The Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) is likely to suspend former telecom minister A. Raja from the party.
The DMK is likely to suspend Raja following the CBI raids at his homes in Delhi and Tamil Nadu in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.
The party is keeping a close tab on Wednesday's CBI raids and their outcome.
Raja holds the post of propaganda secretary in the DMK. It is learnt that he met DMK chief M. Karunanidhi on Sunday. The meeting did not last long.
Headlines Today had reported how the DMK was planning to sideline Raja and Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi to blunt out the AIADMK's campaign against the party.
Raja and Kanimozhi, it had been reported, were likely to be relieved of all organisational posts in the party.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Latest controversy, fresh ammunition for opposition
CHENNAI: Former Union minister A Raja has been dragged into yet another controversy, providing fresh ammunition to the opposition in the run up to the assembly election scheduled for next year.
AIADMK MP and party spokesman V Maitreyan said, "As soon as the news (of Raja having allegedly attempted to speak to a judge) broke in 2009, my party spearheaded a signature campaign in Parliament. A memorandum, signed by 200 MPs from various parties, was submitted to the Prime Minister, demanding a detailed inquiry. Since the Madras high court named Raja's involvement as a minister in the mark-sheet scam, he should be charged with contempt of court."
Party presidium chairman of DMDK, Panruti S Ramachandran said the news was shocking. "Being a Cabinet minister, it is quite unbecoming of him to have influenced a judge of the high court. It only establishes the height of arrogance on his part. It is high time the unholy DMK-Congress alliance was put out of power," he said.
The CPM, however, believed the situation has reached its climax, and no further proof was needed for taking action against Raja. "In the light of the appellate court saying that Raja was disrespectful towards the court, the chief minister must take action against him immediately," said CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan.
Senior Congress leader and strident DMK critic, EVKS Elangovan, "A lot of issues have been reported of some ministers interfering in matters of state and the police. Now it has reached the top level. A minister of a Cabinet rank influencing the judiciary is unimaginable. It's high time the DMK took action against Raja. If the party doesn't take action, people will lose faith in the government."
AIADMK MP and party spokesman V Maitreyan said, "As soon as the news (of Raja having allegedly attempted to speak to a judge) broke in 2009, my party spearheaded a signature campaign in Parliament. A memorandum, signed by 200 MPs from various parties, was submitted to the Prime Minister, demanding a detailed inquiry. Since the Madras high court named Raja's involvement as a minister in the mark-sheet scam, he should be charged with contempt of court."
Party presidium chairman of DMDK, Panruti S Ramachandran said the news was shocking. "Being a Cabinet minister, it is quite unbecoming of him to have influenced a judge of the high court. It only establishes the height of arrogance on his part. It is high time the unholy DMK-Congress alliance was put out of power," he said.
The CPM, however, believed the situation has reached its climax, and no further proof was needed for taking action against Raja. "In the light of the appellate court saying that Raja was disrespectful towards the court, the chief minister must take action against him immediately," said CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan.
Senior Congress leader and strident DMK critic, EVKS Elangovan, "A lot of issues have been reported of some ministers interfering in matters of state and the police. Now it has reached the top level. A minister of a Cabinet rank influencing the judiciary is unimaginable. It's high time the DMK took action against Raja. If the party doesn't take action, people will lose faith in the government."
BJP reiterates JPC demand
New Delhi, Dec 8 : As the CBI raided residences of former Telecom Minister A Raja, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday said the United Progressive Alliancegovernment was much to be blamed for keeping the 2G spectrum scam under cover.
Reiterating party's demand for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the scam, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said the government was forced to act after the SupremeCourt reprimanded the CBI.
He said the the investigating agency was sitting on the case for the last one year under the pressure from high ups in the government.
Javadekar alleged the raids proved that Raja had a role in the controversial allocation of 2G spectrum that caused huge loss to the government exchequer.
Raids are being conducted at the residences of Raja in Delhi and Chennai.
The CBI sleuths are also searching the premises of four other Telecom officials, including Raja's personal secretary R.K. Chandolia.
He said the the investigating agency was sitting on the case for the last one year under the pressure from high ups in the government.
Javadekar alleged the raids proved that Raja had a role in the controversial allocation of 2G spectrum that caused huge loss to the government exchequer.
Raids are being conducted at the residences of Raja in Delhi and Chennai.
The CBI sleuths are also searching the premises of four other Telecom officials, including Raja's personal secretary R.K. Chandolia.
2G spectrum scam: CBI raids A Raja's residences
New Delhi: It is proving to be a very severe winter for A Raja.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his house in Delhi today, along with his homes in Tamil Nadu, in connection with the 2G scam which Raja allegedly masterminded. The allegations cost Raja his job as Telecom Minister last month. The government's auditor offered voluptuous criticism of Raja, stating that he broke the rules, ignored the advice of the PM, and deliberately gave away precious 2G spectrum at clearance prices to companies that lied or misrepresented information to land 2G licenses.
Mr Raja has been unflappable through this phase - even as the Supreme Court, which is monitoring different 2G cases, asked the CBI why Raja has not yet been interrogated. The court also slammed Raja for ignoring the Prime Minister's advice which suggested that Raja consider a different policy for 2G allocation. Raja rejected that notion in a letter to the PM - the tone of that note was also held up by the court as inappropriate.
Mr Raja's party- the DMK - has so far been staunch in its support, with party chief M Karunanidhi offering a defense earlier this week which included a complex reference to a mythological monster and silent films. Mr Karunanidhi has been a prolific screenwriter in the Tamil film industry.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his house in Delhi today, along with his homes in Tamil Nadu, in connection with the 2G scam which Raja allegedly masterminded. The allegations cost Raja his job as Telecom Minister last month. The government's auditor offered voluptuous criticism of Raja, stating that he broke the rules, ignored the advice of the PM, and deliberately gave away precious 2G spectrum at clearance prices to companies that lied or misrepresented information to land 2G licenses.
Mr Raja has been unflappable through this phase - even as the Supreme Court, which is monitoring different 2G cases, asked the CBI why Raja has not yet been interrogated. The court also slammed Raja for ignoring the Prime Minister's advice which suggested that Raja consider a different policy for 2G allocation. Raja rejected that notion in a letter to the PM - the tone of that note was also held up by the court as inappropriate.
Mr Raja's party- the DMK - has so far been staunch in its support, with party chief M Karunanidhi offering a defense earlier this week which included a complex reference to a mythological monster and silent films. Mr Karunanidhi has been a prolific screenwriter in the Tamil film industry.
The CBI has been asked repeatedly by the Supreme Court about why it's moving slowly in its investigation against Raja and others who worked with him in the Telecom Ministry. The raids today included the homes of four former officials of the Department of Telecom including RK Chandolia who served as Mr Raja's personal secretary during the controversial 2G allotment. The others are: AK Srivastava, Sidharth Behura and K Sridhara.
In Tamil Nadu, the CBI raided the home of Sadique Basha, believed to be a business partner of Mr Raja.
The CBI raids may help the government counter an angry Opposition in Delhi which has discounted the CBI investigation and is insistent on a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to study the 2G scam. The Opposition says that the Supreme Court's repeated criticism of the slow pace of the CBI's inquiry proves that the agency is coached by the government, which is dependent on the DMK's support. A JPC, however, is unacceptable to the government because elections in several key states including Tamil Nadu are due next year, and the Opposition could use the JPC to target the government for corruption. There are also fears that the BJP would use the JPC's powers to summon the Prime Minister and embarrass the government ahead of the elections.
The stand-off over the JPC has ensured that the entire Winter Session of Parliament has passed without any work -daily protests by the Opposition have led to both Houses being adjourned. Several all-party meetings called by the government to find a compromise have failed.
Jagan to launch new political party
Kadapa: Days after quitting Congress as well as Lok Sabha, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Tuesday announced that he will launch a new political party in Andhra Pradesh in 45 days.
The former Congress MP also told his supporters in his home town Pulivendula near here that the 2014 Assembly elections in the state would be his "finals".
No Jagan hand in AP rebellion, feels Congress
"I will be launching a new political party in 45 days... Lakhs and lakhs of people still adore my father late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and appreciate the enormous work done by him," 37-year-old Jagan said.
Jagan had resigned from the Congress and Lok Sabha on Monday last alleging that the party leadership, including Sonia Gandhi, had "insulted and humiliated" his family.
At today's meeting, Jagan said 2014, when Assembly elections are due in Andhra Pradesh, would be his "finals".
Discontent with government sparks hectic activity in Jagan camp
He claimed the late YSR's supporters would bless and support his new party.
Mayawati’s Noida Park Gets Supreme Court Clearance
The Chief Minsiter of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati’s project for putting up Dalit icons at a Noida park has been cleared by the Supreme Court on Friday.
The Court observed that the area is not on forest land. The bench comprising Chief Justice SH Kapadia along with justices KS Radhakrishnan and Aftab Alam said, "We have found that it is not on forest land."
On account of the concern that the project is close to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, the Bench of Justices said that the project should be in accordance to a set of terms and guidelines.
The condition put forward by the Special Forest bench says that the Park’s 'pucca' construction should not go beyond a total of 25 percent of the land area.
From the remaining land, 25 percent should have grass coverage and 50 percent should be planted with tress directing the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.
Narendra Modi's Assassination Planned By LeT: WikiLeaks
According to a US diplomatic cable leak by website WikiLeaks, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), terror outfit based in Pakistan had plans to killNarendra Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister.
The confidential cable dated on June 19, 2009 which was signed by Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State also says that the LeT is growing dangerously in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Nepal.
The leaked cable has been “derived from multiple sources” and it had been marked as “Secret” and “No Foreign”.
It has also been mentioned under “key concerns” that Shafiq Khan, LeT member with another person who is named as “Hussein” are said to be involved in a planning in June 2009 linked with “possible operation against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the establishment of a training camp, and unspecified work involving a car.”
The cable further states that Hussein would be working out his plans with a colleague based in India named Sameer.
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