Superstar Rajinikanth enters politics; to form party

CHENNAI, Dec 31: Tamil film superstar Rajinikanth announced on Sunday that he will launch a political party, ending months of speculation about his future, prompting a series of congratulatory messages from some of India’s biggest celebrities, and sending his fans across Tamil Nadu into a celebratory frenzy.

The 67-year-old, who had last week promised a “big announcement” on December 31, said his party would contest the next assembly elections in the state and field candidates for all 234 seats.

“I am joining politics for sure,” he said amid thunderous applause at a packed Sri Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai. Quoting a shloka from the Bhagwad Gita that stresses the importance of doing one’s duty and leaving the rest to God, he added: “It is the compulsion of time.”

Tamil Nadu has a long history of members of its film industry turning to politics. Three of the state’s longest-serving chief ministers over the last 60 years – M Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa – made the transition from films to administration.

The announcement comes at a time when there is intense speculation about Rajinikanth’s compatriot and rival Kamal Haasan’s foray into politics as well. Haasan was among the first to send Rajinikanth his best wishes. “I congratulate my brother Rajini for his social consciousness and his political entry. Welcome welcome,” he tweeted.

Others who welcomed the decision were Amitabh Bachchan, who called Rajinikanth a “dear friend, a colleague and a humble considerate human”, and actor Khushboo, now with the Congress, who said that Rajnikanth “believes in inclusive democracy and development”.

Neither the Congress nor the BJP offered an official reaction, but BJP spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao tweeted: “Thiru Rajinikant is undoubtedly the superstar of Tamil cinema. But, there is only one unrivalled super star in national politics in @narendramodi #Thalaivaar knows it too well.”

India’s two big national parties will see Rajinikanth’s entry as an opportunity to make inroads into a state that has so far been dominated by two Dravidian parties – the AIADMK and the DMK. The Congress has not ruled the state since the creation of Tamil Nadu in 1969, and the BJP has never managed to win a seat in the state assembly.

Tamil Nadu politics has been turned on its head since the death of former chief minister and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa in 2016. There is bitter tussle for control within her party, and the rival DMK, which has been out of power since 2011, is struggling to regain ground following allegations of corruption against some of its top leaders.

The assembly elections are due in 2021, but some experts warn of earlier polls because of the fluid political situation. “E Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam leading the AIADMK government enjoy neither popular support nor legitimacy,” said Chennai-based political analyst Ramu Manivannan. “The government may not last more than a few months and Centre could impose president’s rule. I expect the assembly elections to take place with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.”

In his short speech, Rajinikanth said there was a need to the change the system to fight corruption, and called on fans to join the fight by becoming his “watchdog, not cadre”.

“In the name of democracy, politicians are robbing us of our own money in our own land,” he said. “At this juncture, if I don’t enter politics, it will be a shame on me as people have showered me with so much love and affection. This is not cinema. It is reality.”

No sooner had Rajinikanth ended his speech than celebrations broke out at the venue and in different parts of the state. Sweets were distributed in buses and on trains, fans danced to songs from some of his hit films, and chants of “thalaivar” (leader) could be heard on the streets of Chennai.

5 jawans killed as Jaish militants attack CRPF camp in J&K’s Pulwama

SRINAGAR, Dec 31: Five soldiers and two gunmen were killed when militants stormed a CPRF camp in a pre-dawn strike in south Kashmir on Sunday, an official said, capping off a year in which security forces upped the offensive but also suffered losses in the border state.

Three Central Reserve Police Force men were injured in the Pulwama attack claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, whose top leader was gunned down in the district on December 26. The soldiers were in hospital but stable.

“Two militants have been killed. Search is on for the third militant. Operation is still on,’’ CRPF inspector-general Ravideep Sahi said.

At least three heavily armed militants hurled grenades and entered the 185th battalion camp of the CRPF in Lethpora at around 2am, sources said.

The personnel on sentry duty returned fire, and a gun battle broke out, sources said.

The militants made a dash for block three, which housed a day clinic and a control room, of the main building complex and kept firing.

While Block 2 had offices, Block 1 was a residential accommodation and all its 15-20 occupants were evacuated, sources said.

Three personnel were hit in the first few minutes of the militants entering the camp situated along the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway, which connects the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.

While three died of bullet wounds, a fourth had a cardiac arrest, sources said.

A fifth jawan was killed late in the afternoon when forces went to retrieve the body of a militant. As soon as they entered the building, they were fired upon, sources said.

The CRPF identified the dead as inspector Kuldip Roy from Hamirpur in Himachal, head constable Taufail Ahmed from J&K’s Rajouri and constables Saif-u-Din Ganie from Budgam in Kashmir, Rajendra from Churu in Rajasthan and constable PK Panda from Odisha’s Sundargarh.

Camp officials, said police sources, were given specific inputs about a possible strike. CRPF’s Sahi said there were intelligence inputs about attacks on “security installations”.

The Lethpora camp also serves as a training facility for counter-militancy operations.

Both the militants killed were Kashmiris and were identified as Manzoor Ahmad Baba and Fardeen Ahmad Khanday.

It was rare for locals to be involved in what security sources described as a suicide mission. Such fidayeen attacks are normally carried out by foreign militants, several of whom are active in the Valley.

The attack follows a string of high-profile counter-insurgency operations that have dealt blows to Jaish, Laskhar-e-Taiba, another Pakistan-based group, and the home-grown Hizbul Mujahideen.

Noor Mohammad Tantray, a top Jaish commander, who masterminded several attacks on security forces, was killed in Pulwama on December 26.

Around 206 militants, 75 security men and 24 civilians have died in Kashmir violence, making 2017 the deadliest year in a decade.

Sunday’s early-morning strike follows a pattern. Eight security personnel died after militants stormed a district police complex in Pulwama in August.

A soldier was killed in another pre-dawn raid the same month when militants targeted a Border Security Force camp near the Srinagar airport.

The two strikes are believed to have been carried out by a Jaish special squad allegedly formed to avenge the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

Mumbai rooftop pub fire kills 14, including woman celebrating birthday

MUMBAI, Dec 29: Fourteen people were killed and at least 16 injured after a fire broke out in a rooftop restaurant and engulfed a four-storey building in Mumbai’s thriving Kamala Mills complex late on Thursday night, raising concerns over fire-safety norms in the city’s commercial hubs.

Eleven of the victims were women, many of whom had come to a pub, 1Above, to celebrate the birthday of 29-year-old Khushboo Mehta Bansali, who was among the dead. Two of those who died were US-based men who went back in to try and rescue their aunt from the blaze.

All 14 victims killed in the fire died due to suffocation from not being able to find an exit, officials said.

The exact cause of the fire, which started at 12.27am and was doused by eight fire tenders and five tankers about six hours later, is not yet known. But officials said the flames spread quickly because of bamboo and other flammable material on the rooftops of 1Above and the adjacent Mojo Bistro. Both restaurants had been served three notices each for safety violations in recent months.

In a video that was posted on social media, Bansali, dressed in a black top, is seen blowing out candles on her birthday cake to the chorus of “Happy Birthday”. The video is believed to have been recorded minutes before the fire broke out.

On Friday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directed Mumbai’s municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta to conduct an inquiry and determine who was responsible for the incident.

Mehta suspended five Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, and transferred assistant municipal commissioner Prashant Sapkale hours after the incident. The police lodged an FIR against the owners of 1Above — Hitesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijit Manka.

In an official statement, the management of 1 Above said it was not to blame: “All our premises are well inspected and we have all requisite permissions.”

According to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) officials, however, both restaurants did not have emergency exits, which led to over 200 people getting trapped inside. The pubs did not have working fire safety equipment, and flammable material such as tarpaulin sheets and artificial flowers for decoration aggravated the fire, said deputy chief fire officer R Chaudhary.

Mojo Bistro and 1Above had made extensive alterations to the structure of the building, and illegally occupied the large balcony area of the top floor, the officials said. “Both had licences only to use one-third of the area of the floor. The remaining two-thirds was supposed to an open balcony.”

In August, the BMC had demolished part of the balcony extension common to Mojo Bistro and 1Above. In September, the BMC found the space was being used again, and in October, it raided and confiscated the furniture placed in the balcony. 1Above was taken to court on three occasions between May and September.

But the BMC failed to answer questions about why it did not cancel their licences, and why the restaurants were allowed to continue serving customers.

“Five officers from the civic body have already been suspended. If they are found guilty of giving permissions illegally, they too will be booked for criminal offence. The owner-directors of the rooftop restaurant are being booked under various sections of the IPC and are facing the charge of culpable homicide,” Fadnavis said after visiting the site.

Survivors from the fire said the staff, rather than pointing them to an exit, advised them to stay in the bathrooms. “We had rushed into the bathroom, and the staff wouldn’t let us come out. That’s how many people suffocated,” said Pratik Thakur, 28, who was at 1Above. Some of the victims were found outside a restroom that had no windows.

Mahesh Narvekar, the head of the BMC’s disaster management cell, added: “The first rule during a fire is not to haul up in enclosed spaces, especially small rooms that get clouded with smoke. Restaurant staff did the exact opposite (of what they should have done).”

Law ministry nixes plan to make Aadhaar mandatory for driving licences

NEW DELHI, Dec 27: Aadhaar, the 12-digit identity number, can’t be made mandatory for issuing a driving licence, the law ministry has told the road transport ministry which is coming out with a new application form for drivers, HT has learnt.

Aadhaar could be a “preferred identity document” but linking it to new licences should be “voluntary”, the law ministry said, citing the legal challenges the biometric identity number is facing in the Supreme Court. The apex court had on December 14 extended to March 31 the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various services and schemes.

A law ministry’s stand was reiterated at a meeting held at cabinet secretariat on December 15 to review the use of Aadhaar.

“As per the motor vehicles act, documents for proof of age and address is required for applying for driving licences for which use of Aadhaar has not been agreed by the department of legal affairs as it is only an identity document,” say the minutes of the meeting reviewed by Hindustan Times.

The department of legal affairs works under the law ministry.

Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and his law ministry counterpart Ravi Shankar Prasad have been batting for linking Aadhaar with driving licences.

Gadkari has said on many occasions a third of driving licences in India are bogus, blaming untrained drivers and badly designed roads for most of 150,000 deaths on Indian roads every year. Aadhaar, says the minister, will help in weeding out fake licences.

The law ministry’s direction came while vetting a draft notification issued by the road ministry to simplify the application form for a driving licence.

At present, there are separate forms for learner’s licence, driving licence, to make changes to the licence or for its renewal. In August, the road ministry decided to simplify the process by introducing one form for all licence-related issues.

Besides seeking vehicle details, the form also had a column asking for the Aadhaar number. The ministry issued a draft notification on August 29, setting a 30-day deadline for receiving comments after which the notification would have been finalised.

“However, when the road ministry sent the draft notification to the law ministry for vetting, the ministry said the form should specify that Aadhaar should be optional and nobody should be denied a driving licence if they don’t have it,” a road ministry official said.

The ministry was making changes specifying that Aadhaar was optional, the official, who didn’t wish to be identified, said.

The government is pushing the use of Aadhaar, saying it is necessary to plug leaks in its subsidy schemes for the poor and also ensure financial transparency.

But activists have voiced privacy concerns because it requires finger printing and iris scans. They also say it is denying welfare benefits to the needy.

The Supreme Court will from January 10 begin hearing arguments on the validity of Aadhaar.

"We Are Here To Change The Constitution," Says Union Minister In New Controversy

KOPPAL (KARNATAKA), Dec 26: Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde is in the centre of another controversy after he said that his party, the ruling BJP, will "soon change the Constitution," which mentions the word "secular." He was attacking what he called a "new fad where people project themselves as secular."

The 49-year-old minister was speaking at a function in Kukanur of Koppal district in the state when he urged people to "claim with pride that they are Muslim, Christian, Lingayat, Brahmin, or a Hindu," adding, "Those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don't have their own identity...They don't know about their parentage, but they are intellectuals."

He also said, "Some people say the Constitution says secular and you must accept it. We will respect the Constitution, but the Constitution has changed several times and it will change in the future too. We are here to change the Constitution and we'll change it."

The Karnataka Congress has asked if the BJP endorses its minister's views and suggested that if so, the party must face assembly elections in the state next year "on this agenda." Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Mr Hegde has "clearly not studied the Constitution, does not know parliamentary or political language," and must know that "each and every individual in this country is an Indian, And every religion has equal right and opportunity."

Anant Kumar Hegde is a five-time Lok Sabha member from Uttara Kannada, who was made a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet reshuffle in August this year as part of the BJP's strategy to boost representation from states where elections will be held soon. The party hopes to wrest Karnataka back after losing the only southern state it has ruled to the Congress in 2013.

Mr Hegde, known for making controversial comments, has been in a series of rows since he was inducted as minister for skill development and entrepreneurship. A case was registered against him earlier this month for allegedly abusing Mr Siddaramaiah at Kittur in Belagavi district.

Soon after he was appointed a minister CCTV footage of Mr Hegde slapping a doctor was widely circulated. He was seen striking the doctor, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against a wall. Mr Hegde was apparently furious because he felt the doctors were not paying enough attention to his mother, who had suffered multiple fractures after a fall at home.

BJP retains Gujarat; Wins Himachal

NEW DELHI, Dec 18: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared set to win the assembly elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat on Monday with trends showing 99 wins for the saffron party. In Himachal the BJP is leading in 44 seats.

The counting of votes for the 182-seat Gujarat assembly is underway after a two-phase election to pick the new government in Gujarat. The BJP pulled ahead in the vote count after a tight race with the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress in early trends.

The results of the Gujarat elections are seen as a litmus test for the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

BJP made a comeback as counting of votes showed an anti-incumbency trend in the Himachal Pradesh election results.

The counting of votes for the 68 seats in Himachal Pradesh began at 8 am.

EC withdraws notice to Rahul Gandhi over TV interviews; to set up panel to review model code of conduct

NEW DELHI, Dec 17: The Election Commission on Sunday withdrew its show cause notice issued to Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his televised interviews, citing that technological advancements have required a review of the model of conduct.

Considering the “multi-fold expansion of digital and electronic media”, the commission further decided setting up a committee to review the extant of the code (section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951). The panel will “examine these provisions in the prevailing context of communication technologies and suggest required changes”, it said.

In an order issued on Sunday night, it said the proposed committee will have members from the poll panel, the information and broadcasting, law and IT ministries, in addition to those from the National Broadcasters Associations (NBA) and Press Council of India (PCI).

The EC had on Wednesday sought an explanation from Gandhi for appearing in television interviews after campaigning for the Gujarat assembly had ended. According to the model code, no “election matter” can be propagated within 48 hours before completion of polls. The counting and results of the election are being announced on Monday.

“It appears imperative to revisit the provisions relating to the last 48 hours before completion of poll to appropriately address challenges unleashed by fast changing technologies in the context of multi-phase polls,” the EC said.

Following the political protest over Gandhi’s interviews, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s FICCI meeting and the release of the BJP manifesto, the poll panel also ordered registration of cases against television channels.

Modi taking us back to medieval times: Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI, Dec 16: The Congress will defend the voice of every single Indian and fight politics that “crushes people”, said Rahul Gandhi on Saturday after taking over as party president.

Gandhi, 47, in a brief speech talked about brotherhood and harmony and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “setting the nation on fire”.

“The Congress took India to the 21st century, but the PM today is taking us back to the medieval times. We are now being compelled to imagine that businesses can be built without harmony; that only one man himself is the voice of reason; and that expertise, experience and knowledge can be cast aside for personal glory,” he said at 24 Akbar Road, the party’s headquarters in Delhi.

“You have an example in front of you. Once fire breaks out it is difficult to douse it. That is what we are telling the people of BJP, that if you set the nation on fire it will be difficult to control. Today, the BJP has spread the fire of violence across the country,” he said, continuing with his tirade against the ruling party.

Gandhi said his aim is to make Congress a “grand old young party”.

“We, the Congress, have always fought for our brothers and sisters. We consider the BJP our brothers and sisters even though we don’t agree with them. They want a ‘Congress-free’ India--we do not fight hate with hate.”

Gandhi, who had been the Congress vice-president for about five years, took the baton from his mother Sonia on Saturday, two days before the election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh where exit polls predict the BJP’s win.

The process of his election as the new Congress chief was completed after Mullapally Ramachandran, president of the party’s Central Election Authority, handed over a certificate to him.

Gandhi, who accepted the position of the Congress president with “deepest humility”, faces tough task: he has to reinvigorate the 131-year-old party and infuse mew momentum ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“Rahul ji, we depend upon you to transform and sustain politics of hope,” former prime minister Manmohan Singh said at the event, adding the Gandhi scion “brings in a new sense of dedication and commitment, a new sense of leadership with courage and humility”.

In a veiled dig at the ruling BJP, he said Rahul’s appointment came at a time when “politics of fear” was taking over the “politics of hope” in India.

Sonia, 71, said in her message that Congress activists and leaders “won’t bow down”. “Our struggle is for the country and we will continue fighting for it. We won’t give it up,” she said.

“Rahul is my son. So I do not think to praise him is appropriate for me. But I would say that since childhood he had to bear the brunt of violence. After joining politics he had to face blatant personal attacks that have made him a stronger person.”

Sonia Gandhi gets emotional as she hands over baton to son Rahul, remembers Indira, Rajiv

NEW DELHI, Dec 16: As Sonia Gandhi took to the stage to deliver her last speech as Congress president after handing charge to her son Rahul Gandhi, she was forced to pause several times as the loud fireworks set off by enthusiastic party workers drowned out her voice. “I can’t speak,” she said helplessly.

As the fireworks faded out, Sonia continued, and managed to complete the sentence. “Nearly twenty years ago when I stood before you to address you for the first time as your chosen president, I was so nervous that my hands were shaking.”

Sonia got emotional as she recollected the sacrifices made by her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi and husband Rajiv Gandhi for the country and said she decided to join politics when she felt “Congress was facing a crisis and communal forces were gaining strength”.

“Indiraji (Indira Gandhi) accepted me as a daughter and from her I learned about the culture of this country, about those principles on which this nation was founded,” said Gandhi.

“In 1984, when she was assassinated, I felt as if I had lost my own mother. That catastrophe changed forever the course of my life. I had a different view of politics at that time and I had wanted to keep my husband and children as far away from it as possible,” added Sonia.

“...But a heavy responsibility fell on his shoulders (Rajiv Gandhi) and despite my pleas, Rajiv ji accepted as a duty the post of prime minister.”

Sonia added: “He worked hard day and night to fulfill this responsibility. With him I travelled to remote corners of the country, came to understand something of our people’s problems and the challenges facing our country.

“Then, just seven years after the death of Indiraji, my husband too was assassinated. I lost my anchor and my support,” she said, in a voice full of emotion.

Sonia said it took several years for her to recover from it. “It was many years later that I could emerge from my shell,” she said.

“Only when I came to feel that the Congress was facing a crisis, and that communal forces were gaining strength, did I feel compelled to respond to the call of the party workers,” she added.

She said: “I felt that my turning away from this summons would negate the sacrifice of my mother-in-law’s life and my husband’s life. So I entered politics -- to fulfill a duty to my family, party and country.”

Congress sweeps civic polls in Punjab

CHANDIGARH, Dec 17: The Congress on Sunday registered a resounding victory in elections to the municipal corporations of Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala even as the Opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) accused the State Election Commission (SEC) of playing into the hands of the ruling party.

The Congress, which came to power in the State less than a year ago, won a majority of the seats in the three local bodies, wresting control from the SAD-BJP combine. The Congress swept the Patiala Corporation by winning 58 wards while the Opposition parties failed to open account. In Jalandhar, the party won 66 wards while eight went to the BJP and four to the SAD. In Amritsar, the Congress won 69 and the SAD-BJP 12.

According to an official spokesperson, polling was held amid tight security arrangements in 29 municipal councils and nagar panchayats across the State.

SAD president Sukhbir Badal alleged that the SEC had acted in a biased manner. “Akali delegations met the SEC five times to register complaints pertaining to irregularities in poll processes but didn’t get any justice. The SEC had become a party to encouraging “goondaism'” by refusing to act on any complaint by the Opposition,” said Mr. Badal.

“We will approach the High Court with a petition that such a State Election Commission, which is dancing to the tunes of the Congress government, is wound up in public interest,” he added.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh termed the victory in the civic bodies poll a clear vindication of the Congress policies and a resounding defeat of the Opposition’s propaganda.

“People of Punjab have once again shown their political maturity and defeated the SAD-BJP combine and AAP, both of which had been completely wiped into oblivion from the electoral landscape of the State,” he said.

Capt. Amarinder said the people had not forgotten the misrule of Akalis and hence have now handed them a crushing defeat in the local bodies’ elections.

“As far as the AAP was concerned, it had come to Punjab like a summer storm but had been completely decimated, with no apparent hope of revival,” the Chief Minister said.

“The victory for the Congress in the local bodies’ elections, which many political pundits and even the media had described as a litmus test for the party, clearly showed that the government was on the right track and the people were more than satisfied with its achievements of the past nine months,” he said.

Former chief minister Parkash Singh said, “It (poll) was a ‘votes minus democracy’ in which the innocent and helpless Punjabis were pitted against government’s muscle power State machinery.”

He alleged that Opposition parties were not allowed to contest at most place through non-issuance of NOCs and wilful rejection of nomination papers.

Rahul Gandhi appointed Congress president, to take charge on Dec 16

NEW DELHI, Dec 11: The Congress on Monday declared Rahul Gandhi as its president in an elevation that marks a generational shift in the country’s oldest political party that is going through a difficult phase due to a series of electoral setbacks.

The 47-year-old leader was elected unopposed and will replace his mother Sonia Gandhi. The change of guard brings down the curtains on more than 19 years of uninterrupted tenure of Sonia, who holds the record of being the longest-serving Congress president after assuming the post on March 14, 1998.

“Since the withdrawal of date/time is over and as there is only one candidate, as per Article XVII (d) of the Constitution of Indian National Congress, I hereby declare Shri Rahul Gandhi elected as president of the Indian National Congress,” returning officer Mullappally Ramachandran said.

Ramachandran told reporters Rahul will receive the certificate of election from the party’s poll panel during a ceremony at the Congress headquarters in Delhi on December 16.

Ramachandran said as many as 89 sets of valid nomination papers proposing Rahul’s name for the post were received by the party’s central election authority that oversaw the organisational polls. He had filed his papers on December 4.

Rahul’s elevation comes nearly five years after he was anointed as the Congress vice-president in January 2013. He is the sixth member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to occupy the top post in the 131-year-old party.

The announcement, which came in the absence of Rahul who is campaigning in Gujarat, was received by Congress supporters by bursting of crackers, waving of party flag and beating of drums.

Slogans such as “Agla Pradhan Mantri Kaisa Ho, Rahul Gandhi Jaisa Ho. (How should our next Prime Minister be… he should be like Rahul Gandhi) and Long Live Rahul Gandhi” rented the air outside the party office at 24, Akbar Road.

“The entire Indian National Congress family would like to convey our best wishes to incoming President Rahul Gandhi, and wish him a successful tenure as he continues to lead from the front,” the party said on its official Twitter handle.

Rahul’s daunting task will be to revive and rebuild the Congress to make it fighting fit for the 2019 elections. A good show in Gujarat, where he is leading the party campaign, will certainly give a good start to his new innings.

“The entire country has lots of expectations from Rahul Gandhi. He has shown his mettle much before he was elected,” senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

Manmohan Singh asks Modi to apologise for Pakistan collusion remark

NEW DELHI, Dec 11: In a sharp counter-offensive on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his ‘conspiracy with Pakistan’ remark, former premier Manmohan Singh on Monday said he was setting a “dangerous precedent” with his “ill-thought transgression” and asked him to apologise to the nation.

In a strongly-worded statement, Singh rejected as “innuendos and falsehoods” Modi’s comments, saying he did not discuss the Gujarat assembly elections with anyone at the dinner hosted by Mani Shankar Aiyar for Pakistan’s former foreign minister Kurshid Kasuri here.

“I sincerely hope that Prime Minister will show the maturity and gravitas expected of the high office he holds instead of concentrating his energy solely on erroneously conceived brownie points.

“I sincerely hope that he will apologize to the Nation for his ill thought transgression to restore the dignity of the office he occupies,” he said.

Singh said he was “deeply pained and anguished” by the “falsehood and canards” being spread to score political points by the prime minister in what he said was a “lost cause” in Gujarat.

“Fearing imminent defeat in Gujarat, desperation of Prime Minister to hurl every abuse and latch on to every straw is palpable. Sadly and regrettably, Sh. Modi is setting a dangerous precedent by his insatiable desire to tarnish every constitutional office, including that of a former Prime Minister and Army Chief,” he alleged.

Addressing an election rally in Palanpur in Gujarat on Sunday, Modi suggested that Pakistan was trying to influence the assembly polls in the state.

He claimed that some Pakistani officials and Manmohan Singh met at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s house over dinner on December 6. This was a day before Aiyar’s “neech” jibe against Modi that led to his suspension.

The Congress Party, Singh said, needs no sermons on “nationalism” from a party and prime minister, whose “compromised” track record on fighting terrorism is well known, while reminding Modi of his “uninvited” visit to Pakistan after terrorist attacks in Udhampur and Gurdaspur.

“Let him also tell the country the reason for inviting the infamous ISI of Pakistan to our strategic Air Base in Pathankot to investigate a terror attack that emanated from Pakistan,” he said.

Claiming that his track record of public service to the country over the last five decades is known to all, he said no one, including Modi, can “lamely question it to gain lost political ground”.

Singh said the Gujarat issue was never raised by anyone present at the dinner and the discussion was confined to India-Pakistan relations.

He said besides himself and former vice president Hamid Ansari, others present at Aiyar’s dinner hosted for Kasuri, were the Pakistan High Commissioner, Natwar Singh, KS Bajpai, Ajai Shukla, Sharad Sabharwal, Gen. Deepak Kapoor, TCA Raghavan, Satinder K Lambah, MK Bhadrakumar, CR Gharekhan, Prem Shankar Jha, Salman Haider and Rahul Khushwant Singh.

“None of them could be accused of indulging in any anti- national activities,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi Set To Be Congress President; Files Nomination

NEW DELHI, Dec 4: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is set to take over as the party’s president on December 11 after he was the only one to file the nomination for the post on Monday, the last day to do so.

Gandhi will take over the reins of the party from his mother Sonia Gandhi who has steered the party for the past 19 years.

He will be the sixth member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to occupy the party’s highest position in its 131 years of existence.

Gandhi was made the Congress’s deputy chief in January 2013.

“Rahulji has been the darling of the Congress ... He will carry on the great tradition of the Congress party,” former prime minister Manmohan Singh gushed, as jubilant Congress workers thronged the party headquarters in the national capital.

The official announcement of Gandhi’s appointment will come on December 11, the last day for withdrawing nominations.

The Congress central election authority, which oversees organisational polls, received as many as 89 sets of nomination papers for Gandhi, including from proposers such as his mother, former prime minister Singh and other Congress Working Committee members.

The papers will be checked on Tuesday.

Gandhi, 47, visited the homes of Singh, former President Pranab Mukherjee, and his mother to seek blessings before filing his nomination around 11am.

His presidency is expected to mark a generational shift in the party that is struggling with a series of electoral setbacks, including its worst drubbing when it won just 44 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls after 10 years in power.

Gandhi’s task will be to revive and rebuild the Congress to make it fighting fit for the 2019 elections. A good show in the Gujarat assembly polls this December, where he is leading the party campaign from the front, will give a good start to his new innings.

The Congress’s fortunes hinge on its revival in the states. After Gujarat, his next challenges will be to retain Karnataka and dethrone the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan before the 2019 parliamentary elections.

Congress leaders suggest Gandhi may now go for an overhaul, while striking a balance between young leaders and the old guard, which had reservations about his style of functioning in the past.

The parliamentarian for Amethi has long had the reputation of being a reluctant leader, though analysts say he has displayed greater political acumen since the 2014 election defeat.

Sonia Gandhi enjoys a good rapport with most parties other than the BJP. Gandhi’s ability to stitchand maintain alliances will likely to test his political acumen, the analysts added.

My Family Shiv Bhakts, Won't Do Dalali Over Religion: Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: After a day of bitter acrimony between the BJP and Congress over Somnath temple signature controversy, Rahul Gandhi spoke up on the issue. The Congress vice president accused the BJP workers of creating the controversy by writing his name in the second book and accused the party of using religion for political gains.

A video of his address, made at a closed-door session with traders at Amreli, shows Gandhi saying all his family members were devotees of Lord Shiva. He said he did not need anybody's certificate about his religion, nor would he do "dalali" (wheeling-dealing) over religion.

"My grandmother (late Indira Gandhi) and my family are Shiv Bhakts. But we keep such things private. We generally do not speak about them. Because, we think it is a very personal matter and we don't need anyone else's certificate about it," he said. "We do not want to commercialise this thing. We don't want to do 'dalali' over it. We do not want to use it for political purposes too," he said.

Gandhi's party had been vocal about the issue after news that Gandhi was logged into a register for non-Hindus at the temple created a storm on Twitter. Congress leaders accused the ruling BJP of circulating a "fake entry" to discredit Gandhi.

Gandhi supported the allegation today, saying, "I will tell you what had happened (yesterday). I went inside the temple. Then I signed the visitors' book. After that, BJP people wrote my name in the second book."

Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki has hinted that BJP president Amit Shah, who is a trustee of the temple, could be behind what he called a "conspiracy". "They have stooped to such a low level that now they want to term us non-Hindus," he was quoted as saying.

The BJP has dismissed the allegation, saying Gandhi's aide had signed the register - a claim that was seconded by the temple.

Gandhi's repeated visits to temples during the election campaign in Gujarat has irked many BJP leaders, who have claimed that it is a sign of desperation of the Congress, which has been out of power in the state for more than two decades. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has derided his temple visits, saying at one of the temples, the Congress leader was told off for "sitting as if he's doing Namaaz".

Rahul Gandhi had then claimed that he was a devotee of Lord Shiva -- a comment that was greeted with jeers by some BJP leaders.