India

The ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh is virtually split as party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday expelled for six years his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, along with senior party leader Ramgopal Yadav. The state has been plunged into a political crisis as Akhilesh Yadav is now Chief Minister but not a member of the ruling party.

Akhilesh Yadav, who had not spoken publicly on the matter till late Friday evening, is believed to have called a meeting of all the MLAs at 9 am on Saturday. If the party’s legislators re-elect him as their leader, Mulayam’s edict is as good as void.

Meanwhile, UP Governor Ram Naik said he was keeping a close watch on the situation. The State DGP and Principal Secretary (Home) reached the CM’s residence after taking stock of the security arrangements at Mulayam’s house.

Flanked by his brother Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam expelled Akhilesh and said the new Chief Minister will be chosen by the party. “We have to save the party. The party comes first. That is why we are expelling both Akhilesh and Ramgopal,” he said. Mulayam said Ramgopal, who had earlier been expelled and then taken back, had started acting targeting him, and such activities “cannot be tolerated”.

Ramgopal described the move as anti-constitutional and accused Mulayam of acting against the party.

The family feud, which has been simmering for the past couple of months because of the power tussle between Mulayam and Shivpal on the one side and Akhilesh and Ramgopal on the other, erupted this week when Mulayam released a list of candidates for the upcoming polls which did not include any of Akhilesh’s supporters.

Following this development, Akhilesh too released his alternative list of 235 candidates, which included all his loyalists who had been denied the party ticket. Mulayam clearly took exception to Akhilesh’s alternative list and saw it as a sign of open rebellion. “How can he (Akhilesh) release the list when the party has declared its candidates? Both Akhilesh and Ramgopal want to finish the party. I will not let it happen. I have built this party through hard work,” Mulayam said.

“I had made Akhilesh the Chief Minister with much fanfare,” he added.

With regard to the emergency meeting called by Ramgopal on Sunday, Mulayam said only the party president has the power to convene such a meeting. “The party cannot run on Ramgopal’s whims,” Mulayam said.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu was temporarily suspended from Peoples’ Party of Arunachal on Thursday along with six other lawmakers for alleged anti-party activities. Khandu, Deputy CM Chowna Mein and 5 other MLAs were suspended from the party’s primary membership with immediate effect. The five other MLAs are Zingnu Namchom (Namsai), Passang Dorjee Sona (Mechuka), Chow Tewa Mein (Chowkham), Jambey Tashi (Lumla) and Kamlung Mossang (Miao). Due to the latest development, Khandu now ceases to be the leader of the PPA Legislature Party.

PPA President Kahfa Bengia said in an order that the MLAs were being placed under temporary suspension with immediate effect pending initiation of disciplinary proceedings. He also said that he was satisfied with the proofs of their indulgence in gross ''anti-party'' activities.

Bengia further directed party MLAs and PPA functionaries not to attend any meeting called by Khandu and said that any members failing to comply with the order would have to face disciplinary action of the party. The PPA is a member of the North East Democratic Alliance, a political coalition formed by the Bharatiya Janata Party along with other regional parties.

Khandu had replaced Nabam Tuki as the Congress CM, following a dissident campaign in July. Later in October, 43 Congress MLAs, including the CM has defected to join PPA, a regional political player in Arunachal. It had played a crucial role in ousting the Congress government in the state earlier in 2016.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday released his own list of 235 candidates for the UP assembly election.

The move comes a day after SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav released the official list of 325 candidates, denying tickets to several Akhilesh loyalists. Mulayam also ruled out projecting Akhilesh as the party's chief ministerial candidate.

Prominent among those figuring in the list are ministers Arvind Singh Gope, Pawan Pandey and Ram Govind Chaudhary, who are the hardcore Akhilesh loyalists denied ticket by Mulayam.

Sources said the candidates declared by Akhilesh are likely to contest on different symbols as independent candidates.

"The Chief Minister called us. He instructed us to go to our respective constituencies and prepare for the elections," Indal Singh, SP MLA from Malihabad, said after Akhilesh met today with legislators who were denied tickets.

"We will go to our constituencies, work hard, and again make Akhilesh our CM," said MLA Pawan Pandey, whose ticket was cut. Pandey, although expelled from SP, continues to be a minister in the Akhilesh government.

"We will contest the upcoming elections, come what may," said defiant MLA Atul Pradhan.

"The Chief Minister has done a lot for the development of the state and we will contest and win in his name," he said.

In a new twist to the day-long high drama, Mulayam's cousin and SP General Secretary Ramgopal Yadav said many in the party do not want to see Akhilesh as chief minister again. "But, the fact remains that people of the state want him back as CM," he claimed.

On Wednesday, Mulayam, along with his brother and state party chief Shivpal Yadav, had declared candidates for 325 of the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Akhilesh, who is in a bitter power tussle with Shivpal, was away on a tour of Bundelkhand when the list was released at a hurriedly-convened press conference.

The list announced by Mulayam and Shivpal, which includes 176 sitting MLAs, has left out several pro-Akhilesh ministers, including Ram Govind Chaudhary, Pawan Pandey and Arvind Singh Gope, and does not carry names of over 50 sitting MLAs.

Besides, 10 ministers, including Shivpal, sacked by the chief minister over the past few months have got tickets. These former ministers were in open defiance of Akhilesh and it paid off.

Hectic political activities began in the morning with party leaders gathering outside the residences of Akhilesh and Mulayam. A big crowd assembled outside Shivpal's residence also.

Akhilesh, clearly upset over being apparently kept out of the process to select candidates for the upcoming assembly polls, met his supporters at his 5-Kalidas Marg residence.

The meeting was attended by legislators and office bearers who did not figure in the party's official list, sources said.

Later, he spoke to Mulayam to convey his displeasure over the list of candidates from which names of his close confidants are missing, the sources said.

In a unanimous resolution adopted by AIADMK party members at the party’s general council meeting Thursday, former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s close aide V K Sasikala was appointed as the party general secretary. Sasikala accepted the party resolution after Chief Minister O Pannerselvam later meet her at Poes Garden. “From today Chinnamma will be the General Secretary of AIADMK and will soon formally take charge,” said Pannerselvam.

Passing the resolution at the party meeting to ratify her appointment, Panneerselvam said, “In tune with party rules, honourable Chinnamma is appointed AIADMK General Secretary and a resolution to this effect has been adopted unanimously by the general council.”

Significantly, the resolution that was adopted says “This general council adopts this resolution appointing Chinnamma VK Sasikala as the party general secretary till such time she is (formally) elected to that post in tune with party rule 20, clause 2.”

Hailing Sasikala’s contribution to the growth of the party, the resolution also says it “unanimously gives her all the powers bestowed on the position of general secretary (by the party rules) to administer the party.”

The resolution was moved by party presidium chairman E Madusudanan and Panneersevlam and Edapadi Palanisamy. The resolution makes it clear that Sasikala will be formally elected as party General Secretary at a later date in keeping with the stipulations of the party constitution. Till such time she is elected, the party has appointed her to the post giving her all powers of that post. Speaking to reporters flanked by senior leaders Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai and State Minister Edappadi Palanisamy, he said they were going to meet “Chinamma” to “apprise her of the party decision and to seek her concurrence,” for the party decision.

Former Union home secretary Anil Baijal was on Wednesday appointed as the new Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a 10-day southern sojourn, gave his assent to the Centre's recommendation for acceptance of outgoing LG Najeeb Jung's resignation and naming of Baijal as his successor.

Baijal, a 1969 batch IAS officer, was home secretary in 2004 under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. His tenure was however short-lived as the UPA government, soon after taking over in May 2004, shunted him out. After retirement, he served on executive council of the think-tank Vivekananda International Foundation, several of whose former members have been appointed to senior positions by the Modi government including national security adviser Ajit Doval.

Baijal's appointment comes against the backdrop of a tumultous working relationship between his predecessor Najeeb Jung and the Arvind Kejriwal government. Jung's tenure saw him embroiled in many run-ins with the Kejriwal government, where the latter constantly challenged the former's supremacy in running affairs of the Government of NCT of Delhi.

Though Jung was a UPA appointee, the NDA government let him continue in the 'prized' post for two and half years. Even though Jung had offered to resign on two earlier occasions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him to stay on. On December 22, however, Jung announced his resignation, saying that he would be going back to his first love - academics.

70-year-old Baijal, whose appointment papers were sent to the President earlier on Wednesday for approval, is known to be a reserved individual who prefers to go by the rule-book. He retired from government service in 2006 as secretary, urban development ministry. He had also served as vice-chairman of Delhi Development Authority earlier in his career.

Baijal was actively associated with the designing and roll-out of Rs 60,000 crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched by the Manmohan Singh government.

For Baijal, the foremost challenge will be to avoid confrontations and find a way to work with the Arvind Kejriwal government.

In the backdrop of corruption allegations against former IAF chief S P Tyagi in the VVIP chopper scam, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha today said multiple agencies are involved in the procurement process and no one can pin the blame on one particular organisation or service. Tyagi, who was given bail recently, has always maintained that all decisions were taken collectively and it is wrong to solely blame him.

IAF chief Raha, who was asked about corruption charges plaguing defence deals, also lamented that despite probes into the alleged scams over the decades, not much could be achieved by the investigating agencies to bring to justice people involved in corrupt practices.

“If these corruption charges are proved, it is bad for the armed forces, or whoever is involved. It is not just the armed forces who are involved in the procurement.

“There are so many agencies who are involved. Therefore you cannot pin the blame on one particular organisation or service,” Raha said speaking to reporters just days before he demits office on December 31.

Tyagi has said that senior officials of the Defence Ministry, the Special Protection Group as well the Prime Minister’s Office besides others were part of the decision making process along with him.

Raha argued that the procurement process in the IAF is more stringent than any other service.

He said till the time a person is convicted, “I think we should give him due” but if a person is found guilty, there will be “no sympathy” for him.

“A former air force chief is like a family member, extended family member. If anybody in my family goes through a rough patch, I think we should stand by that person. And if the charges are proved, then we have no sympathy for him. Whatever charges are proved, whatever convictions are there, we will abide by it,” he said.

Raha said that every decade has its own share of defence scandals. “Despite investigations, not much could be achieved by the investigating agencies to pin down people who are involved in corrupt practices,” he said.

The court which had given bail to Tyagi had ticked off the CBI for not presenting proper evidence to deny him bail.

Talking about the procurement process in the IAF, the air chief said they have very clear cut procedures to be followed.

We are very well trained professionals who deal with acquisition or procurements. We have test pilots, test engineers, it is not not so for other services, I can tell you that,” he said.

Raha stressed that air force professionals are dealing with the subject very diligently and professionally.

“And wherever we have to exercise our specialist skills to give an opinion, we do it very diligently. We have a lot of mechanisms to review each and every procurement that we do. There are many stages of oversight,” he said.

He said that the IAF currently is reinforcing whatever is done is the past.”We are continuing with the process. We are having better oversight,” Raha said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sacrificed the common man in his "yagna" against corruption when he decided to demonetise the Rs 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes on November 8, said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi during the 132nd foundation day celebrations of the Indian National Congress on Wednesday in New Delhi. He added that farmers should be given bonus at 20 percent of market selling price (MSP).

"What is the Congress?. It means listening to you, understanding others. It made us understand the meaning of freedom," said Rahul Gandhi. "Modi ji said that he was performing a 'yagna' against corruption on November 8. Demonetisation yagna was being performed for 1 percent super-rich people. Every yagna requires a sacrifice and in this one the common man was sacrificed," Gandhi said.  

He quoted Urdu poet Allama Iqbal saying that there's a long battle ahead of them.

"The demonetisation decision has been taken to benefit only 50 families," said Rahul Gandhi. He also told the party workers to pull up their socks to take on the divisive ideology of RSS and BJP.

"Many people have suffered and for this loss government should give compensation. PM Modi should reveal how much black money recovered post Nov 8, how much economic loss nation suffered and how many people lost their lives. PM Modi should reveal the list of people who deposited more than Rs 25 lakh in their bank accounts two months before November 8," he said.

"Restrictions on withdrawals must be lifted now. It is taking away the financial independence of the people. PM must explain how he will he compensate farmers who are affected the most by demonetisation. We demand their loans be waived off. PM should give bonus at 20 percent of MSP. He should give women farmers BPL families Rs 25,000 each," he added.

Ending speculations and intra-party squabble over ticket distribution, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav announced a list of 325 candidates for 2017 assembly elections. The list, which includes 176 seats where SP won in 2012 and 149 where it lost, also indicates that the party would go it alone in the forthcoming elections.

Ruling out the pre-poll alliance with any political party in the state while releasing the list to media persons in Lucknow on Wednesday, the SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav clarified that all the 325 were winning candidates and that names to the remaining 78 seats would be declared later.

“The survey for selecting winnable candidates is going on for remaining 78 seats, the names for which will be announced later,” said the SP chief.

Denying ticket to three prominent ministers including Ram Govind Chaudhary (Minister for Basic Education and Child Nutrition), Pawan Pandey (Minister of state with Independent Charge for Entertainment Tax) with Arvind Singh Gope (Minister for Rural Development), all supposedly close to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, the SP chief, in a political posturing, has retained the names of mafia don-turned politician Atiq Ahmad from Kanpur Cantt and another mafia don Mukhtar Ansari’s brother Sigbatullah Ansari from Mohammadabad despite Akhiesh’s known opposition to tainted faces in the party.

It may be recalled that state cabinet minister Pawan Pandey was penalised and expelled from the party for assaulting party MLC Ashu Malik in front of party workers when the SP family feud was at its peak in October.

Even after being sacked from the party, Pawan Pandey continued to be the minister in Akhilesh’s cabinet. But now the SP chief has replaced him by his cousin Ashish Pandey alias Deepu Pandey on Ayodhya seat.

Replying to a question over Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s candidature in the Assembly polls, Mulayam said: “Akhilesh will contest on which ever seat he wants.” However, the other prominent names in the list include SP state unit chief Shivpal Yadav from Jaswant Nagar, Mohammad Azam Khan (Minister for Urban Development) from Rampur, controversial Minister Gayatri Prajapati from Amethi and former minister & senior Samajwadi Party leader Ambika Chaudhary from Phephna seat in Balia district.

Reiterating that winnability had been the criteria for selection of candidates, the SP chief said around 4,200 party workers had applied for ticket.

“We have given tickets to the winning candidates on the basis of constituency-wise survey which the party had conducted,” Mulayam said adding that those who could not get ticket this time would be compensated and duly honoured later.

Closing the chapter of Akhilesh being the CM face of the party which is going into the polls under his leadership, the SP chief scoffed at the perception by saying that Samajwadis did not have the tradition of declaring the CM candidate in advance.

“The legislature party will elect its leader after the elections,” he said. Responding to queries over Akhilesh’s list of 403 candidates handed over to him three days back, Mulayam said that as many candidates from different lists as possible were accommodated.

Akhilesh, who was not averse to an alliance with the Congress for the Assembly polls, has been saying that the SP alone would get an absolute majority and in case there is a tie-up with the Congress, the alliance would bag over 300 seats. “Samajwadi Party is not forming an alliance with anyone,” Mulayam said, ending the speculation of a tie-up between the SP and the Congress.

Fifteen coaches of Sealdah-Ajmer Superfast Express derailed in Kanpur Dehat district in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. More than 60 people, injured in the accident, have been taken to nearby hospitals.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who is monitoring the situation, has ordered a probe into how the derailment happened.

The incident took place around 6 AM near Rura Railway Station when the train was crossing a bridge over a dry canal in the area, North Central Railways PRO Amit Malviya told PTI. Rescue operations are over and the stranded passengers are being ferried in buses to Kanpur railway station.

This is the second train accident in Uttar Pradesh within two months. In November, Indore-Patna Express had derailed at Pukhrayan in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh, killing 120 people and injuring 180 others.