Home Blog Page 5539

CBI slaps murder, conspiracy charges on 3 IB officers; Amit Shah not named in Ishrat Jahan case

Ishrat-Jahan-case-amitshahFormer Gujarat Intelligence Bureau chief Rajinder Kumar has been charged with murder and three serving officers have been accused of conspiracy in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. Ishrat, a 19-year-old college student, was killed by policemen in an alleged fake encounter 10 years ago.

In its supplementary chargesheet filed, the Central Bureau of Investigation has also accused Rajinder Kumar and the three serving IB officers – P Mittal, MK Sinha and Rajiv Wankhede – of conspiracy and illegal confinement.

Mr. Kumar has been charged under the Arms Act too; the CBI has alleged that he provided the weapons used by the Gujarat cops to kill Ishrat and three others and an AK-56 that, the agency alleges, was planted at the scene of the shooting to portray the victims as terrorists.

But nowhere does the 200-odd page charge-sheet mention a motive for the alleged involvement of these officers, a fact that is expected to exacerbate friction between the IB and the CBI. The Intelligence Bureau has said that though its officers had alerted the Gujarat police to the possibility that Ishrat and the others could be affiliated to terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, its officers did not authorize or participate in the killing.

The IB had vehemently objected to Mr. Kumar’s interrogation by the CBI in the case last year, arguing that it would affect the morale down the ranks of the IB and also that it would set a dangerous precedent because its members often work undercover and have sources that would dry up if its officers were entangled in police cases. The home ministry had backed the IB.

Ishrat Jahan was killed along with three men on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on 15 June, 2004, by Gujarat crime branch officers who claimed they had been told by the IB that the four were terrorists who planned to assassinate Narendra Modi, the state’s chief minister who is now running for Prime Minister.

In its first charge-sheet in July last year, the CBI accused seven senior policemen of murdering Ishrat and the others “in cold blood”. Amid the tension with the IB, it did not name Mr. Kumar, who was then serving. He retired about a month later.

Today’s chargesheet does not mention former Gujarat Home Minister and Narendra Modi aide Amit Shah, who the CBI had interrogated.

AAP government puts Sheila Dikshit’s role under scanner in CWG scam

Under pressure to act against the previous Congress government in Delhi over the Commonwealth Games scam, the Aam Aadmi Party government on Thursday forwarded files relating to the scam to the anti-corruption bureau and asked it look into the allegations against former chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

The ACB would probe the alleged irregularities in a case related to the procurement of street lights at inflated prices and is likely to file an FIR.

Also, the Delhi government, Monday, wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking action against Sheila Dikshit for allegedly trying to gain political mileage by granting regularisation certificates to unauthorised colonies in the Capital.

The Prime Minister-appointed Shunglu Committee had blamed Sheila Dikshit and then Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna for procedural violations and inadequacies in executing projects related to the Commonwealth Games.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led government had been facing fire from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) over its unwillingness to fast-track the probe against Dikshit and others.

Kejriwal had earlier said he had proof of wrongdoings during CWG and had prepared a report but nobody was named in it. “In November 2010, I had prepared a 370-page report on the CWG scam which contains evidence on corrupt practices during CWG. It doesn’t mention any names. It was based on newspaper reports,” he said.

Kejriwal had said that he would go ahead with the investigation into the scam unfazed by the fact that the Congress could pull out of the government.

However, with his government now deciding to go ahead with the probe, the stage appears set for a showdown with the Congress. The Aam Aadmi Party is in power in Delhi with the Congress’s support.

Telangana paralyses Parliament, ‘committed’ Congress in a fix

The deadlock in the Parliament over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh continued for the second day, Thursday. Anti-Telangana members created ruckus in both houses, forcing their adjournment for the day.

In the Lok Sabha, MPs from the Seemandhra region trooped into the well of the house and shouted slogans like “Save Andhra”.

The MPs cutting across party lines have united in their opposition to the UPA government’s plan to get the Telangana Bill cleared by the Parliament in the current session, which is also the last one before the next Lok Sabha polls.

Staring at a rout in Andhra Pradesh, the Congress hopes to salvage some seats – it has 33 MPS in the outgoing house – by delivering on the Telangana promise. The party has not much hope from the rest of the state given the growing popularity of YSR Congress in the region.

However, MPs from Seemandhra are also in no mood to back down. The Congress MPs are in a quandary as opposing Telangana would mean going against the wishes of the party high command.

Showing them the way is state Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. The cricketer-turned-politician is in Delhi to bat on a sticky wicket given the strong support professed by Congress leadership to the Telangana cause.

Reddy has already declared that he will quit politics if the bill gets cleared in the Parliament. He and other MPS from Telangana had sat on a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar yesterday.

Today, Congress MP Sabbam Hari gave notice for no-confidence motion against Manmohan Singh government in Parliament. TDP’s M Venugopala Reddy also made a similar move.

Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha as well. As soon as the proceedings commenced, members from different political parties demanded a discussion on the death of a student from Arunachal Pradesh in Delhi.

TDP members also came rushing to the well opposing bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

India denies UK role in Operation Bluestar, says only Army involved

India has rubbished and rejected reports that the British Government played a cladestine role during Operation Bluestar to flush out Sikh militants from the Golden Temple premises in Amritsar in June 1984.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told media here that as per government records there are no evidence to suggest that the British Government or its defence ministry had a role to play in the operation.

“Our records don’t indicate anything,” said Khurshid.

Khurshid maintained that the whole operation was managed by the army.

“Lt Gen Brar has also clarified it was an army operation. The operation was planned by the army entirely,” he said.

Khurshid’s statement came as British Foreign Secretary William Hague issued a statement that London did advise New Delhi on planning the deadly attack against separatists in the Golden Temple at Amritsar in 1984, which in turn has sparked off protests by Sikh bodies in India.

British Prime Minister David Cameron ordered a review into the matter last month after the government inadvertently released official papers suggesting that Margaret Thatcher, then prime minister, had sent an officer from the elite SAS special air service to advise India on the raid.

The unplanned release upset British Sikhs, whom Cameron is courting ahead of a national election in 2015, and in India it triggered nationalist criticism of the dynastic ruling Congress party, which faces an uphill struggle to be re-elected in a national vote due by May.

Congress, under then-prime minister Indira Gandhi, was in power at the time of the raid on the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine. It was a bloody episode that angered Sikhs around the world; they accused the Indian army of desecration.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) staged a protest outside the Indian Parliament on Wednesday.

One of its lawmakers, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, said: “It is not only an attack on the country’s sovereignty but is an act of treason that a prime minister can do such thing. We are demanding that Indian government should put forward all letters and other facts relating to the killings and attack on Golden Temple in 1984 before the people of the country, as the UK government has done.”

The death toll in the attack remains disputed, with Indian authorities putting it in the hundreds and Sikh groups in the thousands.

Denouncing the attack, the head priest of the Golden Temple, Gurbachan Singh, said: “This is most shameful for the UK government, since it has now admitted having advised the Indian government on the killing of innocent devotees. Its head should tender unconditional apology at the Golden Temple so that the Sikhs can heave a sigh of relief.”

Ceasefire violations down, but wait for summer: Antony In Congress war room, Rahul Gandhi cites Mani Shankar Aiyar’s ‘chaiwallah’ remark

Rahul Gandhi this evening told spokespersons of the Congress at a meeting in the party’s war-room that he disapproves of the derogatory remark made recently by Mani Shankar Aiyar about Narendra Modi, the BJP’s choice for Prime Minister.

Mr. Gandhi, who is the vice president of the Congress, said, “It is wrong to make personal attacks on the Opposition.” However, just hours after Mr. Aiyar’s comment, Mr. Gandhi had singled him out for praise at a party gathering attended by thousands of workers and its top most leaders.

At that Congress conclave last month, Mr. Aiyar, a parliamentarian, had said, “There is no way he can be Prime Minister in the 21st century… but if he wants to come and distribute tea here we can make some room for him.”

The BJP and Mr. Modi have, in his campaign for the country’s top job, been highlighting his humble origins and his early days as a tea seller at train stations.

Mr. Modi in speeches refers to Mr. Gandhi as “shahzaada” or prince to deride the 43-year-old as a dynast who has little more to offer than his famous last name.

Mr. Gandhi spent an hour this evening meeting with spokespersons from the Congress who will represent the party on television debates and other platforms. The session comes just days after Mr. Gandhi granted his first television interview in 10 years, with largely negative reviews.

He advised his colleagues to assimilate facts to diminish Mr. Modi’s claims that he is responsible for transforming Gujarat, the state he has governed since 2001, into an economic powerhouse.

Parveen Amanullah, who quit Nitish Kumar’s Cabinet in Bihar, joins AAP

Parveen-AmanullahThe Aam Aadmi Party, or the AAP, netted its first big catch in Bihar when Parveen Amanullah, a 55-year-old social activist-turned-politician who quit Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and government two days ago, joined Arvind Kejriwal’s political outfit.

The AAP has announced its plans to contest around 350 seats in the national elections, due by May. The decision by Mrs. Amanullah, a former RTI activist and anti-graft crusader, is expected to give a fillip to Mr. Kejriwal’s party in a state dominated by three political heavyweights – Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, or the RJD and the BJP, besides the JD(U).

Mrs. Amanullah, while quitting the JD(U) on Tuesday, had not rule out the possibility of joining another party. “The system has limitations and I could not work around it. I will look if there is a better system anywhere, perhaps another party,” she said.

Daughter of retired diplomat-turned-politician Syed Shahabuddin and wife of a senior Bihar-cadre IAS officer who is at present on deputation at the Centre, Ms Amanullah was drafted into politics by Mr. Kumar’s JD(U) after she had built a reputation as an intrepid social worker. The chief minister offered her a ticket on the eve of the 2010 assembly polls.

She accepted the challenge and won comfortably from Sahebpur Kamal, defeating a powerful candidate from Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and former minister Shri Narayan Yadav.

Ms Amanullah was among two Muslim women who won on the JD(U) platform. Nitish Kumar rewarded her with a berth in his council of ministers.

Delhi power firm, targeted by Arvind Kejriwal, goes to Supreme Court

Arvind-Kejriwal12Two power-supplying firms in Delhi whose licenses ought to be cancelled according to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have asked the Supreme Court for help.  Their case will be heard tomorrow, though the Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam, noted with some frustration, “Everything is happening in Delhi, only remedy is Supreme Court?”

BSES, backed by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infra, runs two companies that supply electricity to nearly 70% of Delhi. They owe about Rs. 400 crore to the power-generating company National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which has said that unless its dues are cleared by Monday night, it will stop supplying electricity to BSES. That could result in immediate and long power outages.

Mr Kejriwal said earlier this week that the BSES firms cannot hold Delhi hostage because they are in a cash crunch. He said that they need to ensure they pay their bills to NTPC, which is owned by the government, and ensure uninterrupted power supply. He also asked the power regulator for the region to cancel their licenses. However, a tribunal assigned to handle electricity cases has said its permission is needed to revoke licenses, a step it has not yet sanctioned.

The BSES companies are run by Reliance Infrastructure, with the Delhi government holding a 49% stake. They allege that for years, they have been coerced to supply power at below-market rates, while their costs have been rising. On Monday, the power regulator approved a price hike of upto 8%, provoking strong criticism from the chief minister.

India delays Rafale fighter jet deal after exhausting capital budget

India’s military has postponed until the next financial year a plan to buy 126 fighter planes from France’s Dassault Aviation, the defence minister said on Thursday.

New Delhi had picked the Rafale fighters for exclusive negotiations in January 2012 and had been expected to finalise the deal, estimated at $15 billion, by the end of March.

But negotiations to buy 18 planes off-the-shelf and build the rest in India have slowed and will stretch into the following fiscal year, Defence Minister AK Antony told a news conference at a defence sector trade fair.

The military, the world’s biggest arms importer for three years running, has already spent 92 percent of its defence capital budget for this year, he said.

“Major procurement can only be possible in the next financial year. There is no money left,” Antony said. The country is due to hold elections by May and a new government is expected to be installed the following month.

India is in the midst of a $100 billion defence modernisation programme to replace Soviet-era planes and tanks, and narrow the gap with China, with which it fought a war in 1962. A border dispute lingers.

But the defence upgrade programme has moved slowly like other major projects under the current government and partly because of Antony’s insistence on transparency and integrity in the defence procurement process, long dogged by allegations of kickbacks.

Last month, Antony’s office cancelled a $560 million euro deal with AgustaWestland for 12 helicopters after allegations were made that bribes had been paid to middlemen to secure the contract.

BJP suspends two MLAs for praising Nitish Kumar

The BJP suspended two of its legislators in Bihar for choosing to back Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday, and not the party’s prime ministerial hopeful Narendra Modi, as the next prime minister.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s state president Mangal Pandey said the party has suspended two legislators – Rana Gangeshwar Singh and Avanish Kumar Singh – for anti-party activities.

“The party has suspended both for crossing the party line. It will send a strong message,” Pandey said.

Rana Gangeshwar Singh, BJP legislator from Mohiuddinnagar in Samastipur district, has been backing Nitish Kumar instead of Narendra Modi as the next prime minister for the last few months.

Last week, he had said that the people of Bihar should vote for the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) in the 2014 general election.

He said that as Nitish Kumar turned around the conditions in Bihar, he would turn around the country for better.

Avanish Kumar Singh, who represents Chiraia in East Champaran district, praised Nitish Kumar for developing Bihar and dared senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi to take action against him.

He had said there was no respect for honest leaders in the BJP.

He also hinted that he would contest the next general election from the Motihari parliamentary constituency.

Violence erupts during idol immersion in Purnia, Madhepura; 2 killed, 36 injured

Two people were killed and about three dozen injured in violence during idol immersion in different parts of Bihar, police said on Thursday.

Violence took place during idol immersion after Saraswati Puja in Bihar on Wednesday. A woman was among two people who were killed in the violence related to idol immersion in Purnea and Madhepura districts.

Vijay Shah alias Munna, in his mid 30s, was stoned to death following an altercation that ensued after he requested the puja revelers to reduce the volume of the loudspeaker in Tikapur village in Purnea on Wednesday.

“Shah was killed after he objected to loud music being played on the public address system,” said Amarendra Kumar Amar, a police official. An FIR has been lodged against three people by victim’s wife Anita Devi.

Phuldai Devi, in her 40s, was killed in Dubiyahi village in Madhepura when a bullet hit her during firing between two groups over a dispute related to idol immersion.

“She was killed while she was going to sell bangles in a market,” a police official said.