न्यूज एक्सप्रेस पर दिग्विजय सिंह का विवादास्पद बयान

कांग्रेस महासचिव दिग्गविजय सिंह ने एकबार फिर से विवादास्पद बयान दिया है. इसबार दिग्गी का ये बयान विपक्षी पार्टियों या फिर भगवा आतंकवाद को लेकर नहीं बल्कि इस देश की सीमा पर तैनात सिपाहियों को लेकर है. सीमा पर तैनात भारतीय सिपाहियों का सर काटने की घटना पर दिग्गविजय सिंह ने कहा है कि हम भी ऐसा करते हैं. दिग्गी का ये बयान सियासी गलियारों में तूफान खड़ा कर सकता है. दिग्गविजय सिंह ने ये बयान न्यूज़ एक्सप्रेस के विशेष कार्यक्रम बेबाक में दिया है. देश के वरिष्ठ पत्रकार और न्यूज़ एक्सप्रेस के एडिटर(महा.) एस एन विनोद से बातचीत में दिग्गी ने कहा कि वे अगला लोकसभा चुनाव भी लड़ने जा रहे हैं. वहीं पार्टी के युवराज राहुल गांधी को लेकर दिग्गी ने कहा है कि राहुल गांधी को किसी की सलाह की जरूरत नहीं है. न्यूज़ एक्सप्रेस के खास कार्यक्रम बेबाक में दिग्गविजय सिंह ने कांग्रेस की भावी रणनीतियों सहित और भी कहीं ज्वलंत मुद्दों पर बेबाकी से अपनी राय रखी . बेबाक का प्रसारण आज शाम 7 बजे न्यूज़ एक्सप्रेस पर किया जाएगा.

“NaMo NaMo, PM go”: a fan’s ‘youth anthem’

New Delhi: There seems to be no end to Modi’s fan club. In the latest strike, a Narendra Modi fan has created a ‘NaMo youth anthem’.
The song, uploaded on you tube on the 6th of October, has gone viral on social networks.
The creator, Krishnan Sugavanam, has described it as “An anthem for the youth, in support of Sri Narendra Modi as the PM candidate for India.”
The lyrics encompass an enormous list of adjectives in praise of Modi. Chronichling Narendra Modi’s rise from being a tea vendor, the song goes on to described him as everything from “the nation's curator” to “the last air bender”.
As is usual with anything NaMo, it has attracted all kinds of reactions. A look at the comment on you tube shows that the song has left some people totally aghast and others just as elated.
“This is going to be my new workout song!” commented a user bharath kumar ganesh.
While user Ankita Chawla wrote, “This is sad day fro music, for poetry, for the entire idea of Rhyme scheme, and every edition of thesaurus ever published.”
Official reactions are still awaited.

the lyrics can be found below

Listen Up India
Now is the time for change
Pump up the volume
And Let's go In 1 2 3 4
He was a commoner,
Who started just as a tea vendor
Now he is a conqueror
We call him the last air bender
A powerful orator
Will now become the nation's curator
His persona is athletic
His charisma magnetic
Common Man
Cogent Man
Moment Man
Exponent Man
Proponent Man
Employment Man
Improvement Man
Involvement Man
Who's gonna care us
NaMo NaMo
Who's gonna bear us
NaMo NaMo
Who's gonna free us
NaMo NaMo
Who's gonna see us
NaMo NaMo
Who's gonna dare them
NaMo NaMo
Who's gonna scare them
NaMo NaMo
Who's gonna mar them
NaMo NaMo
Who's gonna scar them
NaMo NaMo
Leader
Speaker
Twitter
Keeper
Eager
Dreamer
Seeker
Preacher
Who's the man
He's the man
Got a N-A-M-O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N-A-M-O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N-A-M-O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N-A-M-O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
Got a N and a A and a M and a O
NaMo NaMo PM go
N and a A and a M and a O
NaMo NaMo PM go
N and a A and a M and a O
NaMo NaMo PM go
N and a A and a M and a O
NaMo NaMo PM go
A man of great discipline
This will be just his beginning
Always puts India first ready to quench every thirst
Country is his family everywhere he move happily
Nation first is secularism
Committed against terrorism
Who's got the flair
NaMo NaMo
Who's got the glare
NaMo NaMo
Who's declared
NaMo NaMo
No compare
NaMo Voice of India
NaMo NaMo
Choice of India
NaMo NaMo
Poise of India
NaMo NaMo
Joys of India
NaMo
Hospitality
Logicality
Practicality
Technicality
Sociality
Physicality
Geniality
Legality
Regality
Vitality
Totality
Originality
Punctuality
Spirituality
Immortality
Who's the man
He's the man
Got a N-A-M-O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N-A-M-O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N-A-M-O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N-A-M-O
Got a N and a A and a M and a O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N and a A and a M and a O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N and a A and a M and a O
NaMo NaMo
PM go
N and a A and a M and a O
NaMo NaMo
PM go

Narendra Modi has united the rank and file of BJP: Chidambaram

After terming Narendra Modi's claims on growth during the NDA regime as a "fake encounter of facts", Finance Minister P Chidambaram again targeted BJP's prime ministerial candidate, saying the hype surrounding him was "largely media created". But the minister, in an exclusive interview to news agency Reuters, also conceded that the Gujarat Chief Minister had "gained some traction among the urban youth", while also managing to unite "the rank and file of BJP". He also added that Mr Modi was no Vajpayee, BJP's iconic former prime minister, and had a "very, very checkered track record."

Mallika Sherawat: I like Narendra Modi, not interested in Rahul Gandhi

Mallika Sherawat says she is lonely and is looking for true love

Actress Mallika Sherawat says in her upcoming reality series that she is not looking for a husband but rather wants to find 'true love'.

The 36-year-old actress will make her small screen debut with The Bachelorette India -Mere Khayalon Ki Mallika, which is a spin-off from the American competitive reality dating game show.

"There is no promise of marriage. I am lonely and am looking for true love. It is about the journey and not the destination," Mallika said.

However, the Murder actress said that when she decides to settle down in the future, she will chose someone who has nothing to do with the showbiz world.

"I would not marry anyone from the field of entertainment. I am in the world of glitz and glamour which is make believe world. I want normalcy in life and that is why you will see actresses getting married to doctors and businessmen," she said.

When asked if she would like to marry someone from abroad, Mallika, who regularly visits the US for work, said, "It is good to work there but people lack human emotions. I would marry someone from India."

The Indian version of the show will have 30 contestants vying for Mallika's attention.

"It is a reality show so whatever happens on a date and on the show is all real. Nothing is scripted. We have not created anything falsely. I am very much real in the show I am not acting," she said.

Mallika considers Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the perfect bachelor and on his birthday the actress even recorded a video message for him.

"I am hopelessly romantic girl. I like him (Narendra Modi). I am not interested in Rahul Gandhi," she added.There were reports that Mallika has charged a whopping Rs 30 crore for 30 episodes of this show. When asked about the same, she said, I am not denying it... I cannot lie."

Mallika is not the only celebrity looking for her 'Mr Right' on TV. Previously, Rakhi Sawant and Ratan Rajput too starred in marriage reality shows but without much successs.

Rahul Mahajan was the only person who married on a TV show.

The Bachelorette India will go on air from October 7 on Life OK.

Third front candidate will be next Prime Minister: Mulayam Singh

New Delhi: Samajwadi Pary chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today said a third front will come into power after the elections next year, as neither the Congress nor the BJP would win enough seats to form a government.

"The third front's candidate will be the next Prime Minister of the country," Mr Yadav said today, speaking to the media, once again raising the possibility of a third front, a grouping of non-Congress and non-BJP parties that been seen as a failed experiment even by its own leaders.

 Mr Yadav said he was working with CPI-M leader Prakash Karat to put together a third front, but said it was not possible before the elections due by May.

"The third front formation is not possible now, as differences can crop up among parties on ticket distribution and seat sharing," admitted the Samajwadi Party chief, who had met Mr Karat recently.

All political parties of the proposed alliance would contest polls on their own strength, he said, and then get together after the election.

Mulayam Singh said he had been invited to a meeting on October 30 to discuss a joint fight against 'communal forces', but refused to reveal names of other parties who would participate.

The BJP dismissed Mulayam Singh's comments as old hat.

"These third and fourth front talks are like expired poll chocolates, it is raised every time during elections," said BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He added that these fronts 'are full of Prime Ministerial candidates."

The Samajwadi Party, which rules India's largest state Uttar Pradesh, props up the minority Manmohan Singh government.

There is anger against the party and us: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister

"While trying to solve a problem, Congress created a bigger one," says Kiran Kumar Reddy, describing decision to divide Andhra Pradesh as "very harsh".

CBI to say Ishrat Jahan was 'innocent college girl' in next chargesheet

New Delhi: The CBI will soon declare that  it has found no evidence of terrorist leanings for 19-year-old  Ishrat Jehan, who was killed by the Gujarat police in 2004 along with three men.

Sources say that in its next chargesheet, to be filed within the next two weeks, the agency will say that Ishrat was "an  innocent college girl", presenting a boldface controversy for chief minister Narendra Modi, who is in the running for Prime Minister.

The BJP has already alleged that the ruling Congress, unable to politically combat Mr Modi's surging popularity, is using the CBI to question his credentials and mar his reputation as the national elections approach.

In its first chargesheet presented in a Gujarat court in July, the CBI accused seven senior policemen of murdering Ishrat and her three male companions  in "cold blood" and of planting an AK-56 at the scene of the shooting to portray the victims as terrorists.

One of those officers, DG Vanzara, who was then Deputy Commissioner of the Amedabad Crime Branch, wrote an explosive letter to Mr Modi from jail recently.

He alleged that Mr Modi's close aide, Amit Shah, who was Home Minister when Ishrat was killed, was aware of the police's actions, but that the cops have now been betrayed by a weak state government.  The senior officer repeated the defense that his team was trying to fight Pakistani terrorists.

The CBI says that Mr Vanazara has refused to cooperate and share more details of the accusations he made in his note against Mr Shah. So far, the CBI has not interrogated Mr Shah, or linked either him or Mr Modi to its investigation.

Candidates of delhi election, दिल्ली के दावेदार

दिल्ली के लोग क्या केवल भ्रष्टाचार के मुद्दे पर ही वोट करेंगे... अरविंद केजरीवाल के साथ चर्चा कर रहे हैं रवीश कुमार इस बार के हम लोग में।

Faith, politics clash over Muslim-run women's gym in France

Le Raincy, France: A pink and orange all-women's gym has become an unlikely focus of a very French row over Muslim integration, secularism and what some view as blatant populism in the run-up to France's municipal elections.

The gym, which opened last month in the up-market Paris suburb of Le Raincy, is owned by a French Muslim couple who say their religion and appearance - she wears a headscarf and he a long beard - are the reason the mayor wants to shut them down.

The squabble has erupted five months before conservative mayor Eric Raoult, who says safety is his only concern, seeks re-election in nationwide municipal polls in which the anti-immigrant National Front is expected to gain ground.

It reflects France's uneasy relations with its five million-strong Muslim minority, Europe's largest, and tensions over an official policy of secularism Muslims say is used against them.

"'I don't want any veiled women in my town,' he told us," said gym manager Nadia El Gendouli, who sports a piercing in her nose and plunging neckline.

"'You're a fundamentalist!' he told me."

At the town hall on Thursday, Raoult denied the allegation that he did not want women wearing Muslim veils in Le Raincy. "These are fundamentalists, they lie!" he shouted.

"They consider because they're Muslims they're victims and they consider they have more rights," he said.

Local security officials said on Friday the gym met all safety standards. That meant it could stay open, but it did not guarantee it would now be out of the political spotlight.

The Orty Gym - Orty means "my sisters" in Arabic - is a 200 square-meter space with pink work-out equipment, freshly-painted fuchsia and orange walls and a large room where classes such as Hip Hop, Zumba, Stretching and Step are offered.

Some of the 70 women exercising in the room cover their hair with a headscarf but many do not as all races and religions are welcome, said Lynda Ellabou, who owns the gym with her husband.

SECULARISM

Ellabou, wearing a fashionable pink and black headscarf, said their problems began in June after Raoult realised the couple planning to open the gym on a commercial strip on the periphery of the suburb of 14,000 residents were Muslim.

"When he saw my (bearded) husband he had a shock. 'You've rented a place where?' he asked us," Ellabou recalled. "'You're going to put a veiled woman at the reception desk too?'"

"In the end he made us understand it wasn't going to be possible to open," she said, adding Raoult later objected to the gym's lack of parking and steps leading to the emergency exit.

The issue of secularism arose when a Muslim website said the gym had a prayer room in the back. Ellabou said the page was not theirs and the report was wrong, as there is no such room.

Full-face veils are banned in public in France. Headscarves are prohibited for civil servants and girls in state schools.

Those laws do not apply to private companies, but some politicians are increasingly calling for limits there too.

France's war on religious headgear stems from its official separation of church and state enshrined in law in 1905 as a victory over the once-powerful Roman Catholic Church.

The growth of the Muslim population in recent decades has brought another religious group into the public sphere and has prompted calls from both ardent secularists and anti-immigration campaigners for limiting the public visibility of Islam.

Raoult told Reuters at his office that fire hazards, not racism, were the reason for his opposition to the gym.

"Whether it's Jews, Catholics, Arabs, it's all the same. If it's not according to the law they'll be closed," he said. "Muslims need to know they have to respect the law."

One resident who came to the gym to offer support to the couple said such comments played well in Le Raincy, where ageing residents worry about changing demographics in an area that is close to the tough run-down suburbs of northern Paris.

"There are people here in town who vote for him precisely because he says things like that," said the resident, Celine.

One gym employee, Lynda, who also wears a headscarf, said: "They hide behind 'human rights' here in France, but they're racist. We're considered foreigners."

Railways likely to hike passenger fares soon

Indian Railways is considering increasing passenger fares to offset rising fuel cost. Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said he has received a proposal to increase fares and a decision would be taken soon.

In the last rail budget, then Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had linked passenger fares and freight rates with a separate fuel component called Fuel Adjustment Component (FAC) to offset an increase in diesel and electricity prices for the national transporter. The fuel component is supposed to be revised twice a year based on changes in fuel cost.

The fuel tab for the Railways is estimated to increase by Rs. 1,200 crore in the next six months.

As per the budget proposal, the fuel surcharge should have been implemented from October 1. The then Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had announced the implementation of fuel-component-linked revision in only freight tariff from April 1. The passenger fares were not revised as they were hiked only in January this year.

"The file containing the FAC proposal has come to me and I am examining it and a decision will be taken shortly," Kharge said.

Union minister Chiranjeevi resigns over Telangana decision

Hyderabad: Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi has resigned from his post in protest against the Cabinet's approval of the formation of separate Telangana.

The actor-turned-politician faxed his resignation to the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday night. He will meet the PM today.

Chiranjeevi, who hails from Coastal Andhra, felt anguished over the way the protests in Seemandhra regions, going on for over two months, against the division of Andhra Pradesh were handled.

He has come under intense pressure from the "United Andhra" supporters in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions following the Congress Working Committee's endorsement of separate Telangana demand on July 30. (Cabinet nod to Telangana triggers resignation threats, protests, bandhs in Andhra Pradesh)

The "United Andhra" supporters have often demanded that Chiranjeevi quit his post to mount pressure on the Congress leadership towards halting the division of Andhra Pradesh.

Woman's legs cut off to steal anklets in Rajasthan

Jaipur: In a bizarre incident, unidentified robbers chopped off the legs of a 50-year-old woman to rob her of her silver anklets in a village near Jaipur, police said on Wednesday.

The body was found on Wednesday with the legs missing. Police suspect the robbers took away the legs after committing the ghastly murder.

A police officer said the incident occurred in Shankarpura village near Phagi, some 35 km from Jaipur.

"The woman, Rukmani Devi, had gone to graze cattle in the forest area and went missing Tuesday evening. Passers-by spotted the legless body today (Wednesday)," said the officer.

"The family members told us that the woman wore silver anklets. Some gangs who murder elderly women for silver anklets are under the police scanner," the officer said.

Rahul Gandhi repeats opposition to ordinance that could be scrapped today

New Delhi: A controversial ordinance that protects convicted parliamentarians and triggered a furious critique  from Rahul Gandhi is likely to be withdrawn this evening by the cabinet.

The Prime Minister has reportedly conveyed this decision in a meeting with afternoon with  President Pranab Mukherjee, who had allegedly expressed grave reservations about the executive order when it was sent to him for his assent last week. (Track LIVE updates)

Before visiting the President, Dr Manmohan Singh met with senior Congress leaders who agreed to ask the cabinet to rescind the ordinance, derided last week by Mr Gandhi as "nonsense."

Mr Gandhi, who is the vice-president of the Congress,  met the Prime Minister this morning and expressed regret for the timing and language of his remarks, said sources. They added that Mr Gandhi clarified that he did not mean to insult or undermine the authority of the PM or the cabinet, but he reiterated his opposition to the ordinance, which is an attempt to override a Supreme Court decision that disqualifies MPs and state legislators from office if they are convicted in criminal cases.

The young vice-president's scathing  review was declared while the PM was in the US.  (Watch what he said) The opposition said Mr Gandhi had insulted the Prime Minister while in the international spotlight, ahead of important meetings with his Pakistani counterpart and President Obama.

The Congress's allies are demanding an explanation for the u-turn on the ordinance, said sources. (Read)

"It's collective wisdom. We got feedback from across the country," said Congress  spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury in an attempt to justify the reversal of policy.

Akhilesh Yadav: Govt decisions on ordinance for convicted MPs with eye on elections

Lucknow: As the ruling Congress backtracked on a controversial ordinance to protected convicted lawmakers, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav slammed what it called decisions taken with an eye on elections due in May.

"The manner in which the ordinance was brought and is now being hurriedly withdrawn, shows that decisions are being taken keeping elections in mind. Because of the elections all ruling political parties are in a hurry," said Mr Yadav, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

The ordinance, which seeks to circumvent a Supreme Court order disqualifying convicted lawmakers by allowing them to stay on while a high court hears their appeal, is expected to be formally abandoned at a cabinet meeting this evening.

While Akhilesh Yadav was circumspect in his response to the government's retreat, a leader of his Samajwadi party warned that withdrawing the ordinance would be 'dangerous for democracy" and said the PM must decide whether his own position was higher than that of his party.

"If the ordinance is taken back, it will prove that in this country an individual is bigger, not the government," said Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Aggarwal, in an apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi, whose public denouncement of the ordinance as 'nonsense' set off a chain of events leading up to the expected withdrawal of the controversial measure.

"We support the ordinance because one can appeal to higher courts," said Mr Aggarwal, "why should leaders lose their seat only on the lower court's judgement?"

The SP leader questioned why the government was ignoring its own allies, "just because Rahul Gandhi had decided."

The Samajwadi Party, whose 22 MPs prop up Manmohan Singh's minority government, has been a capricious ally in recent times, criticizing the government on a range of issues while coming to its aid during voting on crucial measures in Parliament.

Akhilesh Yadav has said that the party will take a formal stand on the ordinance controversy in a meeting of its parliamentary board headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

PM indicates unhappiness with timing of Rahul's outburst

On board PM's Special Aircraft: The Prime Minister has reacted today for the first time to last week's public outburst by Rahul Gandhi against an ordinance cleared by the cabinet to protect convicted parliamentarians. Dr Manmohan Singh said he will not resign over the controversy, but his remarks suggested that he questions Mr Gandhi's decision to go public with his criticism while the Prime Minister was abroad.

"I have seen Mr Rahul Gandhi's statement. When issues are raised in democratic polity, the right course is to discuss the issues. Mr Rahul Gandhi has asked me for a meeting. I will also take my cabinet colleagues in confidence. There is no question of resigning," he said.

The Prime Minister's remarks - his first since Mr Gandhi described the ordinance cleared by Dr Manmohan Singh as "nonsense" - were made to reporters on his way back to India from the US, where he attended the UN General Assembly. He also stressed that the ordinance, which allows convicted MPs to remain in office while their appeal is heard by a higher court, was cleared at a meeting on September 21 of senior Congress leaders including party president Sonia Gandhi.

Dr Singh will meet Mr Gandhi tomorrow morning before another meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee, who has received the contentious ordinance for his approval. Later in the day, the cabinet will meet to decide whether to withdraw the ordinance, while contesting that it was designed to shield criminal MPs.

The opposition has said Mr Gandhi's public derision of the ordinance has grossly undermined the Prime Minister while he was on an international stage.

Dr Singh told reporters that he does not share that feeling because the Congress "is not an authoritarian structure" and "every Congress leader has the right to question a decision", but his remarks today indicate that he has concerns about the timing of Mr Gandhi's scathing review of the executive order. Dr Singh told reporters traveling home with him that that he is "not the master of what people say" and "is used to ups and downs."

narendra modi : BJP, led by Modi, ups ante against Congress before Delhi elections

Gujarat Chief Minister addressed the BJP’s ‘Vikas Rally’ in New Delhi: his first rally in the city after becoming the prime ministerial candidate of the party for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The rally was organised in view of the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, scheduled to be held in November.
Once Modi took a seat on stage to AR Rahman’s “Maa Tujhe Salaam”, the crowd, especially a group of youngsters close to the stage, chanted his name and did not let other speakers continue for very long. Referring to the crowd of noisy, sloganeering youth near the media stage, Modi said, “The media has noted your chanting. The TV cameras have captured. Now, let me talk to the people at the back,” he said. There were several gimmicks at the venue, including a special shankh (conch shell) player, Ram Chandra Yogi, who had been specially flown in from Benaras. Jogi played the shankh for a breathless three minutes before Modi started.
During the rally, Modi attacked the Congress and the UPA government, especially on issues related to defence and foreign affairs. “The Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA regime built 24,000 km of road in a single term, but the UPA has not been able to build more than 16,000 km of road in the last nine years,” he said. He ascribed the UPA’s set of failure to the lack of cooperation between its allies and said that the alliance was not organic. “They are together but not united,” he said. He described the present government as a “dynastic rule” and “not a true people’s democracy.”
He also questioned the ability of the Prime Minister to ensure the security of the nation’s borders: “Will the PM be able to stop Pakistan-aided terror? Can he get back the heads of the soldiers who were martyred along the Line of Control?”
However, he asked people to cheer for the Indian Prime Minister who is in the United States for a UN general assembly summit along with meetings with the heads of state of Pakistan and the US.
Reacting to Nawaz’s Sharif purportedly calling Manmohan Singh a “dehaati aurat” (village woman) Modi said, “How dare Nawaz Sharif compare our Indian PM with a village woman?” He also lashed out at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for opposing the Cabinet’s decision to pass the ordinance on allowing criminals to stand for elections. Linking Sharif’s supposed statement with Gandhi’s, he said that Gandhi had disrespected the Constitution, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet by this act and that was why Sharif was making such remarks about the Prime Minister.
Diplomats from various embassies and diplomatic missions in the national capital were present at the rally. BJP overseas cell in-charge Vijay Jolly said that representatives were present from Japan, Russia, Germany, Spain, Taiwan, Congo, Ukraine amongst others. “We wanted to show them what is happening in India at the grassroots level,” he added.
There was also a large contingent of youth there. Many sections of his speech were directed at young voters. “The Prime Minister has gone to the US and in the meeting with the US President, has presented the country as a poor nation. This is like the filmmakers who come to our country and make a film on its poverty to win awards. Did he talk about 65% of our population which is less than 35 years age?” Modi asked. He also pointed out the lack of youth programmes and initiatives by the Congress-led UPA.
Speaking before Modi, Nitin Gadkari, former BJP national president and in-charge of Delhi assembly elections, spoke on corruption and how the party was not against minorities, but against terrorists. He claimed that the Congress was trying to use the CBI to falsely implicate Modi and other Gujarat ministers in criminal cases.
The only other non-Delhi BJP leader to speak was Navjot Singh Sidhu, former cricketer and BJP MP from Punjab. Sidhu added comic relief to the meet with comments such as “Congress Munni se zyada badnaam ho gayi hai” (The Congress has a worse reputation than Munni, a reference to a popular Bollywood song). About Manmohan Singh, he said, “Aisa PM jo na sardar hai, na asardar hai.” (The PM is neither a true sardar nor effective.
Even though the rally was held to canvass for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, Modi primarily targeted the central government. He mentioned Delhi in the context of the Commonwealth Games and said that countries such as South Korea and China, though developing nations, had built a name for themselves through sports and had even hosted the Olympics. “We had our chance and we lost it. The loot was not only of the treasury, but of our faith and name, which have been eroded,” he said.
Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel took on the Congress and the Delhi government. “Sheila Dixit is like my dadi (grandmother) and I challenge her to a debate at a venue of her choice,” he said.
Since being anointed the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, Modi has addressed three major rallies – at Rewari, Bhopal and Delhi. While there were reportedly five lakh people at the Bhopal rally, the estimated number of attendees at his rally in New Delhi was similar to that of Rewari, between 2 – 2.5 lakhs.

fodder scam case, Lalu Prasad Yadav convicted, faces disqualification as MP; sentencing set for October 3

A CBI designated court delivered its verdict in a fodder scam case involving Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The court found Lalu guilty. Besides the RJD chief 44 other persons were also found guilty in one of the five fodder scam cases.
A lawyer announced that the quantum of punishment will be announced on October 3 and is set to be more than 4 years.
As Yadav's lawyer completed arguments in the case on September 17, special CBI Judge PK Singh will pronounce the judgment in the case No RC 20 A/96 today. Yadav moved the Jharkhand High Court and later the Supreme Court, seeking change of the judge in the case. Both the courts dismissed his petition, and directed him to complete argument in the case before the CBI court. Yadav had in his petition alleged that trial court judge PK Singh was biased against him as he is a relative of PK Shahi, Education Minister in the Nitish Kumar Government in Bihar, "who is his (Yadav''s) biggest political enemy".
Authorities in Bihar sounded an alert across the state, apprehending trouble after the court pronounced verdict in a multi-crore fodder scam case involving Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The case pertains to alleged fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa Treasury in the 1990s. The FIR was lodged by Bihar government in February 1996 but the case was transferred to CBI a month later. CBI had investigated the scam for a year and the charge sheet was filed in 1997. The charges were framed in 2000 following which the Special CBI court commenced trial against Lalu Yadav and 44 other accused.
RJD's plea had faced stiff opposition from JD-U leader Rajiv Ranjan who submitted that it would be a ‘travesty of justice’ if the judge is transferred at the far end of the trial. He submitted that it would give a wrong impression to the entire country if the judge is transferred and raised a question on RJD supremo's petition seeking transfer of the judge who has been hearing the case since 2011.
The fodder scam also known as "Chara Ghotala" involved the siphoning of funds from the Bihar Government treasury. The alleged theft spanned over several years, and many Bihar state government administrative and elected officials across multiple administrations were allegedly engaged in it.
Additionally, there are also allegations that they were involved in the fabrication of "vast herds of fictitious livestock" for which fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured. The fodder scam was unearthed in Bihar in 1996 when Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister of the state. He had resigned from the post in 1997 after a court issued an arrest warrant against him in connection with one of the cases.
Besides the RJD supremo, other accused persons include former Bihar Chief Minister Mishra and JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma.

The judgement in the fodder scam is likely to have a bearing on Bihar politics, as the RJD chief will face immediate disqualification as a Lok Sabha member if convicted as per a Supreme Court order that an MP or legislator would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more.

The government later promulgated an ordinance to undo the apex court order, prompting opposition BJP to allege that it had been done to protect Lau Prasad Yadav in case he is indicted in the fodder scam.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has, however, slammed the ordinance as "complete nonsense" which should be "torn up and thrown away," leaving its fate uncertain.
The RJD chief faces immediate disqualification as Lok Sabha member under a recent Supreme Court order that an MP or MLA would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more and under some other laws even without jail sentence.

The August judgement of the Supreme Court struck down a provision in the electoral law that provided protection to sitting MPs and MLAs by allowing them to continue in their posts if they appeal against a lower court conviction and secure a stay of the order.

Lalu would have got protection from disqualification if the ordinance promulgated by the Centre was cleared by President Pranab Mukherjee but he is said to have some reservations and raised questions over it.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has compounded problems by attacking the ordinance and calling for its withdrawal, virtually sealing its fate.

RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha said they would challenge the order in a higher court after the sentence is known.

Lalu Prasad convicted in fodder scam case

The RJD supremo faces immediate disqualification as a Lok Sabha member as per a Supreme Court order

A special CBI court here on Monday has convicted former Bihar Chief Minster and RJD leader Lalu Prasad in the in the multi-crore fodder scam case.

Now, Mr. Prasad faces immediate disqualification as a Lok Sabha member.

43 other accused, including six politicians and four IAS officers, were also convicted for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa treasury n the 1990s in a case lodged by CBI.

The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence to the convicts on October 3.

Earlier, the RJD chief and another accused, former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, earlier arrived at the CBI Court here. Accompanied by son Tejaswi Pratap and a host of party colleagues, 65-year-old Prasad arrived here on Sunday.

Besides the RJD supremo, other accused persons include former Bihar Chief Minister Mishra and JD (U) MP Jagdish Sharma.

The RJD chief will face immediate disqualification as a Lok Sabha member as per a Supreme Court order that an MP or legislator would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more.

The government was about to promulgate an ordinance to undo the apex court order, prompting opposition BJP to allege that it had been done to protect Congress member in Rajya Sabha Rashid Masood, who was recently convicted in a corruption case and also Prasad in case he is indicted in the fodder scam.

However, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, slammed the ordinance as “complete nonsense” which should be “torn up and thrown away,” leaving its fate uncertain.