Rahul Gandhi will be PM if Congress called to form government: Chidambaram

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January 22, 2014

Days after the Congress rejected the demand from party workers to anoint Rahul Gandhi as party’s prime ministerial candidate, senior party leader P Chidambaram asserted on Wednesday that the Gandhi scion will get the top job if the Congress is called to form the government post general election.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the union finance minister said, “Likely outcome of national election is that no party will have clear majority. If Congress comes to power, I am pretty certain Rahul Gandhi will be the prime minister.”

“Whether Congress will be called to form the government will depend on the outcome of national election,” he added.

On the aggressive stance taken by Rahul Gandhi at the AICC meet held last week, Chidambaram said, “Rahul Gandhi had enough fire in the belly at the AICC session.”

Hitting out at the Bhartiya Janata Party and its PM candidate Narendra Modi, Chidambaram said, “BJP not represented by all sections, Narendra Modi has never fielded a Muslim candidate.”

Chidambaram, who was recently appointed as ‘senior’ spokesperson by his party, also used the occasion to target the BJP on its economic policies.

He said the BJP’s economic model is retrograde, regressive. “BJP is a party that has a blood-eyed economics model,” Chidambaram, adding, “BJP economics is Luddite economics.”

On India’s economic growth rate, the Finance Minister said that it is likely to grow at about 5 per cent in current fiscal and next fiscal we will cross 6 per cent.

Chandrasekharan murder: 12 found guilty, CPI (M) activists freed

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Afternoon Voice

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January 22, 2014

Twelve accused in the TP Chandrasekharan murder case, which brought CPI(M) in Kerala under a cloud, were found guilty by a special court on Wednesday, but some of the party’s key local functionaries charged with conspiracy were acquitted.

Those let off by Special Court Judge R Narayana Pisharadi included CPI(M) district secretariat member P Mohanan, who allegedly conspired to murder RMP leader Chandrasekharan.
A total of 36 persons faced the trial. Twelve were convicted today and 24 acquitted.

The quantum of punishment is expected to be pronounced on Thursday after hearing the defence and prosecution.

Chandrasekharan, once a CPI(M) functionary from the party bastion Onchiyam near Vatakara in Kozhikode district, was hacked to death by the first seven accused on May 4, 2012.

The prosecution case was that the first seven accused were engaged by a section of local CPI(M) functionaries who plotted to kill Chandrasekharan, who challenged CPI(M) in the area by floating the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP).

The case had brought CPI(M) in the state under a cloud for long.

Not only did its political rivals blame the party for the brutal murder, but even Marxist veteran VS Achuthanandan often made statements casting suspicion on the role of the party behind the murder.

Reacting to the verdict, CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said it vindicated the party’s stand that it had no role in the murder and exposed the bid by the UDF government and a section of media to make political capital out of it.

“What has collapsed is a script based on complete lies to malign and haunt CPI(M). The party has been acquitted completely,” said Vijayan.

No question of Shashi Tharoor resigning, says Congress, after NCP comment

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Afternoon Voice

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January 22, 2014

The Congress said there is no question of Shashi Tharoor’s resignation, after key ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said he must dissociate from his ministerial duties till the probe into his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death is complete.

“He is a responsible minister of the government. Nobody is accusing him of anything, why should he resign?” said Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

Earlier, NCP spokesperson DP Tripathi had said, “We are all with Shashi Tharoor at this hour of grief but I must say the charges are very serious and the minister should dissociate from his ministerial responsibility.”

Mr Tharoor is the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development. On Tuesday, the Congress included him in the rejigged list of spokespersons for the party as part of an image overhaul three months ahead of the national election.

Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor was found dead in a luxury hotel in Delhi on Friday, days after she alleged that her husband was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist, whom she targeted in a series of tweets. A day before her death, the Tharoors had issued a statement that said they were happily married.

A magistrate in Delhi has asked the police to investigate whether Sunanda Tharoor’s death was accidental, a suicide, or murder, based on the autopsy that said she had died of poisoning.

VVIP chopper scam: CBI seeks permission to quiz West Bengal, Goa governors, say sources

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Afternoon Voice

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January 22, 2014

The Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI has reportedly asked the Law Ministry if it can question West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan and Goa Governor BV Wanchoo in its investigation into alleged kickbacks in the Rs. 3600-crore VVIP helicopter deal.

The government had earlier this month terminated the deal for 12 helicopters alleging that AgustaWestland, the British subsidiary of an Italian company contracted to supply the helicopters for use by the President, Prime Minister and other VIPs had breached an integrity pact by allegedly paying bribes to Indian officials.

CBI sources said Mr. Narayanan, who was then the National Security Adviser or NSA and Mr. Wanchoo as head of the elite Special Protection Group or SPG, were part of meetings where specifications for the helicopters were changed. The change in “service ceiling” (or the altitude at which a helicopter can fly) from the 6000 metres suggested Air Head Quarters to 4500 metres had allowed AugustaWestland to enter the race.

So far the CBI has named former Air Chief SP Tyagi, his cousins and several others in its First Information Report or FIR.

It has now reportedly written to the Law Ministry and attached documents to show that Mr. Narayanan and Mr. Wanchoo were part of the team of senior officials who cleared the changes.

As Governors, Mr. Narayanan and Mr. Wanchoo have legal immunity and the CBI will need the President’s assent to question them. However, if the law ministry clears the CBI request, it might not need to seek the President’s nod.

Why did Kejriwal call off dharna?

By

Mahendra Singh

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January 22, 2014

People might be debating about the reason why AAP had called off dharna. According to me, the real reason is that his wife must have said, “You are diabetic and if you catch pneumonia, it will cause harm to your health.” On a positive note, what Kejriwal ended up doing was right. You cannot have this nonsensical way of working. The ruling party could have passed a resolution in the assembly seeking expeditious transfer of policing powers to the Delhi government. The ministers of Kejriwal government must understand that other officers also possess some self respect and they must deal with them in a decent manner.

Why you are in a hurry to defeat the opposition parties and rule India? Do you think everybody else are fools, you only are smart?

Remove arrogant and impertinent Somnath Bharti and induct Vinod Kumar Binny (he is good). If you want to eradicate drug use and peddling, frame stringent laws for Delhi ( it is in your powers) which at par with Dubai, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Do it silently and firmly. If you want to provide water to all homes in Delhi, start working about it with zero publicity and maximum sincerity. The same aspect applies for your promises pertaining to lowering electricity tariffs.

A thorough combing of Delhi residents must be carried out to find illegal immigrants and defense purchase middlemen. They must be deported out of the capital. Congress has set up all sort of bad practices over the years and they must be forced to mend ways. Why Sheila Dixit must go to Rajya Sabha and not retire? She has been very arrogant and has been the root cause of Congress debacle. People only talk about the Gandhi dynasty and not Dixit dynasty. There is need to bring in radical reforms which can be initiated at national level after Lok Sabha elections by the new government and in the meantime Delhi government must play its part.

Start building schools and hospitals as promised. Set up a women’s volunteer force for assisting and overseeing safety of women and children. Large number of hotels exists in Paharganj area of Delhi which must be checked thoroughly. Police wearing plain clothes must patrol the Connaught Place area from sunset to sunrise. RSS must set up it’s “ shakhas” in Delhi to engage the citizens in cleaning the streets and be willing to provide help during emergency situations like fire or other disasters.

The Lieutenant Governor must pay a monthly visit to schools and write a column in prominent newspapers describing the state of affairs. It also is applicable to Maharashtra governor vis-à-vis the Mumbai University affairs. The Velukar vrs Hatekar match is never ending. Administrators and politicians must now quickly learn to be citizen friendly, otherwise, protests will keep on happening on a regular basis and may get difficult to contain. It is always better to remain watchful and compassionate. Don’t simply rule, also respect citizens.

Dilli to jhanki hai
Mumbai abhi baaki hai

By

Afternoon Voice

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January 22, 2014

The Aam Aadmi party which has been protesting on the streets of Delhi in support of its demands has brought the city’s traffic to halt. The party has received lot of flak for the manner in which it is running the government and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has been termed as anarchist. However, the party remains adamant on its stand and would adopt similar strategy in Maharashtra if it comes to power in the state. AAP has always known for holding demonstrations on road for highlighting various issues which are affecting the citizens. When AV spoke to leaders of AAP party they were justifying the protests held by Kejriwal.

Speaking to AV, AAP leader Mayank Gandhi said, “Even former Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dixit has been demanding that Delhi Police be brought under the control of state government since last 10 years. The Delhi police have failed to make arrests despite receiving instructions from Law Minister Somnath Bharti which forced Arvind Kejriwal and party workers to come on road and protest. Kejriwal was only acting on his manifesto of bringing Delhi Police under the purview of state government. He is not taken a wrong step. AAP activists from Maharashtra will continue to support him.”

When asked whether AAP will adopt dharna in Maharashtra like Delhi, Mayank replied, “AAP is known for supporting the common man. We will work for the rights of common man. If our government will come in Maharashtra state and centre will not listen to us then we will also protest against centre on Mumbai streets.”

Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP Maharashtra Secretary said, “Arvind Kejriwal is a honest politician hence he is holding demonstrations on road. Kejriwal is protesting as the Delhi police is not taking steps to provide security to the common man. Delhi residents are support Kejriwal as they are aware that he will bring a new revolution in the country. AAP activists from Maharashtra and other parts of India are supporting him.”

Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues on Monday started a dharna outside Rail Bhavan after they were prevented from reaching the Union Home Ministry office for a planned protest. The AAP party is demanding action against police officials who refused to carry out a raid on an alleged drug and prostitution racket in South Delhi last week. Hundreds of slogan-shouting people tried to push through police barricades to join Mr Kejriwal’s protest. A policeman was injured in the intermittent clashes, which saw scuffles between cops and protesters and stone-pelting from both sides.

Anuhya Abducted and Raped Before Being Killed on Jan 9

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Afternoon Voice

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January 21, 2014

The spine chilling details of Esther Anuhya’s torture and death are slowly coming to light with the Mumbai police taking into custody five suspects including three cab drivers and two brothel organisers.

Sources associated with the probe told Express Anuhya was abducted early on January 5 while she was on her way to her hostel from the railway station. “She was confined to a room in Mumbai’s notorious red light area Kamatipura for five days. She was beaten up and repeatedly raped,” the sources said, adding she was killed on January 9. 23-year-old Anuhya, a native of Machilipatnam and an employee of TCS, went missing on Jan 5 after alighting from the Visakhapatnam-LTT Express train in Mumbai. Investigators found that one of the suspects had made a call from one of Anuhya’s two mobiles from Kamatipura where women are trafficked from all over the country.

Mumbai police sources said Anuhya got down from the train at the LokmanyaTilak Terminus around 4.45 a.m. on January 5. Minutes later, she hired a cab to Andheri West where she used to reside. However, the driver took her in the wrong direction and after a few minutes drive, three more persons got into the cab. The sources said Anuhya had tried to call her parents or friends after suspecting the intentions of the cabbie and his pals.

But the accused snatched her mobile phones and switched them off. They took her to a house near Kamatipura where she was confined for five days. “On January 8th night, the accused thrashed her brutally after she resisted their attempts to sexually assault her. She fell unconscious and remained so the next day too. That was when the accused took her to an isolated place near Kanjurmarg and murdered her by pouring chemicals and setting her on fire,” the sources said.

“The last call from Anuhya’s mobile phone was made by an unknown person on January 9. Who made the call and who received it will be known during investigation,” said a senior police officer from Mumbai.
It is learnt that the police traced the receiver’s mobile number but it was switched off. Then, they located the address of the person who had obtained the mobile number. But it turned out to be fake. The person had obtained the mobile number by submitting fake documents. The Mumbai police also recovered a blanket, slippers and other materials from a house in Kamatipura. Kanjurmarg senior inspector VishwanathTungare mailed their photos to Anuhya’s father Prasad.

However, Prasad replied to the Mumbai police that the blanket was not his daughter’s.
Some roommates of the victim appeared before the police to identify the slippers and other belongings.
“I received a mail and phone call from Kanjurmarg senior police inspector NishikantVishwanathTungare, who stated that they found some belongings.

“But he refused to tell us from where the belongings were recovered,” Prasad told Express adding that his family members suspect the Mumbai police are trying to erase evidence.

“They collected wrong details from LTT staff. Anuhya got down at LTT at 4.45 am but the Mumbai police recorded statements from LTT staff that the train had arrived around 5.30 am on January 5,” he said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Bhandup Division, Mumbai, SunilMadhukarShejwal told Express they had intensified the investigation and formed a few special teams to nab the accused.

21st RashtriyaKaviSammelan to be held in Thane on Jan 25

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Afternoon Voice

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January 21, 2014

A number of renowned poets from across the country will participate in the 21st RashtriyaKaviSammelan scheduled to be held here on the eve of Republic Day it was announced today.

Advocate B L Sharma, the organiser of the Sammelan said the event has been jointly organised by the Hindi BashikEkta Parishad and Rajastani Seva Samiti.

The Sammelan will be held at Ram Ganesh GadkariRangayatan on January 25 (Saturday) from 7 pm to midnight.

Senior advocate and MP Ram Jethmalani will inaugurate the event. Thane Police Commissioner K P Raghuvanashi, Thane District Collector P Velrasu and Justice (Rtd) JayatChitre of the Bombay High Court will be the chief guests for the function.

The prominent poets who will present their works include HariomPawar (Meerut) PradeepChoubey (Gwalior); SurendraDubey (Raipur); VinuMahendra (Mumbai); Dileep Sharma (Pune); and Anamika Jain Ambar (Meerut).

The KaviSameelan will be compered by SashikantYadav (Devas, MP).

Organisers said that three awards will be given away on the occasion.

The first award SahityaRatnaPuraskar–given in memory of noted poet Dr HarivanshraiBachchan, will be handed over to eminent literary figure Suryaban Gupta.

Saheed Lt Abhay Parikh of Jaipur will be given the MaharanaPratapShouryaPuraskar while the ChattrapatiShivajiMaharajGouravPuraskar will be given to Krishna Patil, who scaled the Everest at the age of 19, the youngest woman in the country, to have achieved this feat.

Thane Mayor Harishchandra S Patil, CIDCO Chairman PramodHindurao, Dr Ramnivas Central Excise Commissioner, Joint Police Commissioner Bipin Kumar Singh, MLA RajanVichare, MLA Advocate ChintamanWanga, AjitabhBachchan (industrialist), PremShukla (Editor, DopaharKa Samna) and AdvYeshwantMhaskar (President, Thane District Courts Bar Association) will also be present on the occasion.

Service Tax Dept summons IL&FS for alleged evasion

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Afternoon Voice

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January 21, 2014

Service Tax authorities have issued summons to IL&FS for alleged tax evasion worth Rs 1.64 crore by one of its contractors/agents at its upcoming mega power project in southern Tamil Nadu.

This development comes after the Service Tax Department had last week arrested SandeepDoke, a director with Dawan Infrastructure (DIPL), which is one of the contractors for the infra major’s 3,600-MW thermal power plant being executed under a special purpose vehicle (SPV) named IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company (ITPCL).

Service tax sleuths further said they issued summons to MS Shrinivasan of IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company on Monday, apart from Ravi Nair, another director of DIPL, VirenAhuja, a director of Flemingo Duty Free Shop. Bermaco Industries is a related party of Flemingo Duty Free Shops, which is a service provider to ITPCL.

According to sources, DIPL’s Doke had recovered service tax of Rs 1.64 crore, but remitted only Rs 55 lakh with the department and retained the remaining money for more than six months”. Doke is out on bail currently, the sources said.

ITPCL chief financial officer A Bapat did not respond to calls from PTI today.

Sources said DIPL had entered into an agreement with IL&FS to act as an agent of its power plant in Tamil Nadu to help it procure 2,900 acres needed for the project.

“ITPCL paid Rs 88 crore to DIPL as mobilisation advance for acquiring 2,900 acres for setting up the power project,” said service tax sources.

Apart from DIPL, ITPCL also appointed Krishna Enterprises, and Bermaco Industries as service providers for land procurement, the source said.

Sources further said DIPL had received service charge of Rs 14.34 crore in view of transfer of 111 acres under three invoices dated 15/03/2012, 30/11/2012 and 01/01/2013.

Investigation is being undertaken in respect of services provided by Bermaco Industries to ITPCL for acquisition of land, added the source.

Sharad Pawar to file Rajya Sabha poll papers on Friday

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Afternoon Voice

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January 21, 2014

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will contest the ensuing biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha, a party official said on Tuesday.

He will file his nomination papers on Friday, Maharashtra NCP chief Bhaskar Jadhav said.

The countdown for the polls to elect 55 new members commenced on Tuesday with the Election Commission issuing the formal notification.
Of the 55 seats falling vacant, Maharashtra has the biggest chunk of seven retiring members. They are Murli Deora and Hussain Dalwai (Congress), Y.P. Trivedi and Janardhan Waghmare (NCP), Bharatkumar Raut and Rajkumar Dhoot (Shiv Sena), and Prakash Javadekar (Bharatiya Janata Party).

From the NCP, Pawar will file his nomination as he has already announced his intention not to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

While Trivedi may be re-nominated, there are indications that senior party leader and noted criminal lawyer Majeed Memon is also a strong contender.

From the Congress and the BJP, their retiring members are expected to be re-nominated.

From the Shiv Sena, a strong contender is former Lok Sabha Speaker and ex-chief minister of Maharashtra Manohar Joshi, while the other seat is being eyed by its ally, Republican Party of India (A) chief Ramdas Athavale.

So far the Shiv Sena and BJP have not indicated whether they will support Athavale but a decision is expected shortly.

Besides the seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra, elections to the upper house will be held in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (six seats each), West Bengal and Bihar (five each), Odisha and Gujarat (four each), Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (three each).

The other states to see polling are Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Jharkhand (two seats each), and Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Manipur (one each).

Some prominent members retiring from different parts of the country include: Balbir Punj, GK Vasan, Jayanthi Natarajan, T Subbarami Reddy, CP Thakur, Motilal Vora, Shanta Kumar and Rishang Keishing.

The elections are being held for the upper house seats falling vacant between April 2 and 14 this year.

The last date for filing nominations in Jan 28 while scrutiny will take place the following day and the last date for withdrawal is Jan 31.

Polling, if necessary, will be held Feb 7 and counting will be taken up the say day with the entire election process due to be completed by Feb 10.