'Somnath Chatterjee expelled from CPM'
NEW DELHI: According to media reports, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has been
expelled from CPM for violating party discipline.
Earlier in the day, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) politburo met on Wednesday
amid strong indications that disciplinary action is to be taken against Somnath Chatterjee for not
resigning as the Lok Sabha Speaker ahead of the trust vote the government won overnight.
A former member of the CPM central committee, Chatterjee refused to quit the Speaker's chair
after the Left parties withdrew support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government
following differences with the ruling Congress over the India-US civil nuclear deal.
Chatterjee presided over the special session of Parliament in defiance of CPM general secretary
Prakash Karat, who did not want Chatterjee to be in the Speaker's chair after the Left stopped
supporting the government.
The CPM central committee, which met July 19 and 20 to discuss the political crisis emanating
from the nuclear row, had authorised the politburo - its highest decision making body - to take
action against Chatterjee.
"The central committee had authorised the politburo to go ahead," said a CPM source.
The Speaker is scheduled to leave on a 10-day trip to Kuala Lumpur on August 1 to attend a
meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Chatterjee, a Cambridge-trained barrister, took to politics in 1968 and was elected to the Lok
Sabha for the first time in 1971.
Mayawati to activate Third Front attack on UPA
New Delhi, July 23 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader
Mayawati has decided to take bull by the horns and want that she will activate a Third Front attack
on the Congress-led UPA Government in the days to come.
In a hard-hitting speech, Mayawati said, "The BJP got together with its allies and formed a strategy
to save the UPA Government. In the scenario of fall of the UPA Government, instead of suggesting
the formation of an alternate government, pushed ahead for the general elections. It is clear from
today's happenings that both these alliances do not want the 'daughter of a dalit' to become the
Prime Minister of the country."
BSP chief Mayawati also asked Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to immediately resign from
the post after BJP alleged that Samajwadi Party tried to bribe three of their MPs for abstaining
from voting during the trust vote.
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should resign on moral grounds. This is a black day in the history
of democracy," she said.
Condemning the incident, she said the method adopted by the Congress to save its government
was a "setback for democracy".
She also blamed the BJP for the UPA's victory. "It is not a victory of the UPA, but the result of the
politics played by the UPA and the NDA," she said.
The UPA on Tuesday won the trust vote by a margin of 19 votes after a two-day debate. The
ruling coalition secured 275 votes as against 256 by the Opposition. As many as 10 members were
absent or abstained from voting.
Thackeray praises Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Mumbai, July 23: The United Progressive Alliance government's victory in Tuesday's parliamentary
trust vote has earned indirect approval from an unexpected quarter - Shiv Sena chief Bal
Thackeray.
In an editorial in his newspaper Saamna Wednesday, Thackeray said that Prime Minister
Manmohan is a Sikh, steeped in the best traditions of the community's reputation for bravery.
Sikhs never attack from behind but considering him as a weak PM, the opposition parties attacked
him over the India-US nuclear deal.
However, Thackeray noted that Singh not only emerged victorious from the attack but also
returned it with "interest" by proving his government's majority in the parliament.
The Sena chief said that the Left, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party and the United National
Progressive Alliance (UNPA) got together with the single aim of toppling the government.
But now that the government has survived, these parties have been scattered. They are going their
separate ways and they seen to have abandoned their intentions of the country's good.
Thackeray concluded "the country is not secure in the hands of such people" who believe that
toppling the government and grabbing power is in the best interest of the nation.
"The whole country has witnessed this," he said.
Eight BJP MPs expelled over trust vote, Advani blasts government
New Delhi, July 23 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday expelled eight of its Lok Sabha
MPs for voting for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or abstaining during the parliament trust vote,
and BJP leader L.K. Advani alleged that the government would have lost the battle but for cross
voting.
The expelled MPs are Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Somabhai Patel, K. Manjunath and H.T.
Sangliana (for cross-voting) as well as Manorama Madhwaraj, Chandrabhan Singh, Harising
Rathod and Babubhai Katara (for abstaining), BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters after a
meeting of party leaders.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government won a confidence motion by 19
votes Tuesday night, a result that stunned the opposition before the number of opposition MPs who
cross-voted in violation of the party whip or stayed away became known.
"I am in a position to say that this cross voting, if that had not taken place, then yesterday evening
the UPA would not have won," said Advani, the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP.
"It is a tainted victory. July 22 will be considered a black day."
Advani came down heavily on the government, saying its attempt to buy over opposition MPs in its
desperation to stay in power had sullied the image of the Indian parliament.
The reference was to the dramatic display in parliament Tuesday evening of wads of currency by
three BJP MPs who said that Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and Congress leader Ahmed
Patel tried to bribe them. Amar Singh and Patel denied the charge.
"The whole thing is so scandalous that it reeks of muck," Advani said.
"I would like to congratulate those three (BJP) MPs (that) they put their case in parliament. It is a
serious matter. I want speaker (Somnath Chatterjee) to quickly investigate the matter. There should
be no delay."
Advani made comparisons between what happened in parliament Tuesday to the Bofors corruption
scandal that led to the defeat of the Congress government in the 1989 Lok Sabha election.
Earlier, Rajnath Singh announced that the BJP would organise from Thursday protests all over the
country against what he said was the dubious manner the UPA government won the trust vote.
Rallies would be held in all state capitals on July 27.
SP gives privilege notice to Speaker against three BJP MPs
New Delhi, Jul 23 : Leader of the Samajwadi Party Parliamentary Board Mohan Singh today
submitted a privilege notice to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, demanding action against three BJP
MPs who brought in wads of currency notes in the Lok Sabha yesterday in a bid to prove they had
been offerred bribe by the UPA managers to vote in favour of the confidence motion.
Mr Singh said the three MPs had invited action by the House for accpeting bribe.
Citing the earlier example in which the House took action against an MP for accepting Rs 5000 for
asking some particular question in the House, he said he had demanded that action against the three
MPs be taken for accepting bribe in this case too.
''The Lok Sabha does not take cognisance of who has given the bribe, but whether the Member
concerned had accepted the bribe,'' Mr Singh told UNI.
Secondly, he said the MPs brought in the wads of currency notes in the House without any
knowledge of the Speaker.
He said that under the Lok Sabha code of conduct, no material could be brought in the House
without prior permission of the Speaker, but the MPs violated this code, a very basic rule which
every member was supposed to know.
''Members of the House are not searched, but they are expected to maintain the decorum of their
position and not violate any of its rules. Even as small a thing as a stick carried by ailing and elderly
Members is left behind by them before entering the House and they are helped by officials of the
House to reach their seats,'' he said.
Another ground on which the privilege notice has been given is that the MPs disturbed his speech,
because as he was about to speak, some BJP MPs jumped on him with a bag full of notes, thus
depriving him of his right to speak.
The last ground given in the privilage notice was that the BJP MPs by their action had tarnished the
image of the House at a time when the whole world was watching the proceedings, he said.
India sets to launch lobbying campaign among NSG nations
India is all set to launch a full blast lobbying among the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
for an exemption for nuclear commerce from later this week in the wake of Manmohan Singh
government comfortably winning the trust vote in Parliament.
A group of ministers and officials will travel to various NSG countries to muster support for the
nuclear deal with the United States, particularly focusing on nations which have had reservations so
far on allowing exemption to India.
The government expects the IAEA Board of Governors to approve the India-specific safeguards
agreement during its meeting scheduled for August 1.
After the approval from the atomic watchdog, India will have to get a waiver by consensus from
NSG to allow it to have civil nuclear cooperation with the international community.
The ministers, who include Kapil Sibal, Prithviraj Chavan and Anand Sharma, will explain India's
position and dwell on the reasons for giving exemption, PTI reported here quoting sources.
Besides the ministers, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar
Menon and other officials of the Ministry of External Affairs will also travel abroad to lobby
support.
The government is also expected to instruct its envoys in the NSG countries to approach the
governments there with regard to mustering support.
Firming up of Safeguards Agreement and NSG waiver are key steps in the implementation of the
Indo-US agreement which is to be approved by the American Congress.
After the government won the confidence motion last night, the US said it will work with Indian
government expedite the processes at IAEA and NSG.
US Ambassador David C Mulford in a statement said that his country 'welcomes the support in
Indian Parliament for the US-India civil nuclear cooperation initiative'.
"We will work closely with Government of India in days ahead for rapid completion of the
ratification process through IAEA, Nuclear Suppliers Group and US Congress," he said.
With time running out in the schedule of the US Congress, Washington will have to take the
initiative to convene an early meeting of NSG for the waiver.
The US Congress will have to meet before September when it breaks for session to meet only after
the Presidential election process is completed in January next year.
Badal lashes out at Libra for abstention
Taking a serious view of party member Sukh Dev Singh Libra's abstention during the trust vote in
Parliament, the Shiromani Akali Dal on Wednesday said stringent action would be taken against
him.
Libra's abstention was a serious matter and the party would take tough action against him soon, a
visibly perturbed SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal told media-persons in Chandigarh.
"During the debate on the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Libra was present on the first day.
But, on the second day he left the House after signing the attendance register," Badal said.
Libra action needed to be thoroughly condemned, the Punjab chief ninister said.
Asked what action would be taken against Libra, Badal said the party would take a decision in this
regard soon.
On the trust vote, Badal said 14 members from various parties voted in favour of the ruling United
Progressive Alliance. Eight National Democratic Alliance members had abstained from voting.
On the outcome of the confidence vote, Badal said, "Numerically the Congress-led government has
won but, it has suffered a huge moral loss. The ruling coalition has won but the country and the
democracy have lost."
On the display of wads of currency notes in the House, Badal termed the episode "Shameful and
the worst period in the history of the country." The entire nation was now looking up to Speaker
Somnath Chatterjee for an impartial probe into the matter to punish the guilty and restore faith in
the political system, Badal said.
Badal said he had high regard for Manmohan Singh , but it was regrettable that in his speech
winding up the debate, he did not refer to the disgraceful incident.
Rejecting accusations that the SAD issued the whip to its party MPs under pressure from the BJP,
Badal said the party had never succumbed to pressure from any quarter.
"No party is untouchable for Akalis. The only party that is untouchable is the Congress," Badal said.
This is the woman Rahul spoke of
JALKA (VIDARBHA): Rahul Gandhi narrated Kalawati Bandurkar's story in the Lok Sabha on
Tuesday. He visited this poor Dalit woman's hut in Jalka on July 18, and presented her as an icon
of grit in the face of adversity.
He made a connection between poverty and energy security for the Kalawatis of the country, and
how it could benefit them.
TOI visited Kalawati on Tuesday to find that her reality was grimmer than the picture of potential
hope Rahul was trying to paint. Her village, Jalka, goes without power for 12 hours at a stretch.
While nuclear energy could take years in coming, it might help highlight her problem—her home
does not even have an electricity connection.
That’s not all. She has no money for its installation. The nine-acre patch that Rahul invoked
Kalawati as a metaphor for energy famine she cultivates does not have an agricultural pump.
So, even if India were to produce more electricity, it’s a moot question whether she will benefit.
Her hut is sparse. When it rains, there’s no spot in the ceiling that does not leak. Her oxen tied in
the shed belongs to one of her sons-in-law and she pays money for its use.
She’s a gritty woman alright. Three years ago, her husband, Parashuram, committed suicide due to
indebtedness. She did not get any help from the government because the land he cultivated wasn’t
his. Hence, he was not a ‘farmer’ going by the government’s definition of a farmer, and not entitled
to the paltry compensation that may have helped her raise her kids. But carry on she did. This frail
woman, now 45, has still not lost hope.
Next step on Indo-US civil nuclear deal after IAEA approval: Pranab
New Delhi, July 23 : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that next step on the
Indo-US civil nuclear deal will be taken after IAEA Board of Governors approves of the India-
specific safeguards agreement.
"There is no question of fast-tracking or slow-tracking (the nuclear deal). It is a process which is
on," Mukherjee told reporters here.
"I understand that the IAEA Board (of Governors) is meeting on August one," he added.
The IAEA Board is meeting to consider approval of the India-specific safeguards agreement, which
has been handed over to it recently.
On being questioned as to what steps the government was taking to get the Nuclear Suppliers
Group clearance for the deal, Mukherjee said further steps would be taken after the IAEA Board
approval.
After the IAEA clearance, India will have to get exemption from the NSG before the US Congress
could be approached for final vote.
Charges of bribery sour Indian govt's trust vote win
NEW DELHI - The Indian political scene refused to settle down on Wednesday with opposition
parties alleging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government won a crucial trust vote over a
controversial nuclear deal with the United States by unfair means.
Hectic activity continued even after Tuesday's trust vote, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) expelling eight members for voting for the government, while the regional Telugu Desam
Party (TDP) expelled one member for doing the same.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) expelled veteran party member
Somnath Chatterjee, who is speaker of the Lok Sabha or lower house of Parliament.
The CPI-M had asked Chatterjee to resign from his post before the trust vote. He was expelled
from the party for going against the party's advice, a CPI-M spokesman said after a meeting of the
party's politburo.
Chatterjee, a parliamentarian for over three decades, presided over the trust vote Tuesday which
Singh's United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government won by 275 votes to 256, with 10
lawmakers abstaining. Chatterjee, as speaker, did not vote.
In a drama-packed day at parliament, at least 10 lawmakers of the opposition parties voted for the
government in the motion brought on after the left parties withdrew their support to the government
over a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.
Ten lawmakers of the Samajwadi Party, a regional party from northern Uttar Pradesh state which
was backing the UPA, also went against their party whip.
There were also several abstentions, which went in favour of the UPA, in the last hours of the
prolonged session during which three lawmakers of the BJP flashed wads of currency in the house,
alleging they were bribed to abstain from the vote.
The Lok Sabha, or lower house, speaker said he would investigate the charges and would take any
action required.
There were strong rumours of attempts to influence lawmakers with money and promises of
ministerial berths, election tickets and other bribes by both sides in the days leading up to the trust
vote. "The UPA government may have won the trust vote but the way it was saved was a murder
and defeat of parliamentary democracy," Mayawati, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state and
leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), said at a press briefing on Wednesday along with
leaders of the left and several regional parties.
The 10 parties, which are not aligned to either the UPA or the main opposition National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), announced
they would be launching a campaign against the "corrupt" UPA and would be projecting Mayawati,
a leader of lower-caste Dalits, as a prospective prime minister.
The UPA's five-year term is scheduled to end in May 2009 and all the parties are gearing up for an
election in eight to 10 months.
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Prakash Karat said the government may have won the
trust vote, but had lost the trust of the nation by the "immoral manner" in which it secured a victory.
The Hindu right-wing BJP, which leads the NDA, said it would launch a nationwide agitation
against the UPA for corrupting and degrading democratic values. All BJP lawmakers who voted
for the UPA or abstained during the confidence motion were likely to be expelled, PTI news
agency reported, quoting sources in the party.
Chandra Babu Naidu, leader of the TDP from southern Andhra Pradesh state and a leading
constituent of the new third front, said the opposition would have won the trust vote if the UPA had
not "engineered abstentions" and "manipulated votes."
Leading newspapers had banner headlines saying the government's win had been damaging morally
and ethically.
"PM wins, parliament plumbs new depths," said the daily Hindustan Times front page headline
under the banner of "Shame." "Government sails through but is bruised by vote buying charges,"
said the Times of India. "Trust wins, but distrust too," said the Economic Times.
Overnight celebrations continued at the headquarters of the Congress Party, which leads the UPA
coalition. Senior leaders dismissed the charges of bribery claiming they were trumped up when the
opposition felt the UPA would win the trust vote.
A party spokesman said there was no question of replacing Chatterjee as speaker of the Lok
Sabha as he had been elected by the entire house. A two-thirds majority is required to vote out an
incumbent speaker in India's Parliament.
Soon after winning the trust motion, the prime minister had said the bribery charges levelled by the
BJP lawmakers made him "extremely sad." He said, "Whatever needs to be done under the law (to
probe the allegations) will be done.
Karunanidhi arrives here to meet PM, Sonia
New Delhi, Jul 23: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today sought to counter-charge the
Opposition NDA and its allies with resorting to money power in a bid to stop the UPA from
winning the trust vote in the Lok Sabha yesterday.
''Money power could not change the outcome of the trust vote,'' the DMK supremo told reporters
at the airport here on his arrival from Chennai. He was responding to a question about reports of
MPs cross-voting after taking bribe.
The question was put in the context of the Opposition allegation that the ruling UPA had bought
some of its members and the BJP bringing a bagful of cash to the Lok Sabha claiming it to be bribe
money, but the Chief Minister sprang a surprise with his carefully worded response.
Mr Karunanidhi is here to congratulate Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson
Sonia Gandhi on winning the confidence motion by a 19-vote margin, belying expectations of
political analysts that the result of the floor test would be pretty close with just a vote or two
standing between victory and loss.
Asked about the Centre informing the Supreme Court that it would go ahead with the Sethu
Samudram Canal Project that would promote shipping, he said this was in consonance with the
stand of the state.
He said he would discuss with the Prime Minister the plight of Sri Lankan fishermen, but there was
no need to raise the Hogannekal project as the issue could be resolved without any problem.
He declined to respond to the statement of his grand nephew and former Telecom Minister
Dayanidhi Maran that the Centre did not make use of him (Mr Karunanidhi) to sort out the
problems with the Left parties.
''I don't respond to the comments of children,'' he said.
Reforms will be taken forward, says Chidambaram
Jaipur, July 23 (IANS) The government would take economic reforms forward, finance minister P.
Chidambaram said here Wednesday, a day after the ruling coalition won the trust vote in parliament.
'We will take economic reforms forward by passing pending bills relating to finance, labour and
women and child development', Chidambaram told reporters after inaugurating the Jaipur office of
the Shriram General Insurance.
The Left had some serious objections to increasing foreign investment in the insurance sector from
26 percent to 49 percent. 'We will reach out to all parties, including those who did not vote in
favour of our government in the trust vote and try to pass the bill,' the finance minister said.
Asked what measures were being taken to check inflation, he said it was crude and commodity
driven. 'Even the prime minister has described it as imported inflation. It is not a new question...We
have answered questions on inflation every week...nothing new to add...it is driven by crude oil and
commodities...it is imported inflation...the answer to control is the monetary measures...it will take
time'.
Earlier, in his address during the inauguration ceremony of the Shriram General Insurance office, an
entity of the Chennai-based Shriram Group, Chidambaram said India was one of the most under-
insured countries in the world.
'There is a need to spread general insurance in the country,' he said. 'Our penetration of 0.6 percent
and density of 1.4 percent is one of the lowest; we have to increase it as insurance is a good safety
net too.'
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana sign interstate bus service pact
Lucknow, July 23(IANS) The Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments have signed a pact to start
interstate roadways bus services on nearly 300 routes, officials said.
Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Ram Achal Rajbhar and his Haryana counterpart Mange Ram
Gupta, in a joint press conference Tuesday said the pact was signed in New Delhi.
'Both the states will now be operating buses on 256 routes outside the National Capital Region
(NCR) and 35 routes inside the NCR,' informed Rajbhar.
Initially, services have been started between Lucknow-Gurgaon and Lucknow-Faridabad.
'Gradually, bus services between most of the important districts of both the states will be started
and the process is on,' assured Rajbhar.
