Mumbai: Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and Lok Sabha MP from Rampur Jaya Prada have sought an appointment with Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan tomorrow, apparently to seek pardon for actor Sanjay Dutt.
Dutt, who has already undergone imprisonment of 18 months, was on Thursday sentenced to five years imprisonment in Mumbai serial blasts case.
It was in the Lok Sabha that LK Advani had a chat with Mulayam Singh Yadav. The House had been adjourned following a huge uproar on CBI raiding MK Stalin's house in Chennai in less than 24 hours of DMK withdrawing support from the Manmohan Singh government. The BJP patriarch made two points to the Samajwadi Party chief - the CBI raids against DMK leaders is a message to him that should he withdraw support, the CBI would be let loose on him. While Mulayam kept this part of conversation to himself, he made second part public, quoting Advani on governance issues, particularly the deterioration of law and order in Uttar Pradesh under his own government.
Mulayam's reference to Advani is only the beginning of the various signals that the Samajwadi Party is sending out to the ruling UPA at the Centre since the Budget session of Parliament closed for a month-long recess. The party, in fact, is dropping too many signals in quick succession. The message is clear: it won't be the crutch for the UPA government for long
11.10pm: Lok Sabha starts its day, with guess what, an Adjournment!
As the thumb rule goes in the politics of our country, a Parliament session worth its punch never goes underway without a couple of adjournments. Keeping up bravely with this discipline, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12pm, just a couple of minutes after Meira Kumar paid homage to a deceasedmemberand ordered the proceedings to start.
As usual, the House was seized by a deafening din of people shouting slogans, possibly over the SP-Beni Prasad issue.
However, while speculations are rife that SP has failed to draw blood and has come back with a punch in the face from the UPA, its party workers have shown evidence of more gut and hasstoppedtrains in Kanpur demanding the resignation of Beni Prasad Verma.
SP workers stop train in Kanpur demanding resignation of Beni Prasad Verma on his statement on Mulayam Singh Yadav twitter.com/ANI_news/statu...
- ANI (@ANI_news) March 21, 2013
10.40am: SP calls Beni Prasad Verma episode a 'closed' chapter?
According to a tweet by ABP News, the Samajwadi Party has said that the Beni Prasad Verma episode is a 'closed chapter'. However, an official confirmation is yet to come.
SP says the matter of Beni Prasad Verma is a closed chapter now
- ABP News (@abpnewstv) March 21, 2013
What is surprising is probably the abrupt temerity in the party, which till yesterday had cried itself hoarse demanding Verma's resignation. The ruckus led to the adjournment of both the Houses of the Parliament.
The BJP too had vociferously joined the chorus demanding Verma's resignation and an apology from the UPA.
Sushma Swaraj, who had strongly criticised the UPA in the House yesterday calling Mulayam a respectable leader and Beni Prasad Verma's act deplorable, seemed to have burnt her hands yet again, having placed her hopes on the Samajwadi Party again.
In fact, the BJP had gone on record yesterday saying that the party was in no hurry to move a no confidence motion as they were sure that Congress' allies will pull out of the UPA by themselves.
Mayawati, another key ally and SP's biggest rival in Uttar Pradesh had declared that the party will back the Congress throughout.
Interestingly, simultaneous to the news of SP burying the hatchet with the Congress surfacing, news that the CBI has withdrawn its raid at Stalin's house have also surfaced. So, did the government really play the CBI card with success?
10.10am: CBI raid in Stalin's house, a message to SP?
While the CBI might have decided to play Bigg Boss and found this to be the right time to haul up Stalin for splurging on imported cars, the buzz in the political circles is that this was a hint to the SP as to what might follow if they were to threaten the UPA.
It is important to note here that in an earlier Parliament session, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj had commented that the SP acts on the fear of the CBI. This had led to a huge ruckus and demands for Swaraj to apologise to SP. However, she didn't
https://twitter.com/Retributions/status/314573837511561216
According to reports on CNN IBN, the Parliamentary meet has ended but SP has not come out with a statement yet.
9.40am: The Samajwadi Party's Parliamentary meet to decide whether or not they will ask Beni Prasad to quit, begins
According to reports, Sonia Gandhi pleaded with folded hands to Mulayam Singh in the parliament, asking him to stop demanding Beni Prasad's resignation. Mulayam, reportedly, was not satisfied and declared that he will take a decision on Beni Prasad's fate today.
While the UPA might have put up a brave face and have vehemently and valiantly dismissed suggestions that they are a 'lameduck' government, the truth is, the odds have been piling up against them. Quite alarmingly at that. From the DMK pulling out of the government over the Sri Lanka issue and union minister Beni Prasad Verma raking up another controversy by calling SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav a 'friend of terrorists' and alleging that he charged a commission to support the UPA, the government has its back against the wall, quite literally.
It is important to point out here that resentment against the UPA's policies had been brewing in the ranks of its allies for quite sometime now, but the DMK and the SP have till now, refused to take a strong stand against the government.
New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has called an all-party meeting on Wednesday evening to find ways to end the Parliament logjam, and discuss the resolution likely to be adopted by members over the Sri Lanka issue, a Lok Sabha official said.
The meeting is being called to end the parliament logjam, a Lok Sabha official told IANS.
New Delhi: Lok Sabha today passed a bill which provides for natural life term or even death for repeat offenders of rape and other stringent punishment for various offences like stalking, voyeurism and acid attacks.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, brought against the backdrop of the country-wide outrage over Delhi gangrape, also makes it clear that the age of consent for sex would be 18 years, which was a sticking point with political parties.
I wish to state that we are enacting the strict law to act as a deterrent, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said, replying to a nearly six-hour debate on the Bill.
The Bill seeks to replace an Ordinance promulgated on 3 February, which will expire on 4 April. It seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Indian Evidence Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The Bill was passed after all amendments moved by opposition and one by UPA constituent NCP for a life-term for perpetrators of acid attacks were defeated.
New Delhi: Lok Sabha on Tuesday took up a bill which provides for stringent punishment for crimes against women including natural life term or even death for repeat offenders of rape besides various penalties for stalking, voyeurism and acid attacks.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, which seeks to replace an Ordinance promulgated on February 3, was moved by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in the backdrop of national outrage over the Delhi gangrape incident of December 16.
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