Delhi CM fulfills two pre-poll promises

File photo of Arvind Kejriwal (Pic: The Hindu)

NEW DELHI (AA) - In a move that is likely to benefit 2.8 million Delhi households, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) or Common Man’s Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday reduced electricity tariff by half, fulfilling his second major election promise within days of taking charge, thus redefining the concept of ‘quick governance’ in India’s political capital where politicians and bureaucrats take months to decide in key public issues.

45-year old Kejriwal, who was sworn-in as chief minister on Saturday, announced the government’s decision after chairing a cabinet meeting.

Kejriwal also suggested that three major power distribution companies, who have been given time till Wednesday for any objection, would be audited from January 1. Kejriwal, who met India’s CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General), told reporters that his government would take a final call on audit after due consultation with power companies.

“By tomorrow evening we would decide to go for audit or not,” Kejriwal said.

The reduced tariff will be effective from January 1 and will apply to those households where power consumption is up to 400 units a month. Those who cross the monthly limit of 400 units will have to pay for the entire supply.

This power tariff reduction is likely to cost government exchequer 600 million rupees in the next three months.

The reduction in electricity rate comes a day afterKejriwal announced a daily free water supply of 700 litres to all metered households of Delhi.

Power tariff reduction and free water supply were the two key election promises made by the AAP.

AAP made a spectacular debut in Delhi elections by winning 28 of 70 seats in the new Assembly, whose election results were declared on December 8. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 31 seats but refused to form a government as it was short of a majority. AAP formed the government with the external support of eight Congress lawmakers.

One-year old AAP was born out of a country-wide anti-corruption movement in 2011, spearheaded under the leadership of Gandhian social crusader Anna Hazare which demanded strong anti-corruption legislation against elected representatives and public officials. Kejriwal, a former income tax commissioner, rose to prominence in recent years as the ‘right-hand’ of Hazare.

Both Hazare and Kejriwal parted ways after the latter decided to join politics a year ago, citing differences in political views.

Anadolu Agency, December 31, 2013

Debutant party chief sworn-in as Delhi chief minister

Arvind Kejriwal addressing people on Thursday (Pic: AP)

NEW DELHI (AA) - Wearing his traditional Nehru-cap, 45-year old former bureaucrat-turned politician Arvind Kejriwal, head of the newcomer Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) or Common Man’s Party, was sworn in on Saturday as Delhi’s youngest chief minister at Ramlila public park in Delhi as a massive crowd of nearly 100,000 people including party workers cheered him.  

Kejriwal, whose party AAP made spectacular electoral debut in Delhi elections of December 4, rode the Delhi metro to the swearing-in ceremony  at the historic public park signifying his party’s promise of “ending the VIP culture” of India’s political capital.

Saturday’s oath-taking ceremony was held at the public park on the request of Kejriwal as he wanted “common man” to attend the function. Kejriwal was sworn-in as chief minister by Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.

1600 policemen were on guard as thousands of party workers and supporters cheered and waved brooms, AAP’s election symbol, as Kejriwal made a soul-stirring speech vowing to serve the people.

“I appeal to my party let us never become arrogant,” Kejriwal said.

“We are here to serve,” he said. 

Kejriwal, whose party emerged as a new ray of hope against rampant corruption in government, swore that he and his party will never offer or seek bribe.

“Let us swear that we will never seek nor offer a bribe,” Kejriwal thundered as thousands of supporters including common men and women roared in assent.

Kejriwal said that Saturday’s swearing-in ceremony was like every common man has become chief minister of Delhi.

He termed the recent Delhi election as “miraculous” and “revolutionary” stressing that politics can de done with “honesty” and “integrity.

“Till now we used to think that India cannot be saved from corruption but today the people of Delhi have shown that elections and politics can be done with honesty and integrity,” he said.

Kejriwal said there is no problem that can’t be solved if there is unity.

“There is no problem that we cannot solve if we unite,” he said maintaining that he has no magic wand to solve all the problems.

“We don’t have a magic wand, but Delhi’s 1.5 crores (15 million) people can find a solution to anything,” he asserted.

Kejriwal addressed a press conference soon after assuming charge of chief minister and announced that he would keep important portfolios including Home, Power, Finance and Vigilance.

Kejriwal also reaffirmed his belief that he and his ministers won’t need police security and sprawling government bungalows as the “VIP culture” goes against the spirit of common man’s party.

Hours after taking oath, the newly-formed Delhi cabinet decided that no minister or government official will be allowed to carry “red beacon” cars as it signifies “VIP Culture”.

On December 23, in a handwritten letter, Kejriwal had formally notified the Delhi police that he does not need any security.

“I don’t need any security. I don’t need any escort...God is my biggest security,” Kejriwal had written in the letter.

Delhi police chief had written to Kejriwal that as a protocol they are bound to provide him top layer ‘Z’ security. 

AAP made a spectacular debut in Delhi elections by winning 28 of 70 seats in the new Assembly, whose elections results were declared on December 8. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 31 seats but refused to form a government as it was short of a majority. AAP formed the government with the external support of eight Congress lawmakers.

AAP was born out of a country-wide anti-corruption movement spearheaded under the leadership of Gandhian social crusader Anna Hazare which demanded strong anti-corruption legislation against elected representatives and public officials. Kejriwal, a former income tax commissioner, rose to prominence in recent years as the ‘right-hand’ of Hazare.

Both Hazare and Kejriwal parted ways after the latter decided to join politics a year ago, citing differences in political views.

Anadolu Agency, December 28, 2013

Train fire kills 26 in India

Picture for representation purpose only

MUMBAI (AA) – At least 26 people, including two children were charred to death after an air-conditioned coach of India's Bangalore-Nanded Express train caught fire in the wee hours of Saturday morning, government officials said.

The express train was travelling from Bangalore, state capital of southern state Karnataka to Nanded in western state of Maharashtra.

The deadly incident occurred in D1 AC coach of the train numbered 16594 at around 3 a.m. near Prasanthi Nilayam ashram (centre for spiritual activity) in Anantapur district of southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) when most of the passengers were fast asleep. There were at least 64 passengers in the burned coach.  

Nine people were injured in the deadly blaze. The official cause of the fire is not known yet as railway officials are engaged in rescue and relief operations but it is suspected that the coach caught fire due to short circuit. 

The injured were rushed to Dharmavaram Hospital in the Anantapur district.

A senior railway official told Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity that a forensic team has left from Hyderabad, AP capital, to ascertain the cause of the accident and to collect DNA samples of the deceased as most of the dead bodies are beyond recognition.

Railway spokesperson CS Gupta told reporters that the affected coach was filled with black smoke causing suffocation.

“Most of those who died suffocated in the coaches that were filled with thick black smoke,” Gupta said.

A few passengers reportedly jumped out of the train on noticing fire.

Railways officials told AA that the blaze has been completely doused. The train had started its journey from Bangalore on Friday at 10.45 p.m.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed shock and grief at the tragedy and directed Railways and State government to extend all possible help to the victims.

AP Chief Minister Kumar Reddy has directed state officials to shift the injured to private hospitals in order to provide the best medical facility.

Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge has announced a compensation package of $8300 for each of the deceased and $830 for the injured.  

This is the second railway accident in AP in the last two months.

On November 2, 10 people were killed and eight others injured when a speeding train mowed down passengers who had alighted from another train on the adjacent railway track at Gotlam station, 10 kilometers from Vizianagaram in the eastern part of the AP. 

Anadolu Agency, December 28, 2013

Controversial remark on children’s death by top diplomat

File photo of two children who lost their father in Muzaffarnagar riots (Pic: The Indian Express)

NEW DELHI (AA) - As nearly 5,000 people battle a harsh winter in Muzaffarnagar riot relief camps, 130 kms north of India’s capital, a top Uttar Pradesh (UP) state government official said the dropping temperature is no big deal causing a major political controversy with senior politicians terming the remark as “insensitive” and “inhuman”.

“Nobody dies of the cold; if people did, then nobody would survive in Siberia,” AK Gupta, Principal Secretary, Home, one of the most senior officials of the state government, told reporters on Friday.

Kamal Farooqui, former member of ruling Samajwadi Party, reacted strongly to the statement and said the bureaucrat need not go to Siberia to witness extreme winter.

“I would like to say that he should spend a night with his family in the camps and he won't need to go to Siberia,” Farooqui said.

Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Indian-held Kashmir, which witnessed season’s first snowfall on Tuesday December 24, criticized the controversial statement on his Twitter page.

“Can’t die of the cold”!!!! Send him out in a few less clothes & let’s see if he isn’t singing a different tune pretty damn quick,” Abdullah wrote on his Twitter.

Spokesperson of right-wing BJP party Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed the statement.

“It is deplorable, inhuman and insensitive,” Prasad said.

Brinda Karat, a left leader, said that the statement was like adding salt to the wounds.

“It is an extremely insensitive, factually incorrect statement, it is like adding salt to the wounds,” Karat said.

UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, already in dock for his government’s apathy to the families living in the makeshift relief camps, cautioned the senior bureaucrat.

“In this age of television and cameras, people from our party and government should choose their words carefully so they don’t hurt anyone's feelings,” Yadav said.  

After weeks of denial, UP government on Thursday acknowledged the death of 34 children below the age of 12 in relief camps.

A high-level fact-finding committee appointed by state government confirmed the independent media reports that 34 children have succumbed to death in the aftermath of communal clashes.

The committee said that over 4,700 riot-affected people continue to live in relief camps contradicting chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav’s reported statement that there were no riot victims in the relief camps. 

Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief of regional Samajwadi Party which rules UP, made a controversial statement earlier this week that there is no riot victims in relief camps, only conspirators and political activists planted by the Congress and BJP.

Yadav’s comments were slammed as “insensitive” by rights activists and Muslim leaders at a time when several independent media reports confirmed the child-deaths with the onset of an extreme winter in ill-equipped relief camps. The media reports highlighted state negligence, poor facilities, like abject living conditions of the relief camps with only plastic sheets serving as roofs. 

Announcing the findings of the committee, Gupta on Thursday said, “There are only displaced people in the camps”.

However, according to the committee, only 10-12 children died in relief camps of which four were due to pneumonia. The rest died at government or private hospitals where their parents took them. The deaths occurred between September 7 and December 20.

The committee ruled out “medical negligence” and said no one died of severe cold or any epidemic in the camps.

The committee recommended that state government should improve the facilities in relief camps.

Three months after the communal riots, thousands of riot victims continue to live in makeshift relief camps refusing to return to their homes as they fear fresh leash of violence upon return.

In a spate of violence that broke out on September 7, at least 50 people were killed in Muzaffarnagar and neighboring towns and villages after a Muslim man was killed by the brother and cousin of a Hindu girl after allegedly harassing her. The two killers -- from the Hindu Jat community -- were reportedly lynched by the family of the slain Muslim and others in the locality.

Anadolu Agency, December 27, 2013

Feel liberated, at peace: Modi reacts to court verdict

File photo of Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI (AA) - Breaking his long silence on Gujarat 2002 communal riots that killed more than a thousand people, most of them Muslims, Narendra Modi, Gujarat chief minister and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014 general elections, said in a blog post on Friday that he was “shaken to the core” by the communal frenzy describing it as a “harrowing ordeal” he underwent 11 years ago at a “personal level”.

“Grief’, ‘Sadness’, ‘Misery’, ‘Pain’, ‘Anguish’, ‘Agony’ - mere words could not capture the absolute emptiness one felt on witnessing such inhumanity,” wrote Modi after a day a Gujarat court gave him a clean chit in 2002 riots.

Modi said the law of nature is that “truth alone triumphs”.

“Our judiciary having spoken, I felt it important to share my inner thoughts and feelings with the nation at large,” he said.

This is for the first time that Modi has talked in detail about his ‘feelings’ on Gujarat 2002 riots. For more than a decade, Modi has evaded questions by the media and had never said ‘sorry’ and apologized for the riots.

In a July 2013 interview to Reuters, Modi compared those killed in the 2002 riots to a “puppy” who came “under the wheel” stirring a nation-wide controversy.

“If we are driving a car, we are a driver, and someone else is driving a car and we’re sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course it is. If I’m a chief minister or not, I’m a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad,” Modi had said in the interview.

The 64-year old Modi said he was pained to be accused of the death and misery of his fellow statesmen.

“Can you imagine the inner turmoil and shock of being blamed for the very events that have shattered you,” he said.

Modi government’s handling of the 2002 riots is often criticized by international human rights groups and minorities. Modi claimed on Friday that his government had responded “more swiftly” than any previous riots in the country.

“The Gujarat Government had responded to the violence more swiftly and decisively than ever done before in any previous riots in the country,” he said.

“Gujarat’s 12 years of trial by the fire have finally drawn to an end. I feel liberated and at peace,” he said.

Modi got a major relief when a court in Gujarat ruled on Thursday that he won’t face charges of collusion in a 2002 riot case.

In the riot case, 68 Muslims including a former Congress lawmaker were burnt alive on February 28, 2002 in Gulberg housing society in Ahmedabad a day after 58 Hindu volunteers of a right-wing organization died in a train fire at Godhra allegedly set up by a Muslim mob.

The petition against Modi was filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress lawmaker, challenging the closure report of Supreme Court-appointed SIT (Special Investigation Team) which gave clean chit to Modi in 2002 post-Godhra riot case.

In her petition, Jafri had argued that Gulberg massacre was a “cold-blooded conspiracy” by Modi and 58 others to facilitate state-wide Hindu-Muslim communal violence. She also claimed that her late husband had made frantic calls to police and even Modi who refused to send help.

In a one-line ruling, Judge BJ Ganatra had said the court accepts SIT report in the Gulberg society case maintaining that Ms. Jafri can appeal the verdict in a higher court. 

Reacting to the court verdict, a weeping Jafri told a private news channel on Thursday that she was “saddened by the order but not disheartened”. Jafri said that she will appeal the court order in a high court within a month. 

Reacting to Modi’s blog post, Congress leader and federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tiwari said this is an attempt to “burnish his image” ahead of the next year’s elections.

“This is just an attempt to try and burnish his image for the 2014 elections but this is not going to fly,” Tiwari said.

“No expression of remorse changes the reality that thousands of massacred. There has to be closure, justice,” he said.

Tiwari termed the writing of the blog post as an exercise in “hypocrisy”.

“Lot of sanctimoniusness, humbug being propagated through a blog. This is an exercise in hypocrisy to say the least,” he said.

Mallika Sarabhai, artist and activist, slammed Thursday’s court verdict exonerating Modi and said it was “silly to have expected anything else but a clean chit” for Modi from a Gujarat court.

“The courts may not find evidence, but let Narendra Modi ask his conscience,” Sarabhai told a private news channel on Friday.

Anadolu Agency, December 27, 2013

UP government admits children’s deaths

File photo of a child being buried at a relief camp in Muzaffarnagar (Pic: Indian Express)

NEW DELHI (AA) - After weeks of denial, Uttar Pradesh (UP) state government, has for the first time acknowledged that at least 34 children below the age of 12 died in relief camps set up in aftermath of Muzaffarnagar communal riots between Hindus and Muslims which started on September 7 killing more than 50 people, majority of them Muslims.   

A high-level fact-finding committee appointed by state government confirmed the independent media reports that 34 children have succumbed to death in the aftermath of communal clashes.

The committee said that over 4,700 riot-affected people continue to live in relief camps contradicting chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav’s reported statement that there were no riot victims in the relief camps. 

Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief of regional Samajwadi Party which rules UP, made a controversial statement earlier this week that there is no riot victims in relief camps, only conspirators and political activists planted by the Congress and BJP.

Yadav’s comments were slammed as “insensitive” by rights activists and Muslim leaders at a time when several independent media reports confirmed the child-deaths with the onset of an extreme winter in ill-equipped relief camps. The media reports highlighted state negligence, poor facilities, like abject living conditions of the relief camps with only plastic sheets serving as roofs. 

Announcing the findings of the committee, AK Gupta, UP Principal Secretary, Home, said, “There are only displaced people in the camps”.

However, according to the committee, only 10-12 children died in relief camps of which four were due to pneumonia. The rest died at government or private hospitals where their parents took them. The deaths occurred between September 7 and December 20.

The committee ruled out “medical negligence” and said no one died of severe cold or any epidemic in the camps.

The committee recommended that state government should improve the facilities in relief camps.

Three months after the communal riots, thousands of riot victims continue to live in makeshift relief camps refusing to return to their homes as they fear fresh leash of violence upon return.

Rahul Gandhi, Congress vice-President and Gandhi family scion, visited the relief camps on Tuesday December 24 saying the living conditions in the camps are “terrible”.

“The conditions in the camps are terrible, children are dying. There is no animosity with the Samajwadi Party government, but Akhilesh Yadav should do more,” Gandhi had said.

The young Gandhi urged the riot victims and displaced people to return home saying “those engineering communal riots” want them to remain at the camps as “such a situation benefits them”. 

The high-level fact-finding committee also said that people have to be convinced to return home to their villages and assured that their needs of safety and security will be taken care of.

In a spate of violence that broke out on September 7, at least 50 people were killed in Muzaffarnagar and neighboring towns and villages after a Muslim man was killed by the brother and cousin of a Hindu girl after allegedly harassing her. The two killers -- from the Hindu Jat community -- were reportedly lynched by the family of the slain Muslim and others in the locality.

Anadolu Agency, December 26, 2013

Three killed in West Bengal bomb blast

Jalpaiguri on Google Maps (Pic: Ibnlive)

NEW DELHI (AA) - At least three people were killed on Thursday evening when a bomb being transported on a bicycle, by an alleged member of separatist militant outfit Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) went off in Jalpaiguri town, 650 kms north of Kolkata, the state capital, killing the militant and two others.

“Three people have been killed. Some others are injured. The bomb was kept in a cycle,” Indo-Asian News Service quoted Inspector General of Police, North Bengal, Sashikant Pujari as saying.

The blast occurred at a crowded bus stand at around 7.30 pm in Bajrapara area. It was not immediately clear whether the bomb was planted or went off accidentally as  a team of police is on the blast site piecing together the technical evidence. 

District Deputy Superintendent of Police Prabhat Chakraborty told Press Trust of India (PTI) that six people were injured in the explosion.

“We suspect KLO militants are behind the blast. Recently some of their activists have been arrested. The blast could be a retaliatory action on their part,” said Pujari.

The injured have been admitted in Jalpaiguri District Hospital.

Susanta Ray, doctor at the Jalpaiguri District Hospital, said some of the injured were in a critical condition.

KLO, a separatist militant organization, mainly active in West Bengal and some parts of Assam state, wants to create a separate Kamtapur State comprising six districts - Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda of West Bengal and four districts of Assam -  Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara.

Anadolu Agency, December 26, 2013

Major relief to Narendra Modi in riot case

File photo of Narendra Modi (Pic: Caravandaily.com)

NEW DELHI (AA) – Narendra Modi, Gujarat chief minister and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014 general elections, got a major relief when a court in Gujarat ruled on Thursday that he won’t face charges of collusion in a 2002 riot case.

In the riot 68 Muslims including a former Congress lawmaker were burnt alive on February 28, 2002 in Gulberg housing society in Ahmedabad a day after 58 Hindu volunteers of a right-wing organization died in a train fire at Godhra allegedly set up by a Muslim mob.

The petition against Modi was filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress lawmaker, challenging the closure report of Supreme Court-appointed SIT (Special Investigation Team) which gave clean chit to Modi in 2002 post-Godhra riot case.

In a one-line ruling, Judge BJ Ganatra said the court accepts SIT report in the Gulberg society case maintaining that Ms. Jafri can appeal the verdict in a higher court. 

Reacting to the court verdict, a weeping Jafri told a private news channel that she was “saddened by the order but not disheartened”. Jafri said that she will appeal the court order in a high court within a month. 

In her petition, Jafri had argued that Gulberg massacre was a “cold-blooded conspiracy” by Modi and 58 others to facilitate state-wide Hindu-Muslim communal violence. She also claimed that her late husband had made frantic calls to police and even Modi who refused to send help.

Arun Jaitley, lawyer and senior BJP leader, reacted to the verdict saying “truth has prevailed”.
“Truth has prevailed. The conspiracy and falsehood to implicate shri Narendra Modi in an offence stands exposed,” Jaitley wrote on his Twitter page.

“Modi goes into the 2014 campaign untainted by propaganda. The verdict has proved that propaganda can never be a substitute for truth,” he wrote. 

Sanjeev Bhatt, former senior police officer, who gave testimony against Modi to Supreme Court-appointed SIT termed Thursday’s verdict as “miscarriage of justice”. 

“I think justice hasn’t been delivered to the families who suffered in 2002 riots,” Bhatt said, whose testimony against Modi was rejected by the court. 

Bhatt, a suspended senior Gujarat police officer, had claimed that as chief minister Modi urged officials to look other way as rioters attacked Muslim neighbourhoods.

More than a 1000 people died, most of them Muslims, in Gujarat 2002, one of the worst communal violence of Independent India.
Supreme Court had appointed SIT to probe Jafri’s allegations which filed a final report on February 8, 2012 saying there was no “prosecutable evidence” against Modi and 58 others. 

In 2010, SIT had interrogated Modi for over nine hours.  

SIT had defended its investigation terming Jafri’s protest petition as a “piece of fiction”. 

Interestingly, senior lawyer Raju Ramachandran, who was appointed as an ‘amicus curiae’ by Supreme Court had submitted a report to the top court saying there appears to be enough grounds for offences to be made against Modi and he can be booked under sections that relate to “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and acts prejudicial to (the) maintenance of harmony”.

Anadolu Agency, December 26, 2013

India to probe Gujarat snooping scandal

File photo of Modi with the woman architect (Pic: Gulail.com)

NEW DELHI (AA) - Congress-led federal government on Thursday approved a commission of enquiry to investigate the alleged snooping of a young woman architect by Gujarat police under directions from then home minister Amit Shah, a close aide of Narendra Modi, Gujarat chief minister and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014 general election.

The federal cabinet’s approval of the probe came after several women’s organizations met President Pranab Mukherjee and protested against the stalking of the woman allegedly ordered by Shah on the directions or a “saheb” or “big boss”, an apparent reference to Modi as alleged by Congress. Mukherjee forwarded the petition to the federal home ministry which on Thursday approved to constitute a commission of enquiry to investigate the snooping charge.

The federal government’s decision to order enquiry has been bitterly criticized by the BJP, India’s main opposition party, which has already declared Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.

“The commission is legally suspect and will be challenged in court,” senior lawyer and BJP leader Arun Jaitely wrote on his Twitter page saying the move violates the federal structure of the Indian Constitution. Jaitely alleged that the action is “politically motivated”.

“The Congress Party has not learnt from the drubbing it got in the elections recently. It has continued with its strategy of fighting Narendra Modi not politically but through investigative agencies and now through a Commission of Inquiry,” Jaitely alleged.

BJP President Rajnath Singh said the government’s decision to order fresh commission of enquiry is an attempt to tarnish Gujarat’s image.

Earlier, the Gujarat government said that a retired judge would probe the allegations that laws were violated by the state police officials.Congress leader Digvijaya Singh welcomed the move saying the enquiry should have been ordered long time ago. “This should have happened long time ago. It is a clear violation of Indian Telegraph Act and IT (Information Technology) Act. Someone must be held responsible. I hope the panel gives the report at the earliest,” Singh wrote on Twitter.

Madhusudan Mistry, another Congress leader questioned the reason for snooping of the young architect woman. “Was she a terrorist? Was she a threat to Modi? All these questions need to be answered,” Mistry said.

The federal government said that the committee will be headed by a former Supreme Court judge and it will investigate “physical and electronic surveillance” in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. It will also probe the alleged snooping into the call records of Arun Jaitely, which is being interpreted as a move to assuage the BJP’s criticism of the Gujarat stalking probe.

The Gujarat snooping scandal came to light on November 15 when two investigative portals CobraPost and Gulail released secretly-recorded phone conversations between GL Singhal, a former senior police officer in Gujarat and Amit Shah, the then home minister.

The conversations allegedly establish that in 2009 the young architect woman was tailed for nearly two months at the instructions of Amit Shah’s “saheb” or “big boss”. The two portals maintain that “saheb” is none other than Modi himself.

The taped conversations allegedly reveal that “saheb” was keen to know every private movement of the architect woman including to whom she wanted to marry.

BJP has not denied the accusations of the snooping claiming that the woman was kept under surveillance on the instructions of her father who was known to Modi.

On Tuesday, the snooping controversy was revived when gulail.com, the investigative portal, claimed that it had accessed more conversations that prove the woman was spied by Gujarat police officials even she was in Bangalore in Karnataka state.

Anadolu Agency, December 26, 2013

Delhi’s next chief minister refuses police security

File photo of Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI (AA) - In a historical first, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, the man who will be Delhi’s next chief minister, has refused security cover offered by the police saying God will protect him.

In a handwritten letter, Kejriwal formally notified the Delhi police that he does not need any security.

"I don't need any security. I don’t need any escort...God is my biggest security," Kejriwal wrote in the letter.

Delhi police chief had written to Kejriwal that as a protocol they are bound to provide him top layer 'Z' security. 

Kejriwal will be sworn in as chief minister of Delhi on Thursday December 26.  

Talking to a private news channel earlier, Kejriwal said ending “the VIP culture” of Delhi will be among his priorities. 

AAP or Common Man’s Party has also indicated that its ministers will not accept large bungalows or cars with red beacons. 

AAP or Common Man’s Party decided to form government in Delhi on Monday with external support of Congress party. 

AAP made a spectacular debut in Delhi elections by winning 28 of 70 seats in the new Assembly, whose elections results were declared on December 8. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 31 seats but refused to form a government as it was short of a majority.

AAP was born out of a country-wide anti-corruption movement spearheaded under the leadership of Gandhian social crusader Anna Hazare which demanded strong anti-corruption legislation against elected representatives and public officials. 

Kejriwal, a former government bureaucrat, rose to prominence in recent years as the ‘right-hand’ of Hazare.

Anadolu Agency, December 23, 2013

India shuts down oilfields, evacuates employees from South Sudan

A representive picture of an oilfield (Pic: India TV) 

NEW DELHI (AA) - India has evacuated all its employees of state-owned ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) and shut down oilfields on Monday amid escalating violence in South Sudan.

All 11 executives working on 40,000 barrel per day Greater Nile Oil Project and Block 5A have been evacuated in two batches, Press Trust of India reported.

The Indian executives were airlifted after shutting down the operation at the oilfield run by ONGC. The oilfield was shut down on Sunday.

All the employees arrived in India safely.

India has advised its nationals to leave the troubled nation and most of Indians have already left it or are in the process of leaving South Sudan.

"Most Indian nationals in South Sudan have already left or are in the process of leaving following advice by India's embassy in Juba," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin wrote on his Twitter page.

"Indian embassy in Juba (capital) is in touch with Indian associations and companies employing Indian nationals to ensure safety and security," he tweeted.

The advisory by the foreign ministry was issued last week after fighting spread through South Sudan.

According to one estimate, there are 250-300 Indians in South Sudan.

The fight in South Sudan has killed at least 500 people including two Indian UN peacekeepers.

Anadolu Agency, December 23, 2013

Former judge of India's top court writes to chief judge in sexual harassment case

File photo of Justice AK Ganguly (Pic: Supreme Court of India)

NEW DELHI (AA) - Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly, a former judge of India's Supreme Court who was accused of sexually harassing a law intern, wrote an eight-page letter on Monday to the country's chief justice stating that the case against him was a retribution for judgements he delivered "against powerful interests".

 Ganguly was one of the judges who cancelled mobile network licenses of 122 companies in 2008 after finding that they were not allotted in a transparent manner.

"I have been distressed by some recent happenings. I am anguished that the Supreme Court under your Lordship did not address me correctly," Ganguly wrote in his letter to of P Savasitham, the chief justice of India.

Ganguly was indicted on November 5 by a three-member Supreme Court committee which investigated the allegation of sexual harassment stating that there was evidence of "unwelcome verbal/non-verbal conduct of sexual nature."

However, the chief justice had said the committee decided that "no further follow-up action is required" because the woman’s internship with Justice Ganguly was a private placement and he had retired from Supreme Court by the time charges against him were levelled.

Ganguly allegedly harassed the young intern in a five-star hotel in New Delhi. The young woman had alleged in a signed statement that Ganguly told her he loved her and suggested that she share a room with him.

"First of all, I wish to make it clear that I never harassed nor did I make any unwelcome advances to any female intern. The very suggestion of it, to say the least, is out of tune with my personal conduct," Ganguly wrote in the letter.

Ganguly currently serves as chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission, a state rights body. He has refused to quit the post amid calls by lawyers and activists for his resignation even after he was indicted by country’s top court.

The case came to light in October when the alleged victim wrote a blog accusing the judge (without naming him) of sexually harassing her while she interned with him in 2012.

In her blog, she wrote, "In Delhi at that time, interning during the winter vacations of my final year in the university, I dodged police barricades and fatigue to go to the assistance of a highly reputed, recently retired Supreme Court judge whom I was working under during my penultimate semester."

“For my supposed diligence, I was rewarded with sexual assault (not physically injurious, but nevertheless violating) from a man old enough to be my grandfather," she alleged.

Anadolu Agency, December 23, 2013

Top Indian editor’s custody extended for 12 days in rape case

File Photo of Tarun Tejpal (Pic: Indiatimes)

NEW DELHI (AA) - The judicial custody of media baron Tarun Tejpal, the founder and editor-in-chief of investigative weekly magazine Tehelka who is accused of sexually molesting a 28-year old colleague in a posh hotel elevator in coastal Goa state, has been extended for 12 days as the defense lawyer moved for a bail petition.

Judge Sarika Faldesai extended the judicial custody after Tejpal’s initial 12-day judicial custody expired on Monday.

Tejpal’s lawyers moved for a bail petition in the district court, stating the accused has not been questioned by the police ever since he was lodged into judicial custody. The district court will hear the bail plea on Thursday.

Tejpal was arrested by Goa police on November 30 and slapped with rape charges and "outraging the modesty of a woman."

The alleged incident took place during a high-profile media event organized by the magazine from November 8 to 10. Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan both attended the event.

Tejpal, 50, is an internationally-acclaimed writer and one of the country's best known journalists, and is considered by many as an investigative journalism pioneer in India.

Anadolu Agency, December 23, 2013

Indian diplomat gets 'exemption' from court appearance

File photo of Sangeeta Richard with her husband Philip

NEW DELHI (AA) - The much-publicized diplomatic stand-off between India and the United States may be moving towards a resolution as Devyani Khobragade, a senior Indian diplomat accused of visa fraud and underpayment to a maid, got exemption from personal court appearance on Monday as she got accredited from the United Nations after being moved there, sources said.

Anadolu Agency has learned that Khobragade’s accreditation to United Nations means she will get a new ID card by the US State Department which will entitle her to full diplomatic immunity but not in the ongoing visa fraud case as the immunity will not have retrospective effect. Khobragade is likely to be issued a new ID card after Christmas holidays for which India has reportedly submitted required papers.

Meanwhile top sources told AA that India will push hard to drop the charges against the diplomat. There is a strong possibility that Khobragade will get her passport back even if charges against her are not dropped as US considers the case as a “law enforcement” issue as clarified earlier by Marie Harf, the US State Department spokesperson.

Khobragade was transferred to India’s permanent mission in UN on December 18 in a bid to legally secure the case against the diplomat hoping that she will get full diplomatic immunity there.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed "regret" over the alleged ill-treatment of the Indian diplomat on late Wednesday night in a phone call to India's National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon saying that the incident "should not have happened and will not happen again".

"As a father of two daughters about the same age as Devyani Khobragade, the secretary empathizes with the sensitivities we are hearing from India about the events that unfolded after Ms. Khobragade’s arrest," Marie Harf, the US State Department spokesperson had told reporters.

Wendy Sherman, US under secretary for political affairs, had also spoken to India’s Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh assuring to defuse the diplomatic crisis.

India's prime minister on Wednesday described the diplomat’s arrest and subsequent alleged ill-treatment as "deplorable".

Meanwhile, the US embassy has sought more time to return ID cards and provide salary details of its staff as Monday was the deadline set by India.

As a "reciprocal" measure, India had recalled special privileges granted to US diplomats in India including return of ID cards, removal of security barricade at the US embassy in Delhi, cancellation of import licenses of certain food items including liquor.

Earlier there was mass outrage in India on Wednesday as it transpired that the US embassy in Delhi granted expedited visas to the husband and two children of the maid Sangeeta Richard just two days before the arrest of the diplomat.

Some media reports had hinted that contacts within the US diplomatic community would have come into play as Richard’s in-laws reportedly work for the American embassy in New Delhi.

39-year old Khobragade, India’s deputy consul general in New York, was arrested by New York Police Department on December 12 morning as she was dropping off her young daughters to school. She was publicly handcuffed, allegedly strip-searched and put in a cell with common criminals including drug addicts. She was released on a bail of $2,50,000 in the evening.

Khobragade was allegedly paying Richard $3.11 per hour instead of the promised mandatory US wages of $9.75.

However, Indian officials portray a more complicated legal picture, saying that  Richard has been absconding since June this year as a Delhi high court had issued an interim injunction in September restraining her from instituting any actions or proceedings against Khobragade outside India according to the terms and conditions of her employment.

The Indian embassy had requested the US government to locate Richard, Khobragade's maid, and facilitate the implementation of an arrest warrant, issued by the Metropolitan Magistrate of the South District Court in New Delhi under Sections 387, 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.

Anadolu Agency, December 23, 2013

Newcomer Indian party to form government

File photo of Arvind Kejriwal, AAP chief (Pic: Rediff)

NEW DELHI (AA) - Ending a two-week deadlock, the debutant Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man’s Party) has decided to form the government on Monday with support of the Congress Party after receiving an overwhelming approval in the referendum conducted by the party in last few days among capital’s voters.

Hundreds of AAP supporters cheered and waved brooms, the election symbol of the party, after the Parliamentary Affairs Committee (PAC) decided to form a government as a result  of a two-hour meeting on Monday morning.

Addressing reporters at AAP's office after the meeting, party chief Arvind Kejriwal addressed the approval of the referendum by saying, "We received responses from citizens through the website, phone calls, SMS and by holding public meetings, and most of them favoured a government formation by the AAP. We are now going to give the Lieutenant Governor a letter saying AAP is ready to form the government.”

Out of 280 public meetings, 257 gatherings wanted AAP to form the government, the party said in a press statement.

Kejriwal went to a meeting at Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung's office by a modest Indian-made car.

Sources told AA that the new government's swearing-in ceremony will be held on December 26.

AAP spokesperson Manish Sisodia said Kejriwal will be the next chief minister of Delhi as he was projected as the party’s chief ministerial candidate.

On his Facebook page, Kejriwal wrote, “The opinion of the people who participated in the referendum process was overwhelmingly in favour of the formation of the government in Delhi. Respecting this message, AAP has decided to form the government. AAP leaders met the Lt. Governor of Delhi and conveyed this decision. We thank the people for their faith and support. We look forward to your continued support. Thank you.”

Talking to a private news channel, Keriwal said the common man has become the chief minister of Delhi today.

“Today the ‘aam aadmi’ (the common man’) has become the chief minister. Our priorities are going to be electricity and water,” he said.

Kejriwal said that AAP will fulfill all of its election promises to the people, most of which have been bitterly criticized as “impractical” and “unimplementable” by the BJP and Congress party.

BJP, the single biggest party in Delhi, criticized AAP for taking the Congress Party's support  to form the new government.

“AAP accused the Congress Party of being the most corrupt. Today they have compromised on their principles. This is gross betrayal,” said BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan.

Sheila Dikshit, Congress leader and outgoing Delhi chief minister, congratulated Kejriwal but said it's impossible for AAP to fulfill its promises.

"I congratulate him. I hope he can fulfill all the promises he has made. We were aware that it’s impossible to fulfill those promises. But his belief has got a chance to show potential,” Dikshit said.

AAP made a spectacular debut in Delhi elections by winning 28 of 70 seats in the new Assembly, whose elections results were declared on December 8. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 31 seats but refused to form a government as it was short of a majority.

AAP was born out of a country-wide anti-corruption movement spearheaded under the leadership of Gandhian social crusader Anna Hazare which demanded strong anti-corruption legislation against elected representatives and public officials. Kejriwal, a former government bureaucrat, rose to prominence in recent years as the ‘right-hand’ of Hazare.

Both Hazare and Kejriwal parted ways after the latter decided to join politics a year ago, citing differences in political views.

Hazare refused to comment on AAP’s alliance with the Congress Party.

“Let him do whatever he feels like, I don’t wish to comment,” he said.

Anadolu Agency, December 23, 2013

Modi lambasts India's ruling party in election rally

Narendra Modi at the BJP rally (Pic: Imtiyaz Shaikh)

MUMBAI (AA) - Addressing his first election campaign rally in Mumbai the main opposition party's candidate for prime minister Narendra Modi bitterly criticized the ruling Congress Party holding it responsible for all problems India faced.

"The root cause of the problems of India are not its people or its geography or its history or its natural resources. It is Congress-led governments," the 63-year old Gujarat chief minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) told a massive gathering of party workers and supporters.

India will hold a general election in May 2014.

Modi said Maharashtra and Gujarat states were formed on the same day on May 1, 1960, but they took on completely different paths.

He said in the past 53 years, his Gujarat state had 14 chief ministers while Maharashtra had 26 chief ministers blaming state Congress leaders of pulling each others' legs to occupy the post of the chief minister.

"This reflects the character of the Congress government. If we don't understand it, the country’s problems will not be solved," he said.

Modi drew a historical parallel to connect with the party workers and ordinary people who had travelled to Mumbai to hear the right-wing Hindu nationalist leader.

Modi said that 'Quit India Movement' -- the movement that got India its freedom from British in 1947 -- started in Mumbai. He said, a similar movement needs to be spearheaded from the soil of Mumbai against the Congress party.

"Today, from the same Mumbai, we need to hear cries of 'Congress-free India',” Modi thundered amid a rousing applause.

Modi accused Congress party of indulging in vote-bank politics, communalism and Muslim appeasement. He blamed the ruling party for creating deep divisions and problems over language, caste, creed and natural resources.

"Congress is deeply involved in vote-bank politics. Divide and rule has been the special feature of the Congress politics," he said.

Modi said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government identified 90 districts where India’s minorities are in sizable numbers but failed to spend money through the proposed welfare schemes.

"Congress government has acknowledged in India’s parliament that not a single penny has been spent in these districts in the past three years," he said.

"BJP has shown through its politics and policies that it is committed to development. Without development, India’s poor and exploited won't be able to live," he said.

The right-wing Hindu nationalist leader attacked young Rahul Gandhi, Congress vice-president and scion of Gandhi family without naming him. Modi said he was surprised listening to Gandhi’s speech against corruption on Saturday.

"They are all neck-deep in corruption and they make innocent faces and give speeches," Modi taunted the young Congress leader.

Modi came down heavily on Congress-led state government in Maharashtra and said that all irrigation projects are in doldrums and farmers are compelled to commit suicide because they can't repay loans.

"What is the reason that in Maharashtra, farmers are forced to commit suicide," he asked.

Modi said that the ordinary citizens of India know that India's ‘black money’ is kept in Swiss banks.

Modi said India needs good governance and youth should be given jobs to lead respectful lives.

"Bad governance is like diabetes. Like diabetes, bad governance is the reason for every other problem," he said.

Sunday’s rally was BJP’s first election campaign rally in the western state of Maharashtra after the right-wing party swept polls in four state elections in early December.

BJP booked 21 long-distance trains to facilitate smooth travel of party workers to attend the rally from Maharashtra and neighbouring states.

BJP claimed an estimated 800,000 people attended the rally including 10,000 tea stall vendors who were specially invited as Modi used to serve tea at a tea stall in his childhood.

Earlier, State BJP leader Gopinath Munde termed party’s victory in four state elections as "tsunami".

"This is not a wave, but a tsunami," Munde said.

Before the rally, a wax statue of Modi was inaugurated by BJP President Rajnath Singh.

Anadolu Agency, December 22, 2013