Posted on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 01:07 am:

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quote:

Admitting that he was in politics because of 'rishtedari' (nepotism) was how AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi chose to kick off his two-day visit of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh on Monday. The students of Jabalpur's St Aloysius College burst into peals of laughter when the young leader qualified his assertion that 'rishtedari' was one of the ways of getting into politics with "I am an example of that.' Gandhi said one way of entering politics was by taking up people's issues and working for them. "People taking that route are in a minority," he said.

Gandhi met students in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Sagar and Bhopal as part of his efforts to broaden the party’s base among youth. Party office bearers ensured that local politicians were kept away to ensure his direct interaction with students.

"Do I look corrupt or a politician with no values," he asked the Jabalpur students when they suggested that politics was bereft of morals.

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Posted on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 12:25 am:

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Powerfull:

COng ki votes vese janalu vunnapudu, PM ga ennukune MPs unnapudu, Rahul endhuku PM avvakodadhu?

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 11:57 pm:

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Kamal:

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 11:53 pm:

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Kamal:

rujju .. atta tirigithe etta saami .. edanna cheyyi !

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moodu rojulu holidays taruvatha malli repu appiceki vellali ante benga vachestondhi

Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 11:40 pm:

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Ruj:

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 11:38 pm:

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All_mix:

ade ga...oka intlo pudithe PM aipotham ante demudi daggara entha competition untado aa intlo digataniki

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 11:05 pm:

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Kamal:

ento tammi .. kaani denemma emi sudi saami .. oka intlo puttinanduku PM ante .. !

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 11:03 pm:

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All_mix:

janalu eedini some what different and honest ani feel avvali anukuntunnadu eedu...dagulbaaji buddhi allaki eppudu unnade...

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 10:29 pm:

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Kamal:

kurrodu vishayam ento ardam kavatledu .. ilanti statements isthe .. naakaithe comedy ga untundi .. mamulu janam sangati naaku telvadu !

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 10:26 pm:

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Eluri_kurradu:

donkollu pattevadila unnana ani suferga adigadu kaada?

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All_mix:

eedi metta gola denkalekunnam nayanoooo...rojuko statement tho nalipestannadu...

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 10:14 pm:

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quote:

In a move that could stir the political pot, the Rural Development Ministry, under Congress leader C P Joshi, has proposed "automatic inclusion" of Muslims in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list of families along with Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Aware of the political sensitivities involved, the Ministry plans to replace the word "Muslim" with "Minority" to pre-empt opposition, especially from BJP-ruled states.

Inaugurating a conference of Social Editors, Rural Development Minister Joshi said that to simplify the process and ensure that vulnerable sections are not left out from the BPL list, his department favoured automatic "inclusion" and "exclusion".

It has been proposed, he said, that SCs, STs and minorities be automatically included in the BPL list and then well-off families excluded on basis of Income Tax returns, land records etc.

And certain categories will be "automatically" excluded from the BPL list: families with double of a district's average irrigated land, those with a four or three-wheel motor vehicle or mechanized farm equipment, a government or private sector employee earning a salary above Rs 10,000 per month.

Joshi justified automatic inclusion citing that "SCs, STs and Minorities together form less than 37% of the population" — less than the BPL population pegged by the S C Saxena and Suresh Tendulkar committee reports released recently.

"There is a feeling that vulnerable sections are being excluded from the BPL list due to competitive politics. We are trying to address the problem", Joshi said. He, however, said that his Ministry was waiting for the NSSO survey to decide the mode to be adopted for the new BPL survey.

Joshi's proposal goes beyond what the Saxena committee report — it was appointed by the Rural Development Ministry — recommended. While it said that weightage should be given to certain social groups, including Muslims, it did not favour automatic inclusion. According to the Saxena report, SCs/STs would get three points and Most Backward Castes (MBC) two points. The Saxena report said that Muslims and OBCs be given one point each.

Automatic inclusion of Muslims in the BPL list could be the first major attempt by the Congress-led UPA government to woo the vote bank that roughly constitutes 18% of the country's population. The decision could be significant given that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar go to state polls in 2012 and 2010 respectively, states where the Congress is desperately trying to get a foothold.

Inclusion and exclusion from the BPL list is a big issue in villages, particularly in the Hindi heartland, since benefits of most Central and state-sponsored welfare schemes like Indira Awas Yojna, old age pension are decided on the basis of the list.

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Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 09:49 pm:

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quote:

Jabalpur, Jan 18 (PTI) "Do I look corrupt or a politician with no values?" Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi sought to know while interacting with students of a private college here today.

The 39-year-old Lok Sabha MP called upon the students to join politics and contribute to nation building. Apparently not enthused by the youth icon's call, the students bemoaned that there were no moral standards or values left in politics and good people were now shunning the field.

"Do I look corrup't or a politician with no values?" Gandhi asked as the 500-odd students of Saint Aloysius College burst into peals of laughter. He agreed with the students' standpoint that there were some corrupt politicians, musclemen and people with vested interests in politics.

The Congress MP, who is on a two-day tour of Madhya Pradesh, noted that reforms were needed to improve the present political system.

The students said the elections in the colleges often led to violence in the campus and good students do not contest out of fear.

To this, Gandhi, who is in-charge of the Youth Congress and the party's student wing NSUI, maintained that good students should come forward and join politics to serve the country.

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