Raipur:
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said if voted
back to power, the NDA would enact a law to bar persons
of foreign origin from occupying top constitutional posts.
"If we will get a majority, we will formulate a law on the
foreign origin issue," Vajpayee told newsmen at Mana airport
in Raipur on Friday before leaving for Ahmedabad. Asked
if foreign origin has any relevance when development is
being projected as the main issue in the elections, he said,
who should become the Prime Minister or the President is
also an important question.
Asked
whether legal luminary Ram Jethmalani has reciprocated his
call to withdraw from contest against him. Vajpayee just
laughed off the question. He said he felt sorry that Jethmalani's
son is not well for which he had to leave for London. About
the communal violence in Gujarat he said, "What happened
is sad. But I do believe that if Hindus not been burnt alive
in Godhra, the violence that followed wouldn't have happened,"
Vajpayee said. The Prime Minister is scheduled to campaign
in Gandhinagar later this evening.
EC
notice to BJP for giving sarees as 'bribe' (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: The Election Commission has taken a series of
decisions against the BJP in the stampede case in Lucknow
here Friday. The party has been served a show cause notice
on charges of giving "bribe" to the voters. The BJP has
to reply within seven days to the show cause notice on poll
guide line violations. Cases will be registered under the
section 171(B) against senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon who
is accused of bribing electorates by distributing free sarees.
At least 22 women were killed in the stampede when supporters
of Tandon resorted to free distribution of sarees on the
eve of his birth day.The Commission calls it a serious violation
of the electoral code of conduct. "Cases should be framed
against Lalji Tandon and the organisers of the event under
section 171 (B) of the IPC, on charges of bribe during elections,"
said EC spokesman A.N. Jha.
In
another development, Lucknow District Magistrate and SSP
were transferred. "The DM and the SSP of Lucknow are to
be transferred. We are writing to the UP government to send
us a panel of names of suitable IAS and IPS officers," added
Jha. The Commission also transferred the collector of Chennai
and directed three additional observers for the city.
Jethmalani
withdraws from Lucknow (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: Leaving the Congress in the lurch after the appeal
of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, former Union Minister
Ram Jethmalani on Friday withdrew from the contest for the
Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, citing his son's health problem
as the reason. Jethmalani, who flew to London on Thursday
along with his ailing son Janak for treatment, said that
his withdrawal and the nomination of Dr Akhilesh Das became
inevitable due to the uncertainty that prevailed on the
last day of nominations yesterday.
"Due
to a sudden family problem I had to leave the scene of battle
and come away to London,'' he said, adding that the condition
of his son was not as serious as it initially appeared and
he hoped to resume the campaign in a few days against the
policies and actions "'which endangered the unity and progress
of India and pose a threat to the welfare and security of
minorities." He, however, was silent about which party he
would be campaigning for. Jethmalani did not say clearly
whether he would campaign for Lucknow Mayor Dr Akhilesh
Das, who was fielded by the Congress yesterday when it got
scent of things to come from Jethmalani whom it had promised
to support if he threw up his candidature against Vajpayee.
"I will lend full support to Dr Akhilesh Das and other candidates
who share my ideology in any part of India,"' he said, remaining
ambiguous on the stand he is likely to adopt in the election.
BJP's
Irani from Chandni Chowk, Navjot Sidhu from Amritsar (Go
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New
Delhi: Popular TV serial actress Smriti Irani will be
the BJP candidate in Chandni Chowk against the Congress'
Kapil Sibal in the coming Lok Sabha polls, the party announced
here Friday. Irani's candidature was approved by the party
president M. Venkaiah Naidu, party spokesman Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi said. Naqvi also announced that former Indian cricketer
Navjot Singh Sidhu will be the party's candidate in Amritsar
Lok Sabha constituency. Irani's name has become a household
name following her performance as an ideal "bahu" (daughter-in-law)
'Tulsi' in the popular TV serial "Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi
Bahu Thee".
Steps
to ensure peaceful polling in N-E (Go
To Top)
Agartala:
The Election Commission has said that it was taking
all steps to ensure peaceful polling in the Northeast. Separatist
guerrillas in the region havve called for a boycott of the
polls and threatened to attack candidates or campaigning
party workers. They also rejected last week an offer by
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to lay down arms and
join the mainstream. "We're using all resources available.
We are using Assam Rifles and army and everything to make
it more feasible to have free and fair vote," Noor Mohammad,
Deputy Election Commissioner, who reviewed security in Tripura
said at a news conference here Friday. Indian paramilitary
forces have already fanned out across the north-eastern
region with police commandos guarding vulnerable political
leaders and election rallies. The rebels accuse New Delhi
of plundering the region's rich mineral resources and neglecting
its economy and say only a referendum on the independence
of tribal and ethnic groups could end the hostility. In
the past as well, militants have opposed elections in the
region, which is surrounded by China, Bhutan, Myanmar and
Bangladesh, and is home to more than 200 tribal and ethnic
groups.
Hi
Tech vans used in Congress campaigning (Go
To Top)
Chandigarh:
Punjab Congress is now going to use technology to counter
its political opponents. Thirty publicity vans have been
sent out into Punjabs villages to campaign for the Punjab
Congress. The vans would propagate punjab Congresss message
by use of VCD's and TV sets. The vans are equipped with
complete audio-visual instruments. There is a TV and VCD
player among other electronic equipment related to publicity.
Many media devices have been prepared that talk about Badal's
corruption. The message that would be propagated by these
vans, would be based on the development achieved by Punjab
under the Amarinder Government.
We'll
urge people not to cast vote: APHC (Go
To Top)
Srinagar:
The All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference on Friday
asserted it that would continue urging Kashmiris to stay
away from national elections, saying resolving the vexed
dispute was more important. Led by moderates, the Conference
had first announced the decision last week after having
path-breaking talks with the Indian leadership for the second
time in two months. The move, analysts say, could be due
to the pressure from the rebels, and is not expected to
do any serious damage to the group's talks process with
New Delhi.
Fifth
phase of polling notified (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: A Presidential notification was issued On Friday
setting in motion the nomination process for the fifth and
final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 10 covering
181 Lok Sabha constituencies in 13 states and three Union
Terriories. Simultaneously, notification for the assembly
elections to the 32-member Sikkim legislature was issued
by the Governor. April 23 is the last date for filing of
nominations, while scrutiny will take place the next day.
April 26 is the deadline for withdrawal of candidature.
Originally,
voting was scheduled in 182 Lok Sabha constituencies on
May 10, but the Election Commission advanced the polls in
Andaman and Nicobar islands to the first phase on April
20, following representations citing the onset of monsoon.
The states that will have voting in the final phase are
Uttar Pradesh (18 of 80 seats), Haryana (all 10 seats),
Himachal Pradesh (all four), Jammu and Kashmir (two of six),
Kerala (all 20), Madhya Pradesh (17 of 29), Punjab (all
13), Tamil Nadu (all 39), West Bengal (all 42), Uttaranchal
(all five), Delhi (all seven) and Sikkim, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep
and Pondicherry.
Polling
in the elections to the Lok Sabha and four Assemblies (the
other states being Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa)
is being held in five phases - April 20, 22 and 26 and May
5 and 10. Counting of votes will be done on May 13, except
in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls for which counting
will be taken up on May 11.
