Death of a dream

Update: 2014-02-15 00:28 GMT
In a speech to his supporters at his party’s Connaught Place office, a visibly charged Kejriwal said the Congress and the BJP decided to gang up against him as he had ordered filing of FIR against RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani.

The 49-day-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government decided to quit office on Friday after anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill could not be introduced in Delhi assembly failing to secure the leave of the House. The Opposition BJP and the Congress, which supported the government from outside, joined ranks to oppose the introduction of the bill on technical grounds as Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had sent a message to the House against the constitutional validity of the document.

Speaking in the assembly earlier, Kejriwal said: ‘Is it unconstitutional to fight against corruption? I can even give my life for the country and people, CM-ship is no big deal.’ Kejriwal tried his best to push through the bill, trying to introduce it without the leave of the House. However, a headcount was forced by a stout Opposition, which ended in 27 favouring introduction of the bill and 42 opposing it.

Soon after being reduced to minority, Kejriwal drove to his office at Delhi Secretariat, where a cabinet meeting was held and the government decided to quit and also advise the Lieutenant Governor to dissolve the legislative assembly.

From Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal and his team members went to party office where he addressed a huge crowd of supporters. In his emotive speech, he said, ‘Today Jan Lokpal Bill was not allowed to be introduced, BJP and Congress united to oppose it; just because we had registered an FIR against Mukesh Ambani, both BJP and Congress joined hands against us. They are scared that if Kejriwal can do this by having a small Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) what if Jan Lokpal comes.’

He added that next set of names (after Veerappa Moily and Murli Deora) could be Kamal Nath and Sharad Pawar. ‘They claim that Parliament and assembly are like temple and mosque. Will you break idols in temple and tear Quran in mosque,’ he asked his cheering supporters.

Taking on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Kejriwal said, ‘Mukesh Ambani said Congress is his shop, he is also close to Narendra Modi. From where does Modi get so much money for his rallies.’

Recommending fresh polls in the national capital, the AAP chief said, ‘Delhi Assembly should be dissolved and re-elections should take place. The BJP and the Congress did not reduce corruption even after 60 years. We reduced it in just 49 days.’

In a related development Leader of Opposition Dr Harsh Vardhan said that they would not form the government if called by the Lieutenant Governor as they did not have the number.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll double gas price,’ Govt assures RIL

New Delhi:
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M Veerappa Moily said categorically on Friday that the Manmohan Singh-led Government will not go back on its decision to double natural gas rates from 1 April. The decision marks a huge boon for Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

‘Where is the question of stalling or stopping anything? It (the decision to raise gas prices) has gone through a governance process ... it was considered by the Cabinet twice and approved twice,’ Moily told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. The new rate is $8.4 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) against the current price of $4.2 per mmBtu.

Moily defended the Government’s decision to allow the doubling of the price of gas, a crucial energy input for the national economy, on the ground that it is based on the recommendation of a panel headed by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan. ‘It is absolutely based on recommendations made by the Dr Rangarajan Committee.’

‘He is an eminent economist and he has gone through the mills. And I have not changed even a word or a full stop or a comma from the recommendation. So where is the question of Moily’s verdict (on raising
gas prices),’ said Moily.

Gas FIR says Congress, BJP eyed RIL funds for polls

New Delhi:
The FIR lodged by Delhi government’s Anti Corruption Branch in a Delhi court
alleged UPA government favoured Reliance Industries with an eye on 2014 general elections. The FIR says decision (to raise gas price) was taken in advance as it wanted to favour RIL for corrupt considerations, which would then help with their expenditure for the polls.The complaint also makes similar charge against BJP. ‘This is also the reason why BJP is silent on the issue as huge slush of funds is required before elections. Doubling of gas price has been made just to benefit RIL’, it said.

Corruption cases filed by AAP govt to remain Arvind Kejriwal’s legacy

New Delhi:
The fate of at least three high-profile cases, which were registered either by AAP government or on its recommendations, looks uncertain.

In the first case, Delhi government had directed its Anti-Corruption Branch to lodge an FIR in the Rs 90-crore street light project for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in which a panel headed by a former CAG had indicted the then government led by chief minister Sheila Dikshit. The ministers had said investigation into the scam was closed at the level of preliminary inquiry though there were strong findings in the case by CAG and Shunglu Committee.

In the second, pointing at yet another purported scam under the Dikshit regime, AAP government had asked its ACB to probe alleged irregularities worth Rs 184 crore in the construction of the Ring Road bypass ahead of 2010 Commonwealth Games. The Delhi government had taken the decision on the basis of the PM-appointed high-level Shunglu Committee report which had alleged that financial lapses had occurred in the construction work for the bypass from Salimgarh Fort to Velodrome Road.

In the third case, Kejriwal ordered filing of an FIR against Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily, former minister Murli Deora and RIL chief Mukesh Ambani for alleged collusion in the hike in prices of natural gas from KG basin. Asking the central government to put on hold the decision to hike price of gas, to be implemented from 1 April, he had asked his government’s ACB to file a criminal case under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Delhi government’s ACB’s FIR placed before a Delhi court naming Moily, Mukesh Ambani and others alleged the UPA government favoured Reliance Industries Ltd with an eye on 2014 general elections and BJP is maintaining silence hoping to gain corporate funding for the polls.

Kejriwal had also asked the ACB to investigate into two alleged scams in the Delhi Jal Board during the tenure of Dikshit. Delhi government ordered for FIRs in three cases related to Delhi Jal Board where the state exchequer had reportedly incurred a loss of Rs 341 crore. The cases are related to purchase of water meters and awarding of contracts for works at the Bhagirathi water treatment plant.

The new government had also recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee to issue an advisory to Dikshit based on a Lokayukta order for alleged wrongdoings in grant of provisional regularisation certificates to unauthorised colonies in 2008.

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