Congress is synonymous with price rise, Nitish Kumar says

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar today attacked the UPA government by saying that the Congress was synonymous with price rise.

"Congress party ka dusra naam mahangai party hai....jab tak ye log satta mein rahenge mahangai badhti rahegi (Congress is synonymous with price rise .... as the Congress is in power prices will rise)," Kumar told reporters here.

On the phone tapping of BJP leader Arun Jaitley, he accused that this was an act of a "weak" government.

"A weak government always resorts to such tactics," Kumar charged, adding that it was a violation of privacy.

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SC dismisses PIL for SIT probe into chopper deal

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL seeking apex-court monitored probe by a special investigation team (SIT) or CVC into the alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3600 crore VVIP chopper deal.

"It is not a correct forum," a bench comprising justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash said while dismissing the PIL filed by an advocate.

The PIL filed by M L Sharma had sought an SIT or Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) probe under the supervision of the apex court without involving CBI which, it had alleged, was under government's control.

It had also asked for a direction to the defence ministry to scrap the contract with Italian company Finmeccanica for the supply of 12 AW101 helicopters. Finmeccanica's subsidiary AgustaWestland manufactures the choppers, three of which have been delivered to India to ferry VVIPs.

The petition had alleged that despite information available since 2011, no FIR was lodged against Indian citizens allegedly involved in the deal.

The PIL was filed after defence minister A K Antony had ordered a CBI probe into the allegations of payment of bribes to clinch the deal.

Giuseppe Orsi, who was the head of Finmeccanica, was arrested last month on charges of tax fraud and corruption including alleged pay-offs in the chopper deal. India has put on hold the receipt of the remaining helicopters as well as rest of the payment for the deal struck in 2010.

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Samajwadi Party wins Bhatparrani by-election

DEORIA (UTTAR PRADESH): Samajwadi Party candidate AshutoshUpadhyaya on Thursday won the bypoll for Bhatparrani assembly seat, defeating his nearest rival, an independent candidate, by 34,102 votes.

Upadhyaya alias Babloo, son of former Uttar Pradesh Minister Kameshwar Upadhyaya, got 73,100 votes, while the independent candidate, Sabha Kunwar, was polled 38,998 votes.

According to returning officer and District Magistrate Kumar Ravikant Singh, Upadhyaya defeated Kunwar by a margin of 34,102 votes.

BSP candidate Bindra Kushwaha was on the third place with 24,711 votes.

The by-election was necessitated after the death of former state Sports Minister Kameshwar Upadhyaya in October last year.

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Yechury supports calling Raja as witness before JPC

NEW DELHI: CPM member in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G spectrum allocation Sitaram Yechury today supported calling former telecom minister A Raja as a witness before the panel saying it will help reaching "closer to the truth".

"We have no objection if he comes. More the witnesses the merrier, closer to the truth we can get," he told reporters outside Parliament House.

On Friday last, Raja had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and JPC Chairman P C Chacko expressing his willingness to appear before the committee as a witness. He has claimed that he has been "condemned unheared" and wants to present his side of the story.

Chacko has said that he is yet to take a decision on calling Raja before the committee and would consult members individually.

DMK members in JPC T R Baalu and T Siva have been pressing Chacko to call Raja as a witness.

Chacko is apparently against calling Raja as a witness. He has told members that as an accused Raja has legal protection and cannot make fresh revelations before any committee. Therefore, there was no point in calling Raja.

Congress members in the JPC are against calling Raja as a witness as his deposition could be used by opposition members, including BJP and the Left, in cornering the government. Raja has maintained that he had kept the Prime Minister's Office and others informed about his decisions on 2G licencing issue.

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Rajya Sabha to discuss chopper deal tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The AgustaWestland chopper deal had its echo in the RajyaSabha on Tuesday with BJP demanding a discussion on the issue and government agreeing to have it on Wednesday.

"We are ready for a discussion on the issue tomorrow," minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajiv Shukla said after BJP insisted on an immediate discussion on the issue.

Raising the issue during zero hour, Prakash Javadekar (BJP) said, "The whole nation is being robbed. Everyday we are reading such stories. There are reports that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 400 crore were paid...It's a shame. It is a question of nation's pride."

Leader of opposition Arun Jaitley said the government should agree to a debate on a particular day, preferably on Wednesday on the issue, after which Shukla said the defence minister wanted some more time as more details on the issue were awaited and suggested a discussion by next week.

As BJP members including Venkaiah Naidu, Najma Heptulla and Ravi Shankar Prasad disagreed and were up on their feet demanding immediate discussion on the chopper deal and defence minister A K Antony's response on it, Shukla said a debate on farmers problems was slated for tomorrow on Naidu's demand and if he agreed to change it government can discuss the chopper deal tomorrow itself.

EMS Natchiappan, who was in the chair, told members that there were other issues mentioned during Zero Hour, on which the members insisted parliamentary affairs minister Rajiv Shukla to respond.

"Government is ready to have a discussion on it at any point of time. I had discussed the issue with the defence minister, he is ready for it next week. In case the members want to take up the issue tomorrow, we are ready," Shukla said.

On this, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "We want proper answers tomorrow."

SP members also rose on their feet with Naresh Agarwal saying that they had given a notice for taking up the issue of price rise soon after the question hour.

"The price rise issue has not been taken up for discussion despite notice which amounts breaking of the rules and as a protest we are walking out from the House," Agarwal said and staged a walk out with SP members despite Natchiappan saying that the issue too would be taken up.

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Mamata is positive on NCTC: Sushilkumar Shinde

KOLKATA: Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday said that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier objected on certain issues, has a 'positive mind' towards the National Counter Terrorism Centre.

"I had talked to her earlier also on the NCTC issue. She has a positive mind (Unka toh maan hai)," Shinde told reporters when asked if he discussed the issue with the chief minister at a meeting at Fraserganj in South 24-Parganas district today.

Shinde reiterated that the Centre was keen to introduce the NCTC to firmly deal with terrorism.

The NCTC, which has regained importance following the Hyderabad serial blasts last week, has been opposed by several states on the ground that law and order was a state subject.

Shinde had yesterday said that he had already told the Rajya Sabha that the Centre would pursue the NCTC and do it.

He had also said that Mamata Banerjee was very cooperative on the issue and others like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

"Whenever the country faces any difficulty, the CM is very cooperative," Shinde had said.

Shinde and Banerjee also discussed coastal security issues during their visit to the riverine Indo-Bangla border in the Sunderbans.

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PM greets Jayalalithaa on 65th birthday

CHENNAI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday greeted Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on her 65th birthday.

A statement issued by the state government here said the prime minister greeted Jayalalithaa over the phone on her birthday.

Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj of the BJP, Communist Party of India national secretary D Raja, many MPs, members of the Tamil Nadu assembly, industrialists and others also greeted Jayalalithaa.

At the AIADMK party headquarters here, senior leaders, state ministers and others were present when a cake weighing 65 kg was cut and distributed.

Across the state, AIADMK leaders and cadres celebrated Jayalalithaa's birthday. The chief minister is also the general secretary of the AIADMK.

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15 special teams constituted to crack Hyderabad blasts case, Andhra govt hopeful

HYDERABAD/MUMBAI: Two days after twin blasts rocked the city, the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday claimed to have got "vital clues" to crack the case soon with the needle of suspicion zeroing in on banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen.

"We have already gathered vital clues in the case. We are confident we will crack the case soon," state home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy said after a high-level review meeting chaired by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Thursday's serial blasts left 16 dead and over 117 injured.

The modus operandi adopted by the perpetrators like ammonium nitrate and splinters-laden aluminium containers fitted to bicycles used in the blasts pointed the needle of suspicion towards Indian Mujahideen.

Reddy said 15 special teams of Andhra Pradesh police, each having 10-15 personnel, have been constituted to probe the case and bring the culprits to justice.

Director General of National Investigation Agency S C Sinha discussed with state police officials the ongoing investigation.

Amid reports that some CCTV cameras at the blast sites were not functioning, the state home minister said 3500 closed-circuit cameras would be installed at vital locations under Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissionerates to improve vigil.

Meanwhile, Abdul Wasey Mirza, a 23-year-old unemployed youth who fell victim to terror attack for a second time on Thursday in the Dilsukhnagar blasts, has been questioned by police which clarified he is not being treated as a suspect.

"As part of the investigations we only recorded his statement as a witness along with others," Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma said.

"Nothing like that," Sharma said when asked whether the police suspected Mirza's involvement in the attack after a media report suggested the fact that he survived both 2007 Mecca Masjid and Dilsukhnagar blasts had aroused suspicion about his possible role in the explosions.

Looking for clues to track down the perpetrators, Cyberabad and Hyderabad police have questioned some local youths but made it clear that nobody has been detained so far.

"Media reports that we have detained some persons are totally baseless. We only called some people for questioning, which is a normal investigating procedure," a top police official said.

Investigators said they were following some leads from CCTV footages, including of a man seen coming to the blast site on a bicycle with a bag. Mobile call records from the area at the time of the explosions were also being examined.

Sleuths of the National Investigation Agency have obtained details about persons lodged in the Chanchalguda jail here with suspected terror links and some of them were also questioned, informed sources said.

In Mumbai on a private visit, senior BJP leader L K Advani squarely blamed Pakistan for the Hyderabad blasts accusing it of launching a "proxy war" against India.

"There is no doubt that there is the hand of the neighbouring country in Hyderabad blasts. The neighbouring country has not been successful in waging a war against India in the last few decades, so it has resorted to a proxy war," he told reporters.

The BJP parliamentary party leader demanded that Pakistan abide by its commitment made during the meeting between the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf that it would not allow its soil to be used for terror acts against India.

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Hyderabad blasts: Shinde 'totally disappointing', opposition and UPA allies say

NEW DELHI: Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday came under sharp attack from opposition as well as UPA allies SP and DMK, which trashed his statement on Hyderabad blasts as "totally disappointing" and "devoid of any concrete and meaningful plan of action". Shinde made a statement in the House on Thursday's blasts saying government will make all possible efforts to apprehend the perpetrators and masterminds.

The opposition was, however, dissatisfied with the statement and accused the government of treating the issue of terror in a "very casual" manner. Leading the attack, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said, "Government's policy seems to be condolence for the dead and compensation for those who survived."

Naidu also said that being a member of the House, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should have come to the Rajya Sabha and made a statement taking the issue seriously.

The Rajya Sabha earlier witnessed acrimonious scenes as opposition members insisted on a debate before the home minister's statement on the issue. After the home minister read out his statement amid noisy scenes, the House witnessed a verbal spat between Shinde and Naidu with the BJP leader telling the minister that had he been serious on the issue, he would have rushed to the spot immediately after the occurrence last night and come to Parliament in morning.

Shinde countered it saying that after monitoring the issue for the whole night, he went to the spot at 4am drawing angry reactions from Naidu. "You have not done any favour to us. You have done your duty. The incident had happened at 7pm on Thursday. You should have gone there at 8 pm and come back by the morning. That shows your seriousness," Naidu said, who later staged a walkout for a brief period.

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SC sets up special team to examine contents of Radia tapes

NEW DELHI: A six-member special team comprising five from the CBI and one from the Income Tax department was today constituted by the Supreme Court to examine the contents of tapped telephonic conversations of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia with politicians, corporate honchos and others.

A bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya said the working of the team will be supervised by two officers of the CBI who will report to Superintendent of Police, CBI dealing with the 2G matter.

The bench said that the overall supervision will be under the Deputy Inspector General, CBI who is looking after the case.

The bench said that the team shall submit its report in four months from today.

The apex court on February 13 had sought names of officials of CBI, IT department and the Enforcement Directorate for setting up of a team to enquire into the tapped telephonic conversations of Radia with others to ascertain element of criminality.

The court had earlier said that it had gone through some of the tapped conversations and some of them were "innocuous" and hence, the voluminous transcripts were needed to be "scrutinised" to find out elements of "criminality" in them.

It had also made clear that the scrutiny would be limited to those conversations which pertain to criminal element and relating to interest of justice.

Earlier, senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Ratan Tata, had submitted that "utmost secrecy" be maintained in the scrutiny of transcripts.

He was referring to various conversations that took place between Tata and Radia which are allegedly personal in nature.

"There are some conversations in public domain and those are hardly personal in nature. They relate to illegality and shed significant light on how government decisions are being influenced and how institutions run in the country," Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Centre for Public Interest Litigation, had said.

Excerpts from the tapes earlier leaked in the media had sparked a political storm with the conversations bringing out the nature of corporate lobbying and also its purported impact on politics.

The income tax department placed transcripts of 5,800 tapped telephone conversations in 50 sealed envelopes.

The conversations were recorded as part of surveillance of Radia's phone on a complaint to Finance Minister on November 16, 2007 alleging that within a span of nine years she had built up a business empire worth Rs 300 crore.

The government had recorded 180 days of Radia's conversations--first from August 20, 2008 onwards for 60 days and then from October 19 for another 60 days. Later, on May 11, 2009, her phone was again put on surveillance for another 60 days following a fresh order given on May 8.

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DRDO says it has capability to produce VVIP choppers

NEW DELHI: With the deal for procuring VVIP choppers from AgustaWestland facing the prospect of being scrapped, DRDO today said it has the capability to manufacture such helicopters even though it contended that producing anything entirely indigenously was impractical.

"We have the capability to manufacture any system. We are manufacturing LCH (Light Compact Helicopter). We have already manufactured ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) and our own aircraft," DRDO Chief V K Saraswat said.

"There is no dearth of capability and capacity of manufacturing any advanced technology system," he said. Saraswat was asked on the sidelines of a seminar here whether DRDO is capable of manufacturing choppers such as AgustaWestland AW-1O1.

His statement assumes significance against the backdrop of controversy surrounding the Rs 3600 crore deal for acquiring 12 helicopters from AgustaWestland for the use of Indian VVIPs. The Defence Ministry has initiated the process of scrapping the deal in the wake of allegations that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 362 crore were paid to bag the contract.

Saraswat said it is not cost effective to produce each and everything right from needle to an aircraft in the country. "Because, if you produce something which we need 20 in numbers and you set up a facility for producing which will cost Rs 1000 crore, it is meaningless," he said.

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UPA won't return to power, Sharad Yadav says

BHOPAL: The Congress-led UPA government was "mired in corruption" and had "failed on all fronts", and there was no way it could return to power at the Centre after next general elections, NDA convener Sharad Yadav said on Tuesday.

"The UPA government has been hit by one scam after another during its second tenure. There is no doubt that it has failed on all fronts and it would not return to power after next year's general elections," Yadav, who had come here for a private visit, told reporters.

Yadav said various issues including scams, corruption and rising prices would be discussed in the Budget session of Parliament starting on February 21.

Asked if Parliament would be allowed to run smoothly, he said he was hopeful that there would be no problem in its functioning this time.

Referring to the alleged choppergate, Yadav, who is also president of Janata Dal(United), said the Indian government did not know anything about the scandal till it became an issue in Italy where the media highlighted it in a big way.

Right from Bofors in the 80s to the bribery in helicopter deal, initial reports about scams first appeared in media abroad, he said.

About controversial remarks by Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on saffron terror, Yadav said, "It would be better if Shinde concentrates only on his job and does not waste his time in making meaningless statements".

Responding to a query, he said the CBI's credibility had sunk to a new low thanks to the manner in which the UPA government was handling the investigation agency.

On the unity of NDA, Yadav said, "It was united, it is united and it will remain united in future as well," and added that some more parties may join it before the polls.

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British PM David Cameron seeks 'special' relationship with India

MUMBAI: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday began his India visit seeking a "special relationship" between the two countries, saying it is "about the future and not the past" for which sky is the limit.

"I want Britain and India to have a special relationship...this is a relationship about the future, not the past," Cameron said in his first public engagement here-- an interaction with the staff of Hindustan Unilever, the Indian unit of British consumer products' giant, Unilever.

Describing India as one of the "great phenomena" of the century, Cameron, who is on a three-day visit to India, his second since assuming office in May 2010, said the enormous growth of the country is going to make it the third largest economy by 2030.

"I am heading the biggest-ever business delegation to leave British shores. India's rise is going to be one of the great phenomena of the century and it is incredibly impressive to see the vibrancy of your democracy, the great strength of your diversity and the enormous power of your economy that is going to be one of the top three economies by 2030," he said.

"As far as I am concerned, sky is the limit.. it's about business, economy and trade. But it is also about culture, politics, diplomacy. India is going to be one of the leading nations in this century and we will be partners and that's why I am here today," he said.

Britain wants to be India's partner of choice, the visiting premier said, adding the two countries have a lot in common such as history, language, culture.

"You are the largest democracy in the world, and we are the oldest," he said.

He also said both India and Britain face the extraordinary challenge of fighting terrorism.

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Markandey Katju is biased must quit resign from Press Council of India, Arun Jaitley says

NEW DELHI: BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday asked Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Markandey Katju to quit, saying a person holding the post much be impartial.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader made the demand after accusing Katju of attacking non-Congress governments in Bihar, Gujarat and West Bengal on the basis of "his political preferences".

In an article on the BJP web site, Jaitley said Katju's attacks "seem more in the nature of thanks-giving to those who provided him with a post-retirement job".

The leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha said Katju had over the past week released a draft report on behalf of the PCI alleging that the media in Bihar was not independent.

He followed it up with an article in an English daily attacking the Gujarat government and chief minister Narender Modi.

"Though initially known for his scholarship, Justice Katju was never a conventional judge. His utterances, both during his tenure as a judge and thereafter, are clearly outlandish," Jaitley said, "Dignified comment is alien to him."

Jaitley said judges of the Supreme Court and high courts must not be eligible for jobs in the government after retirement.

"In some cases the pre-retirement judicial conduct of a judge is influenced by the desire to get a post retirement assignment," he said.

"The chairman of the press council discharges a statutory job. His job requires fairness, impartiality and political neutrality. Additionally, a judge, whether sitting or retired, is expected to conduct himself with sobriety, dignity and grace. He cannot be loud, crude, outlandish or behave like a megalomaniac," Jaitley said.

He said a judge should refrain from involvement in political controversies. If he desires to get into political activity or a political debate, he should cease to hold his judicial or quasi-judicial office.

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Sushilkumar Shinde should clarify on Arun Jaitley surveillance issue: BJP

NEW DELHI: Condemning the "unauthorised surveillance" on its leader Arun Jaitley, BJP on Saturday said it will not take things "lying down" and asked home minister Sushilkumar Shinde to clarify on who ordered the collection of his call details.

BJP president Rajnath Singh also termed the issue as "serious" and demanded that all those involved in the incident should be brought to book.

"Further investigations are on. Whoever is involved in such an act should be brought to book. Someone who has dared to get the call details in such an unauthorised way is a serious matter," Singh said.

Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "BJP condemns this unauthorised surveillance on its leader Arun Jaitley. It is a serious issue. The Home Minister owes an explanation and must come clean as to who ordered the collection of information on call details of Jaitley."

Javadekar alleged that this was not the first time that attempts were made at more than one police stations in Delhi to seek the call details of Jaitley and questioned the government as to who ordered collection of such information.

"Who ordered such collection of call details and on whose orders. We are very serious about raising this issue," he said.

The BJP spokesman also "reminded" the Congress party that these were not the times of emergency that they were indulging in such acts.

"We want to remind the Congress that these are not the days of emergency that you can indulge in such activity. We will not take it lying down," he said.

A Delhi Police constable was arrested on February 14 for allegedly trying to access the call details of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

The 32-year-old Arvind Dabas was arrested and a probe had been initiated to find out other two people who tried to access the details, police sources said.

Dabas allegedly tried to use the official email ID of an ACP to send a request to a mobile service provider for the call detail records of Jaitley.

Jaitley had not complained in the matter, but the police registered a case a few days ago.

Police launched a probe to ascertain whether any official had sought details about his call records or if it was a case of impersonation.

Reports had it that the nodal officer of a telecom service provider had called the police to inform that they had received a request from the police seeking call detail records of Jaitley.

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Govt to scrap Rs 3,546 crore Finmecccanica chopper deal

NEW DELHI: The Rs 3,546 crore deal for 12 AgustaWestland AW-101 helicopters is going to be scrapped. The defence ministry on Friday initiated action for cancellation of the contract inked in February 2010. It issued a formal show-cause notice to the UK-based subsidiary of Finmeccanica to explain within a week why the contract should not be cancelled.

The Times of India had reported on Thursday that the government was fast veering around to cancelling the VVIP helicopter deal after it first put on hold all further payments to AgustaWestland since the deal was fast emerging as a test-case for defence minister AK Antony, who has built his entire political career on probity, with fingers being raised about the year-long delay in ordering a CBI probe despite allegations of huge kickbacks in the deal consistently emanating for almost an year.

"If the contracts for the Bofors howitzers and the HDW submarines in the mid-1980s could be terminated mid-way, even if they hit the operational readiness and modernization of the armed forces in a major way, these are just choppers meant for VVIP travel," said a top government source had said on Thursday.

Despite having inducted only three of the AW-101 helicopters till now, with the remaining nine slated for delivery in batches of three each in March, May and July, the defence ministry has earlier this week put on hold all further payments to AgustaWestland. India so far has paid a little over 50% of the total amount to this UK-based subsidiary of Italian military giant Finmeccanica.

With the budget session of Parliament fast approaching on February 21, there were indications that the MoD would not even wait for the CBI to submit a formal report. The MoD has also written to the chief executive officer of AgustaWestland to "categorically" state the "clear position" in view of the current developments, asking him to specifically indicate if any financial transaction has taken place with any Indian individual or entity.

Both the contract and integrity pact inked with AgustaWestland contain specific provisions by which "strict action including the cancellation of contract, recovery of payment, blacklisting and penal action" can be unleashed against the vendor.

Article 22 of the inked contract, for instance, deals with the penalty for the "use of undue influence". It entitles the "buyer" to cancel the contract with the "seller" and recover from him the amount of any loss arising from such cancellation.

Article 23, in turn, deals with agents and agency commission, requiring the "seller" to confirm and declare that the company has not engaged any individual or firm - Indian or foreign - to intercede or facilitate in any way with the Indian government or its officials. Any breach of the integrity pact, in turn, entitles the "buyer" to take actions against the "seller", ranging from forfeiture of the earnest money and performance bond to contract cancellation and recovery of the sum already paid with interest.

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TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu falls, suffers minor injuries

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader N Chandrababu Naidu suffered minor injuries when a makeshift dais collapsed while he was garlanding a statue in Guntur district on Thursday, a party leader has said.

The incident took place at Kolakaluru village in Guntur district during Naidu's 'padyatra' (march).

A TDP leader said Naidu escaped with minor injuries to his leg as his security guards tried to hold him as the platform caved in. Doctors were examining the former chief minister and a decision on whether he should continue 'padyatra' would be taken later.

A local TDP leader also sustained minor injuries in the mishap, which occurred when about a dozen people climbed on the small platform as Naidu was garlanding a statue of BR Ambedkar.

This is the second time that Naidu has been injured in a similar incident during his march. He received minor back injuries when a dais collapsed during a public meeting at Gadwal in Mahabubnagar district Oct 27, 2012.

Naidu, who launched his state-wide 'padyatra' in October 2012 to interact with people to know their problems, has so far covered 2,000 km.

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2G scam: Rajnath Singh demands widening of probe

RAIPUR: Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday demanded widening of the scope of a probe into prosecutor-accused collusion in the 2G spectrum scam case saying he suspected involvement of more influential people.

"A detailed probe is needed to find out who all were behind revealing the prosecution strategy with one of the accused. Even there may be some ministers and officers", he said at a press conference on his arrival here in Chhattisgarh to attend a meeting of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha( BJYM).

Referring to the controversy over alleged corruption in purchase of helicopters from Italian firm Finmeccanica, BJP chief said although defence minister A K Anthony had ordered an inquiry into the complaints of corruption, it's the Italian agencies that had taken prompt action while the probe by Indian agencies did not progress.

To a question that the initial process for the purchase of helicopters from the Italian firm was carried out during the previous NDA regime, Singh quipped "Let there be an inquiry. The facts will come out".

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Father wants son out of Kerala cabinet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Congress (Pillai) leader R. Balakrishna Pillai Tuesday asked Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to drop his (Pillai's) son and minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar from the cabinet.

The father and son have been at war for over a year. A letter making this demand was handed over to Chandy by an aide to the senior Pillai.

Ganesh Kumar is the forest, sports and cinema minister.

At a meeting of the Congress-led United Democratic Front Monday, Pillai's aide demanded that Ganesh Kumar be removed as minister as he does not enjoy the confidence of the party any more.

The UDF demanded a written request.

Pillai, 78, has not been attending UDF meetings because he was upset that Chandy and the UDF were not acceding to his demand.

Pillai is an eight-time legislator and a one-time Lok Sabha member.

His son Ganesh Kumar won for a third time from Pathanapuram constituency.

UDF and Chandy have tried their best to broker peace between the father and son but all efforts have failed.

The UDF will decide on Pillai's request at its meeting Feb 21.

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Railways struggling to deal with Kumbh rush as stampede toll reaches 36

ALLAHABAD: Frantic relatives mobbed officials on Monday seeking information about victims of Sunday's stampede which has claimed 36 lives even as the railways had a tough time dealing with the rush of three crore Kumbh devotees thronging the city.

There were chaotic scenes at the railway station and local hospitals here treating the 39 injured in the tragedy with relatives running from pillar to post to get information about their near and dear ones.

North Central Railway said a probe will be initiated after clearing the rush of pilgrims.

"A probe will follow once we are through with ferrying pilgrims back to the places they had arrived from", Alok Johri, general manager of the North Central Railway zone, told PTI.

CMO Allahabad Dr Prabhakar said 14 more people died during treatment, taking the death toll to 36.

The victims include 26 women, 9 men and a child. Bodies of 20 of the deceased have been identified.

Taking moral responsibility for the stampede, UP cabinet minister Muhammad Azam Khan resigned as the in charge of Kumbh Mela.

"Though the incident took place outside the Kumbh Mela premises, I take moral responsibility and resign as the in charge of the Kumbh. I am sending my resignation to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav", Khan told reporters in Lucknow.

The stampede occurred at 7pm on Sunday at platforms No 5 and 6 of Allahabad railway station where thousands of passengers, mostly Mahakumbh devotees returning after taking the holy dip at the Sangam on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, had gathered to board a train.

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