Sonia’s ‘emotional’ letter to Advani on 50th wedding anniversary
NEW DELHI, Feb 27: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday struck a chord with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) patriarch LK Advani, congratulating him on his wedding anniversary in an emotional letter in which she said this would have been her 47th wedding anniversary too.
“On the auspicious occasion of your 50th wedding anniversary, I send my warm felicitations to you and Mrs Kamala Advani. Over half-a-century you have enjoyed a close companionship, giving strength and support to each other through all life’s ups and downs and that is indeed a great blessing!” Gandhi wrote to Advani.
“February 25 is also a special day for me — the day Rajiv and I got married, and this year would have been our 47th wedding anniversary,” she said, in a rare outburst of emotions.
As soon as he received the letter, Advani called up Gandhi and “profusely thanked” her for the “warm greetings,” said Advani’s aide Deepak Chopra.
A few years ago, Advani had apologised to Gandhi for wrongly mentioning her name in connection to black money stashed abroad in a report of the NDA. After Gandhi sent a protest letter to Advani, he sent a letter apologising for the mistake and later released the letter, much to the embarrassment of the party.
Advani’s 50th wedding anniversary saw several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gathering at his residence to greet the couple.
Rahul Gandhi goes on leave to reflect on 'recent events'
NEW DELHI, Feb 23: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has gone on a few weeks leave to reflect upon "recent events" and the future course of the party. On Sunday night he has "requested Congress president Sonia Gandhi for some time to reflect on recent events and future course of the party".
He believes that the direction that the party adopts at the upcoming AICC session in April will be of crucial importance for its future and he wishes to prepare for it, according to sources.
Rahul has been "granted a leave of absence for a few weeks after which he will return and resume his active participation in the affairs of the Congress party", the sources added.
The Congress has been performing badly at the hustings, which started with the Lok Sabha elections last year and continued in the assembly elections in various states including Delhi recently.
The debacle in Delhi, where Congress failed to get even one seat in the 70-member House, was more stunning as the party had ruled the state for 15 years till December 2013.
The AICC session is expected in early April and media reports have suggested that Rahul could be made the party chief on that occasion.
12 killed, 60 injured as Bangalore-Ernakulam Express derails
BAGALORE, Feb 13: At least 12 passengers were killed and more than 60 injured, several critically, when 9 bogies of the Bangalore-Ernakulam Inter City Express derailed after a boulder fell on the track near Anekal on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border on Friday.
Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy confirmed the death toll at a press conference.
The train had left Bengaluru at 6:15am and derailed at 7:35am between Anekal Road and Hosur on Bangalore City-Salem Section, about 45 km from Bengaluru, railway officials said.
The accident occurred after the train hit a boulder that had fallen on the track, tweeted Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu.
"I am personally monitoring it and in touch with State and local administration [sic]," Prabhu posted on Twitter.
Prabhu added he has directed all senior officers to rush to the spot with help. He said an inquiry has also been ordered to fix responsibility and for corrective action to prevent such unfortunate accidents adding he is monitoring "action" regularly.
Union law minister Sadanand Gowda, who reached the accident site near the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, said chairman of the Railway Board has been directed to evacuate all stranded passengers and that medical help has also been rushed to the spot.
"Rescue and relief operations are still underway. All rescue teams are here, including police, medical and the railways. All measures have been taken to rescue the trapped persons," Karnataka home minister KJ George told reporters.
 Kejriwal Tsunami checks Modi wave in Delhi
NEW DELHI, Feb 10: True to the mood, Arvind Kejriwal Tsunami was able to check Modi wave in Delhi. With the election results out on Tuesday, the AAP won as many as 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi House on Tuesday, going far beyond the most optimistic exit polls and its own wildest expectations, while the BJP was left bruised in a distant second place with just three seats. The Congress, reeling from a string of defeats since it was routed in the Lok Sabha polls, drew an ignominious blank.
Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal is set to take oath as the chief minister again on Valentine’s Day this Saturday.
Aim for high growth rate: Modi
 NEW DELHI, Feb 9: Modi stresses spirit of ‘cooperative competition’ among States as they want more funds.
Demands for greater devolution of funds to the States dominated the first meeting of the governing council of the NITI (the National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog that Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired at his 7 Race Course Road residence here on Sunday.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam pitched for a higher flow of funds to the States, and demanded that the States’ share of funding under the flagship programmes be limited to 25 per cent.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sought 90 per cent grants for Central government schemes, saying Mr. Modi’s new mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas would not be possible without the provision of adequate resources to the economically weaker States. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy demanded that the Aayog continue the functions of the erstwhile Planning Commission — of determining, in consultation with the Union Finance Ministry and the State governments, the amount of resources to be made available to the States.
Mr. Yadav stressed the need for continuing Five Year Plans, and said the need, in fact, was to make even longer-term plans.
Noting that India could not progress without all its States advancing in tandem, Mr. Modi said he envisioned different States competing with each other in promoting governance initiatives, in a spirit of cooperative, competitive federalism, according to an official release. Though the world had started looking at India differently, the biggest challenge for the country still eliminating poverty, he said. Jobs could not be created, and poverty could not be removed without growth.
Briefing presspersons after the meeting, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: “States emphasised greater financial devolution from the Centre and greater flexibility in the use of funds.”
He said the Prime Minister announced that the Aayog would constitute three sub-groups of Chief Ministers. One, for making recommendations on whether the 66 Centrally Sponsored Schemes should be continued, transferred to States or shelved altogether. The second group would suggest means for the Aayog to promote skill development in the States, and the third would evolve a proposal on institutional mechanisms needed to ensure the success of “Swachh Bharat”.
The Prime Minister asked each State to set up two task forces under the aegis of the Aayog: one on poverty alleviation and the other on agricultural development with the Centre’s assistance.
Mr. Jaitley coordinated the interaction, and NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya made the opening remarks.
Tharoor gives Modi govt 2/10 on performance
 KOLKATA, Jan 15: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday that he was “touched” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gesture of retweeting a photograph showing Tharoor taking up a cleanliness drive. At the same time, he criticised the Modi-led government, rating it two out of 10.
Speaking during the launch of his latest book, India Shastra, he said Modi “has the right people in his team” but doubted if the government could deliver on its promises.
“It’s too early for a report card,” Tharoor said, adding, “Still, since you ask, 8 out of 10 for rhetoric, 2 out of 10 for results. Mr Modi’s fine sound bytes have not seen much implementation so far.”
He added that Modi is getting stuck in identity politics instead of focusing on the development agenda and that there was a worrying trend of the government’s focus tilting away from the task of providing security to the weak, poor and the vulnerable.
“We in the Congress believe that we need both economic growth and a determination to distribute the fruits and revenues to those who need it most in our unequal society and the magic of the market is not going to appeal to those who can’t afford to enter the market place,” he said.
“The contradiction in Modi’s politics and his governance agenda will persist and will sow the seeds of his subsequent failure,” Tharoor said.
He said that the UPA II government was “unlucky” about fuel prices, while inflation also took a toll on its poll results.
“Modi’s failure to deliver on the high expectations he has stoked will cost him dear in 2019,” he said, adding that his party, the Congress, is looking forward to getting even in the next parliamentary elections.
Tharoor added there is a trend of “mounting intolerance” in the country and suspects that his first novel, The Great Indian Novel that was published 25 years ago, would have been banned had it been published now.
'Will you clean up Ganga in this term or the next?' SC to Centre
NEW DELHI, Jan 14: For the second time in five months, the Supreme Court has pulled up the NDA government for the delay in cleaning up of the Ganga, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Centre has now told the court it will finish the mega project to clean up the 2,525km-long river by 2018.
Bringing up the slow progress on the three-decade-old Ganga Action Plan, the SC Wednesday wondered if the NDA government would be able to clean up the river before its term ends. “Do you want to complete it this term or the next term?... (Are you) keeping the issue alive?” a three-judge bench headed by Justice TS Thakur asked the Modi government.
“We propose to conclude it by 2018,” solicitor general Ranjit Kumar told the bench.
The court has been hearing the case since 1985.
Noting little work on the ground despite spending Rs. 2,000 crore on the plan, the bench sought fresh response from the Centre in six weeks on steps taken for stage-wise implementation of projects to clean up the river in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
“After seeing your (government’s) action plan, it seems Ganga will not be cleaned up even after 200 years,” the SC had said on September 3 last year.
The Centre has given the court a blueprint of short, medium and long term measures, involving thousands of crore of investment, to restore the river.
The Centre has also identified 118 towns on the banks of the river as the first targets for providing total sanitation. “Things have started moving. They (municipalities, concerned authorities) have been told to wake up,” Kumar told the bench.
The bench sought additional response on 70 sewage treatment plants (STPs), which are at various stages, likely to come up in the five Ganga basin states.
"If you have financial problem, we cannot solve. All that is required is that you go ahead with the projects and if there is any bottleneck, you can come before us. Don't take it (PIL) as an adversarial litigation,” it said.
The court also asked for the status of 15 proposed STPs. The bench added that if there’s any delay in the bidding process, the reasons should be indicated.
The government, meanwhile, told the SC that “seven river front locations have been identified by the water ministry for development of ghats at Kedarnath, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi.
The SC had transferred industrial pollution-related matters to the National Green Tribunal, which in November last ordered immediate halt of further business activity in the industrial units of tannery, paper and pulp, sugar, sugar-cum-distillery, dyeing, printing and slaughter houses that were discharging their untreated effluents in the Ganga or any of its tributaries.
Prez inks ordinance to amend Citizenship Act to provide life long visa to PIOs
NEW DELHI, Jan 7: President Pranab Mukherjee has signed an ordinance to amend the Citizenship Act.
The ordinance will give life long visa to People of Indian Origin and exempt them from appearing before local police station every time they visit India.
It may be recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech at Madison Square Garden in New York had announced to merge Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards.
The amendment also clears the way for relaxed visa norms for minor children of OCI card holders. It will also do away the clause of foreigners who marry Indians to continuously stay in the country for a period of one year before they get an Indian citizenship.
Union Cabinet approves ordinance to amend Land Acquisition Act
NEW DELHI, Dec 30: The Union Cabinet on Monday approved an ordinance to amend the contentious land acquisition act and ease restrictions including a "consent clause" which was seen as obstacle for power, highways, housing, defence and infrastructure projects and holding up the economy's growth potential.
The ordinance seeks to waive the "consent clause" - the requirement to secure specific consent of owners of 70% -80% of land owners if acquisitions are meant for defence and defence production, rural infrastructure including electrification, housing for poor and affordable housing, industrial corridors and infrastructure projects including projects under Public-Private Partnership mode where ownership the land continues to be vested with the government. Multi-crop land can also be acquired for such purposes.
Such acquisitions will also be exempt from social impact assessment and the application of Food Security Act, two other requirements laid down under the Land Acquisition Act which have been widely identified as factors snagging projects and development. Nearly 80% of land acquired in the country is for such projects, officials say.
Coming after ordinances on coal and insurance, the latest one attracted criticism from opponents but also underlined government's willingness to press ahead with economic reforms and, if necessary, overcome its numerical handicap in the Rajya Sabha by convening a joint session of Parliament.
However, government has sought to cover its flank against any criticism for being anti-farmer by not just keeping keeping intact the enhanced compensation provided for under the Act, but also extending them to the acquisitions under certain exempted laws.
Tweeting after the meeting of the Union Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Important aspect of amendment is to make development and security related works faster without compromising benefits/compensation to farmers".
The ordinance marks a bold move considering that the entire political class had thrown its weight behind the Land Acquisition Act despite reservations in Congress and BJP about its implications on development and costs. The Act was inspired by the resentment against the arbitrary and exploitative land acquisitions which peaked when governments took over farm lands for SEZs and real estate projects.
While the UPA enacted the law, many felt that the "course correction" went too far and to impractical lengths because of the provisions that made land acquisition steeply prohibitive and time-consuming. With the pendulum swinging to the other extreme, state governments including those belonging to those Congress called for a fresh look at the law.
The Land Acquisition Act made it mandatory for seeking consent of 70% of gram sabhas for PPP projects and 80% for private entities. This clause was seen as a major roadblock for acquiring land for projects, an object of persistent complaints by the industry as well as states.
While the pre-acquisition restrictions have been waived, the government has decided that the compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement packages would remain as prescribed in the present law.
"Such projects are vital to national security and defence of India including preparation for defence and defence production," said finance minister Arun Jaitley.
"...if the land acquisition is for the five purposes, then the consent clause will be exempted," he said when asked whether the consent clause had been eased.
With respect to compensation and resettlement and rehabilitation norms, the cabinet also approved bringing under the ambit of the ordinance 13 most frequently used Acts for land acquisition for central government projects such as national highways, metro rail, atomic energy projects, electricity. This is expected to benefit farmers and affected families.
The government has resorted to the ordinance route to accelerate its economic reforms drive after the opposition stalled the passage of key legislations in Parliament. Last week, it had issued an ordinance to raise the foreign investment limit in the insurance sector to 49% from 26% after the legislation was blocked in parliament by a stubborn opposition.
India Inc applauded the government to bring in an ordinance to amend the Land Acquisition Act.
"CII whole-heartedly welcomes the fact that the government has incorporated our suggestion to exempt projects in certain important sectors like defence, rural electrification, rural housing and industrial corridors from the mandatory 80% consent from affected families," CII said in a statement.
"Further, exemption of these projects from social impact assessment is also a welcome and crucial initiative," the industry group said.
Revenge attacks after Bodo militants kill 75 in Assam
GUWAHATI, Dec 25: Retaliatory attacks ringed villages in Assam on Thursday at a time military helicopters scoured remote areas in line with the Centre's promise of zero-tolerance to Bodo militants who triggered a ghastly sectarian bloodshed that left over 75 dead.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Sonitpur, one of the three violence-hit districts, and assured strong action against the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), led by its self-styled commander IK Songbijit, for Tuesday's massacre in which entire families of Adivasi tea plantation workers were pulled out of their homes at night before being shot dead in the space of an hour.
More than half of the victims were women and children.
"This is an act of terrorism. We are going to be very tough," Singh said. "The Centre has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against all acts of terror and the similar policy will be adopted in this case too."
Fresh violence was reported at Gossaigaon in Kokrajhar district where several houses of Bodos were set ablaze by Adivasis seeking revenge over the killing of people from their community.
A military official said helicopters were scouring the jungles to track down militants trying to flee to Bhutan and neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, which has thickly forested mountains.
The home minister has requested foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to seek help from Bhutan to track down the militant outfit that apparently has a few hideouts in the dense forests along the international border.
In 2003-04, Bhutan had carried out a massive operation against Ulfa militants and completely wiped out their bases from the Himalayan country.
"We will take strong measures to deal with the outfit and will control it effectively," Singh said, accompanied by his deputy Kiren Rijiju and Union minister for tribal affairs Jual Oram.
A police officer said six more bodies were recovered on Thursday morning in Sonitpur district, bordering Arunachal Pradesh. Three Adivasis were killed in police firing during protests against the carnage on Wednesday.
In Kokrajhar, the other affected district, retaliatory violence by Adivasis claimed the lives of four Bodos. Curfew has been also imposed in the affected areas.
Tribal affairs minister Oram said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) would probe the killings.
About 5,000 additional soldiers have been deployed in response to the attacks.
The carnage appeared to have been in retaliation for an offensive that security forces launched against the Bodo faction a month ago that inflicted heavy losses. The militant group lost 40 men and a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, a police officer said.
The rebels turned on plantation workers, believing that some were informing the police about their movements.
Sharif wishes Vajpayee on birthday, sends bouquet
NEW DELHI, Dec 25: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday sent a bouquet of flowers to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
Tahir Mehmood, an official of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, delivered the bouquet of flowers to the former Prime Minister at the later’s Krishna Menon Marg residence in the national capital.
Thursday also happens to be Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s birthday as also the 138th birth anniversary of Pakistan’s Founding Father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
It maybe recalled that Sharif and Vajpayee shared rare camaraderie when they were prime ministers of their respective countries in the late 1990s. In February 1999, Vajpayee travelled by bus across the Wagah—Attari border to Lahore to meet with Sharif. He also then visited the Minar—e—Pakistan, and there was hope for a restoration of normalcy in bilateral ties.
However, a couple of months after that visit, the Kargil War was launched with the backing of the Pakistan Army, and relations between the two countries turned sour.
As Prime Minister, Vajpayee also met with Pakistan’s President—General Pervez Musharraf in Agra between July 14 and 16, 2001.
In January 2004, Vajpayee attended the 11th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Modi steps in to speed up stuck projects worth $300 billion: Report
NEW DELHI, Dec 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken direct control of a project-monitoring body to fast-track investments worth almost $300 billion (approximately Rs. 18,90,000 crore at current exchange rates) and revive manufacturing in the country, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the matter.
Pro-business Modi has faced criticism in recent weeks that his ambition to spur investment and re-energise the economy has yet to be realised, more than six months after he won elections with the strongest mandate in three decades.
Industrial output contracted in October in its worst performance in three years, jarring with a much-publicised "Make in India" campaign Modi has championed to make the country a manufacturing powerhouse.
By taking over the Project Monitoring Group (PMG), which was previously in the cabinet secretariat, Modi could help firms planning coal, power, steel and infrastructure projects cut through a maze of up to 180 clearances.
"The fact that the Prime Minister's office (PMO) will be directly overseeing all the project clearances will impart a greater degree of efficiency and also ensure that clearances are fast tracked at every level," said one of the officials, declining to be identified ahead of a public announcement.
"The PMO's stamp will make a big difference." A PMO official said a bureaucrat who had worked closely with Modi when he was chief minister of Gujarat will head the monitoring group.
The senior officer is among a few trusted civil servants with whom the PMO thrashes out key decisions, often at the expense of ministerial authority.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up the PMG last year to prod ministers and bureaucrats sitting on files, a tendency that came to be known as "policy paralysis" and was blamed for growth of less than 5% for two straight years.
Since its inception, the PMG has facilitated 197 stalled projects worth about $110 billion. South Korean steel maker POSCO is one of many companies to have approached the PMG.
POSCO has waited nine years to get approvals to set up a $12 billion steel plant, which would be India's biggest foreign direct investment. Tata Power and Adani Power are other top companies awaiting clearances.
"Business confidence has certainly improved in the last six to seven months, but this confidence now needs to get translated in the project delivery, kick-starting the investment cycle and boosting consumer demand," said Sunil Kanoria, president-elect of industry body ASSOCHAM.
Sonia in hospital with respiratory problem, stable
NEW DELHI, Dec 18: Congress president Sonia Gandhi was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi with lower respiratory tract infection (mostly caused due to pneumonia or bronchitis) on Thursday evening.
She is under the treatment of Dr Arup Kumar Basu, who is a senior consultant in the department of chest medicine at the hospital. According to hospital sources, her condition is stable and is under observation. "There is nothing to worry as this is a common problem during winters," said a doctor at the hospital.
"She has been admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here for further treatment of the infection," AICC general secretary Ajay Maken told PTI.
The symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection are fever, cough, breathlessness, weakness and loss of appetite.
Modi warns BJP MPs: Don't cross 'laxman rekha' in speeches
NEW DELHI, Dec 16: In a bid to control negative fallout from recent hate speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned BJP parliamentarians not to cross the 'laxman rekha' while airing their views.
PM Modi reportedly told a meeting of BJP parliamentary party that the utterances of some of the leaders were hurting the governments' image.
Modi also told MPs to focus on the government's development agenda and that the work they undertake should be 'visible' and not just on paper.
Modi's tough talk followed an embarrassing time the ruling party had in parliament over speeches made by MPs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Sakshi Maharaj.
While Niranjan Jyoti had used abusive words against minorities at a campaign rally in Delhi, Sakshi Maharaj had called Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse a 'patriot'.
The remarks led to big standoffs in Parliament, forcing Niranjan Jyoti to apologise and Sakshi Maharaj to withdraw his remarks.
Modi's latest warning comes two weeks after he urged party MP's "not to address the nation" out of turn.
The Prime Minister also reportedly ticked off party MPs, including a few senior members, who arrived late for the parliamentary party meeting.
Drugs destroy, bring darkness: Modi
 NEW DELHI, Dec 14: Voicing concern over the "devastating" drug addiction menace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said society as well as the government will have to work together to fight this problem and that a helpline would be set up soon to assist those seeking solutions.
In his third 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on radio, he said the menace is a "national pain" but instead of the youth mired in the problem, drugs should be shunned.
He said drug addiction is "a malaise filled 3D - darkness, destruction and devastation - as it leads to the dark alleys of destruction and devastation".
The Prime Minister said a thinking process should begin to ensure that the country is rid of this problem and added that he will try to involve celebrities from the cine world, sports and other fields to campaign for a "drug-free India".
"For long, I have been having concern about the young generation... That some son has got caught in such a quagmire where everything is devastated. Drugs are such a devastation," Modi said in his broadcast to the nation.
At the same time, he said, "drug addiction is bad, not the child."
Describing it as a psycho-socio-medical problem, he said the family, friends, society, government and the law will have to work together to fight it as working in pieces will not help.
He said he had asked his officials to set up a toll free helpline soon to assist those seeking answers to the problem.
The Prime Minister also suggested launching a special drive on social media against the menace.
RSS in no mood to soften, will stick to Hindutva agenda
NEW DELHI, Dec 13: The Narendra Modi government’s image as a development-oriented regime may have taken a hit due to controversial remarks by some RSS members-turned-parliamentarians but the BJP’s ideological parent isn’t willing to put its Hindutva agenda on the backburner.
Senior leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh said that while they appreciated the government’s focus on development, they saw no reason to chastise leaders like Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, infamous for an expletive-laden poll speech, or Sakshi Maharaj, who termed Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse a patriot.
An RSS pracharak associated with the BJP’s organisation claimed ‘Hindutva’ was supplement to the development plank and only a mix of the two could ensure electoral victories.
“You may have a problem with the way certain MPs articulated their view but the larger sentiment was that the Hindu society should not be taken for granted. The result of the Lok Sabha elections, particularly in UP, is a case in point,” he said, requesting anonymity.
The BJP is also not averse in using the Hindutva proponents to woo voters, deploying Niranjan Jyoti to campaign in the riot-hit Trilokpuri locality of Delhi.
Aligarh MP Satish Gautam and Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath continue taking vows to carry on the controversial ‘ghar wapsi’ (homecoming) programme that has been accused of forcibly converting Muslims.
BJP president Amit Shah has defended these leaders, saying on Thursday that they couldn’t be asked to retire from politics because of a mistake.
BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said that development was the government’s focus and decisions in last six months – Jan Dhan Yojna, petrol price cut, FDI in defence and others – were reflective of that. “There is no case to be apologetic about Hindutva. It is a way of life and not a religion,” Sharma said.
These comments come in the wake of a stormy month for the NDA government. Earlier this month, minister of state for food processing industries Niranjan Jyoti asked the audience at a Delhi poll rally if they wanted a government led by the children of Ram (Ramzaade) or illegitimate children (haramzaade). The comments caused prolonged disruptions in Parliament with the Opposition relenting only after an appeal by PM Modi.
This was followed by Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj’s endorsement of Godse, which led to a retraction and apology.
The latest flashpoint is the alleged forced conversion of 300 Muslims in Agra this week and plans for more such ceremonies by Hindu groups affiliated to the RSS. Cornered by the Opposition again, the government suggested all states and the Centre have anti-conversion laws.
Senior RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya agreed with the Centre, saying there was no contradiction between development and having an anti-conversion law.
“The entire debate (on conversion) would stop if a strong anti-conversion law is put in place. Christian missionaries have been opposing it and so are many other parties. We are opposed to conversion through force and allurement,” Vaidya said.
A party office bearer also pointed out the BJP has to play its cards carefully with key electoral challenges lined up in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where OBC stalwarts Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar were trying to revive the old Janata Parivar. The saffron party had won 71 of UP’s 80 and 22 out of Bihar’s 40 Lok Sabha seats.
“Those most vulnerable to conversions are backward castes and Dalits, who had also spearheaded the temple movement in its heyday. When we win them over, it automatically marginalises parties like the SP, JD(U), RJD and BSP – our main rivals in Bihar and UP,” the leader said.
Upset over disruptions in Parliament, govt sets out to pick, tame errant leaders
NEW DELIH, Dec 13: Cornered in Parliament over a string of controversial comments by its leaders and worried these may overshadow its development agenda, the Modi government is on a mission to identify and tame these “loose cannons” so that disruptions can end and the House can get on with important legislative business.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi said to be upset that these incidents threaten to hijack his agenda of development and governance, senior ministers have been deployed to crack the whip on errant leaders. Sources said Union parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday pulled up BJP’s Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj for calling Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse a patriot. Maharaj was earlier forced to apologise for the comment in Lok Sabha.
“We have identified these loose cannons who often land the party in trouble with their public statements. They are ‘soft targets’ for the media. They are being personally advised by senior people in the government to exercise restraint and not derail the development agenda,” a senior cabinet minister said.
In fact, the first word of caution had come from the PM himself when he had asked BJP MPs at a parliamentary party meeting a fortnight ago not to “address the nation” and limit themselves to talking about their constituencies.
While the sources refused to identify the leaders who have been cautioned, they reportedly include many Hindutva hardliners who rode the Modi wave to be elected to the Lok Sabha.
The government’s headache started with Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti asking Delhi voters if they wanted a government formed by “Ramzadon” (children of Ram) or “haramzadon” (those born illegitimately). This was followed by Sakshi Maharaj’s Godse comment and then UP governor Ram Naik said Thursday the “people of the nation want a Ram Mandir (in Ayodhya)”. Backing Naik, Maharaj said “no power on earth can stop the construction of Ram temple”.
All this while, the government was also being cornered in the House over the allegedly forced conversion of Muslims in UP by RSS-affiliated Hindu groups.
“The Opposition wanted to drag the (Godse) subject for some time. We swung into action immediately and did damage control. Similarly, when the Opposition tried to hold Parliament to ransom on Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s remark, the PM came forward to make a statement in Parliament after doing some hard talking at the BJP parliamentary party meeting,” said another minister.
Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government was serious about running Parliament and not allowing any incident to overshadow the real issue of development that matters to the people of this country.
Taking exception to Naik’s comments, a senior minister went so far as to say, “The RSS will have to think of reining in its people holding constitutional posts.”
Uber banned in Delhi after its driver rapes passenger
 NEW DELHI, Dec 8: A Delhi court sent on Monday an Uber taxi driver accused of raping a 25-year-old executive to police custody for three days as the state government banned the taxi booking service which came under fire for hiring the driver without background checks.
Police said Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, had earlier spent nearly two years in jail from 2011 over another rape charge before being acquitted last year when the victim allegedly turned hostile and the court found contradictions in her statement.
On Friday night, Yadav allegedly raped an executive from a Gurgaon-based finance company in north Delhi's Sarai Rohilla before dropping her home, sparking outrage in the city weeks before the second anniversary of the fatal gangrape of a 23-year-old medical student in a moving bus.
Although the driver threatened to kill her if she reported the crime to police, the woman took a photo of the car's number plate before alerting the authorities.
Police tracked Yadav down and arrested him on Sunday from his home town Mathura, 160 kilometers from New Delhi, where he had fled.
He refused to participate in an identification line-up after police told the court they had not yet recovered the mobile phone he used during the incident.
Meanwhile, Uber faced criticism for hiring the cab driver without the mandatory police verification. It initially could not produce the call records of the accused as the server was located in the US.
"Keeping in view the violation and the horrific crime committed by the driver, the transport department has banned all activities relating to providing any transport service by the www.Uber.com with immediate effect," said a statement by the transport department.
"The transport department has also blacklisted the company from providing any transport service in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi in future."
The department also alleged Uber had flouted transport rules and "misled" the passenger with its app.
"M/s Uber also misled the commuter about the nature of the taxi service offered by the "Uber App," it said.
Special commissioner Deepak Mishra said early investigations showed GPS had not been installed in the taxi and police background checks were not conducted on the driver.
San Francisco-based Uber had earlier issued a statement saying its thoughts were with the young woman and it was working with the government to address the issue.
The criticism of Uber comes at a time when the company has faced critical news coverage over its driver screening in the United States and could spell trouble across the globe for the company.
Anger mounted in New Delhi where a crowd of angry protesters rallied outside the home minister's residence, demanding more action by officials to ensure safety for women.
"The shocking incident of rape of a young woman in a cab on Friday night exposes the alarming situation about lack of women safety in the national capital," the Aam Aadmi Party said in a statement.
Uber tried to shift some of the blame on to the Delhi government for the failure to do background checks on the accused cab driver.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick issued a statement following, terming the incident horrific.
"What happened over the weekend in New Delhi is horrific. Our entire team's hearts go out to the victim of this despicable crime. We will do everything, I repeat, everything to help bring this perpetrator to justice and to support the victim and her family in her recovery.
"We will work with the government to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs. We will also partner closely with the groups who are leading the way on women's safety here in New Delhi and around the country and invest in technology advances to help make New Delhi a safer city for women," the statement said.
A day after police served a notice on the firm, Madhur Verma, deputy commissioner of Delhi Police (North), said, "Every violation by Uber will be evaluated and we'll go for legal recourse. The police would take legal advice before opting to press a criminal or civil case.
11 security men killed as terrorists launch 4 attacks in JK
SRINAGAR, Dec 5: Two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir, militants launched multiple attacks by storming an Indian Army camp in Uri in Baramulla district, killing 11 security personnel including a lieutenant colonel, and then struck in Srinagar, Shopian and Tral.
Uri is about 100 km northwest of Srinagar, where Prime Minister Modi is due to campaign on Monday.
The latest attack was at a bus stand in Tral in south Kashmir, where militants lobbed a grenade injuring seven civilians, according to agency reports.
Gunmen also fired at a search party in Soura on the outskirts of Srinagar and a grenade was hurled at a police station in Shopian.
Police sources said security personnel, after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in Srinagar to disturb the upcoming poll rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rushed to Soura, 8 km away from Lal Chowk.
They said at least two militants travelling in a car tried to speed away from a check point at Ahmadnagar in the area Friday afternoon.
The policemen chased the car and in the ensuing gun battle a top commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba Qari Israr was shot dead, sources said. An AK-47 rifle was recovered from him.
The area has been cordoned off as another militant had taken refuge in a house in the same locality, they added.
The three attacks took place less than 12 hours after militants stormed an army camp at Mohra in Uri tehsil of north Kashmir's Baramulla district, killing 11 security personnel.
In the daring pre-dawn attack ahead of third phase of elections in Jammu and Kashmir on December 9, heavily armed militants killed 8 army men and 3 policemen around 3am at the camp. A sub-inspector of the Jammu and Kashmir police was among the police men who were killed.
Six militants were also killed in the attack at the army camp, 20 km from the Line of Control (LoC), official sources said.
A lt col and 7 army personnel were among the dead. While bodies of 4 army personnel were charred, one had burn injuries and the other three had bullet injuries, the sources said.
"Terrorists opened small arms fire and lobbed grenades on the army camp at Mohura at 3am. Army response teams immediately mobilised and surrounded the area. Firefight continued till 9.30 in the morning and all terrorists were neutralised," an army official at the encounter site said.
"Casualties sustained by security forces during the operation are being ascertained. Injured have been evacuated to Baramulla and are stable. A search is still in progress," he added.
Sources said the attack on the ordinance camp was carried out by a group of three to four militants who are believed to have infiltrated in the Indian region a few days ago. Police and security persons have sealed the area and are not allowing any civilian movement.
In Delhi, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said, "It is possible that this has happened because of elections... We will eliminate the remaining militants who are trapped."
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said the attack was a "desperate attempt" to disrupt peace and normalcy.
"Once again shows the desperate levels militants will go to disrupt peace and normalcy," Abdullah posted on Twitter.
He said Jammu and Kashmir police and army were responding to the attack in Uri.
"Militants have struck an army camp in North Kashmir between Baramulla and Uri. Security force casualties are feared. It's an ongoing encounter," he added.
The attack comes just four days ahead of assembly elections in Uri and six other constituencies of the Baramulla district on December 9.
On December 2, the army had foiled an infiltration bid in Handwara area of Kupwara district killing six militants. One army personnel was also killed.
The infiltration bid was foiled as people in Kupwara district were voting to elect their representatives
Congress says Modi heading a ‘U-turn’ government
NEW DELHI, Dec 1: The Congress accused the Modi government of 25 'reversals' averaging one “U-turn” a week in the six months it has been in power.
Calling it a “U-turn government,” the Congress came out with a compilation of turnarounds on 25 promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election.
Responding to the Congress charge, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said: “The main fallacy of the Congress allegation is that they want our government to do everything we talked of. If that be the case, what about the failed promises of the Congress after ruling the country for 60 years? Our government will deliver on all fronts that have been promised. We will only do all the right things.”
Releasing the booklet, Congress communications in-charge Ajay Maken clarified that “flagging issues on which the BJP leadership had changed its position after coming to power does not mean we are endorsing their earlier stance on these issues.”
Apart from the government’s volte-face on black money, the Congress list of 25 “U-turns” alleges “double-speak” on foreign policy.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s repeated criticism of the UPA government for not securing the country from intrusions, the Congress pointed out that 1,000 Chinese troops had been camping in Indian territory during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit.
“After having publicly trashed the Aadhaar scheme, the BJP is now promoting it for the same reasons that the Congress introduced it,” Mr. Maken said.
Maoist attack kills 14 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh
RAIPUR, Dec 1: At least 14 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and about a dozen wounded in an encounter with Maoists near Chintagufa in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Monday, the biggest loss of lives in anti-Maoist operations after the NDA government assumed charge in May.
Security forces were deep inside the forests about 450 km from state capital Raipur, when Maoist gunmen attacked them, using villagers as shields, officials said. The CRPF launched a special operation on November 16 to corner the First Battalion of the CPI (Maoist)’s Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee who have a stronghold in the area.
"Fourteen jawans have died in the ambush," additional director general (anti-Maoist operation) Rajinder Kumar Vij told HT. The dead included two officers.
The death toll is likely to go up with security forces unable to carry out rescue operations in the firing that went on until late evening. “We have to wait till Tuesday morning to take out the injured personnel and the bodies from the remote forested terrain,” Vij added.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who will visit Chhattisgarh on Tuesday to assess the situation, condemned the attack, calling it a dastardly act of violence. “It is an act of cowardice,’ he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted about the incident: “Words are not enough to condemn the brutal and inhuman attack by anti-national elements in Sukma, Chhattisgarh.”
Around half a dozen CRPF personnel were wounded in another encounter in the same area on November 21 and insurgents also fired at an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter that had come to carry the wounded.
“When an IAF chopper came to pick the injured, it was also fired upon… This time, when the encounter started in the morning, Maoists used villagers as human shields,” said a senior CRPF officer.
Maoist guerillas, claiming to fight for the rights of tribal communities and landless farmers, often engage in gunfights with government forces in the forested and hilly terrains of central and east India and have a presence in 16 of Chhattisgarh’s 27 districts, including Sukma.
The CRPF is also without a chief after former director general Dilip Trivedi retired on Sunday.
“Why this adhocism when daily operations are on against Maoists?” a counter-insurgency official said, requesting anonymity. “The government could have appointed Trivedi’s successor at least two weeks before his retirement so that he would have known where his men are fighting.”
Meanwhile, the security forces in Bastar zone have been put on high alert following the Maoist’s observation of Peoples Liberation of Guerrillas Army (PGLA) week from Tuesday (December 2-8).
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