MAJOR EMBARRASSMENT: Army brigadier sodomises sahayak; faces sacking

New Delhi: In a major embarrassment to the Army, a brigadier deployed along the Line of Control in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir is facing the prospect of disciplinary for allegedly sodomising his assistant (sahayak). 

Sahayaks, who were earlier known as Batmans, are regular combat soldiers who are provided to officers for helping them out in doing official tasks. But there are demands to scrap the system as they are allegedly misused for doing domestic chores.

The brigadier was commanding troops in the Poonch sector along the LoC and was in charge of the sensitive area where Pakistani ceasefire violations are frequent.

After receiving complaints about his behaviour, the brigadier has been attached to the an Infantry Division for a Court of Inquiry, sources here said. He has been forced to proceed on leave, they said.

Army Headquarters said such an incident has come to light and investigations are going on in this matter.

Officials said similar cases had taken place earlier also and officers have been sacked as such conduct is not acceptable in the armed forces.

If justice denied, will hang ourselves from same tree says Badaun victim’s father

Badaun: In the latest development in the Badaun rape case, the father of one of the two teenaged cousins, who were hanged from the tree, accused police of destroying vital evidences and threatened that he and the other family members would hang themselves from the same tree if they were denied justice in the case.

 

“If justice is not served, we will hang ourselves from the same mango tree, where our two daughters were found hanging,” said father of a girl on Saturday.

In a new twist in the Badaun killings case in Uttar Pradesh, the CBI, which is probing the matter, said the DNA report from the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in Hyderabad confirmed contradictions in the theory of rape.

The father of one of the victims said, “Police had already destroyed vital evidence. Even CBI is probing on the lines of investigation done by the Uttar Pradesh police.”

“Police provided clothes of the girls to CBI, which were sent for DNA testing. The role of police is suspicious since the beginning,” he alleged.

It may be recalled that both the cousin sisters- aged 14 and 15- were found hanging from a mango tree in Badaun in the last week of May. The incident sparked outrage in the entire country. Globally too, it gained attention. The state government run by Samajwadi Party was criticised heavily for failing to control the deteriorating law and order problem in the state.

Efforts to end 'systemic and symptomatic' corruption : Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi: Under attack for removing whistleblower IFS officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi as AIIMS Chief Vigilance Officer, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said various forms of corruption exist in central hospitals and efforts are on to end the “systemic and symptomatic” corruption.

 

Defending Chaturvedi’s removal, Vardhan said his designation as the CVO was opposed by the Central Vigilance Commission in 2012 and 2013.
And by removing him “I therefore did my bit to restore the image of the CVC,” he said in a statement here.

 

The Minister said he was aware as a doctor that corruption exist in hospitals, from allocation of beds to kickbacks from suppliers.

“In my first 90 days in office, hardly a day has passed without inquiring into the transparency of the ministry and its outposts. Very soon the results are going to be in the public domain,” he said.

 

The statement further said that Vardhan has placed all systems in the central hospitals, including AIIMS, “under critical review to end systemic and symptomatic corruption”.

 

“If money is made in the allocation of beds or as kickbacks from suppliers, it is sleaze,” he said, adding that what is equally corrupt is the silent practise of reserving beds and facilities for employees or VIPs.

 

Vardhan, while regretting that a political slant was given to the “re-profiling” of Chaturvedi’s job, said, “he has neither been suspended, nor transferred”.

 

The Health Minister claimed that Chaturvedi’s appointment as the CVO, by disregarding the CVC’s directives, was “part of a design to weaken the institution”.

 

The previous UPA government and AIIMS had defended the appointment, saying AIIMS was an autonomous body and the CVC’s nod for it was not necessary.

 

Chaturvedi’s sympathisers, including AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, have alleged he was removed due to “political pressure” and CVC had been communicating with him as AIIMS CVO so long as he was there.

 

[Image: PTI- File photo of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan ]

Brothers killed while protecting their sister against molesters in Uttar Pradesh

Bareilly:  In Uttar Pradesh two brothers were allegedly killed while protecting their sister against molesters on Saturday morning in Karpiya village of Faridpur. The police have arrested two of them while searching for the third accused. 

 

Narendra Pal and Ravindra were killed with sharp weapons for opposing the molestation of their sister. The bodies have been sent for post mortem. 

 

According to media reports, the accused Somveer and Anil, who also lived in the same village, often teased the girl on her way to school. The panchayat meeting was also called to solve the matter but no decision was taken.  

PM hosts private lunch for Saudi Crown Prince

New Delhi: In a special gesture, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday hosted a private lunch for visiting Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud besides holding discussion on boosting trade, investment and security cooperation.

The Prime Minister also thanked the visiting Saudi dignitary for taking good care of Indian haj pilgrims and the two million Indians staying in that country.

"The Prime Minister and the Saudi Crown Prince discussed trade, investment, terrorism and security situation in West Asia and Afghanistan," the PMO said.

It said the Prime Minister conveyed to the Crown Prince that "India has a special and warm relationship with Saudi Arabia which we accord high importance."

Yesterday, the two sides had inked a defence cooperation pact to take their strategic partnership further in areas of security.

The pact was signed following talks between Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Vice President Hamid Ansari during which a range of bilateral, regional and international issues figured.

The defence cooperation pact will allow exchange of defence-related information, military training and education as well as cooperation in areas varying from hydrography and security to logistics. 

It is highest level political visit to India from Saudi Arabia after the landmark visit of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in January 2006.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trade partner with bilateral trade recording at USD 43 billion in 2012-13. Saudi Arabia is also India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for about one-fifth of its total imports in 2012-13.

Saud also met External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

Delhi Police seek more time to probe Bhatkal case

New Delhi: Delhi Police Thursday sought from a court here 15 more days to complete probe against Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his close aide Asadullah Akhtar in the 2010 Jama Masjid terror attack case.

Delhi Police in a plea Thursday informed the court they have received information from Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US about movements of a "wanted terrorist" of IM in Bihar or Kerala.

Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash has allowed police plea for more time to collect evidence against Bhatkal, Akhtar and other accused in the case.

"Recently, an input has been received from the CIA that a wanted terrorist in this case is moving in areas of eastern Bihar and south Kerala, therefore teams have been dispatched and are camping in these areas...," police said.

Police said a breakthrough is likely in a short time.

"With the arrest of this wanted terrorist, the missing links in the conspiracy are likely to be established, which requires that period of investigation and judicial custody of these accused persons be extended," the police plea added.

"The evidence collected so far has consumed the stipulated period of 90 days from the date of arrest of both the accused persons mentioned above, i.e. November 26, 2013, for concluding the investigation," police told the court.

Bhatkal, arrested in August last year near the India-Nepal border, is accused of being involved in various terror strikes in the country.

India lost a decade under UPA rule: Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Accusing the Congress-led UPA government of pushing back the country by a decade, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday said that he would endeavour to provide effective governance as it was more important than good policies.

"We need direction, determination and dedication... We need good governance. Bad governance is like diabetes which invites all kinds of ailments", he said while unveiling his vision for development at a seminar on 'A New Growth Paradigm for India'.

Modi further said: "We have reached a stage where the country is slipping back... We have lost a decade, we have to start afresh. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee left, the growth was 8.4 per cent, now the growth has come down to 4.8 per cent."

India, he said, was not only suffering from fiscal deficit but also from "governance deficit, trust deficit, security deficit and moral deficit.

"There is despondency. We have lost confidence. If we can regain confidence, we can not only move but can also run." Observing that India is a young country with democratic institutions and demand for products, Modi said, "we should consider them as strengths and make policies keeping them in view".

Referring to specific issues, Modi said that he would attempt to focus equally on the three pillars of growth -- manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors, and try to bridge the gap between rich and poor to make development more inclusive.

The Gujarat Chief Minister said economic growth should be inclusive, speedy and yet sustainable.

He said the development agenda should be "respectful to individual, responsive to innovation and responsible towards future generation" and governments should work towards improving standard of living and providing social justice.

Referring to plethora of laws, he said the need of the hour was to do way with the "jungle of laws".

In an apparent indication to BJP's election manifesto, Modi said a political party's manifesto should also talk about the number of laws that would be taken off the books.

On energy security, Modi said nature has been kind to India and it should exploit its solar, wind and hydro power availability.

Talking about centre-state relationships, Modi said each state has different strengths and there could not be a "tailor-made" solution for all of them.

"India is such a large country, some people think that one tailor made solution can be applied everywhere. This is the biggest mistake," he said.

Modi said the country's Prime Minister and Chief Ministers should work in tandem.

Replying to a question related to regulatory issues, he said financial decisions should be based on commercial considerations and not on political concerns.

Taking a jibe at the Centre, Modi said that even a municipal head takes more decisions than the government in Delhi.

Stressing that good governance was the key to growth, the he said that "bad governance is like diabetics" which leads to main ailments.

"Good governance is more potent than policies," he added.

On the issue of attracting Foreign Direct Investment, Modi said that in India even the human resource development sector presents a huge opportunity for foreign investment.

He said it is the responsibility of the government to remove hurdles and create an environment for foreign investments.

Modi further said India's foreign missions should now focus more on trade and commerce to increase exports and reduce dependence on imports.

"...Whole of our system needs to be given a new direction because we cannot remain disconnected with world. We have to make a strong footing in the changing global paradigm," he said, adding that India's advantages are democracy, demography and demand.

Modi further said there was a need for get in mission mode to remove poverty from the country while stressing on giving "dignity" to even the poorest workers as everybody has aspirations.

Building hostels for women, orphans to be CSR activity

New Delhi: Setting up of hostels for women and orphans as well as efforts that benefit armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents will come under the 'Corporate Social Responsibility' spending ambit.

With the government notifying norms for CSR spending by companies, Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday said the rules have been finalised after extensive discussions with all stakeholders.

The new CSR regime, part of the Companies Act 2013, requires certain class of corporates to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards social welfare spending activities.

Besides setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans, setting up old age homes, day care centres and such other facilities for senior citizens would be considered as CSR activities by the government.

Significantly, "measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups," would also come under CSR ambit.

Further, measures initiated by companies for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents would be classified as social welfare spending by companies.

Both domestic and foreign companies having net worth of at least Rs 500 crore or having minimum turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or those with at least net profit of Rs 5 crore, have to make CSR spend.

Another area included in the CSR framework is promoting preventive health care and sanitation and making available safe drinking water.

Commenting on CSR rules, Pilot further said they "provide for the manner in which CSR Committee shall formulate and monitor the CSR Policy, manner of undertaking CSR activities, role of the Board of directors therein and format of disclosure of such activities in the board's report".

As per the notified rules, ensuring ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agro-forestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining quality of soil, air and water can also be CSR initiatives.

In addition, livelihood enhancement and rural development projects would be under CSR framework.

Other areas covered include protection of national heritage, art and culture, setting up public libraries, promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts, training to promote rural sports, nationally recognised sports, paralympic sports and Olympic sports.

"Contributions or funds provided to technology incubators located within academic institutions which are approved by the central government," would also be considered as CSR activities, according to the rules.

OROP for ex-servicemen to be implemented from April 1

New Delhi: Defence Ministry on Thursday issued orders for implementing the 'One Rank One Pension' decision of the government from April 1 and assured the Services that it will provide all necessary funds for it.

The Defence Ministry has issued the orders for implementing OROP for exservicemen from April 1, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said.

Defence Minister A K Antony has assured the Services that the Government was fully committed to implement the OROP policy and required funds will be made available to ensure its implementation, he said.

Chairing a meeting of the top brass of the Services and senior officials, Antony said the Finance Minister had clarified that the figure of Rs 500 crores made available to implement the scheme was only "indicative".

The meeting was convened by Antony to discuss the modalities for implementation of OROP. Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh, Defence Secretary RK Mathur, Secretary Ex- Servicemen's Welfare Sangita Gairola, Secretary Defence Finance Arunava Dutt, the three Service Vice Chiefs and AG from the Services Headquarters also attended the meeting.

"It was noted that OROP implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners," the Ministry said.

"This implies bridging the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners and the past pensioners, and also future enhancements in the rate of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners," it added.

Include 'no arrest policy' in manifesto, fishermen tell Modi

Ahmedabad: In a memorandum to BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on Thursday demanded that the party's manifesto include how issues related to fishermen would be addressed.

The memorandum demanded that the BJP should include in its manifesto a policy of not arresting Pakistani fishermen, which would in turn lead to no arrest of Indian fishermen by that country.

Pondicherry-based NGO called National Fisherworkers' Forum (NFF) and a Delhi-based NGO called 'Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy' (PIPFPD) sent their memoranda to BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today through registered post.

"We demand incorporation of the fishing community's demands in your party's manifesto or else the community will boycott the next general elections," the NFF's M Ilango said.

Gujarat has the longest sea coast (1,600 km) in the entire country with lakhs of fishermen voters.

The NGO groups which made a memoranda of demands under a joint forum, requested reddressal of long-pending issues of the fishing community. 

Fishermens' fora in Pakistan and India have also demanded implementation of a 'no arrest policy' under an agreement signed by both governments during the 1999 Lahore summit.

"We demand declaration of a 'no arrest policy' for Pakistani fishermen and boats, so that there is prompt reciprocal action by the Pakistan government on this issue," the joint NGO forum said.

"There are 232 Indian fishermen in Pakistani jails and 139 Pakistani fishermen in Indian prisons. They should be released immediately," Jatin Desai of the PIPFPD said.

Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal dominate Google's search trends

New Delhi: As India inches closer towards general elections, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Aam Aadmi Party founder Arvind Kejriwal and Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi have emerged as the most searched politicians online, Google said on Thursday.

According to Google Trends, on a scale of 0-100, Modi scored 65 points, followed by Kejriwal (52 points) and Gandhi (41 points) for the month of February so far.

In January this year, Kejriwal (72 points) was ahead of Gandhi (64 points) and Modi (56 points) in terms of search on Google, the world's largest search giant.

Google Trends records search queries containing keywords related to Modi, Kejriwal and Gandhi and shows the data using graphs. The query numbers are plotted on a scale of 0-100.

"The world's largest democracy is all set for the 2014 General Elections for the 16th Lok Sabha and three leaders who are dominating the national political scenario and trending the most on online search are Modi, Gandhi and now Kejriwal," Google said in a release.

Interestingly, searches on Modi for PM (Prime Minister) were "more than three times" compared to that of Rahul Gandhi for PM.

These elections are likely to be unique because it is no longer a clash between Modi on the one hand and Gandhi on the other. The dark horse -- Kejriwal -- now features prominently as is evident by search queries, it added.

"Age is also revealing itself as a search trend. Interestingly, Gandhi's age is the most searched, that could be because he is constantly been projected as a youth leader," the US-based company said.

Google said Gandhi remained the most searched among the youth brigade in Indian politics with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav securing the second spot, followed by Priyanka Vadra, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Naveen Jindal.

Some of the lesser known youth leaders, including Supriya Sule, Priya Dutt, Milind Deora and Dushyant Singh also found their place in the top 10 on Google Search, it added.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, BJP leader L K Advani, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav also received a significant number of search queries in the past three months, it added.

Cabinet meet tomorrow to clear populist measures

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Friday will decide on a series of populist measures and some ordinances on anti-graft and protection of rights bills at a meeting possibly the last before the model code of conduct could come into force for coming Lok Sabha polls.

A proposal to increase the poll expenditure cap up to Rs 70 lakh per contestant from Rs 40 lakh now is also on the table of the cabinet meeting.

The cabinet will also decide on hiking dearness allowance to 100 per cent from existing 90 per cent, benefiting 50 lakh employees and 30 lakh pensioners.

The hike in DA would be effective from January 1 this year. Another proposal which will bring cheers to pensioners is to ensure Rs 1,000 minimum monthly pension under the pension scheme run by retirement fund body EPFO, which would immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners.

The cabinet is likely to consider a clarification on the decision for supply of 12 subsidised LPG cylinders per household in a year.

The government had last month raised the cap on supply of cheaper LPG from 9 to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each. It was inferred that this meant one cylinder in a month.

The ministry has proposed to the cabinet that consumers should have the freedom to book a refill after 21 days with an overall cap of 12 subsidised bottles in a year.

When the model code of conduct goes into force with the announcement of the election schedule, no populist measure can be made public and any policy decision can be announced only with the clearance of the Election Commission.

Sources said the cabinet may also consider raising the retirement age of government employees from 60 to 62 years. The raising of superannuation age was originally a part of the Terms of Reference of the Seventh Pay Commission.

Since the Commission report is expected not before 2017, a decision on raising the retirement age cannot happen before that.

So, the reference to retirement age has been removed from the ToR of the 7th Pay Commission and it is speculated that the same may be brought as a supplementary agenda.

Sources have not ruled out a proposal before the cabinet to provide 'special category' status to Andhra Pradesh for development of Seemandhra region on the ground of revenue loss following the bifurcation.

The sources said Planning Commission's Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia had met Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh recently to fine tune the proposal.

The cabinet could also approve six ordinances on bills pending in Parliament. Three ordinances which had lapsed last month could also be re-promulgated.

Three anti-corruption bills -- Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill and the Public Procurement Bill -- are likely to be approved as ordinances.

Along with these, the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, Rights of Persons with Disability Bill, Security Laws (Amendment) Bill, ordinances on Medical Council of India and another which gives Election Commission limited powers to make changes in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe constituencies, where some castes have been either excluded or included between the 2001 census and May 2012, are also likely to be approved by the cabinet.

An ordinance seeking to enhance the pecuniary jurisdiction of civil suits of the Delhi High Court from existing Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 crore will also come up.

The Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2014, introduced in the Rajya Sabha recently, aims at reducing workload of the Delhi High Court by transferring thousands of civil suits, valued up to Rs 2 crore, to the nine district courts in Delhi.

Uma Bharti asks Sonia to clear Cong stand on Khurshid's remark

Indore: BJP vice-president Uma Bharti on Thursday asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to clarify her party's stand on the "impotent" barb against BJP's PM nominee Narendra Modi by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

"In the last many years, nobody has made such intemperate comment against any politician. The Congress president should clarify whether her party approves of the comment made by Khurshid or whether the observation on Modi was Khurshid's personal view," Uma told PTI/Bhasha.

"Has Congress became so uncultured that its leaders (have) started making such kind of statements," she asked.

"On a number of occasions, Congress had distanced itself from its general secretary Digvijay Singh's controversial statements, I feel Congress should distance itself in Khurshid's case as well," Uma said.

The BJP leader said this below the belt comment by Khurshid will ensure that Congress will land in abyss post elections.

In the wake of furore caused by Khurshid after describing Modi as "impotent" in handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today expressed his disapproval for such language.

Responding to a query on contesting Lok Sabha polls, Uma said as she was occupied with the Ganga river conservation programme, she would not be able to spare time for her constituency.

"However, if BJP president Rajnath Singh asks me to contest, I am ready to fight the election from any given constituency," she said.

When asked about the change of guard in Uttarakhand, Uma, also the BJP's in-charge of the hill state, said Congress will achieve nothing by replacing Vijay Bahuguna with Harish Rawat as chief minister.

"...Despite Rawat assuming the reins of Uttarakhand, Congress will lose polls in the hill state and BJP would win all the five (Lok Sabha) seats," she added.

Narendra Modi hits back at Chidambaram on postage stamp barb

New Delhi: Hitting back at Finance Minister P Chidambaram for his postage stamp barb, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday said his economic knowledge can be confined to one word, which is "trustee."

"My knowledge about finance and economy will not occupy even a postage stamp. My whole knowledge can be confined to one word, that is trustee," he said, recalling Mahatma Gandhi's concept of trusteeship.

Modi, who invoked the Father of the Nation several times in his hour-long speech at a seminar on new growth paradigm, said that according to the concept of trusteeship propounded by Gandhiji, those in power should act like trustees of public goods and not behave like owners.

Admitting that he lacks the knowledge confined in books, Modi said he can always hire those who are well-versed with economic issues.

Modi was commenting on remarks made by Chidambaram, who in an interview to BBC said Modi's knowledge of economics can be written on the back of a postage stamp.

"What he (Modi) knows about economics can be written on the back of a postage stamp...He has said nothing about the fiscal deficit, nothing about the CAD (current account deficit), nothing about monetary policy," Chidambaram had said.

Modi retorted by saying that the country is suffering not only from a fiscal deficit but also "from governance deficit, trust deficit, security deficit, moral deficit and deficit of democratic institutions."

Gujarat had a revenue deficit when he took over as chief minister in 2001, Modi said, adding, "Since then, the state has been posting revenue surplus."

Special status for Bihar: Nitish Kumar calls bandh on March 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday gave a call for a statewide bandh on March 2, terming as "betrayal" the UPA government's decision to grant special category status to Seemandhra while "ignoring" a similar demand made by his government.

Addressing a press conference in state capital, Kumar said, “I am extremely grateful to several parties for extending their support to our demand for special status for Bihar. We have called a Bihar bandh on March 2 against the Centre's betrayal in this regard.”

“The fight for special status for Bihar is an old demand,” added Nitish Kumar.

Kumar had at first called the strike on March 1 but later decided to defer it by a day to March two considering the examinations in the state on March one, reports said.

Launching an attack on the Congress-led UPA government for according special category status to Seemandhra after creation of Telangana while "ignoring" Bihar's plea, he told reporters "this is betrayal of Bihar and other backward states.

The Chief Minister also appealed to all political parties and the people to observe the bandh to protest the UPA government's 'betrayal'.

Congress misusing CBI against Paswan, says BJP

Vijayawada: Amid speculation of LJP joining hands with it, BJP Wednesday alleged that UPA was now misusing the CBI against Ram Vilas Paswan as it had targeted its other opponents.

"Paswan is the latest example of misuse of CBI by Congress," senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here apparently hinting that the Paswan was being harrassed following reports that he was contemplating joining hands with the party.

Naidu was reacting over reports that CBI may question former Union Steel Minister Paswan in connection with alleged illegalities in the Bokaro Steel plant recruitment process in which relatives of some high-profile personalities are under the scanner of the agency.

Paswan, who is negotiating seating arrangements in Bihar for the upcoming general elections, has come under the lens following recovery of some documents which, agency sources claimed, indicate that his staff may have been actively involved in extending favours to some candidates.

Paswan was Union minister for chemicals, fertilisers and steel during the UPA government between May 2004 and May 2009 and these allegedly fraudulent appointments were made during his tenure.

The former BJP chief further said, "Till the time former Chief Minister Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was at the helm of affairs, there was no inquiry against his son Jaganmohan Reddy. However, after his father's demise Jagan snapped ties with the Congress and the government ordered a CBI inquiry into his assets."

"Till the time Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati support UPA, there would be no CBI inqiry against them and they even tried to issue clean chits to them through CBI," Naidu claimed.

CBI should be kept as an independent investigation agency and not be misused for political purposes, Naidu said alleging, "But Congress utilises the services of CBI against its political opponents."

"People will definitely teach a lesson to the Congress in the coming elections," he said.

Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar won't be executed: Centre to SC

New Delhi: The central government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it will not execute 1993 Delhi blast convict Devender Pal Singh Bhullar on grounds of his health.

The decision was conveyed to the apex court after Bhullar's wife filed a mercy petition, which is in the process of consideration.The Centre has asked for 14 days time period from SC to convey the final decision in the matter. The next hearing in the case is scheduled on March 10.

Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had recommended commutation of his sentence on January 6.

Bhullar was convicted in 1993 bomb blasts at Youth Congress office in New Delhi which killed nine people. He was awarded a death penalty in 2001.

After his review petition was dismissed, he filed for mercy petition in 2003 which was dismissed in 2011.

Will protest if ordinance route is taken on anti-graft bills: BJP

Doddaballapur: With the Centre set to to bring ordinances on two anti-corruption bills, BJP on Wednesday said it will register its protest with President Pranab Mukherjee if such a route is adopted.

"Issuing an ordinance is something which should be done in exceptional cases and between two sessions of Parliament. We (BJP) are against the ordinance route at this point of time and will register our protest with the President of India," BJP President Rajnath Singh today said, addressing ward-level party workers here.

Singh alleged that UPA government has been responsible for rampant corruption and scams worth more than Rs 5 lakh crores took place during its regime.

"Congress has now woken up from its slumber and advocating for anti-graft ordinance when the country is getting ready for Lok Sabha elections," Singh said.

Pushed by Rahul Gandhi, the government looks set to soon to bring ordinances on two anti-corruption bills along with three other legislations which could not be passed during the just-concluded Parliament session.

Criticising Rahul Gandhi, Singh asked why didn't he advocate a strong mechanism to root out corruption in the last ten years, even as the Congress-led UPA government "is down with corruption."

Singh said Congress has not declared their Prime Ministerial candidate because it has already conceded defeat ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and were preparing for 2019 general elections.

He claimed NDA gave an unblemished government under the Prime Ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and would do so if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister. "I assure you all that there will be a strong system," he said.

He alleged Congress has played divide-and-rule policy whenever in power while BJP on the contrary has maintained social and communal harmony.

Citing a metaphor, he said "as far as the security of this country concerned, we cannot expect security of milk from cat. Similarly, we cannot expect security from Congress," he said.

"Congress is in depression and spewing venom on BJP and the media," he said, apparently referring to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde alleged outburst against the media.

Bhatkal's aide confesses involvement in 2013 Hyderabad blasts

New Delhi: A close aide of Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, has confessed before a magistrate that he had assembled the explosives and had "guided" the members of the terror outfit while planting bombs at Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar area in February last year.

In his confessional statement recorded under section 164 of the CrPC in October last year, Asadullah Akhtar said the February 21, 2013 twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar area were executed by him on the instructions of another IM co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal who is now in Pakistan.

The confessional statement given by Akhtar has been filed in a Delhi court by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with its charge sheet against Yasin Bhatkal, Akhtar and two other suspected terrorists.
Akhtar told the magistrate that in December 2012, he had a chat with Riyaz Bhatkal and they discussed "to do something in Hyderabad" and in that month itself, they received the money through hawala transactions in Bangalore.

He also said that in January last year, they received the explosives which were sent by Riyaz Bhatkal and thereafter, they conducted a reccee in Dilsukhnagar.

"On February 18, 2013, we finally decided the place as Dilsukhnagar. Thereafter, I decided the spot....We wanted to do three serial blasts but due to shortage of explosives, we decided only at the above said two places," he said.

Akhtar, a permanent resident of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, told the magistrate that a "test blast" was conducted before the twin blasts and after the preparations, he had "assembled the explosives".

"Monu (IM operative) has planted (bomb) at Al Mirchi centre and Waqas (IM member) planted near Dilsukhnagar bus stand and by that time, I was nearby them...," he said.

The twin blasts had rocked Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar area on February 21 last year claiming 16 lives and the explosions were triggered by IEDs. Over 100 persons were injured in the blasts.

Bokaro case: Paswan unfazed, BJP accuses govt of misusing CBI

New Delhi: LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday appeared unfazed over his name cropping up in the case of alleged illegalities in Bokaro plant recruitment process even as BJP rushed to his defence accusing UPA of misusing CBI to target him as it had done with its other opponents.

Paswan, who is in seat sharing talks for Bihar and appears set to align with BJP for the upcoming General Elections, has come under the CBI lens following recovery of some documents which, agency sources claimed, indicate that his staff may have been actively involved in extending favours to some candidates.

CBI sources have said that documents submitted by some successful candidates have Paswan's seals, his official address 12, Janpath and supporting letters from his staff recommending their names for the position in the Bokaro steel plant.

"What can I say? Anyone can give anyone's address...I won't like to make any comment on that," Paswan said when asked about it during a press conference on the alliance issue at his residence today.

Paswan was Union minister for chemicals, fertilisers and steel during the UPA government between May 2004 and May 2009 and these allegedly fraudulent appointments were made during his tenure.

Reacting to the issue, BJP alleged that Congress utilises "the services of CBI against its political opponents".

"Paswan is the latest example of misuse of CBI by Congress," senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Vijayawada apparently hinting that Paswan was being harrassed following reports that he was contemplating joining hands with the party.

The former BJP chief said, "Till the time former Chief Minister Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy was at the helm of affairs, there was no inquiry against his son Jaganmohan Reddy. However, after his father's demise, Jagan snapped ties with the Congress and the government ordered a CBI inquiry into his assets.

"Till the time Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati support UPA, there would be no CBI inqiry against them. They even tried to issue clean chit to them through CBI," Naidu said.

CBI should be kept as an independent investigation agency and not be misused for political purposes, Naidu said, adding, "People will definitely teach a lesson to the Congress in the coming elections."

In January, CBI had registered two separate cases related to alleged irregularities in the appointments in the middle and junior management level in the public sector undertaking in 2008 in which a former Executive Director of the plant and other former senior officers have also been named as accused.