India VS India

Gandhi Ji Rocks :P

2011-11-26T02:16:00.001-08:00

God asked Lal Bahadur Shastri how many children he had during his time on earth. He replied saying he had three!
Happy with the relatively good family planning adopted, God gave Shastri a Mercedes!

Subhash Chandra Bose is asked the same question.
When he replies he had 10 children, God is a bit upset and gives him a cheaper car, the Ford.

Jawaharlal Nehru is next.
He decides to see what happens if he says he had 15 children, God is pretty angry and gives him an inexpensive Maruti.

Sometime later the three see Mahatma Gandhi returning on foot.
They ask why God hadn't given him anything.
Gandhiji replied with anger, "Some idiot told God that I was the FATHER OF THE NATION!"

Pappu VS Sonia Gandhi hahaha :P:P:P

2011-11-17T23:06:00.001-08:00

sonia gandhi 1 school visit krne gyi 1 class me a
kar boli bachcho koi sawal puchna hai to pucho. Papu bola mere 3 sawal hai 1) Aap khud prime minister Q nahi bani
2) Ramleela maidan me police kisne bheji
3) Apka kitna paisa Swiss bank me hai. Isse pehle ki Sonia ji jawab deti half time ke bell ho
gayi. After half time Bablu khadha hokar bola Mam mere 5 sawal hai..
3 to Pappu wale hai 4) Half time ki bell 20min phle kaise baji?
Or akhiri sawal
?
Q5=Pappu kaha hai

Laloo Vs Gates hahaha :p

2011-11-09T05:32:00.000-08:00

Bill Gates : Namaskar! you must have heard of Windows.
Laloo : Oh yes! most govt. offices we have the single window clearance concept.
Gates : Have you installed Windows at home?
Laloo : I have removed all windows due to increased burgalaries in our house. Gates(Confused): Then what is the system you operate on?
Laloo : OPERATION ? Yes, I had a Hernia operation last month.
Gates(Sweating) : Hope the internet is being used a lot in India.
Laloo : Oh Yes! Due to increased moquito problemsmany people are sleeping under the net. Gates: By the year 2002 India should export computer chips.
Laloo : We are already exporting Uncle Chips.
Gates (Feeling very Uneasy): do you regularly use LapTops?
Laloo : My grand-child sleeps on the top of my lap.
Gates (Sweating Heavily): The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh knows a lot about RAM and ROM.
Laloo : RUM? Prohibition is being lifted and it willbe shortly available in A.P.
Gates (Feeling Dizzy): I would like to take your leave before my system crashes.
Laloo : I have exhausted all my leave. Gates: I have no energy left, let us go out and have a bite.
Laloo : BITE? I believe in non-violence. I will not bite.
Gates : (System Crashes and Found Missing)."Windows is restarting. Please wait........

Mayawati goes to Lallu's house.

2011-11-05T09:08:00.001-07:00

Mayawati came to Lallu's house with a goat.
Lallu: Bhaiswa ko kyon layi ho?
Maya: Dikhta nahin goatwa hai?
Lallu: Hum goatwa se hi to pooch raha hoon..:p:p

Indian Political Viruses

2011-11-04T22:59:00.001-07:00

The following is the list of some new viruses going round in India.

Better beware of them.

P.V. Narasimha Rao Virus:

First of all, this virus reduces the CPU speed to 66Hz. Before

executing any instruction, it deleberates over it a number of times

and finally does nothing.

V.P. Singh Virus:

This virus reserves a quota for each instruction, and executes them

only according to the quota. Needless to say, the least used

instructions have a higher quota than the more used instructions.

This virus is also known as social justice virus.

Sukh Ram Virus:

This virus first swallows 10% of the bits in each instruction and

then executes them.

Maneka Gandhi Virus:

This is a green virus. It executes only those programmes that were

written by vegetarians or animals.

L.K. Advani Virus:

This virus pops up every now and then, and the only way you can

continue working is by typing Jai Shri Ram 108 times.

K.P.S. Gill Virus:

Only ladies need to worry about this virus.Every now and then the

users get a whack, you know where.

Phoolan Devi Virus:

This virus hijacks all high priority processes and generates page

faults for them. At times, this virus may also celebrate the CPU*s

birthday.

Deve Gowda Virus:

The main characterestic of this virus is that it tries to schedule all

the processes at the same time. This virus services all the request

for resources,and allocates them irrespective of whether they are

available or not.

Jayalalitha Virus:

This actually is a family of viruses. Each member of this virus

family grab as much of hard disk space as possible,while the main virus is

totally unaware of it. When everything stops working,this virus

blames the user for the whole chaos.

I.K.Gujral Virus:

Before executing any instruction, this virus calls tries to get the

approval of 18 other viruses and most of the time, one of the viruses

blocks the instruction. So Gujral virus most of the time does not

execute anything. While it is not doing anything, as it is always,

this virus connects to the Internet and keeps sending data to all

major/minor countries in the World except India w/o receiving the

replies.

Veerappan virus:

This virus plays hide and seek. it captures some resources and

releases them after sometime. it sometimes seems to be eradicated but

suddenly reappears.

Laloo Yadav virus:

A dangerous virus, gulps all the resources as well as it corrupts the

data. If you try to use scanner, During hibernation,it will rename

its signature with another deadly virus of the same family. This virus

takes help from other viruses to avoid scanning.

Mulayam Virus:

Whatever way, it will try to grab resources of the system, it's only

task is to abort BJP processes. this virus hangs the system by

sending conflicting signals to different hardware units.

Sonia Gandhi Virus:

Once a part of most deadly virus family of the world. No scanner can

detect now, how much damage it can cause to the system, but people

use Bofors scanner for temporary protection.

Kashi-Maya Virus:

It's also called the Dalit virus, it destabilizes the co-ordination

amongst different resources, It controls & steps the low priority

resources from functioning. Lot of scanners available now to kill it.

Other viruses are thriving by splitting this virus.

Delhi se mumbai flight 1 ghnte me jati he pr laut kr 60mins me ati hai.. aisa kyu.? Suniye netao k jawab ::

2011-11-04T00:58:00.001-07:00

RAHUL: jati diesel pr hogi, ati petrol
pr hogi
LALU: raste me trafikva bahut he,
jam hota hoga
MAYAWATI: pehle btao andr Dalit
kitne he
DIGVIJAY: zrur isme RSS ka hath he
TIVARI: bich me gujarat padta h, isse
saaf zahir hota he ki, isme modi ka
hath he
PRAFUL PATEL: Nischit rahe, iski
janch ki jaegi
MANMOHAN: madam se puch k
batata hu :D :D

Bush, Manmohan, Sonia and Aishwarya in train

2011-11-03T21:32:00.001-07:00

The train goes through a tunnel and it gets completely dark.

Suddenly there is a kissing sound and then a slap! The train comes out of the tunnel. The women and Manmohan are sitting there looking perplexed.

Bush is bent over holding his face, which is red from an apparent slap. All of them remain diplomatic and nobody says anything.

Sonia is thinking: These Americans are all crazy after Aishwarya. Bush must have tried to kiss her in the tunnel. Very proper that she slapped him.

Aishwarya is thinking: Bush must have tried to kiss me but kissed Sonia instead and got slapped.

Bush is thinking: Damn it. Manmohan must have tried to kiss Aishwarya. She might have thought it was me and slapped me.

Manmohan is thinking: If this train goes through another tunnel I will make another kissing sound and slap Bush again.

Indian Political Maths

2011-11-03T05:22:00.001-07:00

An Indian politician went to the US to visit his counterpart. When the

senator invited him home for dinner, the minister was very impressed

by the lavish mansion, grounds and the costly furnishings. He asked

"How can you afford all this on a meagre senator's salary?"

The senator smiled knowingly and took him to the window.

"Can you see the river?"

"Yes"

"Can you see the bridge over it?"

"Of course", said the minister.

"10 percent", said the senator smugly.

Some time later, he had occasion to pay a return visit. The Indian

minister lavished all hospitality on him. When they came to his

house, the American was stunned by the huge palace the minister had

built, glittering with precious art, hundreds of servants etc. etc.

"How can you possibly afford this, on a salary in RS?', he asked.

The minister called him to the window.

"See the river over there?"

"Sure", cried the senator.

"Can you see the bridge over it?"

The senator looked, was confused, peered closely and said -

"No, I don't see any bridge."

"100 percent", said the minister !!

Indian Politician Goes to Mars .....funny story..

2011-11-03T00:24:00.000-07:00

So NASA finally decided to send a man to Mars. But with all the uncertainities involved and the years of detailed research and stuff that was to be done on Mars, it became clear that it would be a suicide mission. The person would not be coming back to Earth.

NASA decided to invite applications from all over the world from general public to select the person who would be making the trip. The person would be provided whatever he asaked for, since he would not be coming back. After months of deliberations and examining, they finalized on three applicants: An American, a German and an Indian politician. So they called each of them and asked what they would want, before they would be finalized for the mission.

The American said: 'I want 1 billion Dollars to be given to my wife and family.'

The German said: 'I want 2 billion Dollars to be given to my family.'

The Indian politician, when his turn came, said: 'I want 3 billion Dollars.'

When the interviewing official asked why his price was so high, he replied:

'One billion for me, one billion for you, give the American the other billion and send him to Mars.'

Application form for Indian Elections..

2011-11-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

1. Name of Candidate: ____________ _________ 2.Present Address: (i.)Name of Jail: ____________ _________ (ii.)Cell Number: ____________ _________ 3.Political Party: ____________ _________ *List ONLY the Last Five parties in Chronological (Order) 4.Sex: [ ] A- Male B- Female C- Mayawati D- Uma Bharathi 5.Nationality: [ ] A- Italian B- Indian 6.Reasons for leaving last party (circle one or more) A- Defected B- Expelled C- Bought out D- None of above E- All of above 7.Reasons for contesting elections (circle one or more) A- To make money B- To escape court trial C- To grossly misuse power D- To serve the public E- I have no clue (If you choose 'D, attach Certificate of Sanity froma Recognized Government Psychiatrist) 8.How many years of public service experience do you possess? A- 1-2 yrs B- 2-6yrs C- 6-15yrs D- 15+yrs 9.Give details of any criminal cases pending against you (Use as many Additional Sheets as you want) 10.How many years have you spent in Jail? [ ] (Do not confuse with question 8) A- 1-2 years B- 2-6 years C- 6-15 years D- 15+years 11.Are you involved in any financial scams? [ ] A- Why not B- Of Course C- Definitely D- I deny it all E- I see a foreign hand. 12. What is your Annual Corruption Income? [ ] A- 100-500 Crores B- 500-1000 Crores C- Overflow� (Convert all your $ earning from Hawala etc to Rupees) 13. Do you have any developmental plans for India in mind? [ ] A- No B- No C- No D- No 14.Describe your achievements in space provided: [_________] Issued in public interest by Election Commission ofIndia.

What Is Politics?

2011-11-01T06:59:00.001-07:00

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is politics?"

Dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the breadwinner of the family, so let's call me capitalism. Your Mom, she's the administrator of the money, so we'll call her the Government. We're here to take care of your needs, so we'll call you the people. The nanny, we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,"

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said.

Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now."

The father says, "Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about."

The little boy replies, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep poo."

The Hungry Bird

2011-10-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

Oye! I always knew it cost the nation a lot to keep Mahatma Gandhi poor during his lifetime. But what I did not know was that it would cost tax payers Rs Six crore to keep Narendra Modi hungry — for just three days in air-conditioned ‘discomfort’!
And hungry for what or who, pray? I thought the man was a billi who had already eaten some sau chuhays and now he thinks of going to Haj? Burp! Oops, sorry. That was so bad-mannered. But that’s because I have just had lunch, you see. Just about three chappattis, a katori full of dal, some palak paneer and a bowlful of curd. Cost me just Rs 40, add some Rs 10 here or there for the cooking gas and all that but that has made my stomach full and very appreciative. So full that I think I might have to skip dinner tonight.
And that already makes me feel like a good citizen. Why, you might wonder. Well, my maid who carried the left-overs with her tells me, round the corner near the neighbourhood temple, sits a man who never gets enough to eat. “No one cares about him, Madam. Your palak paneer will be a feast for him today.”
And, if I want to earn more punya, she says, I should visit the main temple in town. “You have to see their state of hunger to believe it!”
I am worried. How much will it cost me to feed a whole army of hungry mouths, I wonder. She looks at me pityingly. “Not as much as you earn in a day,” she says scathingly. “They don’t eat as much as you do. And they never burp!”
Now that is a real slap in my face but I thought if they were so hungry for so long, it might cost us at least Rs six crore to feed them for just three days? Given that that is what it is costing the Gujarat government to keep Modi hungry for just as long?
“You must be out of your mind,” says Sakubai. “A crore? Try a few thousands. May be just a couple of thousand rupees for three days. A crore will last you a lifetime or more!”
So if it costs me only a few thousand rupees to feed an army of hungry people for three days, why is it costing Modi six crore not to eat during the weekend?
Oh, I get it! This is not about going hungry. This is about one-upmanship. He wants to be remembered about something other than the 2002 Gujarat riots, just like LK Advani is remembered for being a rath yatri apart from contributing to bringing down the Babri Masjid! And, of course, he wants to be India’s next Prime Minister. And he is practising to see how all our millions of citizens below the poverty line feel when they go hungry. Like Adi Shankaracharya did, getting into the body of a king to know what it is to be worldly wise.
But Modi, methinks, is no wise man. Very, very foolish or thinks the rest of us are to be fooled. Becoming a prime minister requires more than just going hungry in air-conditioned comfort. He needs to wipe tears, as even my Sakubai knows. The tears of those who are still crying after the riots, wounds that no amount of development can heal.
And no hunger can assuage, six crore or otherwise.
Did anyone tell Narendra Modi that an apology, on the other hand, will cost him almost nothing – other than his pride and arrogance? But six crore, clearly, is a cheaper price to pay, for Modi.

Shiv Sena badnaam hui…

2011-10-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

If this had been the Youth Congress or even the Yuva Morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bal Thackeray would have gone red in the face, spouted some purple prose and cried blue murder.

But since it was grandson Aditya Thackeray, the Shiv Sena patriarch looked on benignly and had only praise for the Yuva Sena leader.

I am sure Aditya is doing well in his enterprise – after all the Sena never had a youth wing before and Thackeray allowed it only after much persuasion by both Aditya and his father, Uddhav.

The organisation completed a year on October 17 and the Yuva Sena marked the event at a grand show with some raunchy numbers like Sheela Ki Jawani, Munni Badnam Hui, Jalebi Bai etc, complete with gyrating dancers in skimpy clothes et al, and some even more saucy Marathi songs.

Now, the Yuva Sena was formed as a challenge to Uddhav’s cousin and Bal Thackeray’s nephew, Raj Thackeray. Ever since Raj broke away from the mother party he seemed to have caught the imagination of quite a lot of youth in Maharashtra with only the old fuddy-duddies left behind with Uddhav.

While these old timers did not quite appreciate a 19-year old Aditya thrust upon them as their `leader’, somehow the youthful tiger cub does not seem to have posed enough of a challenge to his father’s cousin as yet.

People still seem to be comparing Raj with Uddhav and hanging on to the original Shiv Sena only because of their reverence for Bal Thackeray. Under the circumstances, it may be easy to understand why the Sena thought it was out of touch with the mobile-toting, disco-going youth and perhaps felt raunchy numbers and sexy songs were the way to their hearts and minds.

Now, while the Yuva Sena charges critics with attempting to divert attention from their good work by raising a controversy over their dance numbers, clearly many hardcore Shiv Sainiks did not quite agree with the concept. While Uddhav Thackeray arrived at the do much after, there were several senior Sena leaders who woke up from their naps halfway through to stop the dances abruptly, knowing well the opprobrium the programme will attract.

Predictably, rival political parties have been quick to jump down the Shiv Sena’s throat. “Such shameful behaviour from a party which believes in moral policing to save Hindu Sanskriti is condemnable,” said the NCP.

A Sena supporter bemoaned the fact that untrained people like Aditya Thackeray might sound the death knell of the Sena by going contrary to all that the party has held dear for years.

While the Sena has gone to extremes in its attempts at moral policing, perhaps the Sheila and Jalebi numbers by dancers in backless cholis only points to a generational shift in the party. But I believe it would have been wiser to apprentice the young boy with senior leaders in the Sena who are heading various units (like the Kamagar Sena, for example, or even the Vidyarthi Sena), for several months each, rather than hand him a forum of his own to do with as he pleases.

A 20-year-old will know only as much as he does and, perhaps, needs the guidance of wiser heads and the help of older hands before he can begin to pose a challenge to anyone let alone his uncle, who has spent years perfecting the art of political one-upmanship.

I had suggested as much to some Sena leaders who had once asked me about what the media thought about Aditya’s entry into politics — his father should have allowed him to work his way to the top, rather than impose him over others from above. That would not only have ensured that he learnt all the ropes (and tricks) but he would also have got to know the organisation/party from inside out, developed some goodwill of his own as well his own band of loyalists from among all sections and not just some college friends. He could then have brought a young perspective to an ageing party that would have done good for all three generations of leaders in the Shiv sena. Many Sena leaders had agreed with my perspective and, from what they said, I believe they will not lend their wisdom too easily to Aditya. That, in later years, could prove to be a deep flaw within the leadership, for no party can be wholly composed of only either the young or just the old. It ought to be all things to all people, something that the Congress manages to do even today at a time when it is not at its best or strongest.

But the threat posed by Raj Thackeray had been so intense that, I guess, the older Thackerays just lost patience and gave in to whatever (or whoever) they thought would pose a challenge to him. Raj must now be really laughing up his sleeve – he never did do a Sheila number even as his own MNS refrained from coming in the way of Valentine celebrations and at one time also decided to conduct ballroom dancing classes for the young.

But, of course, Sheila and Jalebi Bai were indeed a little extreme and did succeed in pushing any recount of the good work the Yuva Sena might have done in the past year off the media reports the next day. Perhaps Aditya was right that the controversy was a conspiracy against him. Or, perhaps, he was just being what young men his age are all the time: young, naïve, with a zest for life and a taste for the salacious that appeals to people his age and comes from being, well, so really young.

Nonetheless, the generational shift has given the party a bad name. Shiv Sena toh badnaam ho hee gayee!

Divide and rule?

2011-10-09T00:48:00.001-07:00

Now what did I say about Anna Hazare? That he is a loose canon? That he always makes statements and then retracts them? That he adopts positions and then goes back on them? That he never fails to leave his backers with a sense of being let down? All of that is now happening to ‘Team Anna’, isn’t it? Whatever Anna may or may not have told the New York Times, I find it difficult to believe the paper could have got it so far wrong as to completely misquote him on the ‘egos’ of his team. Egos they do have — and Anna was completely right about that. But he is also playing true to his form by withdrawing that statement as he has done many times before — the latest being when he first described Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as the best chief minister in the country, eliciting a grateful response from the man, and then labeling his administration as the most corrupt he had ever seen in the country. Years ago, Hazare had done the same to Bal Thackeray, playing hot and cold with the Shiv Sena supremo. He first called Thackeray corrupt, then went to tea with the Sena tiger at Thackeray’s home, Matoshree. Suddenly, the Sena supremo was the best anti-dote to corruption in Anna’s book, before someone got to the ‘Gandhian’ again and, hey, presto! Thackeray was out of favour again. That’s why Thackeray is the only politician who has openly cocked a snook at Hazare, saying at his annual Dassera rally on Thursday that while Anna’s movement was right and honest, he would achieve nothing for the manner in which he was going by it. For Thackeray knows, as most other politicians in Maharashtra do too, that it is very easy to influence Anna’s mind – to the extent that he can even turn against his own, if duly impressed. And, I believe, that is what is happening now in a very subtle and covert operation undertaken by the UPA government at the Centre. I have reason to believe that certain elements in the union cabinet have set Anna’s old team against his new one– those who had supported Anna all these years were extremely upset at being completely cut off from the social activist by those we now know as ‘Team Anna’. The likes of Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal had kept them completely away from Anna during his August agitation, thus giving those who would want to break up the movement a crack in the door edgewise. So now they are using the old against the new and now that Anna is back in his village and cannot be watched like a hawk by Bedi and Kejriwal all the time, he is open to influence by old friends who are letting him know how he was ‘used and misused’ by these NGOs, who perhaps did not bring him up to everything they were saying to and being told by the government during the negotiations. His information about lawyer Prashant Bhushan being anti-globalisation is also part of that campaign as is his impression that the ego of his new friends is endangering his reputation. And Anna is nothing If not indiscreet in his statements to the media. So while he has been kept on a tight leash by his new team (did anyone notice how he was not allowed to be alone even on television chat shows?) it was but natural that Anna would have to go home one day — and then those wishing to discredit him would have to do little more than allow him a free rein to help discredit himself. That is happening in double measure, I can see. The Congress is delighted at his statement that he will campaign for the defeat of the party in Uttar Pradesh and other states going to the polls shortly. As they are by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Dassera statement that his organisation had fully backed Anna and actively participated in his anti-corruption movement. That gives the party an opening — and a credible one this time — to label Anna as biased and a tool in the hands of the saffron forces. They couldn’t have asked for more or even any better. And, yes, it is the ego clashes of both Anna’s old and new friends that is helping them along. It is divide and rule at it’s very best, I should say. And knowing Anna well, I believe it will be a long, long time before he catches on. But by then it might be just too late for us all who genuinely need an end to corruption.

Modi’s mirror!

2011-10-03T00:14:00.000-07:00

By :- SHREYAS NAVARE

BJP activist beats Karnataka minister Somanna with slipper.

2011-10-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

A senior Karnataka BJP minister was beaten with a slipper by his own party worker in full public gaze in the well guarded state secretariat, apparently venting his anger on him for not helping him become head of a state owned board or corporation.
The assailant, B S Prasad, a small time civil contractor accosted Housing Minister V Somanna as he emerged out of his room in Vidhana Soudha and hit him with his slipper, police said.
"What have I done to you. Why did you beat me with a slipper?" a stunned Somanna asked Prasad, who entered the secretariat after procuring an entry pass on a recommendation letter by BJP office, saying he wanted to visit the Chief Minister's office.
Angered over the attack, Somanna's supporters rained blows on Prasad, as police personnel took Prasad into custody and whisked him away.
Bangalore City Police Commissioner Jyoti Prakash Mirji asserted "there is no security lapse". He said the accused had gained entry with a valid visitor's pass from the security wing and attacked the minister with his slipper.
Mirji who met Somanna said police would investigate the attack.
"I have met him only twice so far. This seemed to be his second visit to my office. Earlier he had sought a letter of recommendation, which I obliged. But I do not know the reason for the attack", Somanna told reporters later.
Somanna said he did not see any reason for the attack, even as Prasad was heard saying "I can't disclose it".
The minister wanted police to tighten security in Vidhana Soudha.

2G row: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says he will defend his minister

2011-09-24T22:21:00.001-07:00

Reacting to the ongoing controversy over the 2G scam that has embroiled Home Minister P Chidambaram, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that he will defend his ministers.

"I will defend my ministers," said the prime minister on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York.

The prime minister also reiterated that he will not resign from his post on the face of allegations of corruption brewing up against his ministers.

On being questioned about the Opposition's demand for Chidambaram's resignation, the prime minister said "the business of the opposition is to oppose or depose the government. There is nothing unusual in what they are doing."

The prime minister also said that he is not bothered by the fact that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is cutting short his Washington stay to meet him in New York.

"There are lots of things happening in the world. There is a global economic crisis. So he would like to brief me," said the prime minister.

The prime minister also said that all his minister enjoys his confidence in full measure.

A recent note on the 2G scam from the Finance Ministry noted that Home Minister P Chidambaram, who held the finance portfolio during the time of 2G spectrum auction, could have stopped the scam.

The note has cast doubt on the relations between the home minister and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who has cut short his trip to Washington and rushed to meet the PM in New York.

The home minister had reportedly offered to quit his post, but was asked not to do so by the prime minister who assured him full support.

Digvijay Singh admits arresting Anna Hazare was wrong

2011-09-11T01:05:00.000-07:00

Days after tagging Anna Hazare as an RSS mask, Digvijay Singh, one of the most powerful Congress general secretaries, has toned down his vituperative rhetoric significantly by calling the Gandhian a "simple, good, well-meaning man".

But in remarks that are bound to make some in the party and the government uncomfortable, Singh firmly described the move to arrest Anna as a "wrong decision".

In an exclusive interview to Headlines Today, Singh said: "The matter should have been handled more tactfully. Anything else that I've to say about it, I'll say it directly to my leader... When I say more tactfully I mean, for example: Why were the Opposition parties not involved in the drafting process. We made an unprecedented move and we made it just out of respect for Anna. But why leave the Opposition out, it made the BJP very angry."

Refusing to stay the political combat with Anna's team and the BJP over the anti-graft crusade, Singh said: "I have known Anna from the time the media didn't know him. I made him a member of the Madhya Pradesh planning board. He did some great work. He is a simple, good, well-meaning man. But he has been misled.

Anna has unwittingly become a front for the RSS. Anna is a Gandhian but he enjoys support of the RSS. I never called him an agent, but a front. He has unwittingly fallen into that trap. Anna has been used by the RSS. I have a letter of RSS's support to Anna. That they had RSS support is now an established fact." Singh, however, showed no signs of letting up on the attack on Anna's confidant, Arvind Kejriwal.

"I attacked the double standards of Kejriwal. He took a study leave. He said he will return. Why did he not? He accepted donations from abroad while he was still a government servant. Did he take permission from the government to start his NGO? He wants us to follow the rules, I think as a government employee he too should have followed them."

When confronted with Kejriwal's statement, daring the Congress to declare the list of those who fund the party, Singh retorted: "Congress finances are audited every year by the election commission. They are there on the web, why doesn't he check it."

But the most determined attack was reserved for the Opposition. Taking a swipe at L. K. Advani over his latest Rath Yatra call, Singh said he must start from Ahmedabad and take it through all BJPruled states to find out the level of corruption that is out there.

Delhi HC blast grounds ace pilot who flew with Rajiv Gandhi.

2011-09-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

The blast outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday grounded one of India's finest and most experienced pilots. Ronald Nagar was at the high court's gate number 5 with his brother John when the bomb went off.

While John received minor injuries on his lower body, Ronald received severe shrapnel injuries around his right eye. Initially, they were taken to RML Hospital, only to be a shifted to a private hospital hours later.

"The police and doctors were very good. They even returned all my money," says Roland.

Through the night, the doctors operated upon Ronald for his multiple injuries.

Ronald, now a senior vice-president with Kingfisher Airlines, is no ordinary pilot. He flew with late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as a co-pilot in Indian Airlines. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi perhaps had this closeness in mind when he met him at RML Hospital.

Ronald shot into fame becoming the first pilot to land in toughest foggy conditions in Delhi. Ronald was the first to land using Instrumental Landing System under CAT III B condition on a foggy Delhi runway.

Ronald is known to be one the most experienced pilots of Airbus A-320 family of aircraft. He is also an avid examiner of aircraft, including the A-319, A-320 and A-321.

He was a key member of an expert team that probed last year's Mangalore crash.

After HuJI, Indian Mujahideen takes responsibility for Delhi High Court blast

2011-09-08T07:16:00.001-07:00

A day after an unknown outfit, Harkat-ul-Jihadi, claimed responsibility for the Delhi High Court blast, Indian Mujahideen has said it carried out the explosion.

Headlines Today has received another terror mail. This time, the Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the Delhi blast, which killed 12 people and injured 90 others.

Headlines Today has forwarded the email to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is investigating the attack.

Sources quoting the NIA said they have taken the mail seriously and are checking its authenticity.

A person calling himself Chhotu and claiming to be a member of the Indian Mujahideen signed off the email.

The mail rubbished claims of the HuJI, insisting that it was the Indian Mujahideen, which planned and carried out the attack and the HuJI had nothing to do with it.

The mail goes on to say that Wednesday was deliberately chosen as the day of attack, because they knew it was the most crowded day in the high court.

Sources said security has been tightened in Delhi's major markets and public places following the email.

Youth detained in UP, releasedA youth who was detained from Balrampur district in Uttar Pradesh based on the sketch released by the police in connection with the Delhi HC bomb blast was released later in the day.

Twenty-eight-year-old Shehzad, who works as a labourer in Pune, was detained from Bela village as his face resembled with one of the two sketches released by the police.

He was freed after over 2.5 hours of questioning, Balrampur ASP confirmed. Shehzad had no police record and police could not establish his links with Delhi blasts. He has been handed over to gram pradhan of Bela village.

Fresh sketches
Unhappy with the sketches provided by the Delhi Police of the suspects, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) asked the former to get fresh sketches made.

NIA sources said that with more information pouring in and new eye-witnesses coming to the fore, fresh sketches would be made. Experts have been brought in from Mumbai to draw the sketches.

The ones released by the police on Wednesday evening described a 26-year-old man as one of the suspects. The 5 feet 9 inches tall man was said to have a middle parting. The other sketch was that of a 50-year-old man with light beard and a little stout.

NIA to question IM operatives
An NIA team eached Lucknow two question some suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives, who allegedly had prior information of the attack on the high court.

Four IM operatives, who have been in the custody of Uttar Pradesh Police, apparently gave them information related to the Wednesday's blast in Delhi. During their interrogation, these men allegedly said that they had been instructed to target courts and other judicial establishments in the country.

In an e-mail to various media houses, an unknown outfit -- Harkat-ul-Jihad -- had on Wednesday claimed that it was behind the terror attack. The agencies investigating the matter however have not ruled out the hand of IM or Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in the bomb blast.

Reward for tip-off
As the investigators were yet to reach at any conclusion about the outfit involved in the bombing and the actual culprits, Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh on Thursday said that the NIA has announced a reward of Rs. 5 lakh to anyone who provides lead about the conspirators or the terrorists.

'Getaway car' theory falls
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police's claims that it had found a stolen Santro car used by the bombers to escape fell through. Soon after the police claimed to have recovered the car from Faridabad, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said the vehicle had nothing to do with the blast investigation.

Terror email traced to Kishtwar
The investigators claimed their first breakthrough early in the morning after the terror e-mail sent from a Harkat-ul-Jihadi id was traced to Kishtwar distict of Jammu and Kashmir.

The police picked up the owner of a cyber cafe for questioning. They were looking for an 18-year-old boy who allegedly sent the email hours after the blast claiming responsibility for it.

Probe continues near HC
On the other side, after spending almost the entire day at the spot near gate number 5 of the high court after the blast, forensic and explosive experts gathered again at the site early on Thursday to collect crucial pieces of evidence.

Detailed forensic science examination reports on the blast were likely to be available to the investigators later in the day. The NIA investigators also used hydraulic lifters to look for traces of explosives on trees.

Use of PETN hints at HuJI's involvementHeadlines Today accessed the initial report submitted to the MHA on the incident. Sources said that the needle of suspicion was on Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) because of the use of plastic explosive PETN, a trademark of the group.

Sources said PETN was also used in the explosion outside the high court on May 25 this year. The agencies have been probing if there was one group that carried out both the blasts.

Also, the damage in Wednesday's blast was huge. A one foot deep and 2 feet wide crater has been left at the blast site indicating the use of PETN. Forensic experts have also not found any traces of ammonium nitrate.

So far, all evidences points to the use of PETN as it evaporates quickly and leaves little traces. Maximum damage has been caused from the explosion itself and not from shrapnel. Moreover, no timer was found at the blast site.

The investigators therefore believe that a battery operated remote was used to trigger the blast. A detailed chemical analysis report was expected later on Thursday.

Pressure on govt, investigatorsConsidering the embarrassing backlog of unsolved terror attacks on the national capital alone, the government has been under pressure. Even the agencies involved in the investigation have been under pressure to give results in the latest terror attack.

Privilege notices issued but Team Anna won't say sorry to MPs

2011-09-03T22:59:00.001-07:00

The lawmakers have hit back at Team Anna with vengeance and confrontation is in the air.

The core members of the team - Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi - have been served privilege notices for allegedly making derogatory remarks against MPs.

In an apparent bid to tighten the noose around the activists, the Delhi Police are also mulling action against them for flouting four conditions of the undertaking given by them before the start of the indefinite hunger strike by Anna Hazare at Ramlila Maidan.

Though the committee of privileges of both Houses has the power to even order imprisonment, an awkward situation could arise if the Team Anna members do not express regret and prefer going to jail to continue with their fight against the system.

As on Saturday, the civil society activists have decided not to apologise for the remarks they made, in spite of the breach of privilege notices issued to them.

Though Parliament had virtually bowed to ensure that Hazare ended his indefinite fast over the Lokpal Bill, several MPs had later decided to take up the issue of alleged insults hurled at them during the 12-day-long agitation.

Bhushan confirmed having received the notice and that he had been asked to respond. He, however, stated that speaking the truth in public interest did not amount to breach of privilege of the House and the notice was unjustified.

"If speaking truth in public interest amounts to breach of privilege, then the time has come for the country to review the whole notion of Parliamentary privileges," he said.

Kejriwal also confirmed that the letter had been received at his residence in Ghaziabad but said that he was yet to see it.

Bedi, who had talked about politicians wearing masks while addressing the gathering from the dais at the Ramlila Maidan, has maintained that her statement had to be considered in the context of the situation.

But she had made her intentions clear through her statement on Twitter. "Received breach of Privilege. Shall respond appropriately recording the distrust 'we the people' were suffering," she had tweeted.

Bedi stated that she would not apologise for her remarks against politicians but would instead show a bigger mirror to the House on the conduct of lawmakers.

"If I get a notice, I would say I am sorry I will not be able to say sorry," she said.

Social activist Aruna Roy, who differed with some of the provisions in Anna's version of Lokpal and also his mode of protest, disapproved the move to bring breach of privilege motion against the three activists.

"I agree that such comments are not acceptable, but I disapprove the move to bring privilege motion on the entire matter. There are other legal ways to deal with such cases," she told reporters.

On Income-Tax department's notice to Kejriwal to pay dues, Roy said the department should have served him notice in 2007.

Several MPs in both Houses of Parliament had moved the motion for action against Anna's team for publicly lampooning Parliamentarians.

The MPs were in particular upset with Bedi and actor Om Puri, who gave a fiery speech from the dais when he came to lend moral support to the movement.

Nine MPs had individually moved the breach of privilege motion against Bedi and Puri in the two Houses. Incidentally, none of the BJP MPs had sought action against the members of team Anna.

One Rajya Sabha member, Mohammed Adeeb, had included Prashant Bhushan's name in the motion. He had alleged that both Bedi and Bhushan had used offensive language against MPs.

Adeeb said that Bhushan had been shown by news channels as saying that MPs accept bribe to pass bills.

The motions were backed by members by the thumping of desks. The MPs demanded that Parliament should rein in those lowering the dignity of the House by using intemperate language.

Members had particularly taken umbrage to the remarks of Om Puri who had called them nalayak (useless) and ganwar (village bumpkins).

While accusing the MPs of wearing many masks and saying different things outside Parliament and in Parliament, Bedi donned a dupatta over her head to mock the 'duplicity' of the politicians.

Even before the motion for breach of privilege was formally moved, Sharad Yadav, while participating in the debate on the issues raised by Anna, had objected to the intemperate language used by activists.

Although Bhushan, Kejriwal and Bedi were unwilling to budge, Puri did not waste time in admitting his mistake. "I was very emotional and I regret using those words," he said. "If I am called I am ready to go before them and clarify," he added.

Bedi, on her part, maintained that her statement was made out of anger and desperation as Parliamentarians were going back on their word to discuss Anna's Jan Lokpal Bill.

In the Lok Sabha, the privilege motion was moved by P. L. Punia, Jagdambika Pal, Praveen Aron, Lalchand Kataria, Mirza Aslam Beg (all Congress), Ramshankar Rajbhar (BSP) and Shailendra Kumar (SP).

Ramgopal Yadav (SP) and Mohd Adeeb (independent) had moved the motion in the Rajya Sabha.

Under the rules, after the breach of privilege motion is admitted, the matter is referred to the Lok Sabha Committee of Privileges and the Rajya Sabha Committee of Privileges, respectively.

The committee issues notice and seeks the response of the persons charged with breach of privilege. It has the power to recommend censure and in severe cases even imprisonment.

With the police also preparing a case for use of loudspeakers beyond 10pm, taking out a torch procession, obstructing traffic and giving calls to supporters to gather at India Gate without permission, the stage is set for yet another showdown.

Whether these are pressure tactics or action will be taken against the "offenders" to bring them to heel, remains to be seen.

Prashant Bhushan receives breach of privilege notice...

2011-09-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Saturday received a breach of privilege notice for allegedly using derogatory words against MPs. Bhushan has been asked to respond to the notice by September 14.

He is the second Team Anna member to receive such a notice. Earlier, a privilege motion was moved against former IPS officer Kiran Bedi for her remarks against Parliamentarians.. Another Anna Hazare aide and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal was on Friday sent an income tax notice asking to pay him dues of Rs.9 lakh.

Bhushan said he has been accused of using derogatory words against MPs and has been asked to file a reply.

Terming the notice as "totally unjustified", he said that "speaking the truth in public interest does not amount to breach of privilege".

"If speaking truth in public interest amounts to breach of privilege, then time has come for the country to review the whole notion of Parliamentary privileges," he said.

After Bedi had received the notice, she had said that she won't "apologise" for her remarks against politicians, but show a "bigger mirror" to the House on the conduct of lawmakers.

"If I get a notice, I would say I am sorry I will not be able to say sorry. If I get an opportunity I will go before the Committee and will show a bigger mirror to Parliament," she had said.

Bedi said whatever she had said was in reference to a situation, where it was needed to be said. "The truth has to be said. I didn't have any other option as we didn't know whether we would have a resolution," she said.

The privilege notice against Bedi came as she accused politicians of wearing "several masks" at the same time, drawing the ire of MPs from both Houses.

Jan Lokpal Bill is very regressive: Says Arundhati Roy

2011-08-31T01:46:00.001-07:00

Writer Arundhati Roy on Tuesday cast doubts over Anna Hazare's anti-graft campaign saying the civil society's Jan Lokpal Bill is a "dangerous piece of legislation".

"I am skeptical about the legislation (Jan Lokpal Bill) itself for a good number of reasons. I think the legislation is a dangerous piece of work," Roy told CNN-IBN in an interview.

Alleging that the civil society used public anger in their favour, the Booker Prize winner novelist said "You (civil society) used the real and legitimate anger of the people against corruption to push through this specific piece of legislation which is very regressive. It could have turned from something inclusive to destructive and dangerous."

Calling the Hazare-led movement a "copy book World Bank agenda", Roy said "It was an NGO-driven movement byKiran Bedi, (Arvind) Kejriwal and (Manish) Sisodia.

"Three of them run NGOs and all the three core team members are Magsaysay Award winners... World Bank and Ford Foundation fund the anti-corruption campaigns. This is copy book World Bank agenda though they might have not meant it."

The writer said "Anna Hazare was picked up and propped up as the saint for the masses. He was not the brain behind the movement. We really need to be worry about it."

She also said the Hazare-led movement was not the same thing as a people's movement and accused the media of engineering it.

"Obviously people joined in but all of them were not middle class and many came for a sort of reality show well orchestrated by media campaigns," she said.

"For a nation of one billion people, the media did not find anything else to report. Certain major TV channels campaigned for said to be doing so. That's a kind of corruption for me at first place," she said.

"If it was only for TRP then why not to settle for pornography or something which gives more TRP?" she asked.

Lokapl Bill: How the government stumbled at every bend

2011-08-28T01:59:00.000-07:00

From the very beginning of the Jan Lokpal movement led by Anna Hazare, the government failed to understand the popular sentiment behind it. Here are some mistakes the government could have avoided.

Blunder No. 1

PM Manmohan Singh on March 3, 2011, invited Anna for a discussion and legitimised Anna's standing vis-Ã -vis the issue of the appointment of an ombudsman

Blunder No. 2

As the number of Anna's supporters at Jantar Mantar began to swell, the government panicked and announced a joint drafting committee. The unprecedented step accorded full legitimacy to Team Anna in drafting an official Bill

Blunder No. 3

The govt courted Ramdev, but its midnight crackdown at the Ramlila Maidan showed its determination to suppress dissent

Blunder No. 4

When the stand-off between Anna and the govt began to climax, neither side budged. Perched on its ivory tower, the govt failed to assess the extent of public anger across the country on the issue of corruption in public offices. The govt started treating Anna as a rival, its ministers began to openly deride the civil society members. This alienated the govt from the masses

Blunder No. 5

The govt 'took on' Anna and his core team by itself. It chose to exclude other political parties from negotiating with Team Anna on the Lokpal Bill In the process, the govt distanced itself further from the Opposition parties, with the BJP reacting strongly

Blunder No. 6

The PM kept wavering on the issue of including his office in the Lokpal's ambit His "helplessness" in the I-Day address conveyed that the govt had no will to take on the corrupt The personal attacks byCongress leaders Kapil Sibal and Manish Tewari painted the ruling dispensation in poor light The offensive mellowed down only after Rahul Gandhi advised his partymen not to launch personal attacks on Anna

Blunder No. 7

City police commissioner B. K. Gupta (right) did repeat flip-flops on allotting Anna a venue for his protest The govt's decision to arrest and release Anna within 12 hours was like eating the proverbial humble pie. It led to a groundswell of public support for the septuagenarian crusader

Anna Hazare breaks his fast, his team thanks PM for ending Lokpal logjam

2011-08-27T22:13:00.003-07:00

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare on Sunday ended his 12-day long fast against corruption at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, ending months of deadlock over the Lokpal Bill issue.

In a symbolic gesture, a Dalit girl offered coconut water and honey to the 74-year old Gandhian whose campaign galvanised widespread support against corruption. (In pics: India celebrates Anna's victory)

On Saturday, the anti-corruption crusader had announced he would call off his fast after the government accepted his key demands. He said what had happened in Parliament on Saturday was a victory of the people. He said this after Deshmukh read out the letter appealing to him to end his fast.

Earlier, the eight-hour long extraordinary debate in Parliament on the Lokpal issue on Saturday ended with the government finally agreeing to a resolution that includes all three of Anna Hazare's demands.

Soon after the resolution was passed, the prime minister said, "Parliament has spoken. The will of Parliament is will of the people."

Although there was no vote, the "sense of House" resolution was passed unanimously in the House with the thumping of desks.

Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee requested Speaker Meira Kumar to adopt the sense of the House as a resolution and forward it to the standing committee.

The resolution says that the House agrees in principle for a strong and effective Lokpal and also for establishment of Lokayuktas in the state. The House has also agreed to set up a citizens' charter. It also recommends the setting up of an appropriate mechanism to bring lower bureaucracy under the Lokpal.