Why Government not making any efforts to bring Lalit back, asks

The Congress also termed as 'condemnable' the reported allegations against President Pranab Mukherjee that he, as Finance Minister in the then UPA government, spearheaded the party's 'revenge' politics against Lalit Modi.

"Allegations against the President are condemnable. What the government is doing to bring him back? Why red corner notice has not been issued to him?

"Why the government has not approached the Supreme Court to cancel passport issued to Lalit Modi?" Congress spokesman Meem Afzal asked, noting that till yesterday, Lalit Modi had been targeting former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and now he has trained his guns on the President.

Afzal attacked the government and the BJP alleging that they were 'shielding' External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Questioning the 'silence' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the matter, Afzal asked whether PM Modi would break his silence only when he would be the target of attack by the former IPL chief, a fugitive and economic offender. The government will have to say what action is being taken against the tainted cricket administrator, he added.

According to reports, the former IPL chief has accused Mukherjee of spearheading Congress' 'revenge' politics against him for Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's resignation.

"It was clear even before Tharoor resigned that Congress was furious over my decision to reveal Tharoor's ownership interest in the Kochi bid," Modi had said in his plea to the UK authorities while seeking permission to stay as a representative of an overseas business.

Modi also blamed Mukherjee for engineering the Enforcement Directorate's probe against him in retaliation to Tharoor's sacking as Minister of state for External Affairs, the reports stated.

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Never used office to enrich myself, family or friends: Former PM Manmohan Singh

In a scathing attack, Singh said institutions of democracy are under threat and the entire edifice of the welfare state is now being dismantled in the guise of promoting faster economic growth.
   
"As far as I am concerned, I can say in all humility that I have not used my public office to enrich myself, to enrich my family or my friends. And still the BJP government keeps on harping on this theme of corruption because it wants to distract the attention of the people to non-issues," he said in a hard-hitting speech at an event here.
  
His comments came in the wake of former TRAI chairman Pradip Baijal's allegations that Singh had warned him of harm if he did not cooperate on 2G telecom licenses.

Baijal, who was probed for several years in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, also claimed that the CBI wanted him to "implicate" Arun Shourie and Ratan Tata in the case.

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Interim Rail Budget a disappointment for Chhattisgarh: Raman Singh

"Like previous years, again Chhattisgarh is ignored and neglected in the rail budget", Singh told reporters here.

The Chief Minister said his state was "ignored" despite generating maximum revenue for railways and is left out on counts of ensuring facilities and expanding rail routes.

"This interim budget is disappointing for the people of the state," he added.

(Agencies)

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Mamata desires early exit of UPA government

"Despite repeatedly telling this government, it has deprived and exploited the state. The Prime Minister had himself committed before the election that if we were voted to power, the Centre would help the state and restructure the debt. Nearly three years have elapsed since then," Banerjee told a press conference in Jalpaiguri.
   
"This government is on the way out. The sooner it goes the better," she said.
   
She reiterated that the Left Front government has left behind a huge debt because of the Centre allowing it to take loans.
   
"The previous government did not follow the Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management," she said.
   
She said that the state wanted a transparent debt-restructuring plan so that it could invest revenue earned for infrastructure development.
   
"West Bengal was deprived the most. We have repeatedly sought restructuring of the debt but it was not accepted," she said.
   
At a recent party rally in Jalpaiguri, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh had voiced his support for Mamata, saying that her demand for a three-year moratorium on interest on central loans is justified.

(Agencies)

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