Rahul’s Bengal visits to galvanise Congress for 2011 polls

Sep,13, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will Tuesday begin his second visit to West Bengal in less than a fortnight, giving a clear signal that the party is going all-out in its preparations for next year’s assembly polls in the state.Gandhi, who set the pace for the party’s campaign by a no-holds barred attack on the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led state government at a rally in Kolkata Sep 6, has a packed schedule during his three-day visit to the state.He is slated to address meetings and conventions of youth workers, tribals, Dalits and women across several districts of West Bengal.Congress president Sonia Gandhi is also expected to visit Kolkata later this month to address east zonal meeting of the All India Congress Committee.Congress sources said that visits of top leaders will help rejuvenate the party and allow it to hold seat-sharing talks with the Trinamool Congress from a position of strength. The party also wants to be prepared for the eventuality of having to go it alone in the polls, which are due by May next year.They said that Congress efforts to emerge stronger in the state are part of plans to gain strength in four states where it has been weak for years — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.The four states together have over 200 Lok Saha seats and the Congress is keen to regain its strength in these states to come to power on its own in the next Lok Sabha polls.Congress leaders said the party will seek its due share of seats from the Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal elections where the odds are heavily loaded against the ruling Left Front. The seat sharing talks, for which the two parties have not yet worked out a time frame, are expected to take place in Delhi.Congress MP and West Bengal in-charge K.Keshava Rao said that the party is keen on an alliance with the Trinamool Congress but not at the cost of its interests.“We are for an alliance with Trinamool Congress but not at the cost of our interests and self-respect,” Rao told,Though Rao did not specify the number of seats the Congress aims at contesting as part of alliance, he said the party will “ask for what it deserves”.He said Rahul Gandhi’s rally had infused new energy in the party and galvanised the youth.“The rally has given the party a new hope,” Rao said.The Congress and the Trinamool Congress fought the 2009 Lok Sabha polls together but could not reach an understanding for the municipal elections in the state held in May.In the last assembly polls, which the two parties contested separately, the Congress won 21 seats with 14.71 percent vote share while the Trinamool Congress won 30 seats with 26.47 percent votes. In the Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool Congress won 19 of the 27 seats it contested while the Congress won six of the 14 it fought.The Trinamool Congress also emerged as the single largest party in the municipal elections held in May.With Trinamool chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee keeping up momentum of her attack on the ruling Left Front through rallies, the Congress is also keen to get its electoral act together. The party is reaching out to the youth and weaker sections in an effort to expand its base.Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress leaders said that Rahul Gandhi had raised broadly the same issues in his Kolkata rally which Banerjee has been raising over the years.Party leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said the issues of improper implementation of rural employment guarantee act and irregularities in lists of families below poverty line (BPL) had been raised by the party.“We have raised all these issues much ahead,” Bandopadhyay said.During his speech in Kolkata, Rahul Gandhi spoke of two West Bengals – “one of the CPI-M which has money” and the other “of the poor and backward”.A political observer said that attempts by the Congress to gain strength are likely to lead to some competition with the Trinamool Congress“Both the parties are competing to take a more strident anti-CPI-M line,” he said.
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Grievances of Kashmiri youth to be addressed: PM

Sep,13,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said his government was ready to talk to every person or group in Jammu and Kashmir if they abjured violence and assured that the grievances of the youth would be addressed.“We are willing to talk to every person or group which abjures violence, within the framework of our constitution,” Manmohan Singh said at the Combined Commanders’ Conference here.“The unrest in the state of Jammu and Kashmir over the last few weeks is a matter of concern. The youth of Kashmir are our citizens and their grievances have to be addressed,” the prime minister assured.“We have to ensure better delivery of services and generate avenues for economic advancement for the people of that state.”The prime minister’s remarks came a few hours before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting here to review the situation in Kashmir and discuss a peace package for the Valley.The CCS will review whether the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives the army substantial immunity during operations, can be lifted in some parts of the state.Earlier in the day, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister P. Chidambaram and discussed the situation in the state that suffered a fresh spell of violence over the weekend.
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Omar meets Chidambaram, Sonia

Sep,13,Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday met Home Minister P. Chidambaram and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi to apprise them of developments in the violence-hit valley.The meetings came hours before the crucial Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting on Kashmir situation Monday evening.“The chief minister is understood to have repeated the need for a political package and withdrawal of the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) at least from a few districts in the two meetings,” a senior National Conference leader said on condition of anonymity.The chief minister’s meeting with Chidambaram lasted for 40 minutes. He later met Sonia Gandhi, sources added.
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Chavan, Shiv Sena criticise Salman for 26/11 comments

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan Sunday criticised Bollywood actor Salman Khan for his statement on the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, noting the rich were not the only victims.“Apart from the Taj and Oberoi hotels, the attacks also took place at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and other spots where the not so rich were also killed,” Chavan said.“I don’t know what Salman has said about the involvement of the Pakistani government, but (the sole surviving terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Amir) Kasab’s arrest and the court’s verdict have made it clear that the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan. There is no room for his or anyone else’s opinion when the court’s verdict is out,” Chavan added.The opposition Shiv Sena also condemned the comments by the actor, saying they insulted all those who died in the attacks.“The attacks were not specific to any hotels of elite gatherings. The attack was on the sovereignty of India as a nation. Salman’s comments are an insult to our country and the martyrs,” Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.The party has demanded an apology from the actor.Salman, who invited flak for his comments in an interview to a Pakistani channel that “too much hype” was created around the 26/11 attack as “elite people were targeted” and that the Pakistani government was not behind it, has since apologised for his remarks. He insisted that they were “twisted” and he did not mean to “hurt anybody’s sentiments”.“The interview has been twisted. I saw it myself, the way it is coming across on TV, it is sounding insensitive. I was just saying life is equal for both rich and poor, some attacks get more media coverage and some don’t. Why is that? Every human life is important,” Salman, 44, told Aaj Tak news channel.“I did not want to hurt anybody’s sentiments and if I have hurt anybody’s sentiments then I am really, really sorry,” he added.
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Telangana activists stone Naidu's convoy

Hyderabad,Sep 13 : Telangana activists Monday hurled stones at Telugu Desam Party (TDP) N. Chandrababu Naidu's convoy in the region's Ranga Reddy district, Andhra Pradesh police said.Four people, including a police constable, were injured in the violence at Pargi, about 70 km from here. Naidu escaped to safety as his driver sped the car away to evade stones. The leader of opposition was heading towards Mahbubnagar district to meet farmers who are facing problems due to alleged non-supply of fertilisers by authorities. The TDP chief faced protests at various places in Ranga Reddy district as pro-Telangana activists tried to block his way and shouted slogans of "Naidu go back". The former chief minister, who hails from Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, is facing the ire of Telangana supporters for opposing the demand for separate statehood to Telangana. Trouble broke out at Pargi when Naidu stopped at the house of party legislator Harishwar Reddy for breakfast. Activists of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gathered outside, raised slogans against him and tried to barge into the house. They clashed with TDP workers and the police. The protestors hurled stones at Naidu's convoy as it was leaving Reddy's house. According to eyewitnesses, Naidu's driver had a tough time in controlling the vehicle. Police used batons to control the crowd, injuring three people. A policeman also sustained injuries in the stone pelting. TRS activists had earlier tried to stop Naidu's convoy at Chevella and other places but were arrested.
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Withdraw cases against students: Telangana Congress leaders

Hydearbad,Sep 12 : Congress leaders from Telangana Sunday set Oct 2 as the deadline before the Andhra Pradesh government to withdraw police cases against students and youth who participated in the Telangana movement.The ruling party's MPs, legislators and other leaders met here to chalk out their future course of action. Senior leader K. Keshava Rao presided over the meet. Some of the participants suggested that a call for boycott of Andhra Pradesh formation day (Nov 1) should be given if the cases were not taken back. They said no action had been taken despite an announcement by union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in December last year. The students and youth were booked for participating in violent protests for separate statehood to Telangana last year. The leaders would meet again if the cases were not withdrawn by Oct 2. The elected representatives from the region also decided to donate a month's salary for the assistance of those who committed suicide for separate Telangana state since November last year. "A committee will be formed to provide the financial assistance to the families of the martyrs," MP K. Rajagopal Reddy told reporters after the meeting. The leaders will also collect donations from the rich for the assistance to such families. Legislator K. Lakshma Reddy announced Rs.1 million. The meeting also passed a resolution, urging the leadership to constitute a separate party unit for Telangana. The leaders vowed to continue their efforts to achieve a separate Telangana. They also demanded that Group I exam of Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission, which was held last week despite protests in Telangana, should be scrapped. In another resolution, the leaders asked the government to officially celebrate Telangana liberation day Sep 17. It was on Sep 17, 1948 that then Hyderabad State was merged with the Indian Union. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and other pro-Telangana groups have been demanding the government to officially celebrate the day. The government has already turned down the demand.
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Sringent punishement to erring network hospitals: Rosaiah

Hyderabad, Sep 12 : Aimd allegation of misuse by the network hospitals under the Aarogyasri Scheme, a committee has been constituted to arrest the trend even as efforts were on to adopt a multi-pronged approach to enhance healthcare services to the poor and those below the poverty line in Andha Pradesh.Chief Minister K Rosaiah asked the Aarogyasri Trust to plug loopholes, if any, in the implementation of the scheme for the poor and low income group, an official release quoted him as saying.The Chief Minister expressed satisfaction over the multi-pronged approach by the Trust to enhance the quality of delivery of services in scheme. The Chief Minister was explained about the functioning of the scheme and the steps taken to make it absolutely transparent, by Aarogyasri Minister Pithani Satyanarayana and officials.Dr Rosaiah asked the Trust to introduce stringent measures to ensure the best quality medical care to the beneficiaries and avoid unethical practices by Network Hospitals.The officials explained a post of Chief Medical Auditor was created to continuously monitor the quality of medical care being provided. The Trust constituted an Empanelment and Disciplinary Committee (EDC) under the Chairmanship of Chief Medical Auditor to ensure the hospital had adequate infrastructure and manpower.The EDC will also look into all the complaints against the hospitals received from various sources and recommend follow-up action against network hospitals.
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