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MARCH 29
THE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
274-261
The TDP voted in favour of the motion, the National Conference abstained, helping Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to win the vote of confidence easily on Saturday night.
TDP voted for BJP, fearing tie in House
The TDP voted in favour of the confidence motion to defeat Congress attempts to form the government at the Centre, Y Yerran Naidu told newsmen after the vote.The former Cabinet minister in the United Front government said TDP supremo
N Chandrababu Naidu had authorised him to decide on the issue of voting in favour of the motion.
Vajpayee will win trust vote, but lose the people's hearts: Sangma
That is how the former Lok Sabha speaker summed up his electrifying speech, laced with wit and wisdom, which was heard in rapt attention by the House and millions of viewers across the country.
TDP supports BJP govt
Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party leader and former Union minister Yerran Naidu said his party had decided to support the BJP-led government. Amidst applause from the Treasury benches, he said his party would play a constructive role with a high degree of responsibility.
Vajpayee refutes allegation that he backed British in 1942
The prime minister refuted the allegation that he had turned a government approver during the British rule in 1942. The matter related to the Banteswar case where Justice Wanchoo had 'not indicted him in any manner'. He had never apologised to anyone in connection with that case, he stressed.
Joshi says Bihar is like Om Puri's face, draws protests
''The former chief minister (Laloo Prasad Yadav) promised to change the face of Bihar as that of the cheeks of Hema Malini, but it actually looked like the cheeks of Om Puri,'' says the Union HRD minister.
BJP betrayed Ram, will not last long: Laloo
The former Bihar chief minister alleged that he was being falsely implicated in the fodder scam. ''The greatness is that when the Central Bureau of Investigation touches Advani, he becomes the home minister. Similarly, Yashwant Sinha also became a minister after being touched by the CBI,'' he remarked.
Hegde defends BJP's move to amend Constitution
The Union commerce minister said changes in the Constitution were a necessity to tackle new political challenges.
OTHER REPORTS
AIADMK caught in the web of its own making
Though that might not have been the BJP leadership's intention, the appointment of AIADMK nominee S Thambidurai as the law minister in the Vajpayee government seems to be having that effect. When the cases pertaining to the AIADMK and Tamil Nadu come up for hearing, the law ministry and its law officers like the attorney-general and the solicitor-general
will be asked for an opinion. And, thus, it is the minister of state for law who will have himself to blame if the cases goes against the AIADMK's interests.
Farooq, Soz decide to bury hatchet
National Conference chief Dr Farooq Abdullah sends a three-member
delegation to estranged partyman Saifuddin Soz, who had questioned his
decision to support the BJP-led government.
Madras police recover explosives, arrest four
Officials said there were two iron boxes and three
suitcases. The explosives in the suitcases were already
connected to timer devices.
Karnataka govt goes all out against sexual harassment
The state cabinet has decided to amend the conduct rules for
government servants so as to make sexual harassment
of women in work places a criminal offence.
Clinton ready for unconditional friendship with Vajpayee
The US government wants to upgrade the level of the ongoing Washington-New Delhi dialogue, taking the whole exercise out of narrow, regional context. There would be no strings attached to the engagement, a state department official said.
Pak flays world for soft stand on BJP's nuke policy
Pakistan called for international sanctions against India today and said the world should respond strongly to New Delhi's plans to rethink its nuclear weapons policy.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Joshi refuses to be Thackeray's scapegoat
The chief minister knows he has only bought time, and that in any clash with the man who not only elevated him to the chief ministership but also who is the only vote-catcher in his party, it is his head that will roll.
Night Games In New Delhi
Sad, so sad. That Jaswant Singh faltered in the last
lap of the race to Chidambaram's office. Or, maybe, he didn't falter. Maybe, he was encouraged to do so, with a well-placed swadeshi boot in the back? What really happened that night? Buzz from the Capital.
Maharashtra: New rent bill for Bombay
TODAY'S WEATHER
Heat wave in Rajasthan, Saurashtra
The day temperatures were also appreciably above normal in
Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Gujarat and coastal Karnataka.
MARCH 28
BJP govt will crash: Opposition
Discussion on the vote of confidence in the government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee showed that members of the twelfth Lok Sabha are acutely conscious of the uncertain future of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition in view of its razor-thin majority. The voting on the motion is expected to take place on Saturday afternoon.
Vajpayee promises 'straightforward' govt, moves trust vote motion
Moving the motion of confidence in the council of ministers, the prime minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies now command a majority and would be able to provide an 'effective administration'. He promised to 'reverse the political uncertainties of the last 18 months'.
Naidu will bail out Vajpayee
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has decided to bail out the BJP-led government at the Centre. Sources said a final decision on whether the TDP will abstain from voting during the confidence motion or join the A B Vajpayee government will come like a bolt from the blue on Saturday morning.
Pawar predicts early death to coalition of 'contradictions'
Opposition leader Sharad Pawar challenged the Vajpayee government to resolve its inherent contradictions on major issues like corruption, Ayodhya, secularism and swadeshi.
Somnath's remarks disrupt trust vote debate
CPI-M leader Somnath Chatterjee Chatterjee's remarks -- ''the BJP sent its 'Prince Charming' (Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jaswant Singh) to Madras to negotiate with Jayalalitha. We do not know what transpired within the closed room of the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalitha... Mr Jaswant Singh could not win the hearts of Chittorgarh people but he won her heart'' -- drew loud protests from the AIADMK leaders. The Speaker appeared helpless as the agitated AIADMK members rushed to the well.
Fernandes blasts Congress, UF
Exposing the Congress and the UF's inner contradictions and conflicting characteristics, the denfence minister said that in their election manifestoes they have levelled serious charges against each other on the vital issues of corruption, communalism and economic reforms.
'People's confidence undermined'
Former finance minister and Tamil Maanila Congress leader P Chidambaram today said the BJP-led government did not have a programme of its own. The people of the country had not given the BJP a mandate to rule. Never has this House been divided as today as the main objective of the BJP is to capture power with the help of any available partner, he said.
Mulayam makes fun of BJP's stability plank
The Samajwadi Party chief and former defence minister said the hollowness of the party's claims was exposed when it wavered in the finance minister's appointment.
BJP's policies are still not clear: Pilot
The former Union minister said the Cabinet berths for agriculture and rural development had not been allocated so far. He said these two ministeries were very crucial to the rural India.
Sukh Ram's son makes it to Rajya Sabha
In a 68-member House, Anil Sharma defeated former state education minister N C Prasher of the Congress by a margin of seven votes.
TDP sweeps RS poll in Andhra
With five seats. The sixth one went to its poll ally, the CPI.
AGP, CPI win one RS seat each from Assam
Arun Sarma of the AGP and Dhrupad Borgohain of the CPI made it to the Upper House Friday.
OTHER REPORTS
Death sentence for 26 in Rajiv killing case stayed
The Supreme Court has stayed the TADA court order which sentenced 26 persons to death in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Karunanidhi sops IT industry with 5.37 billion deficit budget
The Tamil Nadu budget, which proposes additional taxes to net Rs 3.4 billion, has given the best deal to the information technology industry -- sales tax exemption for computer
software.
Arrest warrant against Benazir for misuse of power
The warrant orders Pakistan's former prime minister to surrender in court before April 24.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'We must preserve our cultural identity'
'Many things are being done through the backdoor. It is a
challenging time for us. We must stop them.' I&B Minister Sushma Swaraj tells Pritish Nandy.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
'We don't want money, we don't want to go to Dubai. All we want is go home'
"I have fever, I am tired," says a little one, "But I don't want to
go to sleep because I want to talk to you people." The little child, and 69 other Bangladeshis have been confined to a single room in
Madras for the last seven months...
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Why does the Middle-Class despise politics?
'The fault is not in the system, but in the people, in us, especially the middle-class. There is no reason why middle-class people with convictions and honesty should shy away from politics. Unfortunately, like the very persons the middle-class condemns, it also wants to rule rather than to serve,' says Amberish K Diwanji.
The Three Wise Men
Chandrababu Naidu, Farooq Abdullah and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, says T V R Shenoy,
are honest enough to accept the verdict of the people and shift
into the BJP orbit. Their former partners have a similar choice:
make an honourable peace with the BJP, or become courtiers at
Sonia Gandhi's court. How will they choose?
MARCH 27
Naidu quotes his price for supporting BJP on Friday
The TDP's Chandrababu Naidu's quid pro quo for parliamentary support is: two cabinet and two ministers of state berths for his party in the Union council; a hefty financial package for Andhra Pradesh; and a tieup with the BJP for the assembly elections. And, he may get them all.
Naidu goes soft on 'communal BJP'
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu seems to be slowly giving up his reservations against the 'communal' Bharatiya Janata Party, despite his tough facade. Asked if he considered the BJP a communal party, Naidu said there were several communal forces with a secular face.
Farooq still with UF, may vote for BJP, but will not join govt
United Front spokesman Jaipal Reddy said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah is not exactly like his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu. Farooq did not talk to President K R Narayanan behind the UF's back, he said. ''Naidu also kept the UF in the dark about his negotiations with the BJP.
Detractors gang up against Pawar
Accusing the Maratha of failing in his first major assignment -- ensuring the election of party candidate Purno A Sangma as Lok Sabha Speaker -- Pawar's critics are trying to 'poison' party chief Sonia Gandhi's mind.
Rumblings in Congress over Sonia favouring confidants
Rumblings in Congress over Sonia favouring confidants
While there will be order and obedience in the party till the AICC session,
Sonia's real test will begin when various leaders start protesting after she
revamps the AICC and the state Congress units early next month.
Noisy scenes force Speaker to adjourn Lok Sabha
There was uproar in the Lok Sabha for over an hour on Thursday
when the Opposition and ruling parties traded sharp exchanges over a breach of privilege issue.
CBI will not be used for political vendetta: Vajpayee
The prime minister has promised to look into the
allegation that the official agency was being misused.
Why did Hegde go to Delhi, asks Patel
The Karnataka chief minister reacts to the Union commerce minister's offer to quit and
return to state politics.
The BJP has trapped Tamil allies in an unbreakable chain
Worse, the chain is of 'our own making', says the Pattali Makkal Katchi, which is now striking a neutral pose in Tamil Nadu politics.
Deve Gowda to Naidu: your statement 'is far from the truth'
In a letter to Naidu, Deve Gowda said it was more than ever
necessary for the UF and each of its constituents to come forward as firm and consistent defenders of the secular fabric of India and its federal democratic polity.
'The TDP, in fact, took the decision behind the UF's back'
'The Rashtrapati Bhavan communique confirms that you had already
taken a unilateral decision,' UF chairman Deve Gowda writes to Chandrababu Naidu.
OTHER REPORTS
Madras police seize 11 bombs, arrest 6 Al-Umma activists
City Police Commissioner P Kalimuthu said the extremists had planned to set off the bombs at various places in the city.
Pak help in Kashmir issue has boomeranged: Amanullah Khan
The JKLF leader said Pakistan ''has gifted away one-sixth of the property of his client (Kashmiris) to his friend China, has occupied one-third of it himself and uses the remaining half as a bargaining counter for trade with the defendant (India).''
From Bill, with love
US President Bill Clinton makes an Indian student's day. By writing to him in person.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'Ram Janambhoomi, Article 370, common civil code, these are the basic commitments of the BJP'
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar lays down his RSS views on the line, in an interview with Savera R Someshwar.
TODAY'S COLUMN
Hang 'em High!
'Advocacy of the death penalty is based on vengeance and the need to rid society of its despicable elements. It's noble to preach
mercy -- but can it be pursued when one's own kin are turned into
steaks?' asks Varsha Bhosle.
Maharashtra: Joshi-Thackeray war and peace leaves Sena confused
Tamil Nadu:Union Minister Muthiah's petition in corruption case dismissed
TODAY'S WEATHER
Cold wave in parts of north-east, north
Temperatures were markedly below normal in Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, West Bengal, Sikkim, interior Orissa, Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, the hills of west Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Vidarbha and in parts of east Rajasthan.
MARCH 26
'If members are intent on digressing from real issues, I shall be tough'
The Speaker of the 12th Lok Sabha, G M C Balayogi, in his first
interview since his election.
President's address promises a new India, appeals for consensus in governance
Addressing the first session of both Houses of Parliament
after the 12th Lok Sabha election, President K R Narayanan said
parliamentary arithmetic alone cannot provide the key to good
governance. "That key lies in the willingness of all to rise above
notions of parliamentary majority and minority and
work in a spirit of cooperation, conciliation and consensus. My
government, imbued with this spirit, will chart a new course in
governance that seeks to unify and not divide. Dialogue, debate and discussion will replace the narrow antagonisms of the past."
'No child will go to sleep hungry'
Highlights of the President's address.
President announces national media policy
The aim is to integrate the advances in visual, audio and print media 'keeping in view our societal needs and cultural values'.
Vidarbha interrupts President's address
The President addressed Parliament in English after a gap of few years...
TDP will 'abstain during trust vote'
Telugu Desam Party MPs have been sitting on the Treasury benches since Tuesday.
Laloo takes digs at Naidu
'Felicitating' the TDP's Balayogi on his election as Lok Sabha Speaker, Laloo Yadav poured vitriol against Chandrababu Naidu for ditching the United Front and lampooned his stand of 'remaining equidistance and neutral' from the Congress and the BJP.
Did Advani take over Manmohan Singh's room?
The government has been formed, Parliament is in session -- but Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha, Dr Manmohan Singh, has no room to call
his own!
Hegde offers to quit
Union Commerce Minister and Lok Shakti president Ramakrishna Hegde has indicated willingness to resign from the Centre and return to state politics if his party and its ally BJP wished so.
Kanshi is unhappy with Maya
BSP leader Kanshi Ram is worried. Not only worried, he is unhappy too, about the looming future.
RSS meet upbeat about BJP agenda
Flush with the BJP's assuming office at the Centre, an RSS meeting near Bangalore articulates its views on what needs to be done.
OTHER REPORTS
175 die in Bengal cyclone, thousands homeless
The cyclone ravaged the coastal Midnapore district in Bengal and neighbouring Orissa on Tuesday. Officials said 145 bodies have been recovered so far.
Opposition forces PM to send all-party team to tornado-hit areas
Several members raised a tumult, lasting more than half
an hour, and described as 'political discrimination', the government's
move to send some MPs along with Minister of State for Agriculture Som Pal to the cyclone-hit areas.
West Bengal promises speedy relief
With the recovery of more bodies, the toll in yesterday's killer tornado that left a trail of destruction in the Dantan area of coastal Midnapore district has risen, West Bengal Irrigation Minister Debabrata Bandopadhyay informed the state
assembly.
Narayan Rane tipped to succeed Manohar Joshi in Maharashtra
Sena insiders claim that among the contenders, Dame Luck could smile on Revenue Minister Narayan Rane.
Ultras convicted for trying to kidnap Rao's grand-daughter
The designated TADA court has sentenced to rigorous imprisonment four hardcore Punjab terrorists of a conspiracy to kidnap former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao's
grand-daughter.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
To support, or not to support
The Kerala Marxists are in a dilemma. If they comply with party general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and support the Congress at the Centre, it would mean adopting a soft line towards their foremost enemy in the state. If they oppose the Congress in Delhi, it would help the BJP.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
I Don't Mean Sexually Transmitted Disease
What STD booths have shown, says Dilip D'Souza, is that while people wait for individual phone lines they can share the local booth.
In much the same way, people don't need to have individual Internet accounts -- they can use a form of email by sharing the local booths. Just as with phone service, STD booths might one day bring email service to millions.
The days of coalition
'The circumstances in the country,' says Ashok Mitra, 'will be increasingly disequilibrating. There will be, it is a fair guess, no worthwhile centre at all. The likeliest prospect is of a succession of temporary compromises leading to temporary government formations in New Delhi. Each of these transient arrangements will come apart sooner or later, sooner rather than later.'
Maharashtra:Independents backing BJP-Sena divided
TODAY'S WEATHER
Wet weather over North-East
Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at many places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
MARCH 25
Balayogi's victory makes BJP confident
After its nominee Balayogi won the Speaker's election comfortably, the BJP leadership is confident of winning the trust vote. Party sources hinted that there will be many surprise abstentions during voting "because the BJP is on a
winning spree."
BJP exploited Congress blunder
"The Congress foisted Purno A Sangma on the United Front,'' said BJP national treasurer Ved Prakash Goel. ''This made the Telugu Desam Party to drift towards us.''
Rajmata, Akali MP miss out on oath
The process of oath-taking by the newly elected members of the 12th Lok Sabha concluded today, with as many as 537 MPs affirming their resolve to uphold the principles
enshrined in the Constitution.
RSS tones down Hindutva, but still calls the shots
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has confined controversial issues like the Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura to the backburner. But the back-seat driving continues as seven out of 11 BJP Cabinet ministers are swayamsevaks.
BSP walks out of LS, calls BJP anti-Dalit
Mayawati took strong exception to Vajpayee saying that his government had sponsored a dalit for the Speaker's office. She said it was the BJP which had engineered a split in the BSP, a dalit party, in Uttar Pradesh recently.
Soz questions NC's support to BJP
Prof Soz said Dr Abdullah should reconsider his decision
to support the BJP government in view of its links
with communal forces.
Khurana denies he betrayed Sangma
The parliamentary affairs minister said he had merely told P A Sangma at 0830 hours yesterday that the Telugu Desam Party had not conveyed anything till then and therefore
there was nobody else in the fray as yet.
BJP's Dhumal is Himachal CM
A nine-member Bharatiya Janata Party-Himachal Vikas Congress ministry, headed by Prem Kumar Dhumal, was sworn in
by Governor V S Rama Devi at a simple but impressive ceremony at the Raj Bhavan in Shimla today, ending a 12-day deadlock over government formation in the state.
Villagers ostracised after voting for Cong
Seven families in Pulaparru village of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh have been ostracised by the villagers for going against their 'unanimous' decision to vote for the Telugu Desam Party in the recent elections. The family members were on the verge of starvation as no one would sell them foodgrains or other essentials, when the police intervened.
Invalid votes made all the difference in 69 constituencies
The two major beneficiaries of invalid votes were the Congress
and the BJP.
OTHER REPORTS:
Fernandes revives defence minister's panel
The committee, formed soon after the country's Independence, fell into disuse in the '70s when then defence minister Y B Chavan devised informal weekly meetings to discuss
national security issues.
Wisner praises Vajpayee, calls for Indo-US talks
The former US ambassador to India drew comfort at the restraint shown by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the nuclear option.
Arms haul in Gujarat, 6 gangsters gunned down
The police recovered a large cache of arms, ammunition and
explosives after shooting dead six members of the
Chhota Shakeel gang in Gandhinagar. Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is believed to be involved.
Jaswant Singh has a tough task ahead
Jaswant Singh's appointment as deputy chairman of the Planning Commission comes at a time when the BJP and its allies have set themselves the target of achieving seven per cent GDP growth rate.
TMC office-bearers resign en masse
All the 24 office-bearers of the Tamil Maanila Congress have submitted their resignations to party president G K Moopanar in order to give him a free hand to reorganise the party in the
wake of its poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha poll.
Patel to discuss farmers's suicide with Vajpayee
The Karnataka chief minister will lead an all-party delegation
to the prime minister.
Appeal against ban on Sikh marriages in hotels, halls
A five-member committee has been constituted to plead the
matter with Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL:
To support, or not to support
The Kerala Marxists are in a dilemma. If they comply with party general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet and support the Congress at the Centre, it would mean adopting a soft line towards their foremost enemy in the state. If they oppose the Congress in Delhi, it would help the BJP.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Andhra Pradesh: Stone-crushing units face closure in Krishna, Guntur districts
Assam: Mahanta presents Rs 7 billion deficit budget
Bihar: Rs 5.38 billion deficit budget
Maharashtra: Maharashtra government on the mat over budget 'leaks'
Maharashtra: Maharashtra hikes price of liquor, sugar and textiles
Nagaland: Lohe is assembly speaker
Uttar Pradesh: BSP to challenge speaker's ruling in Allahabad high court
TODAY'S WEATHER:
Heat wave in south and central India
Day temperatures were appreciably above normal in some parts
of west Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, south
interior Karnataka.
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To win a woman's heart...
This is a love story. Of a badly-smitten Calcutta youth,
Sujit Das, and his, well, brave efforts to win a lady's heart.
MARCH 24
BJP coup lands Speaker's post in TDP lap
Besides ensuring a friendly Speaker in a hung House, the deal with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu may bring a semblance of stability to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, with the 12-member TDP increasing the saffron coalition's majority to 13.
'Slighted' Naidu quits UF; floats new front
In a quick turn of events, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu has parted company with the United Front and appealed to all anti-Congress political forces to join a new front.
Farooq, Mahanta join hands with Naidu
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today announced the setting up of a new front comprising the NC, Telugu Desam Party and the Asom Gana Parishad.
Telugu Ambedkarite all set to become LS Speaker
A confidant of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the BJP-led coalition's Speaker nominee G M C Balayogi refused to join the Congress along with a breakaway TDP parliamentary group during the P V Narasimha Rao tenure. He also backed Naidu during the 1995 TDP coup in which its founder-president Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao was dislodged.
Pawar says BJP went back on commitment to support Sangma, Advani disputes claim
Advani said he had asked Pawar to agree to a ruling front's candidate.
Question mark hangs over UF's future
There is considerable fear among the UF partners that the
loose federation of regional political parties is becoming a failed experiment.
BJP government faces first acid test
With most members having taken their oaths already, the next issue will be the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Jaya did not get anything in BJP's national agenda: Karunanidhi
The chief minister said all issues, including the vexatious Cauvery water dispute, were only vaguely mentioned in the agenda.
Thackeray calls off war against CM
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has taken back his trenchant criticism of Mahrasthtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi. In a further turnaround, Thackeray also announced that Joshi will continue as chief minister of the state, after virtually expressing a loss of faith in him.
I advised Vajpayee not to retain finance: Advani
"When I discussed the matter with the PM, he seemed to agree that entrusting this responsibility to someone else would be better," the home minister said.
Let's make India hunger-free in 10 years: Vajpayee
In his maiden address to the nation as India's 14th prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee said his government would strive to eradicate poverty, improve relations with Pakistan, expand infrastructure, and turn India into a global information technology power.
'It was a storm in a tea cup'
That was what Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik had to say about 14 of his ministers putting in their papers the
other day. Nothing to worry, he assured an unruly opposition
on Monday, they haven't formally quit, and there wasn't any 'crisis' at hand...
Prabhat Kumar is new cabinet secretary
The senior-most IAS officer in the country will take over from T S R Subramaniam, whose extended term ends
on March 31.
SP withdraws Patna candidate to favour RJD
The decision assumes significance as it indicates proximity
between RJD chief Laloo Prasadi Yadav and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Bihar JD issues showcause to general secretary
Mufti Mohd Quasim, the party candidate from Patna, had retired in favour of the Rashtriya Janata Dal nominee, without taking the leadership into confidence.
Rabri Devi apologises to Bihar assembly
...for the manhandling of Champaran Vikas Party member Dilip Verma. But the opposition is not satisfied.
BJP-HVC combine stakes claim in Himachal
BJP legislature party leader P K Dhumal and a few MLAs
met Governor V S Rama Devi at Raj Bhavan and conveyed that
the combine should be invited for government formation.
Piqued Akali MP turns in assembly membership
Lalpura, one of the senior-most Akali leaders, had been
annoyed at being denied a ministerial berth in the Union council of ministers and had threatened not to take oath as a member of Parliament.
OTHER REPORTS:
UP speaker dismisses BSP's petition against rebels, rules whip 'unconstitutional'
As per the speaker's ruling, which is open to judicial scrutiny,
no legislator who had voted in favour of the confidence vote sought by Kalyan Singh would face disqualification as the BSP whip did not fall under the provisions of the rule.
'Communal' Sarkari qatl-e-aam banned
The controversial book, authored by All India Akali Dal
(Babbar) president Gurucharan Singh Babbar, accuses the judiciary of being part of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Jaswant Singh is dy chairman of Planning Commission
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has also accepted the resignation of Professor Madhu Dandavate, who had sent in his papers on the eve of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government being sworn in.
HC pulls up CBI in HDW probe
The Delhi high court rapped the Central Bureau of Investigation
for its failure to comply with a judicial order to file status report on the Rs 200 million HDW submarine scam, and ordered it to do so within two days.
Dattatreya firm on CBI probe against AP CM
Union Minister of State for Urban Affairs Bandaru Dattatreya maintained that the BJP's Andhra Pradesh unit 'stood by its demand' for a CBI probe into the corruption charges against Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
Advocate urges PM to revive Jain Commission
Environmental and legal activist Dr B L Wadehra, a party before
the Jain Commission which folded up recently after
functioning for six and a half years, urged the prime minister to revive the Jain Commission of inquiry which was probing the conspiracy aspect of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.
Karunanidhi promises action against derelict Coimbatore policemen
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said while raids conducted in several other places following the warnings received from state and central intelligence agencies yielded results, top police officials in Coimbatore reported no arms seizure even after conducting raids in that city with the assistance of the Central Reserve Police Force personnel.
Medical admissions spark off uproar in JK assembly
And ends with the expulsion of 17 opposition members for the rest of the session.
Sena-BJP's mayor-in-council bill defeated in council
The mayor-in-council bill, which was passed
by the Maharashtra legislative assembly unanimously, was
defeated in the state legislative council by 34 against 31 votes,
giving a setback to the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government in
the Upper House.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Altered States
'Is the BJP going to win the confidence vote?' asks Varsha Bhosle. 'I can't say. With dorks like Mulayam Singh and Subramanian Swamy around, the party faces an onslaught from all directions.'
Among the Believers
Even the granite flagstones in the walkway are sometimes decorated: I notice
some with front and back views of a dancing girl. Did the devadasi system -- where entire families of young women were dedicated to the temple as temple dancers, who were sometimes exploited sexually -- exist here? Rajeev Srinivasan on the temple town of Srirangam.
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