New Delhi: Politicians A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi may have recently spent about a year in jail each, but both men, who are Lok Sabha MPs, have been nominated to parliamentary committees. Mr Kalmadi was suspended by the Congress last year after he was arrested for corruption; that hasn't stopped the party from picking him as its representative on Parliament's External Affairs Committee.

Mr Raja is now the DMK's representative on the parliamentary group that studies Energy. 

Mr Raja is being tried for criminal conspiracy, cheating and breach of trust by a public servant - a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. As Telecom Minister, he allegedly sold under-priced licences for mobile networks to ineligible companies. Through his trial, his party has stood by him. DMK chief M Karunanidhi, who mentored Mr Raja, has said the party believes in his innocence.

The Congress has been less explicit in its backing of Mr Kalmadi so far. He was suspended by the party after he was arrested in April 2011 and put in Tihar Jail, where Mr Raja was also stationed. 

As the man in charge of the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi in 2010, Mr Kalmadi allegedly presided over a network of venal officials, who signed inflated contracts with firms. Mr Kalmadi was jailed for a deal with a Swiss company that was hired for time-keeping and scoring equipment. He was granted bail in January this year.

Sonia Gandhi avoids tit-for tat with Narendra Modi; defends FDI in retail

Rajkot: Sonia Gandhi launched her party's Gujarat campaign in Rajkot today by neatly side-stepping Narendra Modi's best attempts to provoke her into a direct war of words on the foreign travel issue he raised recently. Instead, she attacked the Gujarat Chief Minister on the plank he uses most to highlight his achievements - development.
 
Mrs Gandhi said all the areas that the state had done well in were established in Congress rule. "No one has done as much for the development of Gujarat as the Congress has done," she said, also lauding farmers, artisans and traders of the Saurashtra region for having worked hard to take the state forward, implying that Mr Modi took credit where it was not due. She lambasted him for "choosing not to see how far the country has developed, and misleading the people of the state" for "talking only of darkness," and for "unnecessary sloganeering". Mrs Gandhi said, "Modi did not tell you that 50% funds came from the Centre," and "The Centre is trying to help you, why does Gujarat have the highest Value Added Tax?"
 
This was the first time that Mrs Gandhi addressed a public gathering after the UPA government set off on its "reforms-are-back" agenda in the face of much political opposition and she launched a strong defence of the government's policies, saying difficult economic conditions the world over necessitated tough decisions in the country. She promised that FDI in retail would help farmers and also justified the recent fuel price hike.  

Rajkot, in the Saurashtra region, is BJP territory, but the Congress hopes to exploit the fact that it is in this Patel stronghold that BJP rebel Keshubhai Patel has begun his rival political party. A Sonia Gandhi election rally was also of much interest as five years ago, while campaigning in Gujarat, she had called Mr Modi "a trader of death (Maut ka Saudagar)." That, many political analysts say, may have swung the elections in favour of Mr Modi, who, they say, used it to his political advantage. That time Mr Modi had raked up the issue of Mrs Gandhi's foreign origin. In the 2007 elections, he came strongly back to power winning 117 of the 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly; the Congress won just 59 seats.
 
This time, just before Mrs Gandhi's scheduled visit, Mr Modi has accused the Manmohan Singh government of spending crores of public money on her foreign travel. But Sonia Gandhi refused to be drawn into any personal attack or even mention of Mr Modi's comments, merely saying that she had been attacked before and she expected that to continue. Elaborate security arrangements are in place for the Congress President's visit, with a team from the Special Protection Group conducting security checks at the places that the she  is visiting. 1,000 policemen have been deployed at the Race Course Road rally venue, where a huge crowd gathered today.
 
Mr Modi claimed on Monday that the Manmohan Singh government had spent nearly Rs. 1900 crore on Mrs Gandhi's foreign trips abroad in the last three years. When that claim rang hollow with an RTI activist said to have gleaned that information denying it, Mr Modi tweaked his attack and asked the Congress why it had not shared details of her trips despite the activist's application for that information. 

Mr Modi said he had based Monday's claim on information in a local newspaper. That newspaper's editor, on Tuesday, said his information was based on "local wires" or news agencies, but was not able to share more information. The story he ran said that RTI activist Ramesh Verma of Haryana had unearthed the details of the expenses. Except that the activist says that's not true - he says that two years ago, he asked the government to share how much has been spent on Mrs Gandhi's foreign trips in the last 10 years and is yet to receive a response, even though the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) had directed the Prime Minister's Office to reply to him. Neither the government nor the Congress was able to explain why. When Mr Verma issued his first denial on Monday, Mr Modi was forced to announce that he will publicly apologise if his allegation was proven untrue.
 
Now, another RTI activist Trupti Shah has come forward and said she had filed an RTI appeal five years ago to know how much was spent on Mr Modi's travel in 2007, just before assembly elections, to " 27 places by helicopter but there is no mention of this in the Government expenses." Ms Shah, who says she is yet to get a reply from the CM's office to her repeated queries, had also written in July to Mr Modi, who she says had travelled to attend seminars and conferences on women's empowerment at the time. Ms Shah said she had also written to the Gujarat Information Commissioner, but was yet to get the details she had sought. "I had asked under the RTI Act for the expenses of the Women's Empowerment Seminar that in the name of women empowerment, why are they having this seminar? But the Chief Minister's office has not replied to any of my queries regarding the expenses," she said. 
 
Gujarat Government spokesman Jaynarayan Vyas would only say on Wednesday morning that Ms Shah had all right to seek and get that information and that she had recourse to legal methods to obtain it. 
 
Adding a new confused dimension to the Sonia-Modi controversy, both the BJP and the Congress keep referring to the expenses on Mrs Gandhi's trips abroad for medical treatment. That's not what the RTI activist asked for. "We also give good wishes for the health of Sonia Gandhi, but if expenses were paid from the public treasury, please clarify," Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP spokesperson, said.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh retaliated. "As far as Soniaji's trips are concerned, everyone knows about her health issues. His (Modi) comments are reflective of his own character and his party." He added that Mr Modi has been well-trained by his party's parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in "the Nazi tradition of spreading false propaganda."
"Sangh trains it's cadre in disinformation campaign. Obviously Modi has been trained well! Sangh has modelled itself in the Nazi tradition," Mr Singh said on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Travel bill demand backfires, activists seek expenditure details from Modi

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's query on Congress President Sonia Gandhi's travel expenses seems to be getting back at him. While Modi continues to target Sonia, it has now emerged that the Gujarat Chief Minister himself may be hiding information. Activists Trupti Shah and Bharat Sinh Jhala claim Modi is withholding information on expenses incurred on his women empowerment sammelans over the past five years, as well as on his trip to Japan earlier in 2012.

Activist Trupti Shah had filed the RTI application in 2007. The government gave her information on the total expenses incurred on events in 27 districts but didn't specify how much was spent on Modi's travel alone. Trupti Shah has sent a letter to Modi saying information about his and his Ministers' travel-related expenses during 'women empowerment sammelans' had not been provided till date.

Shah alleged she was denied the information even after repeated reminders. She said the state's General Administrative Department (GAD), in a letter dated November 1, 2007, provided the list of 27 places visited by Modi from March 10, 2007 to September 20, 2007. But regarding the travelling expenses, the letter stated "the office of the Chief Minister did not mention the travelling expenses and so the CM's travelling expenses may be considered nil."

Reuters

This, the activist alleged, is "ridiculous" and "unbelievable" because Modi had travelled to most of the 27 places by helicopter. Shah then shot off a letter on November 20, 2007 seeking details about the name and agencies who bore the expenditure. When her letter didn't elicit a response from the GAD, she sent a reminder on January 18, 2008 and again on April 17, 2008 but she did not get any reply, Shah alleged.

After failing to get the required information, Shah filed a complaint under the RTI Act before the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of Gujarat. In the last hearing on September 26, 2012, the CIC directed the GAD to hand over the relevant information to Shah before the next hearing in October. The officer concerned said the information was not available though they have requested the CMO and other ministers to provide it, Shah said.

Activist Bharat Sinh Jhala has also questioned the expenditure on Modi's travel to Japan in 2012. "CM Modi has not given an explanation about his foreign trip expenditure. The people need to know. I do not care if he goes to Japan or China,I want to know if he is spending the people's money. How is he getting so much money for the Vivekanand Yatra? His administration department is also not revealing information. They claim to be under pressure," Jhala said.

Earlier, another RTI activist had disputed the Chief Minister's claims that Rs 1,880 crore of public money was spent on Congress President Sonia Gandhi's foreign tours. Meanwhile, defending the Congress's silence over Modi's questions on Sonia's expenses, former information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said, "We don't have laws dealing with answers to private matters and in this case medical details are sought under RTI query. Normally an RTI query has to be answered in 30 days but if details are to be sought from various departments then the plea has to be addressed in 45 days. But if Sonia Gandhi's specific details need to be inquired then she is a 3rd party and under Section 8 this is not permissible."

But former Chief Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said that while medical records are off the RTI ambit, expenses can be revealed. "It doesn't matter what the expense was for - travel, medical or for a party. If the taxpayers' money was used, citizens have a right to know," he said.

Big questions:

- Who paid for Sonia Gandhi's foreign trips?

- Were Sonia's foreign trips paid for by the government or privately?

- Why is the government not disclosing the details if Narendra Modi is wrong?

(With additional information from PTI)

BJP stands by Narendra Modi's claims on Sonia Gandhi's US treatment costs

he Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday stood by the controversial claims of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi that funds from the public exchequer were spent on travel and treatment abroad of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and asked Congress to come clear on it.

Modi himself stuck to his contention that the government make clear if Rs1,880 crore were spent from the public exchequer on Gandhi's treatment in the US, even though the RTI activist on whose basis he made the claim questioned the figures cited by Modi and said he had not received any reply to his RTI query.

"We condemn the Congress party's approach in diverting and adding issues which have not been raised by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He has very clearly quoted media sources and raised a question. If you are genuinely interested in answering the question, you would say what was the amount spent," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.

After levelling the allegations on Monday, the Gujarat Chief Minister had offered to tender an apology hours after making the allegation if his charge was found to be false. "If it was not Rs 1,880 crore, then what was it, just say. If money was not spent from public exchequer, say so. What stops you from answering this question," Sitharaman said.

Alleging that Congress was resorting to diversionary tactics to avoid answering these questions, by saying that it is a personal matter related to Gandhi's health, the BJP spokesperson said, "We also give good wishes for the health of Sonia Gandhi but if expenses were paid from the public treasury, please clarify."

Dismissing Modi's charge as "falsehood", Congress said it is regrettable that the Gujarat CM has resorted to "blatant lies" which now stand exposed after the disclosure by RTI activist Ramesh Verma.

BJP alleged that it is Congress which has added the health issue to the Opposition's demand that the expenses incurred on Gandhi's travel for treatment be made public and whether it was made from the public exchequer.

"Did those who use the merchant of death statement think that it is a classic statement? Who brought up the health issue when the question was raised about the travel expenses of Sonia Gandhi? Why did they feel the need to join the two issues? Are they doing it to get sympathy or to give a direct reply?" Sitharaman said.

She sought to know as to why the RTI activist has not been given a reply though more than two years have passed since he filed a request.

Congress spokesman Manish Tewari has said Modi had made the allegation to divert the attention of the people of Gujarat from the real issues confronting the state.

"The reality is that the Chief Minister has no answer to the charges made by the MPs of Gujarat in a representation to CVC that Rs 1 lakh crores have been plundered over the past 11 years in 17 different scams," Tewari has said.

An unfazed Modi said at a programme in Gandhinagar that not replying to the RTI query gives the impression that there is something fishy.

"I read in a newspaper that Rs 1,880 crore was spent on Soniaji's foreign trips...nearly Rs 2,000 crore, if you have to shut Modi's mouth, then make public details about Sonia Gandhi's foreign tours, from the time Manmohan Singh's government came to power in 2004, till now," Modi demanded.

"Under what arrangement she travelled...where did she stay ....and if the expenditure...I have nothing to do with her personal life.... was borne by the national exchequer, then it is the right of people of this country that information about it should be made public," Modi said.

1.35 lakh suicides in 2011, West Bengal on top

More than 1.35 lakh people committed suicide in the country in 2011 of which the highest number were reported in West Bengal followed by Tamil Nadu.

Family problems and illness, accounting for 24.3 per cent and 19.6 per cent respectively, were the major causes of suicides while poverty was to be blamed in 1.7 per cent of the cases, according to government data.

Love affairs (3.4 per cent), drug abuse/addiction (2.7 per cent), dowry dispute (2.4 per cent) and bankruptcy (2.2 per cent) were among the other causes.

Delhi has reported the highest number of suicides (1,716) among UTs, followed by Puducherry (557). Seven UTs together accounted for 1.9 per cent of total suicides in the country.

The number of suicides in the country over the decade (2001-2011) has recorded an increase of 25 per cent -- from 1,08,506 in 2001 to 1,35,585 in 2011.

West Bengal reported the highest number of suicides (16,492) accounting for 12.2 per cent of the total suicides last year followed by Tamil Nadu (15,963), Maharashtra (15,947), Andhra Pradesh (15,077) and Karnataka (12,622).

They accounted for 11.8 per cent, 11.8 per cent, 11.1 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively of the total suicides in the country.

These five states together accounted for 56.2 per cent of the total suicides reported in India, the NCRB said.

The remaining 43.8 per cent suicides were reported in the rest of 23 states and seven Union Territories, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

Uttar Pradesh, country's most populous state (16.5 per cent share of the population) has reported comparatively lower percentage of suicidal deaths, accounting for only 3.6 per cent of such deaths.

Fifty-three mega cities accounted for 13.5 per cent of the total suicides in the country.

Suicides due to drug abuse, love affairs, family problem, dowry dispute, suspected/illicit relation and cancellation/ non-settlement of marriage have shown an increasing trend during last three years.

The number of suicides due to ideological causes/hero worshipping and poverty declined by 59.3 per cent and 25.1 per cent respectively as compared to previous year, whereas number of suicides due to divorce, illegitimate pregnancy and professional problem have increased by 54.5 per cent, 20.3 per cent and 20.1 per cent respectively.

A total of 9.1 per cent suicides in Uttar Pradesh and 7.6 per cent suicides in Madhya Pradesh were due to dowry dispute. Drug abuse accounted for 17.5 per cent suicides in Dadra and Nager Haveli. 6.3 per cent suicides in Assam were due to failure in examination.

Kerala, Puducherry, Maharashtra and Tripura have reported of 44.6 per cent, 40.2 per cent, 39.9 per cent and 36.6 per cent respectively of suicides due to family problem.

14.7 per cent suicides in Assam were due to love affairs, 1.1 per cent suicides in Jammu and Kashmir were due to not having children, 8.3 per cent suicides in Andhra Pradesh and 6.8 per cent suicides in Punjab were on account of poverty. 7.5 per cent suicides in Punjab and 7.7 per cent suicides in Assam were on account of unemployment and property disputes respectively.

Narendra Modi trained by RSS in 'Nazi tradition', says Digvijaya Singh

New Delhi: Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday hit out at Narendra Modi over his allegation on Sonia Gandhi's foreign trips, saying he has been trained well by RSS in the "Nazi tradition" of false propaganda and BJP's "cheap intentions" have been proved by trying to politicise a health issue.

Comparing the Gujarat Chief Minister with Joseph Goebbels, the Propaganda Minister of Nazi government in Germany, the Congress leader picked on his favourite target RSS alleging it trains its cadres in "disinformation campaign".

In his posts on the microblogging site Twitter, Singh said, "Sangh trains it's cadre in disinformation campaign. Obviously Modi has been trained well! Sangh has modelled itself in the Nazi tradition.

"Sangh training to it's cadre. Jhoot bolo zor se bolo aur baar baar bolo (Tell a lie, tell it loudly and tell it hundred times). Doesn't it remind you of Hitler's Goebbels?"

Singh's attack againt Modi and RSS came a day after Modi alleged that Rs 1,880 crore was spent from state exchequer for Congress President Sonia Gandhi's foreign trips citing a media report.

On Monday night, he offered to publicly accept his mistake if the claim turned out to be false.

"I had said this thing based on the report of a newspaper. If my information is wrong, today I say that I will publicly accept this mistake", Modi said addressing another

rally in Junagadh.

Digvijaya Singh said the incident "establishes the motive of BJP and Narendra Modi, their malafide cheap intentions. They want to politicise even an issue like health". The Congress President had gone thrice to an undisclosed destination abroad in last more than a year for a surgery. Modi said that a response given by the government to an RTI application of a youth of Hisar in Haryana, published in a newspaper on July 12 this year, was the basis for his claim.

However, the youth Ramesh Sharma questioned the figures by Modi and said he had not received any reply to his RTI query.

Asserting that there is nothing to hide on the issue on Gandhi's foreign trips, the Congress general secretary that the BJP was now saying that they got the information from a newspaper.

"Now Narendra Modi should tell in which newspaper he read and which news agency gave him this information. There is nothing to hide regarding Sonia ji's health and foreign trips," he said.

He said that what can be expected from Modi "who did not even apologise for the death of thousands, an apparent reference to the 2002 Gujarat riots.

"I do not expect an apology," Singh said. Meanwhile, When asked about the issue, NDA ally JD(U) appeared to take a dig at Modi over his flip-flop.

"It is a country of 120 crore people. People have a freedom to speak. This freedom also leads to some good things and some times to bad. Due to this freedom, some absurd information is also spread...if there is a cure, I want people to be cured," party chief Sharad Yadav said.

Asked whether he is saying that Modi suffers "from some problem", the JD(U) President said, "We have an alliance. Do you want clashes between us? Is it necessary to comment on everybody?"

Why isn't Congress revealing details of Sonia Gandhi's travel expenses, asks Narendra Modi

New Delhi: After his claim of Rs. 1880 crore being spent by the government on Sonia Gandhi's foreign trips rang hollow, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has tweaked his attack. He says the Congress, Mrs Gandhi's party, must explain why it has not shared the expenses on her trips, solicited by a Right to Information activist. He also asked why the Congress has not taken legal action against a vernacular daily that said the bill for Mrs Gandhi's trips adds upto more than Rs.1800 crore.

Mrs Gandhi, who has reportedly been diagnosed with cancer, has been getting treatment in hospitals abroad and spends several days in every couple of months outside the country in connection with this. Gujarat votes in the next few months for its next government. Mrs Gandhi is scheduled to visit the state tomorrow to launch the Congress campaign. 

The Congress has derided Mr Modi's claim, especially because the man who filed the RTI application, Ramesh Verma, said that the figures being attributed to his petition are incorrect. In fact, he said, he hasn't received a response at all from the government. After his clarification, Mr Modi said that he is willing to publicly correct his claim, but said the Congress must explain why it hasn't shared the information sought by the activist, who lives in Haryana.

"I am not raising the question on the expense incurred on her trips aboard for her health," Mr Modi said, "but if some youth has asked for this under RTI how can you deny him the details?" he asked. Senior minister Kapil Sibal said yesterday that Mr Modi's accusations suggest he has lost  his "mental balance."  Mr Modi said at a rally today, "Congress leaders say I have lost mental balance, and I should go to the doctor. Let me tell them my doctors are my people... the people of my state."