New Delhi, May 13 (DNS)- The Indian parliament Sunday celebrated 60 years of its existence with leaders, mainly from the ruling Congress, calling for an end to frequent disruptions and the need for parliamentarians to introspect over their behaviour.
Both houses of parliament held day-long special sittings with party leaders recalling India's freedom struggle and the nation becoming the largest democracy in the world. But there were words of self-criticism as well.
Members of both houses met together in the central hall in the evening when President Pratibha Patil presented mementoes to 92-year-old Rishang Keshing, a Rajya Sabha member from Manipur, who was a member of the the first Lok Sabha.
Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar were among those who attended the meeting. During the debates in the two houses, speakers from both sides of the political divide stressed that the supremacy of the Indian parliament must be preserved as Manmohan Singh flagged concerns in his speech over "the routine of disruptions" and members' "unwillingness" to discuss key issues in the forum of parliament.
"The daily routine of disruptions, adjournments and shouting in the house are leading many to question the efficacy of this institution," Manmohan Singh said, addressing the Lok Sabha.
He urged MPs to think over their conduct "as we look ahead, this occasion should also become the moment for some candid and serious introspection". "The manner in which we have conducted ... Read Full Story
New Delhi, May 10 (DNS)- In a bid to evolve consensus on the Lokpal Bill before it is brought to Rajya Sabha, government on Thursday reached out to the Opposition and other parties to thrash out differences and ensure smooth passage of the proposed legislation.
Union Ministers Kapil Sibal, Salman Kurshid, Pawan Kumar Bansal and V. Narayansamy met Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley in Parliament House to discuss the Lokpal Bill.
BJP is adamant on two issues, namely, the process of appointment and removal of the Lokpal should be made more democratic and the CBI should be kept out of government control.
Sources said government is coming around to the view that the State Lokayukta would kept out of the Lokpal Bill and a model law be passed by Parliament to enable states to create their own Lokayukta.
Opposition ruled states as well as West Bengal, where ally TMC is in power, are against the Lokayukta clause in the Bill.
These Union Ministers are also likely to meet CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and leaders from other parties to discuss their views.
Other than the issues of appointment and removal of the ombudsman and keeping CBI out of government control, the Left wants foreign-funded NGOs to be brought under the Lokpal.
“We would like the Bill to come to Rajya Sabha only after there is a consensus. If the Bill is brought and then consensus is sought in the House, it would lead to certain problems,” Law Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters.
On Anna Hazare’s demand for appointing ... Read Full Story
NEW DELHI, May 10 (DNS) The Air India management on Thursday moved the Supreme Court to order the airline's striking pilots back to work, three days after the latter had gone on strike.
Earlier, in morning the airline has decided to stop booking for all long-haul international flights to North America, Europe and UK till May 15.
The management is now moving contempt proceedings against the members of Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) who continued to stay away from work despite a clear Delhi high court verdict calling it illegal on Wednesday.
It is also examining if the flying licences of the pilots can be suspended - either temporarily or permanently -- by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for "highhanded behaviour and acting against public interest".
A senior AI official said: "We are moving civil contempt against members of the now derecognized IPG in the high court. We are also filing criminal contempt against the striking pilots in the Supreme Court for trying to obstruct implementation of an earlier SC order under which pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines were to be also sent for training on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner."
The IPG had made it clear on Wednesday night that the pilots would not return to work unless the management was willing to discuss their grievances. However, the aviation ministry has made it clear that they would first need to return to work before any dialogue could begin. "Dialogue and disruption can't happen together. Pilots must follow the court order," minister Ajit ... Read Full Story
New Delhi, April 26 (DNS)- India continues to pursue with France the issue of the country banning turban in schools, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said today.
Replying to a written question given by Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD) in the Lok Sabha, he said: “ Our embassy in Paris is in regular touch with the French Foreign Ministry and the Interior Ministry.’’ He said it had been clarified to France that New Delhi’s intention was to seek a practical solution to the problem that involved the sensitivity of a minority community in India.
Krishna said the government was aware that the French law contained a provision prohibiting “symbols and clothes which involve ostentatious display of religion’’ and as a result turban was not allowed to be worn in public schools.
The issue had been raised with the French Government regularly, including at the highest level by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in September 2008. Krishna said he, too, had raised the issue with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe in October last ... Read Full Story
Kolkata, Apr 19 (Agencies)- Time magazine has listed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in its list for 2012, sharing space with the likes of US President Barack Obama and billionaire investor Warren Buffet.
The magazine has described the people in the list as "who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world".
The list is topped by American basketball player Jeremy Shu-How Lin who plays for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
"Mamata Banerjee rose to the fore last year when she and a movement she built from the grassroots wrested control of her home state of West Bengal, ending three and a half decades of sclerotic communist rule.
"Banerjee, 57, spent years struggling on the margins, her Trinamool Congress Party a feisty rabble compared with the leviathan of West Bengal's communists," said the magazine about the leader.
Describing her achievements, the magazine goes on say: "On the streets, she out-Marxed the Marxists. And as chief minister of her home state, she has emerged as a populist woman of action - strident and divisive but poised to play an even greater role in the world's largest democracy."
The other Indian to feature in the list is Anjali Gopalan - the founder and executive director of The Naz Foundation (India) Trust, an NGO dedicated to the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in ... Read Full Story
New Delhi, April 16 (DNS)- Reaching out to the states complaining over NCTC, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday favoured joint and coordinated efforts to deal with challenges of terrorism whatever its origin, whether internal or external.
"There is no question that the burden of the fight against terrorism falls largely on the states' machinery. The Centre is ready to work with the states to put in place strong and effective institutional mechanisms to tackle this problem," he said.
The Prime Minister, who inaugurated the annual conference of Chief Ministers on internal security, did not dwell on the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre, saying it will be discussed on May 5 in a separate meeting as suggested by some chief ministers.
Non-Congress chief ministers as also UPA ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee have raised objections to the provisions in the NCTC, contending that it will upset the federal structure and encroach on the powers of the states.
The Prime Minister warned that threats from terrorism, left wing extremism, religious fundamentalism and ethnic violence persist in the country. "These challenges demand constant vigilance on our part. They need to be tackled firmly but with sensitivity. The forces behind them must not only be contained but should also be effectively rolled back," he said.
"Like other internal security matters, we need joint and coordinated efforts to deal with the challenge of terrorism, whatever be its origin, whether internal or external, and ... Read Full Story
New Delhi, March 29 (DNS)- In possible signs of thaw, defence minister AK Antony today appeared to be ruling out any action against Army chief General VK Singh but vowed to take the "strongest action" under laws against those responsible for the leak of his letter to the Prime Minister.
He disclosed that the Intelligence Bureau has been asked to go into the leak of the letter in which the Army chief had said that the country's security might be at stake and said the government will get to the root of it and find out the persons behind the "anti-national" act.
"All the three service chiefs enjoy the confidence of the government. They are working...otherwise, how can they continue," he told reporters when he was asked whether Gen Singh still enjoyed the government's pleasure and confidence.
At a press conference at the DefExpo, he was also asked whether the government would continue to "grin and bear" Gen Singh till retirement in May or ask him to go on leave following a spate of controversies surrounding him.
The minister's remarks on the confidence in the service chiefs came moments after a statement issued by Gen Singh from Jammu that the leak of his letter should be treated as "high treason" and its source should be dealt with "ruthlessly".
Maintaining that no patriotic Indian would indulge in sensitive communication because it would only help the enemies, Antony said the report will be available at the earliest.
"I assure you that we will not leave it there. We will make every possible attempt to find ... Read Full Story
Mumbai, March 15 (DNS)- Pornstar Sunny Leone landed at the Mumbai airport yesterday and was guided by her Jism 2 co-producer, Dino Morea.
Sunny Leone was spotted at the Mumbai airport as she had come from US to start work on her forthcoming film Jism 2.
Though a star in her own right, Sunny Leone rose to fame in India when she made an entry in the popular reality show Bigg Boss 5. Mahesh Bhatt had approached Sunny Leone to star in Jism 2 while she was in the Bigg Boss 5 house.
Pooja Bhatt along with Dino Morea will produce the film. Jism 2 is already making waves, thanks to the name of 'porn star' Sunny accompanied by a sensual poster of the ... Read Full Story
NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW, March 06 (DNS)- Rarely have assembly elections generated the kind of edge-of-the-seat excitement as these polls have. From the corridors of power in Delhi to the stock market in Mumbai, everyone was anxiously waiting for Tuesday's verdict. What will it mean for the central government and for Rahul Gandhi? Will it lead to increased political stability or leave the UPA government crippled?
The results of five assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa will start trickling in within hours of you reading this report. The attention, however, will be riveted on UP. Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party is seen by exit polls to be making an emphatic comeback there. One poll on Monday gave SP as many as 250 seats - well above the majority mark of 203 seats.
But even if SP were to get 170-175 seats, it's virtually impossible to prevent it from assuming office. Help will come to SP not just from the smaller outfits and independents, but from Congress, too, which will be hard pressed to not back Mulayam Singh's claim. If Congress doesn't support SP, it could generate high restiveness among its MLAs.
Possibly sensing this, Congress decided to keep its options open on allies and instructed its ministers to not rule out any party as a potential ally. The decision in favour of post-poll flexibility was reached at a special meeting at 3pm on Monday, just 17 hours before the D-day which would end the suspense in UP.
The Congress meeting on post-poll tie-ups on the eve of electon ... Read Full Story
Ayodhya, February 9 (Agencies) The Ram temple was clearly not on the agenda of those who voted in this Hindu pilgrim town in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections. Ordinary men and women showed much more interest in development issues than the temple, which has ceased to be a talking point even among the saffron-clad sadhus here.
For many, the makeshift temple hurriedly built after the razing of the Babri mosque Dec 6, 1992 is enough — for now.
“A temple is very much in place. I am sure one day we will also have a grand structure. What we need is better roads, cleaner streets, brighter lighting and improved civic amenities in this town,” said 30-year-old Vishambhar Das, a Hindu holy man who was barely a teenager when the 16th century Babri mosque was pulled down by Hindu mobs.
“Except for lip service, the people of Ayodhya have not got anything concrete all these years. The only thing visible is the wealth that successive leaders have amassed in the name of Ayodhya,” he said.
Das spoke that after stepping out of a crowded polling centre behind Ayodhya’s famous Hanuman Garhi temple.
“That is the reason I chose to vote for the candidate who was least corrupt,” he added, while refusing to divulge which party he considered the lesser evil.
Ayodhya, about 700 km east of New Delhi, was one of the 55 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where polling took place Wednesday. After six more rounds of balloting, the votes will be counted March 6.
Seconding Das, a priest, Mukesh ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, February 9 (DNS)- Claiming that it will get absolute majority on its own, Samajwadi Party today said it will not ally with any political party in forming the next Uttar Pradesh government.
“We are not going to meet anyone. We will not form any coalition government with any other political party…We will form our own government, as we are getting an absolute majority,” SP general secretary Naresh Agrawal said here.
The party’s statement of not forging any alliance comes in the wake of Congress’ announcement that it will not ally with any party in forming the next government in Uttar Pradesh.
The Samajwadi leader accused the Congress of trying to wrest control in the state by imposing President’s Rule by one way or the other.
“Congress party is conspiring to rule by proxy by imposing President’s Rule,” Agrawal alleged, adding that that the Congress can never form a government on its own there. When asked about the high voter turnout in the first phase of polling, Agrawal said it would work in favour of the Samajwadi Party.
“Increase in voting means a revolt against the present government…It certainly goes in our favour…We will form the next government and are heading towards it,” he claimed.
When asked on how many seats the party would bag in the polls, the SP leader said he was not a fortune-teller, but claimed that the party will “certainly getting an absolute majority”.
The SP leader also cleared the air about who will be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, February 7 (Agencies)- Campaigning ended on Monday evening for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh in which 55 Assembly seats, spread over 10 district will go to polls on Wednesday.
The first phase of polling will be held in 10 districts including Sitapur, Barab-anki, Bahraich, Gonda, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shravasti, Balram-pur, Siddhartanagar and Basti. On Monday, all parties made a last-minute effort to win over voters and hectic campaigning was seen across the state.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, after addressing a press conference in Varanasi, addressed meetings in Ghazipur Azam-garh and Jaunpur while his sister Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra continued her campaign in Rae Bareli and Amethi.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh addressed meetings in Bahraich and Congress MP Raj Babbar addressed a series of meetings in Faizabad.
BSP president and UP chief minister Mayawati held rallies in Kushinagar and Gorakhpur while BJP president Nitin Gadkari addressed poll meetings in Ballia and Ghazipur. Ms Uma Bharti addressed meetings in Siddharta-nagar and Faizabad and deputy chief minister of Bihar Sushil Modi addressed meetings in Maharajganj.
Mulayam Singh Yadav addressed meetings in Mau and Azamgarh while son, Akhilesh Yadav addressed meetings in Faizabad, Bahraich and Sitapur.
In the first phase of elections, a total of 867 candidates, including 65 women, are in fray. A total of 109 candidates in this phase have more than one criminal case pending against them. The SP tops the list with 28 ... Read Full Story
Allahabad, February 7 (DNS)- Former Indian cricket skipper Mohd Azharuddin today asked the people to vote for Congress in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and said that for him the party's defeat would be as ignominious as getting out for a duck.
"During my cricketing career, I never loathed anything more than getting out for a duck. Now, I am in politics and I have the same loathing for my party's defeat", Azharuddin, who is also a Congress MP from Moradabad, said at an election meeting here.
"I urge the people of this historic city of Allahabad to vote for my party and help me avoid getting out for a duck in my new role", the stylish batsman, who had made his sensational Test debut in the 1980s with three consecutive centuries, said.
He said a lot of money is being given by the Centre for the development of the state but an "inefficient" government in the state is wasting all ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, February 7 (DNS)The Election Commission landed itself in middle of controversy just a day ahead of first phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh. The Opposition parties trained gun on Election Commission and Congress party over transfer of IAS official, who stopped cavalcade of Robert Vadra in Amethi on the final day of electioneering on Monday.
The Election Commission transferred the IAS Pawan Sen to Goa soon after he stopped the car of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law when he took out a bike rally in support of Congress. The poll official Sen stopped Vadra's cavalcade as it was exceeding the permissible numbers of vehicles.
Lashing out at Election Commission and Congress, the Opposition BJP said that it shows dictatorship of Congress Party and Central government.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party General Secretary Azam Khan said that transfer of an IAS officer will set a wrong precedent. He further said that there was also no justification given over Sen's transfer.
The Opposition Parties also accused Gandhis to influence the constitutional body like Election Commission. However, Election Commission on Tuesday came out with a clarification that transfers are routine and on hold till elections over.
The Election Commission has denied allegations that a poll observer was tranferred on Monday for ordering the stopping of a motorcycle rally of Congress campaigner and Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra on the charge of violating the model code of conduct.
The Election Commission in a late night ... Read Full Story
SANT KABIRNAGAR(UP), February 4 (DNS) Putting an end to the speculations of a post-poll alliance with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said his party will have "no truck" with any party.
"The chief minister in Uttar Pradesh is going to be from the Congress (after the Assembly polls).... we are not going to have truck with any other party," Rahul said at an election meeting in Mehdawal area here.
"We will have no alliance with any other party after the elections ... we will have an alliance with the people and your voice will reach Lucknow and your money would reach to you," Rahul said, exuding confidence of returning to power after a long gap of almost 22 years.
"You believed in my grandmother ... you believed in my father. Now believe me," the Congress general secretary said adding that Congress is going to form the government in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul said that a Congress government was also essential for the bright future of Uttar Pradesh as it works not for any particular caste or religion but for the whole society. Charging the political opponents of making false promises, he said that there is a kind of a race among them over it.
"They will promise you whatever you want to hear ... they will also change the colour of the sky if you want to hear that," Rahul said, adding that there was however no truth in their promises. Had there been any truth in it the state of affairs would not have been so bad in the state, Rahul said. UP has a total 403 seats and Rahul Gandhi ... Read Full Story
PANAJI, February 4 (DNS)- Goa education minister Atanasio Monserrate, who was allegedly named in an Income Tax department report for receiving kickbacks to the tune of Rs 26.5 crore from real estate developers, has been given a Congress party ticket for the March 3 assembly poll.
State Congress president Subhash Shirodkar Saturday said the list of 22 party candidates, which contains Monserrate's name as a nominee from St. Cruz constituency, has been endorsed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The party chief had drawn up the list using her "own wisdom", he said.
"The case has only been reported in the media. We will wait for the investigation to finish. Only then we will be able to take a decision on it," Shirodkar said about the allegations against Monserrate.
According to media reports, Monseratte has been named in an income tax assessment report which claimed that as town and country planning minister in the last Congress-led coalition government he received Rs.26.5 crore from real estate companies.
The kickbacks were paid in order to convert prime agricultural land into real estate- friendly zones, in a land use document called the regional plan 2011, media reports said earlier this week. The Income Tax assessment report also named Monserrate's son Rohit, who is a partner in real estate development companies, the media reports said.
Monserrate has said that his record books were clean and, if asked, he would give an explanation on the issue to the party. Shirodkar said the party had not yet ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh/Dehradun, January 31 (DNS)- Elections to the assemblies of Punjab and Uttarakhand on Monday recorded a turnout of at least 77% and 70%, respectively, the Election Commission (EC) said, citing figures furnished by polling authorities.
Barring stray incidents, polling in the two states was peaceful, officials said. However, a report from Firozepur in Punjab said one person died of gunshot wounds.
The elections in Punjab and Uttarakhand will decide the fate of 1,866 candidates, including chief ministers Parkash Singh Badal and B.C. Khanduri.
Polling began on a dull note due to the morning winter cold in both states, but picked up as the day progressed. Long queues of voters, including a large number of women, were seen at the polling stations. Earlier, various parties had complained that cold weather conditions may hamper the turnout.
Minor skirmishes were reported from Ludhiana, Bhatinda and Amritsar in Punjab. In Ludhiana, BJP Yuva Morcha general secretary Sanjay Kapoor received minor injuries in a clash, while some people pelted stones at the office of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda in Bhatinda.
While there are 1,078 contestant vying for 117 seats in Punjab, the number of candidates for 70 seats in Uttarakhand is 866. Counting will take place on 6 March.
Talking to reporters before leaving for Patiala, state Congress president Amarinder Singh said the Dera Sacha Sauda, which supported the party in the 2007 polls, was backing it again. “This was expected (after) the way Akalis had treated the ... Read Full Story
Kolkata, Apr 19 (Agencies)- Time magazine has listed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in its list for 2012, sharing space with the likes of US President Barack Obama and billionaire investor Warren Buffet.
The magazine has described the people in the list as "who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world".
The list is topped by American basketball player Jeremy Shu-How Lin who plays for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
"Mamata Banerjee rose to the fore last year when she and a movement she built from the grassroots wrested control of her home state of West Bengal, ending three and a half decades of sclerotic communist rule.
"Banerjee, 57, spent years struggling on the margins, her Trinamool Congress Party a feisty rabble compared with the leviathan of West Bengal's communists," said the magazine about the leader.
Describing her achievements, the magazine goes on say: "On the streets, she out-Marxed the Marxists. And as chief minister of her home state, she has emerged as a populist woman of action - strident and divisive but poised to play an even greater role in the world's largest democracy."
The other Indian to feature in the list is Anjali Gopalan - the founder and executive director of The Naz Foundation (India) Trust, an NGO dedicated to the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in ...
New Delhi, April 16 (DNS)- Reaching out to the states complaining over NCTC, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday favoured joint and coordinated efforts to deal with challenges of terrorism whatever its origin, whether internal or external.
"There is no question that the burden of the fight against terrorism falls largely on the states' machinery. The Centre is ready to work with the states to put in place strong and effective institutional mechanisms to tackle this problem," he said.
The Prime Minister, who inaugurated the annual conference of Chief Ministers on internal security, did not dwell on the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre, saying it will be discussed on May 5 in a separate meeting as suggested by some chief ministers.
Non-Congress chief ministers as also UPA ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee have raised objections to the provisions in the NCTC, contending that it will upset the federal structure and encroach on the powers of the states.
The Prime Minister warned that threats from terrorism, left wing extremism, religious fundamentalism and ethnic violence persist in the country. "These challenges demand constant vigilance on our part. They need to be tackled firmly but with sensitivity. The forces behind them must not only be contained but should also be effectively rolled back," he said.
"Like other internal security matters, we need joint and coordinated efforts to deal with the challenge of terrorism, whatever be its origin, whether internal or external, and ...
Mumbai, March 15 (DNS)- Pornstar Sunny Leone landed at the Mumbai airport yesterday and was guided by her Jism 2 co-producer, Dino Morea.
Sunny Leone was spotted at the Mumbai airport as she had come from US to start work on her forthcoming film Jism 2.
Though a star in her own right, Sunny Leone rose to fame in India when she made an entry in the popular reality show Bigg Boss 5. Mahesh Bhatt had approached Sunny Leone to star in Jism 2 while she was in the Bigg Boss 5 house.
Pooja Bhatt along with Dino Morea will produce the film. Jism 2 is already making waves, thanks to the name of 'porn star' Sunny accompanied by a sensual poster of the ...
