The notices have been issued to Mumbai-based eveninger ‘Mid-Day’, Chennai-based DMK’s official mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’ and ‘Kalaignar TV’.

Jayalalithaa said she will take legal action if the three media organisations failed to respond to her notice.

Jayalalithaa’s counsel P H Manoj Pandian said in the notice that the “preposterous claim made without any verification is not backed by any documentation.” Continue reading…

It’s been a hectic morning for both parties. After a meeting with Sonia Gandhi last night in Delhi, senior DMK leaders briefed their chief, M Karunanidhi, who is likely to give his feedback on the negotiations in the next few hours. In a sign that the marriage may be saved, Mr Karunanidhi’s daughter, Kanimozhi, is heading to Delhi from Chennai.

The Congress believes it’s entitled to contest 63 seats which should include some constituencies that have been hand-picked by the party. The DMK had earlier said it would not part with more than 60 seats. Yesterday, it allegedly decided to take three seats from its regional ally, the PMK, and transfer them to the Congress to end the talk of a break-up. But sources say the DMK is concerned about that gesture seeming like total capitulation.

The bluster has been high-volume since Saturday night, when the DMK announced that it was dropping out of the UPA coalition at the Centre over the battle with the Congress in Tamil Nadu. The DMK has 18 MPs and six ministers in the centre, which give the party considerable clout. So after its ultimatum, the DMK waited for the Congress to coax and cajole it to change its mind – that never happened. Yesterday, DMK leaders like Mr Karunanidhi’s son, MK Alagiri, who is a union minister, said all six ministers of the DMK would hand in their resignations to the PM.

Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee staged an intervention, meeting Mr Karunanidhi’s nephew, Dayanidhi Maran, last afternoon. By the evening, the DMK ministers recalled the decision to resign, stating that the Congress had asked for another day. Last night, Mr Maran and Mr Alagiri met Sonia Gandhi, but sources say a compromise remained elusive.

Mr Karunanidhi in Chennai will talk to DMK leaders and convey the party’s decision to the Congress, sources added.

Divorce over 2G scam?

While the Congress and the DMK argue publicly over seats, sources say the real cause for the break-up is the DMK’s entanglement with the 2G spectrum scam. One of the DMKs main men, A Raja, who was Telecom Minister, has been arrested for siring the scam, which saw valuable frequency being given at throwaway prices to private companies. A Rs. 214-crore kickback from the scam was allegedly routed to a TV station in Chennai that’s owned largely by Mr Karunanidhi’s wife, and his daughter Kanimozhi, who is an MP and a close associate of Mr Raja’s. The CBI, in charge of investigating the scam, has raided the homes and offices of people closely associated with Kanimozhi, and she is expected to be questioned in the next few weeks by the CBI. The DMK is getting increasingly uncomfortable with the inquiry and what it might throw up. The Congress, on the other hand, is suggested to be wary of asking for votes with a political partner whose senior members seem tarnished by corruption. (Source: www.ndtv.com)

During the meeting, the FBI has given some information about Rana and Headley and also assured the Indian probe agencies that they will share more of it as the interrogations of the two progress.

Indian agencies have sought all the details of Headley’s links with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s son Rahul, gym instructor Vilas Varak, some diplomats and business personalities who were allegedly misused by the terror suspect, sources said.

Headley and Pakistan-born Rana were arrested by the FBI n Chicago last month for allegedly plotting terror strikes in Denmark and India. However, Rana’s advocate had denied the allegations made against his client.

The first batch of the FBI officers arrived on Sunday and some more are expected to come for holding talks with officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and central security agencies in the national capital, they said. The NIA, probing the case, has already recorded statements of various people including Varak during which he told the investigators about the activities of Headley.

The US terror suspect had changed his name to Headley from Daood Gilani in 2006 to avoid suspicion. The probe agency wanted to undertake detailed questioning of Headley and Rana and a team from New Delhi had gone to the US earlier this month.

But the Indian probe agencies were denied access to the terror suspects by US authorities because of legal necessities.

The visit of the FBI team comes in the wake of a high-level meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barak Obama in Washington last week.

National Security Adviser M K Narayanan had said that President Obama has told the Prime Minister that he would be sending a high-level FBI team to India within a week with “all details”. (www.indianexpress.com)

Opening BJP’s defence on the report which has indicted a number of its leaders, party chief Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha that the Liberhan Commission report was “a bundle of grave errors” and its intent appeared to be “pre-decided” and aimed at “character assassination” of certain political leaders and parties.

The Commission has reached “bizarre” conclusions, he said during the debate and took strong objection to the adverse comments made against former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and senior leaders L K Advani and M M Joshi.

He said the report was “not unbiased” and said it was a “political document of character assassinations” as legal criteria for indictment had been ignored.

“Whatever happened on December 6, 1992, was a result of public anger. There was no mosque at the site since 1936,” he said, amid repeated disruptions caused by objections from Congress and some other parties like Samajwadi Party.

“The Liberhan Commission report is a bundle of several errors….even after spending 17 years it has not been able to bring out the truth,” he said.

During the 17 years, Justice Liberhan or anybody else from the Commission had not visited Ayodhya even once, Singh said and likened him to Sanjay, an aide of Mahabharat’s Dhrithrastra, who had a special vision and could give a blow-by-blow account of the Kurukshetra war without being there. “Who is that Dhrithrastra,” he asked.

Singh said the indictment of Vajpayee and other BJP leaders was not based on facts but assumptions and the commission seemed to be “pre-decided” on whom to blame for the demolition and has thus reached “bizarre” conclusions.

Hitting out at the Commission for describing Vajpayee as “psuedo-secular”, he said even Nehru had praised the BJP leader and Rao used to see him as a political guru.

“The report is totally baseless, prejudiced and is a deliberate attempt to target some persons and political parties,” he charged.

“Building a Ram temple is not just religious justice, but also national justice. BJP reaffirms its commitment to build Ram Temple at the same site. When BJP, which was part of NDA, was in power, it could not deliver on its promise despite trying its best,” the BJP said.

He insisted that no ‘namaz’ had been performed at the disputed structure since 1934 and the doors of the structure were opened for Hindus for ‘puja’ of the Ram Lala in 1949.

Hitting back at the Congress, he said then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had gone to have ‘darshan’ of Devraha Baba on November 6, 1989, before elections and had a meeting for 40 minutes. “The government should state what did they talk for 40 minutes,” he said.

As Singh spoke about the events preceding December 6, 1992, Home Minister P Chidambaram intervened saying the issue of ‘namaz’ or ‘puja’ being conducted at the disputed structure in Ayodhya could not be discussed in Parliament as the matter was sub-judice.

“Whether namaz or puja was being conducted is part of the title suit. We are not here to debate a title suit. It is sub-judice and cannot be debated in this House,” he said, adding that the debate should confine to the Liberhan report.

Chidambaram, who is expected to reply to the debate on Tuesday, said the Liberhan Commission was appointed only to “go into the circumstances leading to the demolition” so as to find out who demolished the structure.

Agreeing with Chidambaram, Speaker Meria Kumar said the members should be conscious of the fact that the matter is sub-judice and their statements should not prejudice the title suit. She asked the members to confine to the report.

At this, Murli Manohar Joshi (BJP) said the point was raised by the party to highlight inaccuracies. But Singh contended that as the matter was in courts, there was no point debating the report at all.

Defending the then Kalyan Singh government in UP, Singh said the Congress had in 1945 given a strong commitment not to allow country’s partition but failed to keep the promise.

“Why questions are now being raised about Kalyan Singh’s assurance to the Supreme Court on not allowing any damage to the disputed structure,” he posed. (Source: Indian Express)

The 66-year-old, known for his short temper and as a strict disciplinarian, is at most times stern faced. He struggled for decades to bring the BJP to power in the state.

On Saturday morning, he shocked television viewers as he turned misty eyed answering questions on the demand for his removal by dissidents led by Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy, a billionaire iron ore mine owner from Bellary.

In a choked voice, he wondered what wrong he had done to find himself in such a situation, particularly when large parts of Karnataka had been devastated by floods and around a million people were waiting for rehabilitation.

“I apologise to the people of the state for this situation,” he said. Yeddyurappa’s 17-month-old government remained paralysed for the 13th day on Saturday as Janardhana Reddy, his elder brother and Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy, and their loyalists demanded the chief minister’s removal.

Yeddyurappa, under pressure from his party central leaders, has agreed to almost all demands of the Reddy brothers.

Dissidents reject CM’s claims of compromise
Meanwhile, G Janardhana Reddy on Saturday rubbished Yeddyurappa’s claims that a compromise had been reached.

“From the beginning, I have been saying that in the interest of BJP and Karnataka, there should be a better leadership,” he said. “I expect our central leaders to the right decision in the next two to three days.”

On Yeddyurappa’s statement in Delhi that he has accepted a compromise formula proposed by party leaders, Reddy said: “Has it been discussed in front of you?”

According to Maulana Shafiq Ahmed Al Qasmi, an organiser of the conference, the provocation occurred two months ago in Saharanpur when a new outfit, the Rashtrawadi Maha Sabha, threatened to burn an effigy of Dar ul Uloom if the Deoband seminary did not withdraw a fatwa asking its students not to sing Vande Mataram. Since the month of Ramzan was on, the seminary’s and Jamiat’s response was postponed till November 1, when the conference was scheduled, and the resolution was passed here.

However, there are other theories. The rival Jamiat, headed by Maulana Arshad Madani (Mehmud Madani’s uncle), alleges that the resolution is part of a conspiracy to create communal tension, instigated by Americans who had met the Mehmud faction in July.

“With each one vying to prove himself the better Muslim, both uncle and nephew have forgotten the Jamiat’s glorious tradition of participation in the freedom movement, of which Vande Mataram was an inseparable part,” rues reformist Asghar Ali Engineer. “This resolution has eclipsed the very purpose of the conference to condemn terrorism.”

Engineer points out that the nationalistic paean has always been politicised (see box)-he recalls that the controversy over it had helped both the Muslim League (which refused to sing it) and the Shiv Sena (which insisted on it) win seats in the 1974 BMC election. He himself finds the song unobjectionable. “Vande Mataram means `I pay my respects to the motherland. Even if you translate it as `I bow to my motherland, what objection can there be to doing so?” he asks. “The Mughals made courtiers bow to them and perform sajda (respectfully lowering and then lifting your hand to your forehead repeatedly). Why was this not condemned as un-Islamic? Simply because the emperor had power! In fact, Islamic scholar Mujaddid Alf Sani had objected to this practice in Jehangir’s time, only to be thrown into prison.”

Writer Sajid Rashid recalls singing Allama Iqbal’s Naya Shivala in his Urdu school, a song which contains the lines Patthar ki mooraton mein samjhaa hai tu khudaa hai/ Khaak-e-watan ka mujh ko har zarraa devtaa hai (You think that God resides in the stone idols/ Each speck of the motherland is God to me.) “Ulema of every sect consider Iqbal to be a devout Muslim. Why is there no furore against this well-known song?” asks Sajid. Interestingly, the Pakistani national anthem has a line that says, `Blessed be the sacred land’.

And then, of course, there’s the devout A R Rahman’s iconic rendition of Vande Mataram, which has the words Ma tujhe salaam. “Why is there no fatwa against Rahman?” asks activist Feroze Mithiborewala.

Engineer and Sajid both point to the multiplicity of Islamic beliefs in India. “The Deobandis consider even singing salaams to Prophet Mohammed’s glory as haraam, says Sajid. “But most Indian Muslims do not.” Adds Engineer, “The Deobandis cannot impose their Islam on all Indian Muslims.”

The real problem with Vande Mataram comes with the RSS slogan Is desh mein rahna hoga to Vande Mataram kahna hoga. This slogan, used in every RSS/Shiv Sena campaign, and part of every communal riot, kept cropping up during the Srikrishna Commission hearings into the 1992-’93 riots. Policemen deposing before the Commission were amazed that they should even be asked why they had not taken action against those mouthing the belligerent slogan-significantly, so were their lawyers as well as the counsel for the government. It was left to Justice Srikrishna to point out that laying down conditions of residence on any citizen, let alone a community, by another group was not just communal but also fascist.

The point is reiterated by Engineer. “Under compulsion, I won’t sing it to prove my patriotism,” he says. And adds, “And if ordered not to by any fatwa, I will sing it to assert my freedom of choice.” (Thanks: Times of India)

Here is a verbatim transcript of his comments on CNBC-TV18 as seen on www.moneycontrol.com

What A Raja seems top be suggesting is that he took the battle of the first-come-first-serve policy and the entry fee in 2001 to the BJP camp. In his interview, he mentioned the then Communications Minster Arun Shourie by name. He said there were files in which the first-come-first-serve policy was actually followed for one company and for another company which did not fit in this classification there was negative noting on that file.

However, he didn’t name the company. But, it is clear Raja is not going to give up the battle and hours after I spoke to him Jaitley have severe criticism of the Prime Minister.

Arun Jaitley, Senior BJP Leader Opposition Leader, Rajya Sabha, said, “The Prime Minister needs to be candid. The Prime Minister should not have made these comments about a pending investigation and pre-judged the innocence of Raja when his guilt is lit so large. Secondly, pending this investigation the facts are so clear that Raja should be asked to step down.”

Jaitley is now saying that the Prime Minister has given a green signal to Raja even as the CBI probe is on. So the Parliament session will be interesting and we can see both sides slugging it out for who will really nail each other on this spectrum tangle.

]]> http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/10/27/spectrum-allocation-largest-scam-in-independent-india-bjp/feed/ 0 http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/05/16/dayanidhi-maran-post-counting/ http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/05/16/dayanidhi-maran-post-counting/#comments Sat, 16 May 2009 08:16:23 +0000 anuramas http://www.arasiyal.com/?p=254 Dayanidhi Maran speaking to newsmen post election counting.

Interestingly, he criticizes media. Is he not part of a media group as well?

]]> http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/05/16/dayanidhi-maran-post-counting/feed/ 0 http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/05/16/upa-set-to-return-to-power/ http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/05/16/upa-set-to-return-to-power/#comments Sat, 16 May 2009 05:23:57 +0000 anuramas http://www.arasiyal.com/?p=250 World’s largest democracy had its voting completed two days back and the counting started at 8 AM on May 16, 2009.

It is just about 3 hours since the counting commenced reading the votes stored in the electronic chips of Electronic Voting Machines used across India. The leads for 510 of 543 parliament seats are already available.

The current tally is:

UPA – 228, NDA – 156, 3rd Front – 80, 4th Front – 30.

Thus, Mr. L K Advani’s PM ambitions have come to naught. Mr. Manmohan Singh will be Prime Minister of India for the second time running.

In Tamil Nadu, DMK and Congress are doing well, set to win about 27 seats. PMK which switched sides at the last moment to AIADMK camp has been routed.

We can expect to see Mr. Dayanidhi Maran, Mr. M K Azhagiri and Ms. Kanimozhi all from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr. Karunanidhi’s family, as Central Ministers.

We might also see Mr. Rahul Gandhi as a minister with an important portfolio.

The new Government without Left Support should bring huge cheers to the stock markets and financial reforms can take big momentum.

]]> http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/05/16/upa-set-to-return-to-power/feed/ 0 http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/05/16/indian-election-song/ http://www.arasiyal.com/2009/05/16/indian-election-song/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 20:25:37 +0000 anuramas http://www.arasiyal.com/?p=243 The Great Indian Election

Political masters who ruled our nation

Come with folded hands to every citizen

Ragging for votes to win the election

And resume their game of exploitation:

Parasites who never thought of people’s concern,

Suddenly swarm the entire nation

And promise voters everything under the sun.

Neither basic needs nor jobs and education

Engaged their minds while enjoying power and position

Peace and harmony, they shatter in cities and towns

Their crowded road shows, catchy songs and slogans

And filmy eloquence sway the mob’s emotions

Since ‘ helping the poor’ is their generous aim,

They offer liquor and money without shame

‘Business’ with contractors gets them bundles of notes

Openly they bribe the poor and demand votes.

Since they campaign on the basis of caste and creed

Character and morality, they do not need

When they talk of equal rights and democracy

They new generation goes through their hypocrisy

Rampant corruption, nepotism and defection

Have undermined people’s faith in election

Honest voters, with minds young, clean and fresh

Must remove these deadly thorns in our country’s flesh.

Contributed by M.G. Narasimha Murthy, Hyderabad to Kushwant Singh column in The Hindustan Times

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