Tag Archives: Congress

Rajiv Gandhi, ‘Middleman’ For Swedish Jet Deal: WikiLeaks

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Leaked diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy on the WikiLeaks website have reportedly named the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as a middleman during the 1970s when he was an Indian Airlines pilot. The Hindu has published findings of the ‘Kissinger cables’, which claim that Rajiv Gandhi may have been middleman for Swedish Company Saab-Scania when it was trying to sell its Viggen fighter aircraft to India in the 1970s.

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The October 21, 1975 cable from the New Delhi U.S. embassy says “Swedish emboff has informed us that main Indian negotiator with Swedes on Viggen at New Delhi end has been Mrs. Gandhi’s older (sic) son, Rajiv Gandhi. Latter’s only association with aircraft industry (to our knowledge) has been as pilot for Indian Airlines and this is first time we have heard his name as entrepreneur.”

It also states that the U.S. officials have “no additional information to either refute or confirm the above information.”

Later, Saab-Scania lost out on the deal and was forced to withdraw from the “fighter sweepstakes” by the U.S. as the deal was ultimately secured the British SEPECAT Jaguar.

Gandhi later became embroiled in scandal relating to another Swedish arms manufacturer in the Bofors howtizer gun deal.

While, as of now the BJP has said that the Congress should “come clean” on the “WikiLeaks revelations” that the late Rajiv Gandhi had been a middleman for a Swedish company looking to sell fighter jets to India in the 1970s.

“The WikiLeaks revelations are serious. This is absolutely shocking revelation, let us not forget that the revelations are making two specific charges, about two of their late prime ministers Indiraji and Rajivji,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

“They are connected to the first family of Congress. All defence deals have some relation with the Congress’ first family. They should come clean on this, all the documents should be made public. We want the government, Congress and the family to come clean on it,” Javadekar told a news channel.

Congress has always misused CBI: Hazare

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Social activist Anna Hazare on Saturday said it was wrong to presume that the CBI acts of its own volition and alleged that Congress had always “misused” the central investigating agency.

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Asked about the CBI raid on DMK leader M K Stalin’s residence immediately after the party withdrew its support to the UPA government,
Mr Hazare told reporters, “Everybody knows that the CBI is under government’s control. If it is brought under the Lokpal’s control, it would help in curbing corruption.”

Mr. Hazare alleged that Congress had always “misused” the agency, even though it has some good officers in its fold.

“It is not that all people with the CBI are bad. But they are subjected to pressure as they have their jobs to protect.

Congress has always misused it,” he alleged.

When asked to comment on the UPA allies leaving Congress, Mr. Hazare said the party was losing the sympathy of the people because of the corruption associated with it.

“Congress is taking wrong steps. People have lost their sympathy for the party as responsible ministers in the government too are involved in scams,” he added.

Referring to the support of Samajwadi Party (SP) to the Congress-led government, Mr. Hazare said, “Regional parties pose a threat to the country as they bring pressure (on the government).”

He said although he had parted ways with his erstwhile colleague Arvind Kejarwal, there was no conflict between them and he wished him well for their cause through political means.

Mr. Hazare said he had not instituted any core committee of his own after breaking away from IAC. “It is difficult to get selfless workers for a cause. I am at present associated with ’Janatantra Morcha’ along with former Army Chief V K Singh, which is a non-political organisation,” he added.

Later, addressing a gathering, the activist said he was confident that the Lokpal would be a reality. “We have seen part one of the Lokpal bill,” he added.

He also noted with satisfaction that the provision of a fine for civil servants, who delayed their work beyond the stipulated period under Citizens’ Charter.

“When the elections are declared, I would be once again be at the Ramlila maidan to press for the demand for Right to Reject as part of electoral reforms to keep anti-social elements out of Parliament and the state legislatures,” Mr. Hazare asserted.

Big Blow to BJP in Karnataka Local Polls

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The Congress dealt a massive blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka urban local body elections by winning four major city corporations. The Congress not only made huge gains by winning the highest number of wards across the state, but the party also routed BS Yeddyurappa‘s Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) and ended the rule of Reddy brothers in Bellary by decimating their BSR Congress across central Karnataka.

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Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s KJP failed to make a big splash while the ruling BJP could only secure third place by winning just 876 wards while the Congress was way ahead with 1881 seats. The Janata Dal Secular (JDS) managed to hold on to its strength in the Old Mysore region and managed to win 890 wards to take the second place in the state.

The Karnataka local polls, which have been billed as semi-finals before the state elects a new Assembly in a couple of months, show that the BJP is finding the going tough and has not been fully able to counter the Yeddyurappa effect.

There are a total number of 4976 seats for which counting took place. The Congress won Bellary, Mangalore and Davanagere city corporations. The party is leading in four out of seven city corporations and is also doing very well in Dakshin Kannada.

The BJP is ahead in Hubli-Dharwad while there is close fight between Congress and JDS in Mysore. Yeddyurappa’s party has put up a dismal performance in Shimoga while the BJP has suffered a huge defeat in its stronghold of coastal Karnataka where the Independents have come third. The trends and results show that urban voters have rejected BJP and its offshoots KJP and BSR Congress.

The Bellary brothers, who had launched the BSR Congress, have been routed in their stronghold. The Congress is also leading in areas dominated by the JDS.

The results are crucial since they could be an indicator of what will happen in the state elections coming up in two months. Over 200 municipalities including seven city corporations went to the polls on March 7.

In the last urban local bodies polls in 2007, of the total 5007 wards, the Congress had come first winning 1606, followed by JDS 1502 and BJP 1180.

I’m not interested in becoming PM: Rahul Gandhi

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he was not interested in becoming the prime minister and wants to focus on his party instead.

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“The party is my priority. I believe in long-term politics,” Gandhi was quoted by TV channels as saying in Delhi.

“I am not interested in becoming the prime minister,” he was quoted as saying.

Gandhi, who is the second-in-command in the Congress, told reporters there was a need to end the “high command culture” in the party.

The Congress party has not announced a prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, but Gandhi is a clear favourite.

Gandhi has been working on improving the party’s grasroots and has convened a meeting of all general secretaries and central leaders in charge of states on March 6.

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BJP blames UPA policies for poor economic growth

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Accusing the government of flip-flops, indecision and mis-governance, the BJP today said its policy paralysis and corruption have affected the country’s growth rate and left its economy in a mess.

Slamming the government for its “failure” to control price rise and inflation, it also demanded an “immediate” roll back of hike in all administrative prices of diesel, gas, petrol, rail and other services “as the common man is reeling under unprecedented economic burden.”

Targeting the government on the issue of corruption, it said, the VVIP helicopter scam and the Farm Loan Waiver scam are the latest additions in this government’s “unending list of corruption.”

“It is fascinating to note that Italy, which was to benefit from the helicopter deal, went after the bribe givers immediately when they got the wind of corruption, while India, the sufferer of this scam is not ready to trace the bribe takers. Mystery still shrouds over the mention of the recipients as ‘the family’,” the BJP Economic Resolution passed at its National Council meeting here said.

It said while the government has ordered a CBI probe, it is not ready to have it monitored by the court.

“It has neither registered FIR nor issued Letters Rogatory (LR). It is offering JPC knowing full well that it cannot investigate and come to conclusion. This fuels speculation that the government is more interested in ensuring a white wash to protect the bribe receivers rather than unearth the truth and punish the guilty,” it said.

It said the biggest failure of the UPA government is its inability to tame inflation and bring down the prices.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, while seconding the Economic Resolution, said India will scrap FDI in multi-brand retail policy when BJP-led NDA comes to power.

“Unfortunately, inflation is not the result of any natural disaster but is purely a gift of this government. Bad food stock management and distribution anomalies triggered the inflationary pressure in the first place,” the resolution said.

When the country is required to stock only 30 million tonne of food grains in the godowns, the UPA has stocked a huge quantity of more than 70 million tonne of food grains thereby creating shortages in the market and fuelling prices, the opposition party said.

Drawing comparison of the economic situation of the country between now and the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the resolution maintained that the BJP-led government inherited a lowly growth rate of 4% in 1998, but due to its commitment to make India an economic superpower, it had put the economy on a fast growth trajectory.

“As a result of the visionary leadership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India for the first time in decades witnessed 8.25% growth rate in 2004 when the BJP led NDA government demitted office.”

It said the NDA government had put in place the historic economic legislation – the Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management (FRBM) Act which sought to rein in the fiscal deficit below 3%.

“Ironically, under the Congress leadership, it is the central government that has shown scant commitment towards this resolve while the state governments are instead broadly adhering to the FRBM targets which is reflected in their financial numbers,” the resolution said.

It alleged that inflation and corruption have become the “hallmarks” of the UPA government.

“The country also has to suffer the ignominy of experiencing economic downslide under the leadership of an economist Prime Minister under whom every economic macro-parameter has steadily declined…The BJP holds the Congress led UPA government guilty of non performance, policy paralysis and lack of direction,” the resolution said.

-PTI

#2G Scam: DMK to Back Raja’s Request to Appear Before JPC

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DMK will back former Telecom Minister A Raja if the issue of his request to appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee as a witness on the 2G case is raised at the UPA Coordination Committee meeting here on Tuesday.
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“If the Congress raises the issue…, asks us, we have to stand by Raja,” party spokesman T K Elangovan, MP, told PTI when asked whether the issue could be raised by the DMK, a key constituent of the UPA, at the Coordination Committee meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Besides, Elangovan said Raja’s request to appear before the JPC was a “new development” and “our leader may advise us” about future course of action.

The DMK spokesman said his party would raise the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils and farmers suicides in Tamil Nadu at the UPA Coordination Committee meeting.

A DMK member of Lok Sabha, Raja is a prime accused in the 2G spectrum case who had been in Tihar jail for several months before being granted bail.

He had met Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar some days back and handed her a letter expressing his willingness to appear as a witness before the JPC.

Raja has contended that while he has the “fullest respect” for the court, “the fact remains that I have been condemned unheard.” He has sent a copy of the letter to Congress leader P C Chacko, who heads the JPC.

Raja’s request to Kumar comes days after Attorney General G E Vahanvati blamed him for various issues before the JPC.

“The truth of the matter is being suppressed on the basis of preconceived notions, deliberate bias, faulty investigation and erroneous conclusions.

“…Perhaps the most telling example of this situation is the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 02.02.2012, where specific and prejudicial observations were made against me without giving me a hearing,” Raja wrote in the letter.

Chacko is likely to get back to Raja with a final decision soon on the issue after consulting other committee members, JPC sources said.

Reports had it that Raja’s desire to testify before the JPC could be extremely damaging for the ruling UPA, as it fuels a controversy which the government is now trying to give a quiet burial after over two years of turbulent parliamentary, judicial and media scrutiny since November 2010.

Chacko is likely to get back to Raja with a final decision soon on the issue after consulting other committee members, the sources said.

Raja’s request has come when the three-month-long Budget session has just commenced.

Congress has steered clear of the issue while an AIADMK has leader said it was a fight between DMK and Congress and his party would not get into it.

With Parliament reconvening on Tuesday and the JPC scheduled to meet soon after, Raja’s demand could become a major rallying point for the BJP and Left parties.

At the UPA meeting, besides several issues, the Telangana statehood demand is expected to figure. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had suggested the need for such an early meeting to discuss Telangana.

The meeting will be the first formal interaction between Congress and allies after the AgustaWestland helicopter scam broke out .

Meanwhile, another ally National Conference is apparently upset over the way the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was carried out. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said it would increase alienation of Kashmiris from the Indian mainstream.

PTI
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Tough times ahead for Rahul, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family

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Rahul Gandhi

 A special Congress session over the weekend formally launched Rahul Gandhi as the official No. 2 after party chief Sonia Gandhi, making him the presumptive prime ministerial candidate of the party for the 2014 general elections, but the battle is half won and tough times lie ahead for the 42-year-old fifth-generation leader of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Gandhi alluded to the challenges when he talked about the “poison” that came with such heavy political responsibility and the attached personal risks. His mother, who came to his room and cried on Saturday night, perhaps understands it better than anyone else.

Nine assembly polls – five big ones in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh, where the Congress will have direct contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party, and four in the northeast – will test his leadership skills.

The return of the third edition of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2014 will also depend on how the Amethi lawmaker is able to restructure and re-energize the party for the big political fight. He heads the party’s coordination panel for the 2014 polls.

Rahul Gandhi is also expected to give key roles to younger leaders so the party is able to reach out to all voters, 70 per cent of whom are below the age of 35. Connecting with the country’s youths, who are angry over corruption, crave for better systems of governnance and want accountability from politicians, will be a major task for the new Congress vice president.

The Nehru-Gandhi family scion would also be expected to spell out his position on various national issues clearly as he now holds an official post in the Congress.

While any success in the elections will bring him credit, he would also have to accept the blame in case of a failure.

“Rahul Gandhi faces enormous challenges during the coming polls as his leadership skills would be tested,” Zoya Hasan, who teaches political science at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, told IANS.

“His speech after being made vice president pointed out many wrongs in the party. Now he has to set things right,” she said.

The move to make him vice president, which marks a generational shift in the 127-year-old party, is significant. Party insiders said the decision was postponed for a while due to reservations among some senior leaders. But members of the Youth Congress, National Students Union of India and the younger leaders in the party – who comprised a third of the 350-odd delegates at the session – made strong demands for his elevation.

Over 50 senior leaders who shared the dais with Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the session, not only heard Rahul with rapt attention, but stood up as soon as he finished his speech and were seen competing with one another in congratulating him. Rahul had arrived.

In an impassioned speech, Rahul made it clear that he does not hanker for power and stressed the need to transform the party’s systems and develop new leaders at all levels while saying the youths must be involved in decision-making.

Rahul struck an emotional chord when he related how his mother cried when she met him after his appointment.

The question now is whether he will be able to bring the middle class, especially the “restless and impatient” young, to the Congress camp from which they stood quite alienated over perceptions of corruption, misgovernance, inflation and insensitivity to issues that concern them

IANS

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BJP Will Save Vadra, Congress Gadkari: Kejriwal

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Activist Arvind Kejriwal today demanded that BJP chief Nitin Gadkari and Robert Vadra declare all their business interests and where all they own land in the country.

He said the probe against Gadkari by IT Department was an “eye-wash” as Congress and BJP were “hand in glove” trying to save each other.

“Vadra should publicise where all he owns land. What are his business interests? When did he buy this land and at what cost? Gadkari and Vadra should publicise all their business interests in the country and abroad,” he said.

On the Income Tax department launching a probe to trace the source of funding of various firms that invested in Gadkari’s company Purti Power and Sugar Limited, he said government has said that the IT Department would submit a report in a month.

“IT Act has no provision for such a probe. Is the government fooling people. Under the IT Act, you can raid under Section 132, or survey under Section 133 A or scrutinise under Section 143. What is the Government doing?

“Will IT find anything if it conducts raids or surveys? Raids are conducted in secrecy. This is how CBI conducts raids after grand announcements. And what happened to Robert Vadra? Does any agency have guts to even summon him or investigate him. He is so right. It’s a banana republic,” he said.

He also asked if the IT Department is probing Gadkari, why was it not investigating Vadra. “Are all these probes merely an eyewash? Time will tell. It would further prove that Congress and BJP are hand in glove,” he said.

He said media reports claimed that Haryana officers gave clean chit to Vadra.

“That was expected. Country would be surprised if it were otherwise. In Haryana, all good officers are shunted out. Those in key positions crawl when asked to bend. Now Congres will protect Gadkari and BJP will protect Vadra,” he said.

UPA Govt is ‘Cheating’ Youths by False Job Promises: Modi

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Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress-led UPA government of making false promises of providing jobs to unemployed youths. “See the Congress manifesto, it says we will give jobs to people from each family. In 2009, they said one crore jobs will be given. Has it happened?,” Modi told a gathering at the Swami Vivekanand Youth Convention in Patan.

“Why are they cheating youths like this? If someone cheats, we cannot forgive. It is not our nature to cheat,” he said.

Modi was reacting to state Congress unit’s announcement that it would provide jobs to 10 lakh youths in the state, if voted to power.

Elections in Gujarat are scheduled later this year.

“The government in Delhi is cheating the youths of Gujarat, while we are bringing industrial development in the state,” Modi said.

“As per GoI survey estimates, 72 percent of jobs created in India are coming from Gujarat,” he said to assert his viewpoint.

“Please don’t have expectations from Delhi.”

“Over 3.5 lakh people have got jobs in last one decade rule of Gujarat government. One lakh more will get jobs,” he said.

If any youth wishes to start his own venture, the Gujarat government will back him for providing bank loans, Modi announced.

“These are not small decisions. It’s not my courage but the faith I have in you. Our youngsters will not do wrong…I have the faith,” Modi said stressing that his government had faith in the state’s youth force.

Modi also criticised the Centre for putting a cap of six cylinders per family, saying it “lacked vision on the issue”.

If the Gujarat government was permitted to lay gas pipelines it would had resulted in saving five crore LPG cylinders, that would have considerably brought down subsidy burden on exchequer, Modi said.

He also accused the Centre of delaying expansion of state gas grid network by imposing a ban on laying of gas pipelines.

“Thinking Modi‘s clout will grow, the Centre imposed a ban two years ago on gas pipeline laying in Gujarat, saying only they (Centre) can do this,” he alleged.The decision has been challenged in the Supreme Court, he said.

According to Modi, the move would have let people avail cheaper LPG and could have reduced subsidy burden on the country’s exchequer.Comparing the Centre and state’s policy on LPG, Modi said, “They decided to give six gas cylinders per family as the subsidy burden falls heavy, but we laid 2,200 km pipeline network at a cost of 10,000 crore and provided cheap gas to seven lakh households, a first of its kind initiative in India.”

The Gujarat government targets to provide 20 lakh households with piped gas connections, Modi added.

Source: PTI

 

 

 

 

WIll work on plan to correct mistakes we have made: Sonia Gandhi

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Acknowledging “mistakes” in the just concluded Assembly elections, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday indicated that the party would work out a plan to correct them.

“This is something we will have to discuss within and decide. We have to sit down and look at the situation and results in every state and then together work out a plan to correct the mistakes that we have made,” Gandhi said.

She was talking to reporters at the AICC headquarters here after reviewing the party’s performance in her one to one meeting with Congress office bearers.

“Every election is a lesson for us. Whether we win or lose, every election has a lesson for us,” she said.

To a volley of questions on the reasons that led to the party’s defeat in UP, Punjab and Goa, Gandhi admitted that “wrong choice of candidates” is also one among the many reasons.

“Many voters from Goa were unhappy with us and they voted against us,” Gandhi said. There is a view in the party that controversies surrounding the issue of illegal mining and the allegations against its Chief Minister Digambar Kamat was one reason why the party lost there.

While admitting that wrong choice of candidates resulted in setting up rebel candidates in many constituencies that led to the defeat of official party nominees, she said, “We did have better hopes for Punjab.”

To a question on whether it was lack of leaders that damaged party in these elections, a smiling Gandhi said, “rather than lack of leadership, too many leaders is perhaps our problem.”

Agency: PTI

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