharti's midnight raid. And finally, he even demanded that Bharti be sacked pending an enquiry. And yet, AAP member and founder of Air deccan Captain G R Gopinath has chosen not to resign from the party despite his candidly stated opposition to the party's stand on a series of issues.

Capt Gopinath. Agencies

In a fresh blog post, Gopinath says he is not frustrated and is not considering tendering his resignation from membership to the party.

Demanding an exacting standard of rectitude and accountability does not amount to frustration with the party's functioning or a loss of belief in its ideals, he has said.

"Though I've disagreed publicly on many acts and pronouncements of AAP and its leaders, including Kejriwal, I continue in the party as I continue to admire the 'Man Kejriwal' though I continue to disagree with many of the actions or inactions of the party and also the manner in which some in the party have conducted themselves," he writes.

He adds that AAP has put the older parties on watch, giving hope to voters that money power and muscle power need not sway them.

You can read Gopinath's blog here.

 

DCW chief alleges ‘harassment’ by AAP govt

New Delhi: Barkha Singh, chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Wednesday accused the AAP government of "harassing" her after Hindi novelist Maitreyi Pushpa was named the panel's new chief.

Arvind Kejriwal. Agencies.

Barkha Singh said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government took the step after she summoned Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti to explain his controversial campaign against an alleged prostitution racket.

Refusing to step down from the post, she said: "I've still one year and four months left of my tenure and it's a constitutional post. They're doing (this) because I summoned Somnath Bharti. Tomorrow (Thursday), I'm going to meet the Lt. Governor."

Barkha Singh, who lost the Delhi assembly election as a Congress candidate, said there was no need for her to quit even though the Congress government which appointed her has bowed out.

Meanwhile, a Delhi government official said Pushpa's name has been sent to the Lt. Governor so that the DCW is headed by a non-political, eminent personality.

IANS

DGCA bows to high flying MPs, orders special treatment in airports, aircraft

India parliamentarians have allegedly asked for special treatment from airport officials and airlines.

NDTV reports that the MPs want "special privileges like advance notice on flight delays, facilitation till boarding, priority clearances and complementary snacks."

Representational image. Getty Images

The DGCA has allegedly directed private airlines and airports to stick to the protocol.

DGCA has asked private airlines to offer special privileges to MPs including advance notice of flight delays, escorts, priority check-in, security, immigration clearances, lounge access and complimentary refreshments. All airports and airlines in the country have been asked to put in place the protocols, reports IBN-Live.

This comes at a time when the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal have gotten massive public support for trying to abolish the VIP culture.

Right now, it is only Air India that gives VIP treatments to MPs.

No PM can revoke Jammu Kashmir’s special status: Omar

London: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said no Prime Minister can revoke Article 370 of the Constitution granting special status to the state "without calling into question" its accession to India.

Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. PTI

Dismissing a question on whether he was worried at the prospect of BJP's Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister, Omar said, "it does not matter whether he is the Prime Minister or the President or (holds) any other position.

"Constitutionally, he cannot revoke Article 370 without calling into question the accession of J&K to India. Now as Prime Minister of India, if he wants to rewrite accession to India, he is welcome to it. But I do not think any Prime Minister would be as foolhardy as that," he said.

Omar was answering questions in BBC's 'Hard Talk' programme during which he more then held his ground in the face of tough questioning by its well-known anchor Stephen Sackur who focused on the insurgency, role of the armed forces and the State's accession to India.

The Chief Minister was asked about Modi's suggestion for a debate on Article 370 to which he had responded by offering to do that debate with the BJP leader "at any time, any place".

He said Modi had not responded to this himself but "one of his minions gave a statement that he is too busy to discuss Article 370 and, to make it worse, he is far too more important to discuss it with somebody like you (Omar)".

Sackur remarked that he would be "extraordinarily worried" because Modi could be the next Prime Minister if opinion polls were to be believed because the BJP leader favours doing away with J&K's special status. "I am not worried," Omar told him.

PTI

Why the UPA government will keep pursuing AAP’s funding

Some time in November last year, lawyer ML Sharma filed a PIL alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party's funds were procured from dubious sources. The PIL prompted the government at the Centre to direct a probe into its funding. At the time the party was facing these allegations, AAP sources had told Firstpost that there funds were completely clean and the party had valid documents to prove it.

"Thirty percent of our donations have come from Indian citizens living abroad and all the payments have been channelised through the banks, so there is no question of discrepancy and everything is transparent. It's mandatory for the overseas donor to prove their Indian citizenship before making a transaction," Pankaj Gupta, member of the national executive of AAP told Firstpost's Soumik Mukherjee.

Now, almost two months on, the Centre has informed the Delhi High Court that the Aam Aadmi Party is yet to reveal the sources of funding to the government and the court.

"We have asked for certain details from them regarding bank accounts and other information vide our letter dated 4 November, 2013. We had also sent another letter to them. But there is no answer," Additional Solicitor General Rajeeve Mehra, appearing for the Ministry of Home Affairs, told the court.

Firstpost editor Dhiraj Nayyar had noted in a previous article that the probe against AAP was ridiculous, especially because of the law that was being applied to haul them up. The Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) is generally used to monitor and regulate the entry of foreign funds to non-profit institutions in India (including political parties). In general practice it is mostly used to keep a tab on the several NGOs working in the country. Nayyar noted:

"The application of FCRA to Kejriwal's party is particularly bizarre because the Congress and BJP have received funding from multinational corporations like Vedanta (according to research by the prominent NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms). If mindless application of a problematic law is the chosen path, then why aren't the Congress and BJP also being investigated?"

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Reuters.

Though today's development was just one that followed the course of law after a PIL is filed, it is perhaps not too mistaken to say that the Centre will not bury the issue of Aam Aadmi Party's funding just yet. While it is clear that the AAP has not furnished proof of its funding to the Centre, it is not difficult to see a ego battle being fought in the garb of a legal war.

Kejriwal's party's thrust has been anti-corruption and if the Opposition is able to prove that the party is itself not squeaky clean when it comes to funding, it will be a weapon of great use to demolish the AAP. Even if the Congress can't themselves detect irregularities in AAP's funding, it will possibly suffice to suggest in these turbulent times that there must be a reason why the AAP doesn't want to furnish a clear record of its funding.

It will be possibly enough if the Opposition can turn the needle of suspicion to AAP's anti-corruption agenda, given that the party has put itself in enough muck with its mishandling of the Khirki Extension-Somnath Bharti incident.

Given that voter confidence in AAP is already swaying, if the Congress or BJP can raise a credible doubt about its the very foundation of AAP - the anti-corruption agenda - it will be a blow that Kejriwal's party will find hard to defend. Add to that expelled MLA Vinod Binny's theatrics over the Jan Lokpal Bill for Delhi and the opposition might just have a weapon to fell AAP's anti-corruption agenda.

While one can guess, in this war of egos, the AAP is unwilling to cede ground and furnish its funding details to the Congress government, they're better advised to give in and take away the Opposition's chance to bolster their agenda against Kejriwal's party.

Because the Congress will neither withdraw support from the AAP - citing a plethora of reasons like stability in Delhi, intention of 'exposing' AAP - nor will it let AAP live in peace. And the funding issue is one which can be potentially very disruptive for AAP's national discourse.

Chouhan urges PM to convene meeting of CMs on Food Safety Act

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 be kept in abeyance until issues concerning its provisions are resolved and also urged him to convene a meeting of all chief ministers at the earliest.

Chouhan said certain provisions of the Act were causing extreme hardships to very Small Food Business Operators (FBO) across the country and need immediate intervention.

Shivraj Singh Chauhan. AFP image

"Keeping in view the approaching deadline of February 4, for issue of licences and registration of FBOs, the impractical and unimplementable nature of the provisions, and the great turmoil that it has caused, the provisions of the Act need reconsideration and extensive discussion," Chouhan said in a letter to prime minister.

"The fallout of this in each state of the country also needs to be examined in detail to look for reasonable solutions. I request you, therefore, to urgently convene a meeting of all chief minsters to ascertain their views on the subject.

"Till the time the issues are fully resolved, I seek your indulgence in kindly keeping the implementation of the provisions of the Act under abeyance," Chouhan said.

He also highlighted that there are approximately seven lakh FBOs, including street hawkers and roadside vendors, in
Madhya Pradesh and the provisions of the Act affect all of them in the same way.

"This (street hawkers and roadside vendors) segment, specially has been very adversely hit on account of the
stringent provisions of the Act. Unable to cope with the high benchmarks prescribed, which in some cases are impractical, most will be forced to close their businesses," Chouhan added.

PTI

Cong alleges BJP is planning to shut down welfare schemes

New Delhi: Hitting out at BJP over remarks by one of its leaders that the rural job scheme had made people "impotent" and not interested to work, Congress today sought an apology from the Opposition party saying that the comments reflected its mindset of shutting down all welfare measures.

At an AICC briefing today, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala played the video clip of a TV debate during which BJP treasurer Piyush Goyal had attacked the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act saying that all it had done was to make people "impotent" and not interested in working.

Representational image. AFP

"The statement reflects the mindset of the BJP that seeks to shut down all such welfare schemes and deny crores of people access to livelihood.

"(The comments) are an insult to the entire nation. We hope the BJP leaders will apologise for it," Surjewala said.

Meanwhile, defending Goyal at a BJP briefing, party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that the comments by the BJP treasurer had been made in a different context.

"Goyal spoke in the context of economic independence of the people. He said that schemes like MGNREGA had made people dependent and they were not looking at self-employment opportunities to improve their economic condition and become economically independent," said Trivedi.

PTI

Threat of forcible eviction caused Kejriwal to end protest

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal decided to end his protest after he was categorically told that force would be used to evict him and his supporters from the protest site, adjoining Rajpath, and that he would be solely responsible for the consequences.

Highly placed sources told IANS that the government decision to use force, if necessary, to clear the area outside Rail Bhavan, close to the route of the Republic Day parade, was conveyed to Kejriwal Jan 21.

Arvind Kejriwal. AFP imaeg

Kejrwal, his cabinet colleagues and hundreds of Aam Admi Party (AAP) supporters had been sitting in protest for two days demanding the suspension of policemen who had refused to listen to his cabinet colleagues.

With the Jan 26 Republic Day parade just days away and the impending arrival of the chief guest, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the government made up its mind to act Jan 22, a day before the parade's full-dress rehearsal barely 100 metres away.

This decision was conveyed to Kejriwal who, in turn, despatched his close aide and senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

Jung told him of the government's decision and that Kejriwal would be solely responsible for any violence that might erupt and its consequences in the shape of injuries to his people.

Yadav sought a face-saver in the shape of the sacking of the two "errant" policemen, the sources said, but Jung refused.

As a compromise, Yadav then asked that they be sent on leave. To which, Jung agreed, "as one of the officers was going on leave anyway", the sources added.

The announcement finally came late Tuesday evening around 7.45 p.m. A message from Jung was conveyed to Kejriwal that he was issuing orders for the two police officers to go on leave. Kejriwal announced that he was calling off the protest following the "partial victory".

Jung's letter had asked Kejriwal to withdraw his protest "in view of the sacrosanct occasion of the Republic Day and the perceived security situation".

IANS