Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 12:34 pm:

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Tilak:

New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi upped the ante on Monday asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with whose permission the "wasteful expenditure" of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), were being made. "Should we forgive such people who make such wasteful expenditures?" he asked.

The Gujarat CM launched a barrage of criticism against UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi saying if Rs 1880 crore could be spent on her foreign trips and "treatment abroad" over three years, why was Gujarat being questioned when it spent money on festivals.

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 11:49 am:

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Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today made a fervent appeal to every person to buy khadi and promote khadi culture. He asked people to buy khadi in large quantity, individually and in group, for self and for family, as a campaign during the Gandhi Jayanti Week beginning tomorrow and help poor dependent on the khadi cottage industry earn their livelihood.

Speaking on the eve of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Mr. Modi recalled how the Mahatma had propagated the concept of khadi as a philosophy to economically empower lakhs of poor.

He said that khadi is getting wide acceptance in the society for the last decade and it would be in the fitness of things for each person to buy at least one pair of khadi dress as the best possible tribute to the Mahatma. This way, he said, we can also help the have-nots dependent on khadi celebrate Diwali.

The Chief Minister said that special rebate being given on the purchase of khadi dress is extended this year too, to promote the concept.

As in the previous years, Mr. Modi said that he will himself buy khadi dress for his personal wardrobe to set practice as the best example of preaching.

The Chief Minister will attend Mahatma Gandhi’s 144th birth anniversary prayer meeting at the Kirti Mandir at the latter’s birthplace at Porbandar on October 2, 2012.

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 11:28 am:

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Amigo:

1880 crs ani Modigariki ela thelisindi? Is it thru RTI?
Just 3 trips ki antha ante....something fishy...not believable

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Andhrawala:

Sheila just spent Rs 48 lakhs on her international trips antaaa

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 11:04 am:

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Tilak:

The Gujarat CM launched a barrage of criticism against UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi saying if Rs 1880 crore could be spent on her foreign trips and "treatment abroad" over three years,

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 10:15 am:

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To engage its followers on the social media and convert them into potential vote bank, the Bharatiya Janta Party [BJP] has started to organise online quiz competitions where the winners get a chance to meet top party leaders. 'It is a listening engagement process,’ says the BJP national IT coordinator Arvind Gupta, who heads the new media team of the party. He says that it is very important to listen to the points of view of people, and the party tries to gauge the sense of the public mood through social media.

The party appreciates that it draws much support from the middle class, which makes maximum use of social media. The party tried reaching out to them during the 2004 and 2009 General Elections using full potential of the new media. 'The party has the support of middle and upper classes, which are inclined towards right-wing politics. The party has managed to somewhat catch the imagination of the new working class, which is mostly employed in the IT industry,' says the political scientist Shiv Visvanathan.

There is a constant conversation between the party and its followers on the new media, with the IT cell using interesting tools to push its agenda on the Internet. For example, consider the questions that were asked by the party in one of online quizzes held recently: 'Former President Pratibha Patil's son was caught by the Election Commission during municipal election with how much cash?' and 'name the telecom minister who converted Rs 550 cr penalty on Reliance group to Rs 5 cr'. The party not only targets its opposition through these quizzes, it also counters the attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS] by asking questions, like 'Which Congress leader said that RSS was more dangerous than Pakistan-based terror organisation?'

'The new media is the marriage of technology with political marketing, and we have been able to understand that,' says Gupta, who has a team of over 100 people across the country, with 30 of them sitting in Delhi itself. The team looks after the web operations of the party and operates round the clock.

Gupta is an Indian Institute of Technology-BHU graduate and has got a doctorate in technology management. With this team, the BJP launched its first web site in 1999, when Internet penetration in the country was still in its nascent stages and dial-up Internet access was used. By entering into the new media platform early, the BJP presently is way ahead in the race when it comes to its political rivals. The party not only boasts of six web properties but also has a much larger fan following than its competitors on Facebook and Youtube.

'Creativity of the Right needs to be understood. The Congress and the Left have failed to capture the political imagination through this medium,' says Visvanathan. He offers a piece of advice to young Congress leaders: 'We do hear that they are tech-savvy leaders, but unfortunately their web presence is minimal. They should probably take lessons from senior BJP leaders, like L K Advani, on how to use the medium,' says Visvanathan.

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 09:29 am:

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Bunty717:

oak state lo lacha crs loot chesi.. come on scratch me if you can antunnaru janaalu..
country ni rule chestu 1k cr ante lite.. naku OK.. enjoy chesukonee..eem parledu

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 09:24 am:

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Tilak:

1880 crores - not a small amount by any standards ..

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 09:07 am:

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Whereas the planning commission has defined poverty line of Rs 32 per capita for urban areas and Rs 26 per capita for rural areas, the UPA government exceeded the reasonable amount to host a dinner party on the completion of three years of its second term.

You might have come across many instances of extravaganza in government offices. But it is unbelievable that a plate in a dinner party hosted by the government can cost Rs 8000. Surprised? But you read it correct.

The gala dinner party hosted by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the completion of UPA2's third year was the height of wastefulness.

The cost of one plate in the dinner party organized at Prime Minister's 7 Race Course Road on May 22, 2012 stood at Rs 7,721.

The shocking revelation was made through a RTI report filed by one Ramesh Verma.

According to the RTI reply, the total expense on catering in the dinner party was Rs 11, 34, 296 while government threw away Rs 14, 42, 678 on the arrangements of tent. Expenditure on the flower decoration in the party was Rs 26, 444.

That means, the total expenditure of Prime Minister’s dinner party was Rs 28, 95, 503. A total 603 people were invited for the UPA2’s third anniversary celebration but just 375 could manag to attend it.

The Prime Minister's Office was the charge of hospitality arrangements and the payment of PMO’s dinner was made by the CPWD and Foreign Ministry under hospitality grant.

However, the government’s policy-maker wing, the Planning Commission, has defined the poverty of Rs 32 per capita for urban areas and Rs 26 per capita for rural areas. But Manmohan-led UPA government burnt lakhs of public money to host a gala dinner for the anniversary celebration.

Recently, the prime minister said that money does not grow on trees and government would have to take tough steps to strengthen country's economy. But on the other hand, lakhs of public money was drained away by Prime Minister's office.

Government always talks about austerity drive and also planning to bring a bill to curb the huge expenses in marriage parties, but such a huge expenditure over a dinner party leaves several question unanswered.

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 06:41 am:

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Arun Jaitley, former Law Minister, has shared a scathing assessment of judges.

"There are two kinds of judges - those who know the law and those who know the Law Minister," the BJP leader said over the weekend at a conference organized by the party's legal cell. "We are the only country in the world where judges appoint judges," he said, adding, "Even though there is a retirement age, judges are not willing to retire. "Pre-retirement judgements are influenced by post-retirement jobs."

BJP chief Nitin Gadkari suggested a two-year wait should be mandatory for judges after they retire and before they are appointed to judicial commissions or tribunals.

"My suggestion is that for two years after retirement, there should be a gap (before appointment), because otherwise the government can directly or indirectly influence the courts and the dream to have an independent, impartial and fair judiciary in the country would never actualise," Mr Gadkari said.

Reacting to Mr Jaitley's statements, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "rather than cast aspersions by insinuation, he should have the conviction of saying certain things squarely, if he knows them to be true."

"Being a former law minister, Mr Jaitley should know that certain statutory bodies can only be headed by serving and retired judges," Mr Tewari said.

Mr Jaitley also spoke in favour of creating a National Judicial Commission which would have representatives of the judiciary, government and civil society to look after matters related to appointments and complaints against judges.

A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the country's information commissions - the national commission is flanked by one in every state- must be headed by either a retired or serving judge from a high court or the Supreme Court. Information commissions handle thousands of applications filed by the public under the Right to Information Act, which allows access to government documents. The judgement also said that every application or petition should be heard by two people -one of who must be a retired or serving judge or a lawyer with 20 years of experience. The verdict has been criticized for serving as an employment scheme for judges.

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 05:49 am:

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New Delhi: BJP president Nitin Gadkari visited a Delhi court today to formally sue Digvijaya Singh for defamation.

Mr Singh, who is a senior Congress leader, had alleged in a series of interviews last month that Ajay Sancheti, a Rajya Sabha MP and an entrepreneur from Nagpur, is Mr Gadkari's business partner.

The Congress says that Mr Sancheti was given a sweetheart deal for a coal mine in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP is in power, on account of his close links to the party's chief. Both the BJP and Mr Sancheti have denied the charges.

Why do you become Singham only to benefit foreigners: Modi to PM
In a legal notice sent to Mr Singh a few weeks ago, the BJP chief said the remarks against him were "completely concocted, defamatory, scandalous and un-parliamentary." (Read notice here)

When asked if he would apologize, Mr Singh had said "Main kabhi maafi nahin maangta (I never say I am sorry)."

The government and the BJP have been trading charges over a coal policy that allegedly helped private players get windfall benefits of upto Rs. 1.86 lakh crores, according to the national auditor or CAG. The Congress says it implemented the policies that were followed by the preceding BJP-led NDA government. The BJP, however, uses the CAG report to accuse the government of crony capitalism by giving coal fields at a fraction of their market value to businessmen who were close to the Congress.

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 05:47 am:

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Tilak:

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Posted on Monday, October 01, 2012 - 05:34 am:

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New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi upped the ante on Monday asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with whose permission the "wasteful expenditure" of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), were being made. "Should we forgive such people who make such wasteful expenditures?" he asked.

The Gujarat CM launched a barrage of criticism against UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi saying if Rs 1880 crore could be spent on her foreign trips and "treatment abroad" over three years, why was Gujarat being questioned when it spent money on festivals.

Continuing his attack on the UPA over its proposal to introduce 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, Modi said that while America was trying to save its small businessmen and shops, the Indian PM was leading the youth on a path of destruction.

The Congress, however, lashed back slamming Modi's comments, with General Secretary Digvijaya Singh saying that the Gujarat CM was a "trained RSS cadre" and had been "trained to lie".

PIL against Sonia?

Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy tweeted on Monday that he would soon file a PIL against Modi's revelations on Sonia's trips. The tweet read, "Narendra Modified has disclosed that Rs 1880 crores were spent by Sonia on her US medical treatment. Who paid? PIL coming soon."

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