Ruchika’s dad meets PC; Govt to support Rathore death PIL

Updated on Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 20:25 IST Tags:Ruchika Girhotra, Chidambaram

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: The Girhotras got support from the highest quarter on Wednesday after they met with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram who assured them full support in the case of molestation of Ruchika Girhotra by Haryana’s former DGP SPS Rathore in 1990.

Ruchika’s father Subhash Chander Girhotra, his lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj and Anand Prakash, their family friend met with Chidambaram at the latter’s invitation. They discussed the 19 year old case with the Minister who, they told the media, gave them a patient hearing.


"We are completely satisfied with the meeting. The Home Minister knew everything about the case," Bhardwaj said outside the Home Ministry here.

He added that the minister had discussed the possibility of slapping the charge of abetment of suicide of a minor against Rathore, amongst other options available. Bhardwaj said he had also suggested what all legal remedies were available for a stricter punishment to Rathore.

“I have been asked by him to provide all documents related to the litigation. We will be most likely called again by the minister,” he said.

Ruchika’s father also said they were satisfies at the meet’s outcome.

“The minister gave us a patient hearing. He was very sympathetic towards us,” Girhotra added.

The noose around the former Haryana top cop, who has found guilty of molesting 14-year-old Ruchika, who later committed suicide, was tightened last night with the police registering two FIRs and moves were afoot to file a fresh case of abetment to suicide.

Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily told a TV channel he would support a PIL seeking death sentence against Rathore.

“All those people who conspired or abetted in this offence will be lined up as accused--that is possible and that is how this case has to be shown as a model case for the entire world,” he added.

Haryana police has registered two FIRs on the basis of complaints by Ruchika's father Subhash Chander Girhotra and her brother Ashu regarding alleged tampering of the post-mortem report by police and harassment of Ashu including attempt to murder him.

Rathore today sough interim bail from the Panchkula sessions court but was denied the same.

The Union Home and Law Ministries are also considering appealing against the trial court's verdict in the case to seek enhanced punishment for Rathore.

It is good that the UPA government is supportive of the idea of death sentence to Rathore. The guy deserves it. But what about our infamous Afzal Guru? He organized the Parliament attack which killed cops and almost destabilized India. The Supreme Court has awarded him the noose. But UPA government does not want to go ahead because it wants to appease Muslim votes. Rathore, of course, is a Hindu.

http://www.zeenews.com/news591403.html

Kalyan to launch party on Jan 5

BJP president Nitin Gadkari may favour the return of Kalyan Singh to the party, but the former UP chief minister has said he will float a new party, and there is no question of him joining the BJP. The name of his party and its organisational set-up will be announced here on Singh’s birthday on January 5.
Singh is in Delhi, doing the groundwork for formation and registration of his new party with the Election Commission.
On Gadkari’s statement, Singh said, “It’s a good move but I am forming my own party now as my issues can be best addressed by my own party. There isn’t any chance that I will go back to the BJP. Just wait for January 5 and more details will be available.”
Asked if any BJP leader had approached him after Gadkari’s statement, Singh replied: “I have neither been approached by anyone from the BJP, nor have I spoken to anyone after I decided to form my own party.”

This is not the first time Singh will be floating his own party. He had earlier formed the Rashtriya Kranti Party, which he merged with BJP in 2004. Last month, after parting ways with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Singh had said that leaving the BJP was his biggest mistake.

Kalyan Singh is truly an example of a failed politician still harbouring vainglorious dreams of a comeback. He failed due to the cause of all failures - a bloated ego. He has Uma Bharthi for company. Maybe they should knock on Mayavati's doors and offer themselves as casteist candidates.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kalyan-to-launch-party-on-jan-5/559077/

New BJP chief’s new line: need to work for last man in the queue

In his first press conference at the party headquarters, BJP president Nitin Gadkari today projected himself as an outsider in Delhi politics. And topped up his hour-long press conference with the promise to reach out to non-BJP voters — Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the minorities.
Invoking two slogans — Deendayal Upadhyaya’s “making the lot of the man standing last in the queue better” and “nation first, party next, and self last” were painted on the banner used as a backdrop at the conference venue — Gadkari said he hoped that Upadhyaya’s portrait and message would be “the roadmap for every BJP leader”.
In a party struggling to fight growing RSS influence — Orissa and Rajasthan being the latest examples — Gadkari left none in doubt where his sympathies lay. To a question on whether he agreed with L K Advani’s 2005 Chennai speech — in which he said the impression that the RSS micromanaged day-to-day affairs of the BJP was not good for either of the two outfits — Gadkari claimed no one would say the RSS interfered in BJP functioning.
“During my stint as Maharashtra BJP president, not once was I instructed by the RSS,” he said. “The party and the philosophy are most important. Sangh ka vichar hamare jeevan ki nishtha hai (the Sangh philosophy is a question of life-long commitment),” he said.
The promise to strengthen the NDA was dismissed in a sentence although the text of his statement had one paragraph on the NDA.
Claiming he had “nothing to lose” and indicating that he would not be daunted by BJP biggies in running the party, Gadkari used his image of an outsider in Delhi politics to the hilt. “I don’t know the Delhi roads or Delhi’s weather, but I expect support from everyone.”
He vowed to check the “culture of sycophancy” in the party and added that the issue of indiscipline would be dealt with utmost seriousness. “We need to understand the spirit behind the term discipline. Indiscipline is not a subject for discussion but for execution. No indiscipline will be tolerated,” he said.
Hindutva’s pet themes found space in Gadkari’s pronouncements — he blasted “appeasement politics” and also called for “stringent measures to check terror strikes”.
Agreeing that the “crisis of credibility” in politics was a huge problem, Gadkari said that contesting an election could not be the sole objective of a political party. In consonance with the RSS, he also spoke about the “ill effects” of globalisation — a booklet that was distributed had Gadkari echoing Dattopant Thengadi’s world view on westernisation and he also said “there was a difference between modernisation and westernisation”, that he was “all for swadeshi, and against westernisation”.
Invoking Gandhi’s principle of trusteeship, Gadkari called for a paradigm shift in expanding the canvas of political parties. He said that under his leadership, the Maharashtra BJP had adopted 500 families affected by farmer suicides in the state.


Gadkari's priority should be to strengthen the organisation and transform BJP once again into a cadre based party par excellence, which has Hindutva as its ideal. For this a lot of study class modules have to be prepared. While this work is going on, Gadkari has to ensure that the party delivers where it is in power. For this he has to set up a high calibre and experienced team capable of working round the clock to set targets and oversee implementation. And last but not least, he has to appoint a key man, like Arun Jaitley, to be the political spokesperson of the party. Gadkari should not be bogged down into answering day-to-day political questions the press would raise.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/new-bjp-chiefs-new-line-need-to-work-for-last-man-in-the-queue/559069/0

Sangh does not influence BJP in its day-to-day working: Sushma

Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Monday said party's new chief Nitin Gadkari was the choice of the organisation and asserted that RSS did not interfere with its day-to-day affairs.
"Gadkari was the choice of BJP and Sangh merely put its stamp of approval on the decision," she told reporters here. The leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha strongly denied that Sangh influences BJP in its day-to-day working saying that her party worked on its own.
"We, however, get guidance and valuable advice from the Sangh from time to time," she said.
Replying to a question, Swaraj said that the biggest challenge before BJP today was to emerge as a better and more viable alternative to ruling Congress.
She said that adverse news reports that had been associated with the BJP were no longer there and expressed confidence that party's new leadership was working well towards its goals.
When asked how could Gadkari, who failed to get BJP in power in Maharashtra Assembly elections, do well at the national level, Swaraj said that such things do not count in politics.
"It is not necessary that Gadkari should fail at the national level also just because he did not perform well in Maharashtra," she said.


The way RSS influences its Parivar organisations is not through organisational interference, but through the influence of its pracharaks who are working in the Parivar organisations in key positions.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Sangh-does-not-influence-BJP-in-its-day-to-day-working--Sushma/560620

Gadkari defends BJP's decision to make Soren Jharkand CM

BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Monday defended the party's decision of supporting Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Shibu Soren to form the next Government in Jharkhand saying that stability and interests of the people of that state were the only concerns.
Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Gadkari said it was Congress and not Soren who was responsible for corruption in politics. "The Courts have also taken a decision in his favour," he said.
Gadkari said BJP had no option but to support Soren to provide a stable government in the interests of the people of the state.
Meanwhile, Soren who is set to take oath as Jharkhand's chief Minister for the third time, arrived in the city to meet Gadkari at the BJP state office in South Mumbai to discuss the nitty gritty of government formation.


Though my best wishes are with Nitin Gadkari, I feel he has compromised hopes that he would lead an idealistic party that the BJP and Jan Sangh once were in the tradition of an idealistic RSS.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gadkari-defends.../560610/#postComment

Kerala questions NIA taking over terror cases in state

Updated on Sunday, December 27, 2009, 21:44 IST Tags:Kerala, questions NIA, taking over terror cases

New Delhi: Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Sunday questioned the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) reported decision to take over two terror cases in the state.

"The state government was not consulted either by the Central government or by the NIA before the taking over of the two cases - bus burning case of 2005 and terror recruiting case," said Balakrishnan, who was in the national capital to attend the two-day politburo meeting of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

He said the state government has information only through the media that the NIA has taken over the cases.


People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Abdul Nazir Maudany's wife Sufiya is the 10th accused in the bus burning case. The first accused in the case is south India chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) T. Nazeer, who is now in custody of Bangalore police.

The terror recruiting case was busted after the Indian security forces gunned down five infiltrators in Jammu and Kashmir last year while they were trying to sneak out to Pakistan through the Line of Control.

During investigation by the state police's Special Investigation Team, it was found that a terror brigade of 185 Malayalis was selected by the LeT and provided preliminary training at camps conducted in Kannur and Ernakulam districts.

"On what basis the NIA took over the cases in which chargesheets have been filed by the state investigative agency? Why it is being re-investigated," Balakrishnan asked.

Contending that such interference by the central agencies would hurt the federal system of the country, Balakrishnan said the state government would examine the legal aspect of NIA's decision.

"Don't put state government in dark," Balakrishnan said.

The NIA was formed by the Indian government in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai and has the powers to investigate terror-related offences across the country.

IANS


The Marxist government in Kerala wants to bury the cases against Madani and his wife as gratitude for their support during elections. The NIA, as per terms agreed by all states upon its formation as an All-India body to fight terrorism, need to neither seek permission nor consult with the states in pursuing terrorist cases. It needs only to inform the state governments in due course. However, whether NIA itself would pursue cases against Madani to its logical conclusion has to be seen because both Congress and Marxists are hand in glove with Muslim terrorist outfits in Kerala.

http://www.zeenews.com/news590734.html

Govindacharya calls on Advani, first meeting since 1999: ‘I had biscuits’

Hindutva ideologue K N Govindacharya called on senior BJP leader L K Advani at his residence last week, the first meeting of the two former party colleagues in a decade. Govindacharya, Advani’s one-time protege in the BJP, had a bitter falling-out with his mentor, after which he accused Advani of “deviating from ideological issues”.
“Yes, I met him (last week)... it was our first meeting after 1999, the year when I last went to his residence. I had biscuits, a yogurt-based drink, and that is all,” Govindacharya told The Indian Express.
Asked if his channel of communication with Advani would remain open in the future, Govindacharya declined to give a direct answer. He also parried questions on whether it was possible that he might go back to the BJP.
New BJP president Nitin Gadkari said in Nagpur recently that the “return of leaders like K N Govindacharya, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharti to the party was not ruled out”. Gadkari is expected to enunciate a “policy statement” on the “homecoming of leaders who were once in the party” at a press conference on Thursday.

I think what is called for is the integration of all RSS affiliated organisations into one monolith organisation called, say, Sangha Parivar, headed and led by the Sarsanghchalak. This will avoid overlapping and duplication of organisational work, all of whose aim is to strengthen Hindutva. The primary aim ought not to be to win political power but to wield the power of organisation to set the political agenda in the right direction.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/govindacharya-calls-on-advani-first-meeting-since-1999-i-had-biscuits/557983/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+indianexpress%2Filvl+%28Top+Headlines%29