Arvind Kejriwal renews attack on 'criminal' MPs

Striking a defiant note, Arvind Kejriwal on today replied to the privilege notices served on him for "insulting" Parliament, saying how can he respect the institution which has MPs with "criminal background".

The Team Anna member alleged that all the parties are responsible for bringing Parliament to disrepute as 162 MPs with criminal background have managed to get into it.

"There was a Parliament in which Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned (from the post of railway minister) following a train accident. I would like to sacrifice anything for such a Parliament but how will I respect Parliament of present days," Kejriwal said in the letter.

He also alleged that industrialists, who were not known for any public service, have managed to get into Parliament with the help of various parties.

"They enter Parliament to further their business interest. If this is not misuse of Parliament, if this is not insult to Parliament then what is it," he asked.

Besides Congress MP Sajjan Singh Verma, RJD MPs Rajniti Prasad and Ram Kripal Yadav had served a privilege notice against Kejriwal for calling MPs "rapists, murderers and looters" during an election campaign rally last month.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has sought reply from Kejriwal following the receipt of the notices.

"Received privilege notices from Rajniti Prasad and Ram Kripal Yadav also...Rajniti Prasad is the same MP who tore the Lokpal Bil in Parliament. Did he insult Parliament or did I insult Parliament?" Kejriwal had tweeted after he got the notices.

Earlier in September last year, Kejriwal was served a notice for making "derogatory" remarks against Parliamentarians during Hazare's agitation in Ramlila Maidan.

"In this Parliament, 163 members have cases of heinous offences against them. In this Parliament, rapists are sitting, murderers and looters are sitting. How can you expect Jan Lokpal Bill to be passed by Parliament? How can you expect that you can get reprieve from poverty and corruption," Kejriwal had said on February 25.

Talking to reporters today, Kejriwal also said that Team Anna will soon write to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh providing evidence against 14 Union Cabinet ministers whom he had named as "corrupt".

Hazare had set a deadline of August to register FIR against these ministers and warned the government that they will launch 'jail bharo' agitation, if it is not done.

Parliament censures Team Anna

 Lok Sabha on Tuesday condemned Team Anna for "lowering the dignity" of Parliament after a resolution was moved over which members cutting across party line slammed the activists for using derogatory language against MPs.

"Any remark lowering the dignity and esteem of this august House is unwarranted and totally unacceptable," Speaker Meira Kumar said summing up the sense of the House, after a brief discussion.

She said members of the House undergo rigorous scrutiny by the Election Commission under the provisions of Representation of People Act, Model Code of Conduct and other legal requirements while filing their nomination for election.

"After meticulously assessing their conduct and performance, the people of India, in their wisdom, elect them. The Parliament, therefore, reflects the collective will of the people of our country," the Speaker said.

Led by JD-U leader Sharad Yadav, members from all political hues came together in Lok Sabha to attack Team Anna for using derogatory language against parliamentarians. Some of them even said that those who levelled attack against the temple of democracy should be summoned in the House to punish them.

Moving a resolution against the civil society members, Yadav said the Speaker should take suo motu action against them for their utterances against democratic institutions.

Describing Parliament as a "supreme institution", SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said those civil society members who challenged its authority should be "summoned and taken to task". He requested consensus among members on the issue.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha today JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said that, “ People have seen what has been happening and what Team Anna has been speaking. I am worried that if the Parliament is not respected then where will the country go?

“A trend has started in the country to denigrate the politicians. Yes, the public has a right to be angry at us. But there should be a limit to it,” he added.

Directly attacking Team Anna, the JD(U) said that a kind of pessimism is being spread in the country in the wrong manner. Nonetheless, he accepted that fight against corruption should go on but in the right manner.

He also accepted that no everyone is of high morals in the Parliament. “There have been people in this House who have not been deserving of the place.” “But to disrespect the temple of democracy is not the right thing to do,” Sharad Yadav added.

“I do not object to the attack by Team Anna at us but no one should attack the institution of democracy,” he told the House.

The alleged inflammatory remarks made by Team Anna led to a huge uproar in both the Houses of Parliament on Monday and finally led to their adjournment.

Reacting to these allegations, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj had said, “Team Anna has lost its focus, crossed all limits."

Swaraj, whose party had supported Anna Hazare's call for the Lokpal Bill, even advised Team Anna to maintain its integrity.

Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam had also endorsed the views expressed by Swaraj and Yadav and said, “Team Anna members call themselves the representatives of civil society but they have themselves used unparliamentary language. They have conducted themselves in a highly irresponsible and uncivilized manner."

Team Anna landed in a fresh controversy after key team members including Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and others made derogatory remarks against the Parliamentarians during Anna Hazare’s day-long fast at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Sunday.

Anna Hazare, while addressing his supporters, also warned that the government should be prepared to be voted out of power in 2014 if it does not pass the Lokpal Bill, which provides for a national anti-corruption agency.

Will Parliament censure Team Anna?

Team Anna, which had lost support of opposition parties for making derogatory remarks against the parliamentarians, might face a censure motion for denigrating the constitutional supremacy of Parliament and putting the politicians in a bad light.

Reports, Today, claimed that a Censure Motion could be moved by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar against Team Anna as demanded by the opposition BJP and JD(U).

Opposition MPs from BJP and the JD(U) yesterday demanded a Parliamentary resolution against Team Anna to condemn the uncivilized language used by them against the parliamentarians, saying that they have deviated from the fight against corruption.

The political parties including BJP, JD(U), SP and others yesterday warned the civil society members to refrain from making such defamatory remarks against the Parliamentarians who are the most vital part of the institution of democracy and termed the statements as unfortunate.

The alleged inflammatory remarks made by Team Anna led to a huge uproar in both the Houses of Parliament and finally led to their adjournment yesterday.

Reacting to these allegations, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said, “Team Anna has lost its focus, crossed all limits."

Swaraj, whose party had supported Anna Hazare's call for the Lokpal Bill, even advised Team Anna to maintain its integrity.

On his turn, Janta Dal (U) chief Sharad Yadav termed Team Anna’s allegation as an attack on the institution of Parliament. He criticized them for referring to politicians as murderers.

Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam also endorsed the views expressed by Swaraj and Yadav and said, “Team Anna members call themselves the representatives of civil society but they have themselves used unparliamentary language. They have conducted themselves in a highly irresponsible and uncivilized manner."

Team Anna landed in a fresh controversy after key team members including Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and others made derogatory remarks against the Parliamentarians during Anna Hazare’s day-long fast at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Sunday.

Anna Hazare, while addressing his supporters, also warned that the government should be prepared to be voted out of power in 2014 if it does not pass the Lokpal bill, which provides for a national anti-corruption agency.

‘UK Parl to seek report on Indian student Anuj Bidve murder’

Amid an outrage over the killing of Indian student Anuj Bidve, a top British parliamentary panel will seek a full report on the circumstances of the "unprovoked" attack in Manchester earlier this week. Keith Vaz, the Labour Party MP and chairman of House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, expressed shock over the murder of 23-year-old Bidve on Monday.

"I will be asking for a full report on the circumstances of his death. Overseas students need to be reassured that the UK has taken every possible step to ensure such a tragic event will not happen again," said Vaz, the lawmaker from Leicester East.

"Most importantly, his family deserve to know the truth about the final moments of their much loved son," he said. Bidve, from Pune, was with nine Indian students when they were approached by two men in Salford. He was shot at close range after a "very short" conversation. Bidve was a student of Microelectronics at Lancaster University.

In a statement, Vaz welcomed the action taken by the Greater Manchester Police "on the shocking and deeply sad murder" in Manchester on Boxing Day. The British police has arrested a fourth person in connection with the killing of Bidve, who died following an "unprovoked" attack on Monday.

The unnamed man is the fourth arrest after another man and two teenagers were arrested in the last 24 hours. No further details were released about the three arrests. The cold blooded murder has sparked an outrage here, particularly among Indians. Many members of the minority community have demanded an exemplary punishment for those involved in the heinous crime.

The police have not ruled out racism as a motive for the killing. The two men who approached the group of students at Salford were described as white men.

Sonia Blames BJP For Defeat Of Constitution Bill

Hitting hard at the BJP for having backtracked after supporting constitutional status for Lokpal in the Standing Committee, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Wednesday, said that the real face of the BJP has come to the fore.

Reiterating Congress remains committed to a strong Lokpal, Sonia said, “I am very happy that an effective Lokpal Bill has been passed.”

However, she pointed fingers at the BJP saying that it was only because of the BJP that the government could not ensure constitutional status for the Ombudsman.

“The strength we wanted to give to the Lokpal…they did not want it. The BJP had committed to constitutional status for Lokpal in the standing committee but later they withdrew the support,” Sonia said.

Sonia Gandhi’s comments came after high-drama in the Parliament yesterday night which saw the government’s proposal to grant constitutional status to Lokapl being voted out by the Lok Sabha.

The Constitution (116th Amendment) Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha by a determined Opposition, helped by the absence of parties supporting the government from outside like SP, BSP and RJD.

Samajwadi Party (22), BSP (16) and RJD (4), which support the UPA government from outside staged a walkout, bringing the numbers down for the government.

A Constitution Amendment Bill to be passed should have more than 50 per cent of the members of the House present and of them, two-third support is mandatory.

Adding to government’s troubles, around 15 Congress MPs were also absent at the time of voting, leading to a situation where the government could not muster even simple majority of 273 votes in favour as it managed only 250 votes on the crucial legislation.

The Congress has reasons to feel embarrassed, especially because it was Rahul Gandhi's idea of conferring Constitutional status to Lokpal.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had yesterday night expressed disappointment over the failure. "This is a bit of disappointment that it could not be passed," he said after the embarrassment faced by the government in the House.

Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee told the BJP-led Opposition, “It is a sad day for democracy, it is a sad for the institution. People will teach you a lesson."

On the other hand, the BJP had demanded resignation of the UPA government on moral grounds after it failed to get the Constitution Amendment Bill passed in the Lok Sabha.

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has no moral right to continue in office," BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told reporters after the embarassing development for the government.

"Rahul Gandhi's dream has been shattered. This shows the monumental inefficiency of this government,” he added.

Advani demanded to Govt: Explain inaction on black money

 Senior BJP leader LK Advani, who moved an adjournment motion on black money issue in the Lok Sabha on today, said that the government should elucidate the steps being taken to bring back money stashed illegally in foreign accounts.

Starting the debate, Advani demanded the government should ensure that black money stashed abroad should be brought back and also explain what action is being taken against those who have opened such accounts.

“Why is the government not proactive on black money? Why has the government delayed action on black money? We demand that the government present a white paper on the issue,” he said.

Referring to certain estimates, Advani said that Rs 25 lakh crore of Indian black money is stashed in Swiss banks while pointing out that high tax is leading to generation of black money.

The former deputy prime minister cornered the government over reports about France having given names of 600-700 Indian nationals who have illegal accounts and demanded that the government reveal the names and act upon the guilty.

“Don’t protect anyone who is on the list and I demand that the government reveal the complete list today itself,” he said.

“If the government doesn’t tell us the names, then it may so happen that Julian Assange may reveal it through WikiLeaks. It is humiliating if we were to know the details from WikiLeaks,” he added.

He also sought to draw the House’s attention towards various stringent observations made by the Supreme Court including the one in which it termed India as a ‘soft state’ for its inability to act against black money hoarders.

The BJP has been pressing for the motion since the Winter Session of Parliament began over two weeks ago in the backdrop of LK Advani's yatra against black money and corruption.

BJP MPs have also given declarations to the presiding officers of two Houses saying they do not have any illegal money stashed abroad.

Importantly, the motion will be without the sense of government censure and that voting is likely on a neutral motion.

Egypt goes to polls again to seal the Parliament

After handing over a thumping victory to Islamists in the first round, Egyptians Wednesday headed for a second phase of parliamentary polls to decide the future of nine governorates, with the liberals hoping to make an impact this time.

About 18 million Egyptians head to polling booths today for the voting that would take place over two days and a run-off being held a week later.

Egypt's moderate Islamists -- the Muslim Brotherhood -- emerged as the largest force in the first round of elections with their Freedom and Justice Party winning 36 per cent of the popular vote. But the surprise showing came from the radical Al Nour party that won almost 25 per cent of the vote.

The Egyptian liberal parties managed roughly 30 per cent of the vote together.

While the first round laid out a trend, the second round would decide how the future political landscape of Egypt would look like.

While the Brotherhood has tried hard to press itself as a moderate force that will not impose Islamic laws on Egypt, the radicals have made no bones of their hardline agenda.

The developments have left Egypt's minority Christians and secular liberals worried over their future in the country.

Some are hoping the second round of polls might tilt the balance towards the liberal Egyptian bloc.

After a dismal showing in the first round, the Egypt bloc has coordinated with the "revolution continues", a coalition of Leftist and revolutionaries parties. The coordination resulted in a unified list of independent candidates for all constituencies that poll today.

Several young activists associated with Egypt's January 25 Revolution will feature on the coalition's ticket, including Khaled Talima, Mohamed El-Kassas and Islam Lotfi.

To run Parliament, Govt puts brake on retail FDI

Amidst the continuing row over allowing FDI in retail, the government on Wednesday succeeded in convincing the Opposition to let Parliament function.

The government and the opposition agreed at an all-party meeting held this morning that Parliament should not be held hostage to continuing logjam over the retail FDI issue.

At the meeting chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the government told the opposition parties that it was suspending the Cabinet decision on allowing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail and 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail.

Further, Mukherjee will today make a one-line statement in Parliament, announcing the decision to hold back implementation of Cabinet’s retail FDI decision. Both Houses would then adopt a government resolution suspending 51 per cent FDI in retail "till a consensus is developed through consultations with various stakeholders".

Commenting on the agreement, the CPI said this is a "virtual rollback" of the FDI decision.

Opposition parties had earlier been pressing the government on a complete rollback of the decision.

The government had over the last few days reached out to its key ally Trinamool Congress and the opposition to signal its willingness to "pause" the FDI decision.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday spoke to BJP leaders LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury to convey the government's decision to put the FDI decision in abeyance.

The BJP had on Tuesday sharpened its attack on the government with its leader Arun Jaitley questioning "silence" of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi on the FDI issue.

"The government decided to allow FDI in retail November 25. Till now, I did not get the opportunity to know the views of the party president (Sonia Gandhi), or general secretary (Rahul Gandhi), whom they consider leader of future," Jaitley said at a rally here.

Nearly half of the Winter Session has been lost due to protests and slogan-shouting by opposition members over various issues, mainly FDI in retail.