Over 600 riots in two months after Modi government came to power: Congress

NEW DELHI, Aug 13: Ruling BJP and opposition Congress on Wednesday clashed in Lok Sabha over communal riots in the country with both parties accusing each other of pursuing a divisive agenda and questioning secular credentials.

Initiating the discussion on 'Need for more effective mechanisms to deal with communal violence', Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that over 600 riots had taken place in various parts of the country in two months after Narendra Modi government came to power. Amid strong protests by ruling benches, he suggested that BJP and its affiliates were trying to "divide the society" to retain power and warned that if it was not controlled, "we will repent".

Naming VHP and Bajrang Dal and referring to certain comments made by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Kharge said the "communal forces" had got emboldened after BJP came to power as they feel that they have "political power" now and would be protected.

"We talk about uniting the society, you talk about dividing the society. You divide the society on the basis of religion and implant your principles on suppressed sections like minorities so that they remain away from power," the Congress leader told BJP.

Asking BJP not to "incite" riots, he questioned why the communal violence was taking place in states going to polls like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

He said while BJP was accusing Congress of indulging in "vote bank politics", the truth was the other way round.

Hitting back at Congress, BJP leader Yogi Adityanath said, "You claim you are secular but the agenda you implement is communal."

The House took up a debate on the communal violence nearly a week after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi led his party members into the Well to demand urgent debate on the issue.

Adityanath said there have been thousands of riots during UPA rule and even before that 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits were driven out of Kashmir but Congress remained silent.

The BJP leader also referred to communal violence in Assam and anti-Sikh riots of 1984 in Delhi to target Congress.

He suggested setting up a Special Investigative Team (SIT) headed by Supreme Court judge to probe all communal incidents to unravel who was behind these.

Asserting that Hindu philosophy is 'live and let live', Adityanath said in recent times, there have been conspiracies against Hindus.

There are more than 12 lakh sadhus and saints in the country but Imams were given allowances, he said and wondered "whether this is secular".

He also criticised the Uttar Pradesh government's efforts to withdraw criminal charges against "terrorists", a move which was eventually stopped by court.

He also said that Congress and the Left had joined hands and held a special sitting of Assembly to demand release of the main accused in the Coimbatore bomb blast, evoking protests.

Taking offence to certain remarks made by Adityanath, Congress member K C Venugopal raised point of order. Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai assured the member that the matter would be looked into and if necessary those remarks would be expunged.

AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi also tried to raise point of order saying that figures of communal violence incidents mentioned by Adityanath were wrong but Thambidurai did not entertain the demand, saying he could speak on it when he gets the chance.

Earlier, Kharge said BJP should not claim to be "thekedar" (contractor) of any particular community as the country belongs to all religions, castes and creeds.

"Only because you got government does not mean that you will suppress others," he said, while alleging that BJP was indulging in "polarisation" for votes, including in Bihar.

When Adityanath suggested SIT probe into the riots, some Congress members were seen saying it should be done.

Even as BJP questioned his figure of 600 riots since Modi government came to power, Kharge accused the central government of ignoring the communal violence even while acknowledging that law and order is the responsibility of a state government.

He then quoted government figures and said 113 incidents had taken place in May and June in which 15 people were killed and 318 injured. He also cited some incidents with dates, including in Bhuj area of Gujarat.

"Why are these incidents happening now? What is the reason? Who is behind these? These have increased in the last 2-3 months since the new government came. This is not a good sign," the Congress leader said while alleging that BJP did not want harmony in the society.

Suggesting the involvement of BJP, he said the riots were not taking place in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala where "they don't have the strength".

He said there is no analysis as to why these incidents were taking place. He said the Centre should have convened a meeting of Chief Ministers of the states to discuss the issue.

"I am not saying that you (BJP) directly did it (riots).
But why are these incidents happening only after you came to power? Don't divide the society," Kharge said.

Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay emphasised that all efforts should be made to prevent communal violence in the country.

He urged the government to find out the reasons for communal violence in states which have been peaceful. "The government should remain cautious and vigilant against communal violence," he said.

According to him, lawmakers should try to evolve a mechanism to ensure that there are no incidents of communal violence.

Noting that in last two months there has been a spurt in communal violence, Mohammad Salim (CPI-M) said that instead of provocating communal violence, law makers should try to restrain them.

Accusing the UPA government of having being failed "miserably" in enacting the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill, he said these days religion is being used as a weapon to fight with people.

He said people think they are "thekedar (contractor)" of a particular religion, but such feelings should not exist as it leads to intolerance.

Rahul, who was present during the discussion, went up to Salim and shook hands with him.

PDP leader from Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti demanded enactment of the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill, and also implementation of Sachar Committee report.

She said Muslims have become victims of state establishments as even after so many incidents of communal violence the state machinery is unable to find a solution to the problem.

The rise in instances of terrorism is because terrorists know that no step would be taken against them, she said, adding the system of the country should be people-friendly to include interest of minorities.

Talking about vote bank politics to appease minorities, Tariq Anwar (NCP) said no party can win election just on the basis of such type of minority politics.

"We have to take all sections of the society on board. If we have to take the country forward we have to respect all religion," Anwar said.

He said the law makers are elected by the people and not to represent the religion.

Warning against playing with religious sentiments, Anwar said we should not take any step which will benefit the enemies
of the country.

Asaduddin Owaisi (MIM) asked to home minister to reply whether police is partial in handling communal violence and why the enquiry reports of communal violence in various states are not being made public.

Aggressive Sonia urges Cong to step up its opposition act

NEW DELHI, Aug 13: A combative Congress president Sonia Gandhi made a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday, saying there had been “subtle but pernicious signals of intolerance” ever since it came to power.

Sonia’s aggressiveness over the past few days isn’t just directed at the BJP but is also aimed at addressing unrest in her party after its drubbing in the general elections. Her immediate challenge is to galvanise a demoralised cadre ahead of assembly elections in four states.

There have been open voices of dissent in the Congress after the poll debacle, with many questioning party vice president Rahul Gandhi’s style of functioning and demanding that she take complete charge of the party. Over a period of time, Sonia has delegated some of her organisational powers to Rahul.

“It is our task to play the role of a vigilant opposition… and resist the authoritarian and sectarian tendencies of the new government as it tries to get its way in parliament,” she told the Congress parliament party (CPP) meeting.

Sonia reiterated there has been an alarming increase in incidents of communal violence ever since BJP came to power, a day after she told a party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram that more than 600 incidents of communal violence had taken place in UP and as many in Maharashtra during the past two months.

“We have had hundreds of incidents of communal violence and rioting in Uttar Pradesh, in Maharashtra and a number of other states,” she said.

Her increasing combativeness comes days after Rahul led an opposition charge into the well of the Lok Sabha, demanding a discussion on rising communal incidents in the country. He later said communal conflicts in Uttar Pradesh had been “deliberately engineered”.

India will not compromise interest of farmers at WTO: Govt

NEW DELHI, Aug 5: India on Tuesday said it will not compromise the interest of poor farmers and consumers at the WTO and sought complete resolution of the foodgrain stockpile issue, which is essential for unhindered implementation of the country's food security programme.

"Food security is a humanitarian concern, especially in these times of uncertainty and volatility, and the issue of food security is critical to a vast swathe of humanity and cannot be sacrificed to mercantilist considerations," commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha.

Justifying India's tough stand, which had led to collapse of the WTO Geneva talks recently, she said without a permanent solution, public stockholding programmes in India and other developing countries will be hampered by the present ceiling on domestic support which is pegged at 10% of the value of production and is wrongly considered as trade-distorting subsidy to farmers under existing WTO rules.

"India stood firm on its demands despite immense pressure. India is committed to protecting the interests of our farmers against all odds. Our farmers work in extremely adverse conditions, most of them at the mercy of the vagaries of the monsoon, aggravated today by climate change," she said.

India had decided not to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes.

Congress leader and former food minister KV Thomas said UPA government had also adopted the "same stance".

Commenting on this Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan said: "It was a good thing."

India has asked the World Trade Orgnization (WTO) to amend the norms for calculating agri subsidies in order to procure foodgrains from farmers at minimum support price and sell that to poor at cheaper rates without attracting any penalty in the WTO.

The current WTO norms limit the value of food subsidies at 10% of the total value of foodgrain production. However, the support is calculated at the prices that are over two decades old.

India is asking for a change in the base year (1986-88) for calculating the food subsidies. It wants the change to current base year on account of various factors such as inflation and currency movements.

There are apprehensions that once India completely implements its food security programme, it could breach the 10 per cent cap. Breach of the cap may lead to imposition of hefty penalties if a member country drags India to the WTO.

Sitharaman said developing countries are finding themselves hamstrung by the existing rules in running their food stockholding and domestic food aid programmes.

It is important for developing countries to be able to guarantee some minimum returns to their poor farmers so that they are able to produce enough for themselves and for domestic food security, she added.

"A permanent solution on food security is a must for us and we cannot wait endlessly in a state of uncertainty while the WTO engages in an academic debate on the subject of food security which is what some developed countries seem to be suggesting before they are ready to engage on this important issue," the minister said.

Govt will not let country down: Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI, July 22: Pakistan violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir 19 times since the new government took over and the Indian side retaliated appropriately in each case, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

"Our head has not bowed... This government will not let our heads bow," Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said replying to questions in Rajya Sabha.

Jaitley's response came when Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said Narendra Modi, before becoming the Prime Minister, used to accuse the then UPA dispensation of being "weak".

Then why the government has "bowed" to the recurring ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Azad asked.

The minister said during the current year till July 16, there have been 54 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir.

Between May 26 and July 17, 19 ceasefire violations took place along the LoC and International Border and in all such cases, there was retaliation by the Indian side, he said.

"All CFVs are taken up with the concerned authorities of Pakistan at the appropriate level through the established mechanism of hotlines, flag meetings etc," he said.

Jaitley recalled that during the first meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif here on May 27, he had underlined the importance of border ceasefire.

"Our Prime Minister further emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility at the borders and upholding the sanctitiy of the LoC," he said about the meeting that took place a day after the new government took over.

The two leaders also agreed that Foreign Secretaries of the two countries would get in touch to explore how to move bilateral relations forward.

Sharif had come to India at Modi's invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government.

Last year, there were a total of 347 ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir including 199 along the LoC.

In reply to another question, Jaitley said along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, the army has adopted a robust counter- infiltration strategy which has an appropriate mix of technology and human resources to check infiltration effectively.

"Innovative troops deployment, efficient use of surveillance and monitoring devices and fencing along the LoC have enhanced the ability to detect and intercept infiltration," he said.

Railways to attract FDI

NEW DELHI, July 8: Railway Budget for 2014-15 proposes to attract private domestic and FDI in infrastructure projects and pursuing private-public partnership to boost the finances of the cash-strapped railways.

Having hiked fares to the tune of 14.2 percent recently, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda who presented the new government's first budget in Lok Sabha on Tuesday said he plans to leverage railway PSU resources by bringing in their investible funds in infrastructure projects.

He announced plans to introduce a bullet train in Mumbai- Ahmedabad sector and setting up of a Diamond Quadrilateral network of high speed rail connecting major metros and growth centres. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been provided for initiating the project.

Increasing the speed of trains to 160 to 200 kms per hour on nine select sectors was another highlight of the budget, which proposes to allow all experimental stoppages to lapse after September this year.

The Budget disclosed that traffic growth declined and expenditures went up in 2013-14 as compared to the revised estimates of previous financial year.

Gross traffic receipts stood at Rs 1,39,558 crore, short of revised estimates by Rs 942 crore over the previous year. The ordinary working expenses and pension outgo were also higher.

The budget estimates for 2014-15 assumes a freight loading 1101 metric tonnes, 51 metric tonnes more than the previous year, growth in passenger traffic at 2 percent and freight earnings at Rs 1,05,770 crore.

Passenger earnings will be Rs 44,645 crore after a revenue sacrifice of Rs 610 crore on account of monthly season ticket fares.

Total receipts for the current year have been pegged at Rs 1,64,374 crore and expenditure at Rs 1,49,176 crore.

Disclosing that he needs more than Rs nine lakh crore to completing the Golden Quadrilateral Network and Rs 60,000 crore for introducing one bullet train alone, Gowda told the House, "Can I depend only on hiking fare and freight rates and burden the public to realise these funds? This is unrealistic. I need to explore the alternate means of resource mobilisation."

He proposed to launch a scheme to bring in investible surplus funds of railway PSUs in infrastructure projects which can generate attractive returns.

Proposing private investment in railways through domestic and FDI, Gowda said growth depends heavily on availability of funds for investment in rail infrastructure.

Internal revenue sources and government funding are insufficient to meet the requirement, the Railway Minister said, adding the ministry is seeking Cabinet approval for allowing FDI in rail sector.

FDI, however, will be limited to infrastructure development and not allowed in operations, he said.

He said the concept of PPP has not been successful in raising substantial resources for railways.

"It is my endeavour to pursue this in right earnest. It is our target that bulk of our future projects will be financed through PPP mode, including the high-speed rail, which requires huge investments."

Apart from mobilising resources, Gowda said he needed to strategically manage other aspects of planning and administration by adopting a near-holiday approach, setting timelines for ongoing projects, strategic partnership and aggressive indigenisation of imported projects.

The annual plan for 2014-15 has been fixed at the highest ever outlay of Rs 65,445 crore with gross budgetary support at Rs 30,100 crore, Railway Safety Fund Rs 2,200 crore, internal resources Rs 15,350 crore, external market borrowing Rs 11,790 crore and EBR-PPP Rs 6,005 crore.

The budget provides higher funds for ongoing projects in North East, including 11 national projects. Rs 5,116 crore earmarked for projects in North East, which is 54 percent higher than the previous year.

While Udhampur-Katra rail link in Jammu and Kashmir has been dedicated to the nation, the focus will now be on completion of the missing link between Banihal and Katra.

18 new line surveys have been announced, which include rail connectivity to 'char dham' -- Kedarnath, Badrinath, etc, and Shimoga-Sringeri-Mangalore.

Five Jansadharan trains are being introduced along with five premium trains, six AC express trains and 27 express trains and eight passenger trains.

The premium trains are between Mumbai Central and New Delhi, Shalimar-Chennai, Secundarabad-Hazrat Nizamuddin, Jaipur-Madurai and Kamakhya-Bangalore.

In order to strengthen security in trains and stations, the budget proposes to recruit 4000 women RPF constables. Already 17000 RPF constables have been recruited and shall be available for deployment shortly.

Gowda said safety of passengers is of paramount importance and it is estimated that over Rs 40,000 crore would be needed to be invested in track renewals, elimination of unmanned railway crossings and road overbridges and underbridges.

A provision of Rs 1,785 crore has been earmarked for railway overbridges and underbridges.

Outlining IT initiatives, the minister said the railway reservation system is being revamped to move into next generation E-ticketing system, which will support 7200 tickets per minutes to allow 1,20,000 simultaneous users.

Railways will move to paperless offices in five years, provide wi-fi services in A-1 and A category stations and in select trains, real-time tracking of trains and rolling stock, mobile-based wakeup call system for passengers and mobile- based destination arrival alert.

BJP MPs misbehaved in Parliament, alleges TMC

NEW DELHI, July 8: Members of the Trinamool Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday got into a spat in the Lok Sabha over a protest against the Narendra Modi government’s maiden railway budget. The House could not transact any business in the post-lunch session due to the clash.

As soon as the House met in the afternoon for a scheduled discussion on price rise, the Trinamool Congress MPs trooped near the Speaker's podium and started shouting slogans against the railway budget, which was presented earlier in the day.

The TMC members were claiming that the rail budget had ignored the state of West Bengal and demanded that the budget be taken back. The members also shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Soon BJP members were seen shouting slogans from their seats to counter the TMC members. The Trinamool later alleged its female MPs were abused and threatened by the BJP legislators.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed "indecent comments" were made against her and Trinamool Congress MPs, and alleged that an attacker pulled at Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar's saree when they were protesting the "injustice" done to Bengal in the Railway Budget.

"Indecent language was used against me. Bad language was used against my women MPs. My women MPs faced misbehaviour," she told media persons at Chanditala in Hooghly district.

TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Kalyan Banerjee alleged they were attacked by the BJP members. Dastidar also accused one of the BJP MPs of being drunk inside the House.

Her party colleague Shatabdi Roy too accused BJP MPs of abusing and threatening to attack them adding, “I am sure they were drunk”.

The BJP dismissed the Trinamool accusations as "drama", saying they were trying to disrupt proceedings of the House.

Hukma Dev Narain Yadav, who was in the chair, adjourned the House sensing the gravity of the situation as ministers Prakash Javadekar, M Venkaiah Naidu and Minister Kalraj Mishra rushed to calm the tempers.

Some Congress members were also seen rushing to the Well of the House to avert any ugly incident.

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