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APJ Abdul Kalam’s nephew quits BJP over memorial row

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APJ Sheikh Salim

New Delhi: APJ Abdul Kalam’s grand nephew APJ Sheikh Salim on Monday quit BJP as he was reportedly upset with the government for not making the former president’s Delhi bungalow a memorial.

The Central government had recently allotted the bungalow at 10 Rajaji Marg to Union Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma after Kalam’s family members vacated it on October 18.

Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had said that the allocation was made as per “rules and procedures” of the government.

“All our ministers have been allocated government accommodation one after another. Only Mahesh Sharma could not be allocated,” he said.

Ex-president Abdul Kalam died due to a cardio attack on July 27, 2015 at the age of 84.

Salim had joined the BJP in 2012 in New Delhi.

“Our family and the Indian public requested the government of India to convert the house in Delhi where Dr Kalam lived to a National Knowledge Centre, but it rejected the request,” Salim said in his resignation letter to the state BJP chief.

“The ruling party which I took part in serving the public failed to fulfill the overall demand of the people of India. This act of the BJP government is disheartening to the public, and hence I am has forced to resign from the leadership position and basic membership of BJP,” CNN-IBN quoted him as saying in the letter.

(Agencies)

BJP and JD(S) seek Lokayukta’s removal

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Bhaskar-Rao

Bengaluru: Taking the first step for the removal of Justice Y Bhaskar Rao from the post of the Karnataka Lokayukta, the Opposition BJP and JD(S) have submitted separate petitions to State Legislative Speaker KagoduThimmappa for initiating the process of conducting an inquiry into alleged charges of corruption in the office of Lokayukta on Tuesday.

The two opposition parties have also submitted similar petitions to State Legislative Council Chairman DH Shankaramurthy.
A total 46 BJP members and 37 JD(S) members in the Assembly have signed the petition.

After receiving the petition, the Speaker said he would write to the Chief Justice of Karnataka and request for constituting a committee of retired judges to probe into alleged charges of corruption in the office of the Lokayukta.

Lokayukta Justice Bhaskar Rao’s son Ashwin is at the centre of a controversy for allegedly being a key player in the racket in collusion with some officials of the body.

For the removal of the Lokayuka, one third of the total members of either House or both Houses of the Legislature must sign a notice of a motion for the removal on the ground of proved mis-behaviour or incapacity.

The Speaker said he would refer the petition to the Chief Justice of the High Court for investigation in two or three days.

The State amended the Karnataka Lokayukta Act during last session of the state legislature in July last and simplified the removal procedure of the anti-graft ombudsman.

Once the Speaker or the Chairman (or both) refer the petition to the Chief Justice, the Lokayukta would be precluded from discharging duties during the pendency of the motion.

Justice Bhaskar Rao has been continuously on leave since July and the institution of the Lokayukta has become virtually non-functional.

The State Government can appoint an Advocate to conduct the case.

Terming the entire issue as a “legally complicated matter,” Thimmappa said: “I want to have an unanimous opinion on this.”

“The three members, consisting two members appointed by Chief Justice and one member appointed by us will inquire and come out with a finding which will be placed before the Legislature and a final decision will be taken,” the Speaker explained.

(Agencies)

Those with vested interests not learning from Bihar debacle: Shatrughan Sinha

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shatrughan-sinha

Patna: Launching a frontal attack on the party leadership, BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha today said those with “vested interests” are refusing to learn lessons from the Bihar debacle and asserted that no one has the guts or DNA to tick him off, an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Siding with veterans’ demand for fixing accountability for the loss, Sinha said the “camouflage” of collective responsibility is unacceptable and responsibility must be fixed on individuals for corrective actions.

The Lok Sabha MP ridiculed any move to take action against him for his ceaseless criticism of the party, saying it is just bravado of the ill-advised to talk of action.

“Some vested interests are still at it… refusing to learn any lessons, still working on creating misunderstandings through misinformation. R K Singh, former Home Secretary and a proud Bihari Sher (a tough nut to crack) is right. No one has the guts (or DNA) to give us a ‘fatkaar’,” he tweeted.

His DNA barb is an apparent reference to Modi’s DNA dig at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who had made it a major campaign issue in the Bihar assembly election.

“Those responsible for the debacle must answer what, why, where and how it all happened. They must satisfy the real stalwarts/veterans of BJP. It’s just bravado of the ill-advised to talk of action. The time is for reaction, understanding, apology and satisfaction of party godfathers,” he said.

Sinha has been critical of BJP since Bihar poll campaign took off but had been so far guarded in his attack on the top brass, bringing instead the state leadership in his line of fire.

His sharp attack indicates that the film actor-turned-politician has decided to escalate his attack even as he has been effusive in his praise of Kumar, who led the grand alliance of JD(U)-RJD-Congress to a massive victory.

(PTI)

Modi is embarrassing India: Congress

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Anand Sharma

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is embarrassing India by repeatedly saying in foreign capitals that the country enjoyed no credibility till he came to power, the Congress said on Friday.

“We completely reject his claim that he has restored India’s credibility,” Congress leader Anand Sharma told a news conference here, on the second day of Modi’s visit to Britain.

He said Modi’s claim implied that India had no credibility earlier and the world did not respect India before Modi took power in May 2014.

“By repeating this thing over and over again in capitals that he visits, he is embarrassing the country.

“India had respect, India had credibility and India was one of the most favoured destinations for FDI because of government policies” even earlier, Sharma said.

The Congress leader alleged that there was an atmosphere of fear in India today, and the whole blame for this lay on the prime minister.

“The PM presides over a government which is arbitrary in functioning. The PM is authoritarian when it comes to the conduct of the affairs of the state.

“It is his government which has sullied India’s image as a favoured destination because of forces which have been unleashed and which have been given protection and endorsement by Modi,” Sharma said.

(Agencies)

Tipu controversy: BJP demands Siddaramaiah’s ouster, takes swipe at Sonia

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siddaramaiah

New Delhi: BJP today demanded the Karnataka chief minister’s resignation following death of two persons in violence over Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary celebrations, and took a swipe at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asking if she will now lead a march and seek Siddaramaiah’s ouster.

BJP said Siddaramaiah was unable to handle the law and order situation, and sought a probe into the death threats made against playwright Girish Karnad and its MP Prathap Simha. It also expressed concern that no arrest has been made in the murder of rationalist M M Kalburgi.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah must resign. Two persons have died and he has not been able to handle the law and order situation. Will Sonia Gandhi go to Bengaluru and march against this? Will she demand Siddaramaiah’s resignation?” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters.

Gandhi had on November 3 taken to the streets and led a march of its top leaders to Rashtrapati Bhavan to protest against the climate of growing intolerance in the country and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “endorsing” incidents of hate.

Referring to the alleged death threats received by Jnanpith awardee Karnad and BJP MP Simha on social media, the party sought a probe into it.

Karnad, who came under severe attack for his remarks that Bengaluru international airport should have been named after Tipu Sultan rather than the city’s founder, Kempe Gowda, received a threat on Twitter that he would meet with the same fate as rationalist M M Kalburgi, who was gunned down recently by two men at his residence in Dharwad in north Karnataka.

Karnad, though, later apologised, saying he did not want to hurt people’s feelings.

Meanwhile, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu pooh-poohed suggestions that the Bengaluru airport should have been named after 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan and not city’s founder Kempe Gowda.

“Decision has been made to name Bangalore airport after him. Public has also welcomed this decision. Now taking up again the same issue and suggesting different names do not have any meaning. There is no point in discussing now after the airport has been named after a great person who was instrumental creating Bangalore city.

“Secondly, the government (Karnataka) before taking any steps should keep in mind the public sentiment. Thirdly, no body should add fuel to the fire,” Naidu told reporters.

(PTI)

L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi raise banner of revolt against Modi

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L K Advani Murli Manohar Joshi

New Delhi: Two days after the BJP was routed in Bihar, the party’s old guard including L.K. Advani on Tuesday took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, demanding “a thorough review” of the debacle but said it can’t be done by those who were responsible.

In a virtual challenge to Modi’s leadership who became the prime minister in May 2014, former party presidents Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, former union minister Yashwant Sinha and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar said the Bihar defeat showed that the BJP had learnt nothing from its crushing defeat by the AAP in Delhi in February.

“To say that everyone is responsible for the defeat in Bihar is to ensure that no one is held responsible,” said the brief hard-hitting statement signed by Sinha on behalf of the four leaders.

“It shows that those who would have appropriated credit if the party had won are bent on shrugging off responsibility for the disastrous showing in Bihar,” it said, in a clear reference to Modi and Shah who were the BJP’s faces vis-a-vis the Grand Alliance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The statement followed a meeting of the leaders at Advani’s residence and then at Joshi’s where former central minister Arun Shourie, who has blamed Modi, Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for the Bihar defeat, was also present along with former BJP ideologue K.N. Govindacharya.

“The result of the Bihar election shows that no lesson was learnt from the fiasco in Delhi,” the statement said.

Advani and the others said that a review of the Bihar rout — where the Bharatiya Janata Party won just 53 of the 243 assembly seats — “must not be done by the very persons who have managed and who have been responsible for the campaigning in Bihar”.

In an obvious reference to Modi and his confidant Shah, it said “a thorough review must be done of the reasons for the defeat as well as the way the party is being forced to kowtow to a handful and how its consensual character has been destroyed”.

The statement said the principal reason for the party’s defeat in Bihar “is how the party has been emasculated in the last year”.

The statement came hours after Home Minister Rajnath Singh — a la Jaitley on Monday — said that Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat were not to blame for the disaster in Bihar where the JD-U, RJD and Congress won a whopping 178 seats.

“The prime minister can’t be blamed for the defeat in Bihar,” Rajnath Singh said. “It is the BJP’s and NDA’s electoral loss, not the PM’s as a leader.”

Jaitley had expressed similar views a day earlier, adding that there was no question of removing Shah as the BJP president because he had led the party to victories in other states after the Lok Sabha battle.

But voices of discontent have been steadily mounting in the BJP since the Bihar results came out on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Bhola Singh became the fifth BJP MP to blame Modi for the defeat.

The Begusarai MP said the rampant use of “unparliamentary language” by Modi and other party leaders during the election campaign harmed the BJP, leading to its defeat.

“There was no logic to raise issues such as beef and that firecrackers would be burst in Pakistan if the BJP loses,” he said. “All these resulted in our defeat.”

The other four MPs who have found fault with Modi and Shah, directly or indicrectly, for the Bihar rout are Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Saheb), Hukum Deo Narain Yadav (Madhubani), R.K. Singh (Ara) and Ashwani Kumar Choubey (Buxar).

Advani, credited with building the BJP since it was left with just two Lok Sabha seats in 1984, has been mostly sidelined since Modi took charge of the party’s campaign committee and, later, the government.

But those affected by Modi’s style of functioning continue to look upon him as their mentor.

There was no formal reaction from the party to the old guard, who enjoyed senior posts before Modi took the national stage.

But BJP spokesman Nalin Kohli told CNN-IBN that a review of the Bihar result was already on and the party would respond to Advani and others if needed.

(IANS)

BJP concedes defeat in Bihar battle

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(AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

(AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday conceded defeat in the Bihar elections.

“BJP lost only because of alliance arithmetic,” union minister Prakash Javadekar told the media.

BJP vice president Prabhat Jha added: “We failed to understand people’s mind. We will have to change our election strategy.”

(IANS)

Grand Alliance heads to victory in late surge

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Mahagathbandhan

Patna: The Grand Alliance on Sunday celebrated all across Bihar as its candidates forged ahead in more than half of the 243 seats, stunning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Two-and-a-half hours into the vote count, trends from counting centres showed the JD-U camp was ahead in 135 seats – 13 more than the 122 needed to secure a majority in the assembly – while the BJP alliance was on the front in 92 seats.

Smaller parties, including the BSP and MIM, were on the winning track in nine constituencies.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leaders claimed victory and said the JD-U and its two allies – the RJD and Congress – were confident of forming the government.

JD-U leader Sharad Yadav said the Grand Alliance would win about 150 seats. “It was a very tough fight, it was a straight fight.”

JD-U’s Pavan Verma added: “The Grand Alliance has moved towards victory. It is a defeat for (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (BJP president) Amit Shah. We will form a government with a clear majority.”

It was one of the most bitterly contested assembly election in recent times, with Modi personally taking charge of the BJP combine’s campaign, pitting himself against Chief Minister and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Lalu Prasad.

When the final results are declared, it would be the BJP’s second straight defeat in assembly elections since it was routed by the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi in February.

Early celebrations in the BJP office in New Delhi and Patna gave way to gloom as it became clear that the initial leads its candidates took proved to be a mirage, with the Grand Alliance members clawing back in the vote count.

“I congratulate the people of Bihar for voting for development. The credit goes to Modi’s and (BJP president) Amit Shah’s leadership,” BJP spokesman Kailash Vijayvargiya told the media earlier.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad too said earlier: “We will win with very conclusive majority. People of Bihar need change.”

BJP leaders ordered a huge quantity of sweets, saying they were sure of a victory. In no time, the atmosphere became sombre in the BJP office here.

BJP candidates were leading in 74 seats, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) in four, the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Ramvilas Paswan in nine and the Rashtriya Lok Sama Party (RLSP) in five seats each.

In the Grand Alliance, the JD-U was ahead in 64 seats, the RJD in 55 and the Congress in 12 seats. The RJD and the JD-U fielded 101 candidates each and the Congress 41.

The BJP contested 160 seats and its allies the LJP 40, the RLSP 23 and the HAM 20 seats.

The bitterly contested five-phase electoral battle began on October 12 and ended on November 5.

(IANS)

Bihar battle ends, exit polls split on outcome

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bihar-votes

New Delhi: Bihar’s bitterly-contested staggered elections ended on Thursday evening, with exit polls sharply split on who would get to rule the state: the BJP-led alliance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Grand Alliance.

While three of the nine surveys at the end of five rounds of polling predicted a clear win for the Bharatiya Janata Party and another gave an upper hand to it, five exit polls forecast a narrow or clear majority in the 243-member house to the Grand Alliance.

Despite the exit poll suspense, leaders of both the BJP and the Grand Alliance — the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) of Nitish Kumar and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Lalu Prasad — claimed they were sure of victory.

“We are hopeful of getting a clear majority,” said BJP spokesman Nalin Kohli. “Although the (exit polls) ranges are close, I won’t arrive at any hasty assessment,” he said, indicating cautious optimism in the BJP.

Former chief minister Lalu Prasad, however, insisted that the Grand Alliance, which also includes the Congress, was poised to win 190 seats.

“The entire backward community of Bihar has voted for us,” he told the media in Patna. “We salute them for this.”

None of the exit polls, however, gave either alliance such a huge victory as claimed by Lalu Prasad.

While Today’s Chanakya gave 155 of the 243 seats to the BJP and its three allies, NewsX-CNX said the JD-U and its allies would get 135 seats. It forecast a mere 83 seats to the JD-U, the RJD and the Congress.

In contrast, NewsX said the BJP and its allies — the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) — would win only 95 seats.

Other exit polls predicted a close outcome.

Any party or combine would need 122 seats to secure a wafer thin majority in the 243-member assembly. The millions of votes polled in the five rounds of polling from October 12 — about 60 percent of the 66.8 million electorate voted — will be counted on Sunday.

An India Today-Cicero exit poll predicted a hung assembly, with the BJP-led alliance winning 120 seats to 117 by the Grand Alliance. It gave the BJP alliance 113-127 seats and the Grand Alliance 111-123 seats. Four to eight seats could go to other parties.

A Dainik Jagran exit poll said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would get a majority with 130 seats as compared to 97 for the Grand Alliance.

The Times Now-CVoter survey gave 122 seats to the Grand Alliance and 111 to the NDA.

The ABP News gave the BJP and its allies 130 seats compared to 108 to the JD-U-RJD-Congress alliance.

News Nation also gave the JD-U and its allies an edge, with 120-124 seats, while the BJP and its allies could get 115-119 seats.

India TV-C Voter also predicted 111 seats to the BJP combine and 122 to the Grand Alliance.

Even before the exit polls were telecast, JD-U spokesman K.C. Tyagi told IANS in Patna that the Grand Alliance was confident of winning a “stupendous mandate”.

Neither Modi or BJP president Amit Shah — who micro-managed the Bihar election — nor Nitish Kumar spoke to the media.

Earlier on Thursday, nearly 60 percent of the 1.55 crore electorate turned out to vote in the last of the 57 constituencies spread across seven districts: Kishangaj, Purnea, Araria, Katihar, Saharasa, Madhepura and Supaul.

Despite widespread apprehensions, the staggered election passed off peacefully, even in areas considered to be strongholds of Maoists who had called for an election boycott.

The voter enthusiasm was evident on Thursday too, with tens of thousands queuing up at polling booths even before they opened at 7 a.m. A total of 827 candidates were in the fray.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) contested from six constituencies, making its foray into Bihar.

Earlier on Thursday, the stock market dipped over a possible lack of clear mandate in Bihar.

The Bihar election is a big test for the BJP, whose winning streak since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was halted by the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi in February this year.

(IANS)

Govt says hate speech must be punished, supports prosecution of Subramanian Swamy

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subramanian swamy

New Delhi: The Centre has sought in the Supreme Court the dismissal of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s plea challenging the constitutional validity of penal provisions on speeches and writings that could cause enmity and hatred among communities.

“That the challenge of the constitutionality of section 153A of the IPC on the ground that it violates the guarantee of the freedom of speech and expression must be rejected because the section seeks to punish only (a) such acts which have the tendency to promote enmity or hatred between different classes (b) such as which are prejudicial to the maintenance of the harmony between different classes and which have tendency to disturb public tranquillity.

“These acts are clearly calculated to disturb public order and show the limitation imposed by section 153A are in the interest of public order. Article 19(2) would, therefore, save section 153A as being within the scope of permissible legislative restriction on the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(a),” said the affidavit filed by an Under Secretary in the Home Ministry.

The affidavit has also referred to a book written by the BJP leader.

“The petitioner has written a book named Terrorism in India where he has made hate speeches against the community of India. The book-its theme, its language, innuendos, similes it employs and the moral of its story, if any–in order to ascertain whether the offending passages read in the context of the book as a whole fall within the mischief of section 153A. “The book (is) to be considered in all its aspect as it contains matter which “promotes feelings of enmity and hatred between Hindus and Muslims in India.” Therefore, the petitioner has violated the sections of IPC,” the MHA said in its affidavit.

Swamy, who is facing a court case in Karimganj in Assam for allegedly delivering an inflammatory address at Kaziranga University, sought relief from the apex court in the case. He also challenged the constitutional validity of Section 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code.

Earlier, on May 21, a judge of the apex court had recused from hearing his plea challenging the validity of some penal provisions relating to “hate speech”.

The apex court was hearing Swamy’s plea against the order of an Assam trial court issuing an NBW against him for failing to appear before it on March 19 in a case of alleged hate speech. The NBW was issued on June 1 by a court in Karimganj on a complaint accusing him of allegedly delivering an inflammatory address on March 15 at Kaziranga University. The Karimganj court had ordered that the arrest warrant be complied with on or before June 30. Proceedings in the case have been stayed in the Assam court.

(PTI)

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