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

Swamy alleges Sonia’s travels facilitated by hostile countries; her sisters got 2G money

Mumbai, June 16 : Congress batter Subramanian Swamy is at it again. In a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 24th last year, Swamy has alleged that the travels of Sonia abroad are being facilitated by the countries hostile to India & few dubious corporates based in Dubai. He has further alleged that Sonia’s two sisters Anushka & Nadia have received not less than sixty percent of kickbacks of the 2G scam money, which is approximately 18 thousand Rupees.
Interestingly, it is learnt that Prime Minister’s office has not replied to the letter till today, nor it has denied the allegations. Sonia’s travels abroad by private jets provided by foreign companies, has become a subject of hush hush discussions in Delhi’s political & Babu circles recently. Just when the public opinion in the country is growingly angry over the issue of black money & the agitations of Baba’s & Anna’s are hounding the government over the issue, disappearance of Sonia & Rahul from public vision is again adding to the hush hush gossip. It has been alleged by many in Babu & political circles that Sonia & Rahul were on Europe tour at the exact time of the Baba Ramdev’s Satyagraha, that too with a private jet provided by a foreign company. Government has not reacted & nor denied the allegation yet.
It is being pointed out by her detractors that the silence alone of the authorities in the congress & govt. is enough to smell the rat.
In the letter to the prime minister, Swamy has pointed out that using private planes to travel abroad is against the DGCA rule. Instead of using state or any public carrier traveling by private jets itself raises suspicions. He has alleged that Sonia & family is being facilitated by agencies of hostile countries - including Pakistan - in Dubai. Swamy has accused the Sonia’s European family has got hold of the ill-gotten money from India. He also pointed to the suspicious travel patterns of the Sonia's family, saying, “The frequent travel of Sonia Gandhi and her immediate family to Malaysia, Hongkong, Dubai and parts of Europe including London requires to be probed under the law.”
He has also appealed to Manmohan Singh that it is high time to ‘take a stand on the crucial issue when evil is permeating in the country in the form of terrorism, religious conversion and demographic infiltration.’

(Source: News Bharati)

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.

Won't allow Emergency, Congress a fascist party: Gadkari

IANS, June 15th, 2011 Kolkata: Describing the crackdown on Baba Ramdev's hunger strike in New Delhi as the Congress party's "fascism", Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Wednesday called the ruling party as one of "mother and son", and said the BJP would not allow Sonia Gandhi's ploy to impose Emergency in the country.
"The incident which happened at the Ramlila Ground is Ravan Lila. The crackdown on Baba Ramdev's fast programme reveals the restlessness of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. What happened is fascism and cannot be tolerated. The BJP will not tolerate it," said Gadkari while addressing party workers here.
"What kind of atrocity is this? Old people, children, and women were beaten up as they demanded the return of black money stacked in foreign countries. The Congress talks about the non-violent movement of Gandhiji and this is what you get when you conduct a non-violent movement," said Gadkari.
"Earlier, the Congress had imposed Emergency. The people of the India still remember that black chapter. I want to say that if Soniaji (Congress chief) tries to move away from the path of democracy and tries to impose Emergency, we will not tolerate it," he said.
Gadkari called the Congress "a party of mother and son" and said that except the Gandhis everybody in the Congress party are "servants" of that family.
"This Congress party is a party of mother and son. Everybody in this party, except the Gandhis, are servants of this family. Nobody is a leader except a Gandhi, others are servants. They are ordered by their madam (Sonia Gandhi) to serve and they serve," said Gadkari.
"It is as if from a womb of a prime minister another prime minister is born. A son of leader will be a leader, a son of a minister will be a minister. We have seen Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi now we are seeing Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Then again, we will see some other Gandhi," said Gadkari.
Gadkari also took potshots at union finance minister and Congress stalwart Pranab Mukherjee, saying that he can become a prime minister of India someday but he can never adorn the post of Congress president.
"Pranab-da has a wish of becoming the prime minister of India. He may get that post someday but he will never become a Congress president because that post is reserved for a Gandhi only," said Gadkari.

BJP demands greater compensation for 'willing' Singur farmers

Kolkata, June 14 (IANS) After the West Bengal assembly Tuesday passed the bill to return land to "unwilling" farmers in Singur, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded greater compensation for those who had willingly given their lands.
"We welcome the government's move to introduce the bill. But what will be the fate of the so-called willing farmers, who were also coerced to give up their plots and take compensation. The government should look into the issue and arrange for greater compensation to those farmers," senior BJP leader Chandan Mitra said.
The state government Tuesday got the bill passed for reclaiming 997 acres of land at Singur in Hooghly district so as to return about 400 acres to the owners.
Two years of sustained peasant agitation led by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress had forced auto giant Tata Motors to move to Gujarat to set up the manufacturing plant for their small car Nano.
Mitra accused Banerjee of causing peasant unrest across the country by blocking the land acquisition amendment bill in parliament.
"(Mamata) Banerjee blocked the bill for three years, and since it was denied passage, so much trouble broke out in several places, including Kalinganagar (in Orissa) and Bhatta-Parsaul (Uttar Pradesh)."
State BJP president Rahul Sinha described the government's move to accord recognition to 1,000 madrasas (Islamic seminaries) in the state as "dangerous" and said his party will oppose the move.
"It was wrong on the part of the state government to take this hasty decision. Instead of taking recourse to this communal politics to accord blanket recognition to all these madrasas, Banerjee should have gone through the reports of central and state intelligence agencies. This act might cost us dearly," he said.
Sinha also criticised Banerjee for the "secret" deal she struck with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and demanded that the state government maintain "transparency" by making public the content of the agreement on the proposed Hill Council.
"It is being kept under wraps which areas of the plains will be included in the proposed autonomous council for Darjeeling. There is a lack of transparency. The government must make people known about the agreement," he said.