BJP in agreement with most points of Jan Lokpal

This is details of 26th August:

NEW DELHI: On a day Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi expressed his differences with Anna Hazare's idea of Lokpal, BJP and Left parties appeared to be converging on salient points, including bringing the Prime Minister's Office under its ambit with safeguards.

Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley on Friday moved resolutions for debate and vote in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on their recommendations on the bill. "Discussions with civil society groups and non-UPA political parties are converging towards the same position," Jaitley told reporters. Anna Hazare's team had meetings with senior BJP leaders on Thursday night and the Left parties on Friday morning.

The BJP exuded confidence that its resolution on setting up an independent Lokpal, if passed in the House, would end the deadlock over the bill. According to it, the law should have the widest coverage, including the Prime Minister, with the exception of his national security and public order functions. The resolution said it should create an appointment mechanism for appointing Lokpals independent of government domination and also provide for an independent and autonomous CBI.

Shri Gadkari emphasised the following points on corruption in his press conference on 16th August

• The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemns the most reprehensible and high handed manner in which the UPA government has been trying to stifle the voice of democratic forces and gagging the fundamental rights of those fighting against corruption. 
• The UPA Govt. resorted to brutal attack on Baba Ramdev and his followers in Ram Lila Maidan. This was followed by brutal Lathi Charge on BJP Yuva Morcha workers demonstrating at Parliament. Now it has resorted to gag the voice of Anna Hazare, whose agitation against corruption and for strong Lokpal totally non-violent. 
• The BJP cannot remain a mute spectator to the strong arm tactics of the Congress government in crushing peaceful and democratic agitations against the monumental scandals of the Manmohan Singh regime. 
• The central government is trying to create an atmosphere of terror and intimidation reminiscent of the days of emergency and we must mobilize people against such dictatorial behavior. 
• In so far as crime against democracy is concerned, the Congress is number one perpetrator and hence people will have to be prepared for a long drawn battle to save democracy. 
• The BJP has been on the vanguard of the ongoing crusade against corruption inside parliament and among the public. We mobilized public opinion on the issue of Commonwealth Games scandal, the 2G Spectrum case, Adarsh society and other multi-million crore scandals. 
• The party has decided to launch a nationwide “BHRASHTACHAR MITAO, LOKTANTRA BACHAO” agitation against the authoritarian behavior of this most corrupt and ineffective government since independence. 
• A beginning will be made with a silent protest march in Delhi and other places this evening. 
• Tomorrow onwards, the BJP units in each district will organize sit-in protests / silent march/ conch blowing and THALI-NAD at a suitable public place and/or near Mahatma Gandhi statues to expose the central government’s fascist tendencies. 
• The BJP appeals to the people to join the party’s peaceful agitation against corruption and strengthen our resolve to expose the culprits and punish the guilty.

BJP to launch country-wide protest against Hazare's arrest

August 16, 2011, PTI | New Delhi: Dubbing the arrest of Anna Hazare as a "plan" to impose Emergency in the country, BJP today said it will launch a "peaceful" country-wide agitation from tomorrow to protest UPA's "dictatorship".

Demanding immediate release of Hazare and his associates, BJP President Nitin Gadkari said that party workers with muffled mouths will take out silent marches, hold dharnas and take out torchlight processions to protest the "dictatorship of UPA, to save democracy and to root out corruption from the country".

Without fixing any timeframe for the agitation, he said it will "continue" and much would depend on the circumstances unfolding.

"Anna Hazare and his associates should be freed immediately and be allowed to carry on with their agitation. Stopping them from protesting like this is against the traditions in this country.

"By doing away with the traditions of the Congress, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, a plan to impose Emergency in the country is being brought. It is a danger to the democracy," Gadkari told a press conference here.

Taking a jibe at the Centre, he said if the government was "so sensitive" to protests, then the Prime Minister should bring out a law by which none should be allowed to speak out against the UPA or the Congress.

BJYM to “Sansad Gherao” on August 9, Asks corrupt UPA government to Quit

New Delhi, June 22: BJYM National President & M.P. Shri Anurag Thakur on Wednesday announced that lakhs of young volunteers of the youth wing of the Bhartiya Janata Party will march to the Parliament on August 9 to voice their protest against rising corruption and collapse of institutional democracy in the country. In a protest symbolically coinciding with the commencement of the Quit India Movement by Mahatma Gandhi against the British Empire on August 9, the BJYM has decided to launch a nation-wide campaign to expose the congress led UPA government.

“We are astonished at the inaction and insensitivity of the congress-led UPA government over the plethora of corruption cases that have surfaced in recent past,” said Shri Thakur. He further added that for the first time in the history of modern India, the nation is witnessing such unprecedented levels of corruption. The Congress-led UPA government has no moral right to remain in government at the Centre.

“The people of the country, and especially the youth are in a state of shock and surprise at the colossal loss of institutional democracy in the country. They desperately want an explanation for the kind of corruption that has surfaced in this regime. We demand the government to own moral responsibility for this collapse,” said Shri Thakur at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

Under the UPA government many scams and corruption cases have surfaced including but not limited to the CWG scam, 2G Scam, Adarsh Housing Society scam and S Band deal scam. In spite of the hue and cry created by the media and civil society, the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson have maintained a silence and this has led the country to an emergency like situation.

The BJYM has created awareness all over the country in regards to the corruption and black money scams of the congress led UPA government by undertaking youth marches and marathons against corruption. These kind of programs were organised all over the country, mobilising lakhs of youth against corruption.

The country and especially its youth are aghast at this eerie silence of this unresponsive government and strongly demand answers to the queries that arise in people’s minds. “The government has lost its moral credibility to remain in power and we want the government to quit, much like the ineffectual British, who ruined the social and political fabric of the nation,” Shri Thakur said.

BJYM has given a call of “Chalo Delhi” to protest against such ineffective governance. Youths from all parts of the country will converge on the national Capital on August 9 to exhibit their anger and anguish at the corrupt governance in the country.

“We take a vow to expose the UPA government and shall fight tooth and nail to ensure this corrupt government is shown the door,” slammed the BJYM President.

Chidambaram as much involved in 2G scam as Raja: BJP

New Delhi, July 9 : Stepping up its demand for the removal of P Chidambaram from the Union Cabinet, BJP today said as Finance Minister he was as much involved in the 2G spectrum scam as then Telecom Minister A Raja and insisted that he should also be incarcerated for his complicity.

BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay maintained that it has now been "proved beyond doubt" that Chidambaram had connived with Raja in the 2G scam and the cover-up exercise that followed was done after taking the former into confidence. "Chidambaram is as much responsible and culpable for this scam as Raja. His place is not where he is today (in the union cabinet) but where Raja is today," Vijay told reporters. The opposition demanded that not only should Chidambaram, who is now Home Minister in UPA-II, be sacked but also sent to jail like Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi.

He claimed to have a copy of the letter written by Raja to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 7, 2008 in which the former has reportedly stated that he was acting on the advice of Chidambaram. "Raja acted on Chidambaram's advice like a nursery-class student. Later as an obedient student, he informed the Prime Minister about the whole thing," Vijay said. He alleged that these ministers have "looted the wealth" of the country when they were given the mandate to protect its interest. .

"These ministers are acting like a sort of gang or mafia. Etisalat DB, which has connections with the Dawood Ibrahim gang, has been fined Rs 7,000 crore for FEMA violations. Unlike the colonial rulers who took the wealth outside India, these people are born Indians but have become a party in the loot of India," Vijay said. The BJP maintained that this fine under FEMA is a clear indictment of Chidambaram as Finance Minister and he should face the law.

Fuel price hike to manage fiscal deficit

New Delhi: Opposition BJP on Monday alleged that though oil companies were making profits, the government had increased the prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene to keep in check its fiscal deficit which is “going awry due to high corruption and faulty economic policies”.

“The government has reasoned that these prices were increased as international crude prices were increased, due to which Indian oil companies were losing money and the loss due to subsidy was becoming unbearable.... But the tax collected last year by the petroleum sector was . 1,35,000 crore and the total subsidy is only . 40,430 crore,” senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said.

Joshi argued that even after the tax share of states — which roughly amounts to . 55,000 crore — is factored in, the government would still be saving . 40,000 crore and hence the contention that it is suffering a loss is “incorrect”.

The senior BJP leader, who is also chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said decreasing Customs duty — announced by the UPA government along with the last hike — has nothing to do with crude oil prices as it is determined by the formula of 80% of import price and 20% of domestic price.

He said the government did not want its fiscal deficit — pegged at 4.6% — to go up and so was increasing petroleum prices to prevent any impact on total tax collection.

Source: TNN 28th June 2011

PM's post should not become fiefdom of a family: Advani

New Delhi, June 26 - Terming it 'sad' that the Congress has become the 'fiefdom of a single family', Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Sunday said the office of prime minister is 'reserved' for a 'nominee' or a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

'Prime ministership of a great democracy like India should not be allowed to become the jagirdari of a family,' Advani said in his blog.

'Sadly, the Congress today has become the fiefdom of a single family. The office of prime minister is reserved either for the nominee or a member of the Nehru family,' he added.

'India is paying a heavy price because of a prime minister nominated by the Congress president,' he added.

'And now the demand has arisen from within the Congress Party that a scion of the Nehru family should take over the prime ministership,' Advani, a former deputy prime minister, said.

He was referring to voices in the Congress once again saying that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul Gandhi fits the bill as the next prime minister of India.'Our country cannot afford continuation of the misrule that UPA represents,' he added.

Source: News Bharati

Trust gone, UPA’s doom in next poll is inevitable

By GVL Narasimha Rao
IN the life cycle of elected governments, a time comes when the public support decisively swings from one of enjoying inherent trust to one in which people have lost implicit trust. In case of some governments, this happens very rapidly and in some others, it takes a very long time as was the case with the Left Front in West Bengal which had an uninterrupted reign of 34 years.

Usually, a major decision or action precipitates this dramatic shift of public perceptions about an elected government. In Left ruled West Bengal, the agitation in Singur provided the stimulus. In the case of the UPA government, the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev’s supporters – after meekly acquiescing to him and rolling out the red carpet at Delhi airport – has provided that spark.

I have been keeping tabs on public opinion for several months now and the extensive ground level feedback that we have gathered shows that the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev’s fast was the turning point and turned the supporting masses against the Congress led government at the Centre.

Admittedly, it has taken many years in office and many scams in its wake to pierce the credibility of the Congress led government at the Centre. And, once the credibility of a regime is eroded, it is impossible to regain it. Rajiv Gandhi government never recovered from the Bofors scandal that broke out just two years after he won a landslide victory in 1984 and faced a humiliating defeat in 1989. Similarly, PV Narasimha Rao’s government never recovered from a series of scandals – securities scam, JMM scandal, Sukhram’s telecom scam, Urea scam, etc. –that led to its devastating poll defeat in 1996.

It is instructive to study how the governments in the past tried to recover ground when they were confronted with extremely adverse situations. Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in 1975 following Allahabad High Court’s verdict declaring her election to Lok Sabha as void; Rajiv Gandhi’s associates forged documents purporting to show that his principal challenger VP Singh had a secret bank account in a foreign bank in St Kitts; VP Singh himself unleashed the anti-quota stir by implementing the Mandal Commission recommendations in 1990; PV Narasimha Rao raked up years old Hawala scandal to fix political rivals in 1995 etc.

Circa 2011, the Congress party facing an unprecedented crisis over corruption charges can be expected to do all that the past governments have done and much more to survive politically. But the UPA presently has a serious problem at hand.

First, it faces a multitude of scams and myriad issues like black money, corruption, price rise etc. With every passing week, new scams are coming out of the closet. Undoubtedly, 2G is one scam that has damaged the UPA government the most. The scale of the loot and its brazen manner has had a devastating impact on the public. Curiously, the 2G scam which has claimed many top leaders of the DMK hasn’t yet reached the Congress’s doorstep. The manner in which the Congress Party stymied the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) probe led by the BJP’s Murli Manohar Joshi and the tardy functioning of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G scam have aroused suspicions about the Congress Party’s motives and involvement.

Second, unlike in the past when governments faced one major scam and a clearly identified political rival, the Congress Party is faced with a barrage of attacks from an active judiciary, a demanding civil society led by popular Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, a rejuvenated opposition, vigilant media and statutory institutions like the CAG. Despite the Sonia Gandhi led Congress party’s best attempts to emasculate high offices of the Prime Minister, President by appointing pliable individuals to these venerable institutions, the Congress Party has not been able to avoid public scrutiny as other institutions of the government have turned their heat on the government.

True to its habit, the Congress Party will attempt some drastic actions to regain its lost credibility. It will unleash vendetta against opposition leaders and attempt to show that all those arraigned against the Congress are corrupt. It will create and exploit every opportunity to rake up non-issues to divert public attention.

It may even resort to dividing the electorate on caste, communal or some other lines to minimise the electoral damage. This may actually backfire on the Congress Party that traditionally has had a wide appeal across various caste and other groups. Yet, a desperate Congress Party may make some cynical moves to get out of the corruption rut. Attempts to link activists like Anna Hazare with the RSS are a part of this cynical strategy.

Take my word: Nothing will help restore the present government’s credibility. Let me explain this from my experience as a poll analyst for two decades. When a government enjoys public trust, all its actions are generally seen from a positive perspective. And, when a government is seen to be inherently untrustworthy, all its actions become suspect. All actions of the Manmohan Singh government will henceforth be viewed from a negative perspective due to the credibility crisis that envelopes it.

The Manmohan Singh government, despite enjoying a parliamentary majority is a lame duck government. Whether it lasts the full term or dies a premature death will depend on its political survival strategies. For sure, in the public mind, it has already lost its mandate. Its defeat at polls, whenever they are held, is an inevitability that stares it in its face.

The moot question is who will benefit from a declining Congress. In the absence of a single national icon in the political arena leading the movement against corruption, the electoral gains will be distributed among various parties. A past master in vilifying its opponents, the Congress Party has mounted a counter attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it is difficult to refute that it has dented the BJP’s public image to some extent. When Vajpayee and Advani led the BJP in the 90s, there was a yearning among people for change and the BJP filled that vacuum. That space is now occupied by apolitical Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev. To reclaim that space and to capitalise on the mood for change, the BJP needs to project an image and a leadership that elevates the party among the public.

And, at a time when the Congress Party is playing a rabidly communal card to woo Muslim voters resulting in a nationwide anger among Hindus, the BJP’s election campaign has to be led by credible leadership from within the BJP and not by co-opting “secular” leaders from the coalition or popular activists from the civil society. After many years, the electoral situation is ripe for the BJP to return to power at the Centre with renewed strength and if it makes the right moves, the BJP’s rise will be as sharp as the Congress’s free fall.

(The writer is a noted poll analyst)

Chidambaram should be removed: Joshi

New Delhi, June 17 - Moving from 2G to KG, Public Accounts Committee Chairman and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Friday launched a full-spectrum attack on the UPA government and specifically on Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

He demanded that Mr. Chidambaram be removed from the Cabinet for his alleged role not only in the 2G spectrum allocation case but also in the “latest” scandal related to gas in which the CAG has alleged that undue favours were shown to Reliance Industries Limited in its Krishna Godavari basin gas operations.

Dr. Joshi cited the draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General to demand that the government hold an inquiry into the “unprecedented leak,” adding that the leak could not have been made from the CAG office, and that the Petroleum Ministry must be guilty. It was a “matter of privilege,” he said but did not clarify whether he intended to take it up as a privilege issue.

Since the issue was now in the “public domain,” the PAC would be free to take up the matter even before the CAG completed its report and submitted it to Parliament, he said. “Any member of the PAC can raise the issue at the next meeting,” which would be held later this month.

Dr. Joshi said the Ministry needed to tell the people how long it intended to take before responding to the CAG's draft report. “Why is this delay?”

He wondered why Mr. Chidambaram, who was Finance Minister at the time and a member of the Group of Ministers, had agreed to allow private gas companies to increase the price of gas to $4.20 per British thermal unit against the earlier ONGC selling price of $1.80. The decision to raise the price had benefited the private companies and led to a huge loss to the exchequer.

What was the “formula” for determining the price of petroleum products, he asked. Mr. Chidambaram had not protected government revenues, he had “bungled” the list of the most wanted men sent to Pakistan and “now there was also a question mark on his election to the Lok Sabha.” “I demand that he be removed from the Cabinet,” Dr. Joshi said.

Sources in the BJP suggest that Mr. Chidambaram is being targeted because of Hindutva terror cases against some RSS ‘pracharaks.' Some senior leaders have been trying to assuage RSS fears by telling them they are speaking to Mr. Chidambaram to “sort out the issue.” But the fear is that nothing concrete has happened to let the RSS completely off the hook on these cases.

Dr. Joshi did not spare Manmohan Singh either, saying “as always, the Prime Minister keeps all such issues at arm's length.” He dismissed questions on the propriety of his using the BJP office to address issues related to the PAC's work.

Source: Newsbharati Date: 6/18/2011

BJP questions Mamata silence on graft, Ramdev

Kolkata, June 15 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Tuesday questioned Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's silence on the corruption issues and the crackdown on Baba Ramdev's protest.
'Why is Mamataji quiet on the various issues of corruption in last one year? You are also part of the UPA. You have not raised any objections on these issues,' said Gadkari while addressing a party programme in Kolkata.
The Trinamool Congress is the largest partner of the UPA after the Congress party and Banerjee has also held the post of railway minister in the union cabinet.
The Congress is an important ally of the Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal.
Gadkari also questioned Banerjee's silence on the issue of crackdown on Baba Ramdev's fast at the Ramlila Ground.
'I want to ask why Mamataji is quiet when Baba Ramdev was beaten up at the Ramlila Ground. If you are quiet, people will think that you supported it,' said Gadkari.

Silence on corruption, black money tarnishing Mamata's image: BJP

Published: Thursday, Jun 9, 2011
Place: Kolkata | Agency: IANS: Questioning West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s silence on issues like corruption and black money, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday said her honest image would be besmirched if she does not speak up soon.
“The present ruling party of West Bengal is part of the centre’s ruling UPA (United Progressive Alliance). But it’s a matter of regret that when there is a furore across the country on corruption, black money and scams, Mamata is silent on the issue, just like (UPA chairperson) Sonia Gandhi," BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
“This raises questions on Mamata’s honest image. She should not remain silent on these issues. If she does not speak up in the next one or two days, her image will be besmirched,” he said.
As part of the nationwide campaign against black money, corruption and scams, the BJP will organise rallies, and hold public meetings and demonstrations between June 23 and 26, he added.
In West Bengal, the party will hold a symbolic 'chakka jam' programme for 10 minutes from 2 pm June 13.
Big rallies will be taken out across the state June 30, he said.

BJP dharna in Kolkata over crackdown on Ramdev''s rally

Kolkata, Jun 06 (PTI) Protesting against the police crackdown on yoga guru Ramdev and his supporters at the Ramlila maidan in Delhi, BJP supporters today went on a day-long dharna here.
West Bengal party chief Rahul Sinha, secretary Ritesh Tiwari and others were present at the dharna at the Vidyasagar statue in College Square.
Speakers condemned the Centre''s ''undemocratic action'' and said "the police crackdown reminds us of the dark days of Emergency in 1975 when people''s democratic and fundamental rights were drastically curbed.
"We are baffled why the UPA government gave a red carpet welcome to the yoga guru on June two when he arrived in Delhi and why after conceding his demands let loose the police to disperse Baba Ramdev and his supporters on Saturday midnight," the speakers said.
The BJP leaders said that the issues raised by Ramdev were national issues which had to be conceded by the centre.
They alleged that the Prime Minister after assuming office had promised to curb growth of black money but had gone back on his words.
Placards at the venue read ''Sonia Gandhi and PM should apologise'', ''Bring back black money stashed in foreign banks'' and ''Support yoga guru Ramdev in his crusade against corruption''.

BJP targets PM, Sonia for police action against Ramdev

PTI | Lucknow June 05, 2011: Action fascist BJP to observe satyagraha: Gadkari

Condemning the police action to disrupt Ramdev's agitation, BJP today sought to hold Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for it and announced a 24-hour stir across the country to protest it.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari said the "police crackdown" was reminiscent of the Emergency days and alleged that Congress was not ready to discuss corruption issue through democratic means like that period.

"The crackdown by police came on the orders of the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi. We strongly condemn it...The Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi must apologise to the people," Gadkari said addressing a press conference here.

The BJP chief also announced a 24-hour agitation at district level across the country in protest against the "police high-handedness."

Detailing the programme for the agitation, he said the party workers will hold satyagrah at Rajghat in Delhi whether or not government gives permission.

Replying to questions, he said the issue of corruption should not be politicised.

At the same time, he said it was BJP which had raised the issue of black money and corruption first and that it will support the organisations fighting against it.

Gadkari said that a meeting of senior party functionaries would be held in Delhi at 5 pm today after which a satyagraha would be staged at Rajghat from 7 pm onwards.

"Senior leaders including L K Advani, Leaders of Opposition in both the houses (Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley), Rajnath Singh and myself will participate in the satyagraha," he said.

Comparing the police action at the Ramlila ground with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the BJP president said that the manner in which the atrocities were committed was a serious matter.

"It is an act of fascist and undemocratic mentality and the BJP will strongly fight against it," he said.

Gadkari said the issue of corruption and black money raised by Baba Ramdev was in the national interest.

"I don't understand that why the government is trying to divert the issue, probably there is fear that if everything comes into open then it may cause embarrassment," he said.

One more scam? BJP says PM sat over Rs 85,000 crore coal loot

Manmohan held coal portfolio when dummy companies made a killing

Just a day after prime minister Manmohan Singh celebrated two years of the UPA II rule, the Bharatiya Janata Party has accused him of direct culpability in the "loot" in a Rs 85,000 crore coal 'scam', as he held the portfolio between 2006 and 2009 after Shibu Soren had resigned.

The modus operandi of this latest scam is no different from that of the 2G scam as "rules were bent, definitions changed, modalities distorted to benefit the allottees, and many sold the coal blocks to other companies at hefty premium," Vidarbha MP Hansraj Ahir and party spokesman Prakash Javadekar said at a press conference here.

They alleged that illegal gratification was obtained in this case by bringing a bill in parliament in 2006 and then keeping it hanging for five years to allow the massive loot. They demanded an immediate
probe monitored by the Supreme Court and a special audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

The scam started with the introduction of the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill in parliament in 2006 for the auction of mines that triggered a rush and the government went on surreptitiously gifting coal blocks free of cost to 143 private companies without waiting for passage of the bill. The bill was passed only in 2010 while the loot went on unchecked.

Ahir and Javadekar said Manmohan Singh had an excuse for the 2G scam that it was the handiwork of former telecom minister A Raja and he didn't know about it, but he cannot have any such alibi as he headed the coal ministry and sat over the coal blocks which were being frittered away for three years to 51 companies in 2006, 19 in 2007, 41 in 2008 and 32 in 2009.

Which are these companies that minted the money? The existing policy allowed allotment of the coal blocks to the actual user industries, namely steel, cement and power plants, while those gifted the blocks had neither any industry nor even any licence to start such an industry to get the blocks. They were all dummy companies.

"The culpability of the prime minister is clearly established as he had presided over this loot of precious natural resources, allowing
fake and bogus companies that either sold the licences or made money by selling coal that they were supposed to utilise in own industries,"
Ahir said.

He said the going rate as per the business circles is Rs 50 per tonne and thus more than Rs 85,000 crores changed hands during the four-year coal scam.
Source: www.governancenow.com, 23th May 2011

Advani Questions Why Cong Took LF Support in UPA 1

Senior BJP leader L K Advani today agreed with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement that West Bengal was the worst governed state under the Left Front's 34-year-rule and asked why the Congress-led UPA(I) took its support to run the country.

"I totally agree with Chidambaram's statement that West Bengal is the worst governed state under the Left Front. Chidambaram should answer why UPA(I) took support of the Left Front at the Centre," Advani told an election rally here.

"It is our assessment that Left Front had crossed all limits of bad governance under patronage of the Congress during UPA(I). Congress is equally responsible. BJP cannot think of supporting Marxists or taking their support under any circumstances," he said.

Marxism, the BJP leader said, had been wiped out from Europe and not a single person of the erstwhile Soviet Union wept when the communist rule collapsed. "Similar would be the case when the Marxist rule comes to an end in West Bengal and Kerala," Advani said.

"The reason is simple. The Marxists could not deliver. For them the poor people suffered and were tortured. Only Marxist leaders and their associates prospered under their rule," he said.
Source: Outlook India APR 26, 2011

Why Mamata not resign from scam-hit UPA govt, asks BJP

Kolkata, Apr 24 (PTI) The BJP today criticised Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee for not resigning from the UPA government which, it said, is embroiled in a number of scams. "Mamata Banerjee, who was an ally of the NDA had resigned from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government because of the then Defence Minister George Fernandes' alleged involvement in the coffingate scam. Later, when CBI investigations found the charges to be wrong, she still chose to resign," BJP National Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here. "Now when the UPA government is facing some of the worst scams, including 2G spectrum and Commonwealth scam, why didn't she (Banerjee) choose to resign ?" he asked. Accusing Banerjee of using disrespectful language against Advani, he said, "I respect Mamataji as a leader but she should have showed equal respect to our leaders." Banerjee had in one of her rallies said she respected Advani as an elderly person but she did not recognise him as a political leader. Prasad came down heavily on both the Left Front and the TC-Congress alliance for wooing minority voters in the name of reservation and maintaining silence on infiltration, which is a major issue in the state. "Religion-based reservation is not permissible by the court of law but these party into this kind of competitive politics". Quoting from 2011 census report to buttress his point, he said the overall population growth in West Bengal is 13.9 per cent whereas that in districts bordering Bangladesh it was as high as 23 per cent. "It is understood why there is a disparity but not a single political party is saying a word because that might upset their vote bank." Lashing out at CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat for his reported statement that there would be riots if the Left Front lost in West Bengal, Prasad said the Leftist party was trying to 'communalise' the ongoing election. "Left Front has never tried to develop the state because it wanted the poor to stay poor so that they could continue doing politics on that," the BJP spokesman alleged.

IBN Live

BJP show of strength in Bengal targets PM, CPM

The BJP leadership has once again trained its guns on the Congress high command and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Lambasting the UPA for giving the country the ‘grandmother’ of all scams, party president Nitin Gadkari and senior leader LK Advani said the Congress had allowed its leaders to plunder the nation and stash the loot away in foreign banks.
Launching a frontal attack, Gadkari said, “While farmers were committing suicide and youths were roaming jobless, the likes of A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi were giving shape to the Commonwealth Games and 2G scandals, devouring lakhs of crores.” Without dropping any name, he wondered “who their godfather and godmother were”.
It is evident that the BJP is taking the West Bengal election seriously. Gadkari noted how while BJP-ruled States were recording phenomenal growth, those ruled by the Congress and Left were mired in corruption. He added that this graft was the root cause of under-development. 
The BJP chief again demanded to know “why the Centre is not giving the names of those who have kept lakhs of crores of black money in foreign banks.”
Speaking out against Singh’s inherent weakness in dealing with crucial affairs, Advani reiterated that he had seen several Prime Ministers but no one as weak as the present one. “I was told that the Prime Minister was hurt because I called him a weak person. He may be a good person but he is the weakest Prime Minister because he could not stop corruption taking place in front of his eyes” he added. 
Advani pointed out that it was during Singh’s regime that a Prime Minister had to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court to explain his conduct.
Congratulating West Bengal party president Rahul Sinha for his “good work” in bringing the party alive, BJP MP and party in-charge of the State Chandan Mitra said, “The BJP has come to Bengal not to leave halfway. We have come to the State with our eyes set on the Writers’ Buildings.” 
The leaders were speaking at a huge rally in Kolkata held at the completion of a 15-day Navjagran Yatra that started from Cooch Behar in North Bengal on January 30. Mitra recalled how thousands had welcomed the party rath in various districts during the yatra.
“While the CPI(M) has unleashed a reign of oppression and terror and rendered the State poor, by inviting the Maoists to Bengal, the Trinamool claims itself to be an alternative but is the other side of the same coin,” Mitra said. 
Earlier, on the sidelines of the BJP national office bearers’ meeting, Mitra said the party would “contest from all seats in Bengal”, adding that “both the CPI(M) and Trinamool were the two sides of the same coin.”
The State was suffering from lack of growth on all sides - from health and education to industry and employment - he said, adding that Trinamool was equally corrupt and tyrannical. “The situation is such that the people have to choose between the devil and the deep sea,” said Mitra, adding that it was at this juncture that the BJP was projecting itself as a third alternative.
The BJP rally, the biggest in recent times in Bengal, was attended by a galaxy of leaders, including the Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Linking corruption with continued price rise, former party president Rajnath Singh said, “While the Congress had repeatedly given the nation corrupt regimes, the CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress have helped it in its corrupt acts at different times.” 
“The Congress has stashed away lakhs of crores in foreign banks and the Trinamool and the Left have propped it at the Centre at different times,” he noted. 
Singh added that the BJP would bring all the black money back to India and “earmark between Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore for each village for its development.” 
The Pioneer

Communists are equally responsible for price rise: BJP

Kolkata, Feb 15 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday said that the Left parties were equally responsible for the price rise of essential commodities as they were alliance partners in the first term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre.

'In 2004, the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and CPI (Communist Party of India) had played a crucial role in the formation of the first term of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Whenever Congress comes to power, the prices of essentials go up,' senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh said while addressing a rally here.

'If Congress is responsible for the price rise, then CPI-M and CPI are also equally responsible,' he said.

Rajnath Singh also said that wrong economic policies and corruption of the UPA government had contributed to the price rise.

Singh alleged the state's ruling Marxists were colluding with the Maoists in the early 'nineties.

'They have earlier supported the MCC (Maoist Communist Centre) and the PWG (People's War Group) from 1993 to 2001 to have undue benefits during the elections,' said Singh.

(Sify News)