SP Leader Akhilesh Yadav set to take oath as UP's youngest CM

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is set to take oath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on Today for the first time, after his party gained absolute majority by winning 224 seats in the 403-member Assembly.

A host of top VVIPs including LK Advani, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandra Babu Naidu and Janata Dal (U) president Sharad Yadav, industrialist Anil Ambani, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and others will also witness history as it is made when Akhilesh will become the youngest ever CM of Uttar Pradesh.

Though invitations were also sent to Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalita, both of them have are unlikely to turn up.

The 38-year-old Akhilesh will be the state's youngest chief minister and his Cabinet is likely to be a mix of youth and experience.

He, however, will have his task cut out fulfilling the long list of promises made by his party in its poll manifesto.

Samajwadi Party had announced a slew of poll sops, including providing laptops to intermediate pass students, tablet computers to high-school pass outs, allowance to unemployed youths, free treatment to patients suffering from serious ailments and loan waivers for farmers.

Akhilesh will also have to take a call on constituting a commission for taking legal opinion on providing reservation to Muslims and implementing recommendations of the Ranganath Mishra Commission and the Sachar Committee.

The SP leader has said improving law and order situation and rooting out corruption in the state are among his top priorities.

Besides, restoration of student unions in universities and colleges will also be a challenge for him.

Even before taking the reins of the state, the party is under attack from Opposition parties, including outgoing Chief Minister Mayawati, who has alleged that the law and order situation had deteriorated following declaration of poll results in favour of SP.

SP MLAs meet today, Akhilesh Yadav set to become CM of UP

With Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav fully backing him, party’s state president Akhilesh Yadav appears all set to become the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Officially, a decision on choosing between 38-year-old state SP president Akhilesh and his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, would be taken at the legislature party meeting at 11 am today, four days after the SP swept to power with a thumping majority in the state Assembly polls.

SP supremo Mulayam Singh has pitched for his son to be appointed as the next chief minister despite some senior members of the party being apprehensive about the move.

Party sources said that the senior leaders like Azam Khan and Akhilesh's uncle, Shivpal Singh Yadav were in favour of Mulayam Singh as CM.

Party sources said that the senior leaders like Azam Khan and Akhilesh's uncle, Shivpal Singh Yadav, who were in favour of Mulayam Singh as CM. They were of the view that Mulayam would be a better choice at this moment when there has been a sudden outbreak of violent incidents in the state, which it sees as a deliberate attempt to sully the party's image.

The situation requires handling by a seasoned leader rather that a greenhorn in administration, they feel.

On the other hand leaders like Naresh Agarwal and Mulayam’s other brother Ramgopal Yadav have voiced their preference for Akhilesh.

Keen to present a united face, the party top brass left the final decision to Mulayam, who backed his son.

As per reports, at a late night meeting yesterday, Mulayam was able to ensure that those opposed to Akhilesh see reason in the generational change being effectuated in the party.

Moreover, Azam Khan has been offered the Speaker’s post, while Shivpal Singh Yadav may be given a big portfolio, reports said.

Akhilesh Yadav, the young member of Parliament from Kannauj, has proved he had come of age in Uttar Pradesh's rough and tumble politics, steering his party to a landslide victory in elections to the 403-seat state Assembly.

Akhilesh comes of age

The day Samajwadi Party won 224 seats on its own in the state, all eyes were on Akhilesh Yadav who was in the forefront fielding the media and articulating the party's views and strategies.

Akhilesh's leadership of the party in the most crucial state in Indian politics has only come in for closer scrutiny in the recent months and run-up to the seven-phased elections.

An engineer by training, having studied in Karnataka's University of Mysore, Akhilesh, 39, also had education in Australia.

This background helped him in bringing in new perspectives to the party's policies. The party has promised free laptops for students and computer education, with a focus on educating girls, in the state.

Considered a youth icon with a judicious mix of leadership qualities, he had, during the high voltage poll campaign, raised issues concerning both urban and rural India such as poverty, agriculture, corruption and social evils.

The young Samjawadi Party leader had carried out an intensive campaign for the party in the elections, taking to the street on foot and on cycle.

He reached out to people at the grassroots through road shows across the state and sought to convey a message of being accessible and reachable.

Party leaders said Akhilesh reshaped SP's thinking by going beyond caste mobilisation and sought to connect its campaign to the aspirations of the youth in the country's most populous state, which lags behind in human development parameters.

Akhilesh also attempted to wash off the taint of his party's association with criminal elements during its rule in the state. He vetoed induction of don-turned-politician D.P. Yadav.

Akhilesh had jumped into the poll fray in 2000 during a by-poll and won the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, previously held by his father. Since then, he has won all the Lok Sabha elections from that constituency. He had also won the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat in 2009, but vacated it to retain Kannauj.

SP workers torched houses in UP

After storming back to power Samajwadi Party state president Akhilesh Yadav had promised that goondaraj won’t return to Uttar Pradesh like during previous SP regimes. Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav too instructed party workers to maintain discipline.

However, SP workers don’t appear to have heeded to the advice.

In a fresh incident of violence following SP’s victory in the state, several houses were torched in Bambia village in Reosa area of Sitapur district Wednesday night, allegedly by SP workers.

SP workers beat up several villagers and torched their houses as they had not voted for the SP in the polls.

The villagers had apparently voted for an independent candidate.

A case against 12 persons has been registered, Station Officer of Reosa Pramod Shukla said.

Election results: CBI’s sword hangs over Mulayam, family

The Samajwadi Party pedalled to a podium finish in the UP polls, but a five-year-old Supreme Court order asking the CBI to inquire into an alleged disproportionate assets case of Mulayam Singh and kin could queer their victory pitch.

Going by the popular perception that the CBI heeds to the Centre's command in political cases, the Yadavs could ill-afford not to take note of the spoiler that the Congress-led UPA may prove for them. And the danger is neither far off nor improbable to be brushed aside. For, on October 26, 2007, the CBI had filed an application in the SC seeking permission to proceed ahead with the case on the ground that during the preliminary probe it had stumbled upon prima facie evidence on the alleged DA case of the SP chieftain, his sons, Akhilesh and Prateek, and daughter-in-law Dimple.

The CBI's plea that as an independent agency it did not take instructions from the government was filed in the court that was in the midst of hearing a petition filed by Akhilesh seeking review of the SC's March 2007 order passed on a PIL. The SC had ordered the CBI to submit the preliminary probe report to the Centre for further action.

When the matter was crucially poised before the court, there was a change in political equations with SP's 39 MPs rescuing the UPA during the 2008 trust vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal. Indebted by the SP's help, the UPA decided to pay back.

The CBI filed another application on December 6, 2008, seeking permission to withdraw its October 26, 2007 plea. The logic behind the flip-flop - a grave error in the calculation of assets had led the agency to believe that the SP chief and his family members had amassed wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. A bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Cyriac Joseph reserved orders on the plea. After three years, the order is yet to come and Justice Joseph has retired. This would warrant a fresh hearing in the case and possible fresh trouble.

What if the CBI does a somersault again? The fallout could be grave: prosecution of all the four important members of the SP first family.

SP will decide today who will be next CM in UP

After ousting the BSP government of Mayawati through its impressive win in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, the parliamentary board of the Samajwadi Party will meet on today to decide who will be the next chief minister.

The meeting of the parliamentary board of the party is slated to start at 11 am during which name of the party's chief ministerial pick will be decided.

Although, Mulayam Singh Yadav will be chosen as the leader of the Samajwadi Party parliamentary board, there is a growing clamour for the coronation of his son Akhilesh, who is the man responsible for his party’s resurgence in UP.

Though, Akhilesh himself maintains that the reins of power will remain in the hands of his father, most of the newly-elected party MLAs, senior leaders and party workers feel that it is time for rewarding Akhilesh for pulling the party out of morass and scripting a new image for it.

When asked who will be the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh told reporters yesterday with all humility that Neta ji will be in the hot seat. He and other party leaders including Ram Gopal Yadav and Shivpal Singh Yadav also categorically ruled out that there was any dispute or any ambiguity over the leadership issue.

However, they maintained that any decision taken by the party chief and the parliamentary board would be acceptable to all of them.

So in this context, it would be interesting to see if SP chief feels the pulse of his supporters and decides to anoint his son-who has been the game changer for Samajawadi Party- the chief minister of the state to carry forward his legacy and fulfil the hopes of the state.

UP polls: Voting starts on dull note, 10 percent polling till 9 AM

Polling for the sixth phase of UP assembly elections covering 68 seats spread over 13 districts started on a dull note today with about 10 per cent of the over 2.17 crore voters exercising their franchise in the first two hours.

"Polling started at 7 AM and 9.73 per cent votes were polled in the first two hours," Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha said.

Maximum 14 per cent votes were polled in Hathras district. Among other districts, 11.7 per cent votes were polled in Saharanpur, 10 per cent in Meerut, 10.7 per cent in Agra, 11.71 per cent in Aligarh, 9.2 per cent in Bulandshahr and 9 per cent in Prabuddha Nagar.

Polling in Noida, Dadri and Jewar assembly seats in Gautam Budhh Nagar was going on peacefully.

In Bhatta Parsaul, which was the centre of the land acquisition row, farmers were seen coming out to vote.

Their leader Manvir Singh Tevatia, who had spearheaded the farmers' agitation, was fighting election from jail. The area falls under Jewar Assembly seat. Congress has fielded Dhirendra Singh from Jewar. He was the man on whose bike Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had reached Bhatta Parsaul last year.

In Chief Minister Mayawati's native Badalpur village, farmers had lined up to cast their vote. BSP has fielded Satvir Gujjar sitting MLA from here while Congress has fielded Samir Bhatti.

Bhatti had once served as MLA from Dadri and his father Mahinder Singh Bhatti was twice MLA from here.BJP has fielded Nawab Singh Nagar, who was twice elected MLA from here in the past. Samajwadi Party has fielded Raj Kumar Bhatti as candidate.

In Noida, which has become an assembly seat for the first time, residents seemed enthusiastic. Earlier Noida was part of Dadri assembly seat and rural voters used to decide the winning pattern here.

Mahesh Sharma is BJP candidate from Noida while VS Chauhan is Congress candidate. Om Dutt Sharma is BSP candidate while Sunil Choudhary is the SP candidate.

Polling is underway in assembly seats in Saharanpur, Prabuddha Nagar, Meerut, Bagpath, Ghaziabad, Panchsheel Nagar, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar, Mathura, Mahamayanagar and Agra.

More than 2.17 crore voters are expected to cast their votes to decide the fate of 1103 candidates, including 86 women.

The CEO said that polling was being held at 22,137 polling stations at 12181 centres, of which 3188 centres and 4892 stations have been marked as sensitive.

To keep a tight vigil on polling process, 1015 video cameras and 2353 digital cameras have been installed. In the 2007 assembly polls, 46.58 per cent votes were polled for 67 seats of which BSP got 35, BJP 12, RLD 10, SP 3, Congress 2 and others 5.

All the political parties including Congress, SP, BSP, BJP and RLD have done hectic campaigning in the Jat land of the state.

This phase would test the popularity of Congress' alliance with Ajit Singh led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) which has stronghold in the western region of the state.

‘Congress win or Prez Rule, no other option in UP’

Even before the Congress could steer away from the storm created by the statements by its leaders on the issue of Muslim quota, another senior party leader has created a fresh controversy.

Union Coal Minister and Member of Parliament from Kanpur, Sriprakash Jaiswal said on Today that if the Congress fails to secure a majority then the only other option appears to be the imposition of President’s Rule in the state.

“"Those who lack confidence are looking for alliance ....Congress will not forge any alliance,” Jaiswal told reporters.

"If Congress gets majority then it will form the government...if some seats are short then there is no option other than President's rule," he said.

Jaiswal said that results of UP polls would be "shocking" and Congress would get majority.

The fifth phase of voting for the Assembly elections in the state is currently underway; counting of votes is scheduled to be held on March 6.

The opposition has latched on to his comments. Both the Samajwadi Party and the Bhartiya Janata Party have decided to take the matter to the Election Commission, while the Bahujan Samaj Party termed the Jaiswal’s comment as sign of Congress’ desperation.

“Congress is restless that is why they are making statements like this. On the threat that they would impose President's rule, I appeal to the electorate not to poll in favour of Congress as the party is not understanding the importance of their votes,” BJP leader Uma Bharti said.

Her party colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the ‘people of the state are not voting to elect a Governor’.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said that Congress will not win given their poor track record on corruption and price rise. “People are looking at Samajwadi Party, I am confident that our party will come to power,” he said.

UP polls: Rahul, BJP President Gadkari head to Kanpur

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi who has been campaigning hard for the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls is scheduled to hold a rally in Kanpur on today.

The Congress MP will have a busy day as roadshow and various meetings are included in his schedule.

Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said, "Rahul Gandhi's campaign programme in Kanpur is confirmed. He will takeout a roadshow in support of the party candidates."

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari will also be seen today in Kanpur where he is scheduled to address people in support of his party candidates.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will be campaigning in Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh today.

Kanpur will go to polls on February 23, the fifth phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh.

Shiv Sena-BJP combine emerge winner in BMC polls

The Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI combine on Friday emerged as the biggest bloc in the elections for 227-seat Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), winning 106 seats in the country’s richest municipal body.

However, in the closely contested election, no party or combine managed to cross the magical figure of 114 seats required to retain control of BMC.

Out of the total 227 seats, the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI combine won the maximum number of seats (106) and thus may regain control of the BMC if the bloc manages to secure the support of eight independents.

As per the final tally, the Shiv Sena won 75, BJP 30 and RPI one. However their performance fell short of half-way mark of 114 seats required to retain control of the BMC.

The Congress won 48 seats, its ally NCP got 18. Raj Thackeray’s MNS emerged victorious in 28 seats; while others bagged 27 seats.

A total of 2232 candidates were in the fray for 227-seat BMC, the counting for which began at 9 am today.

Importantly, incumbent Mayor of Mumbai, Shradha Jadhav, retained her seat.

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan called the result as "surprising" and conceded defeat. "The result is surprising...unexpected. We tried to consolidate secular votes but could not meet with desired outcome," Chavan told reporters.

In 2007 polls, Shiv Sena had won 84 seats and BJP 28, but obtained a majority with the help of four independents, taking their tally to 116.

Fighting separately, Congress had won 75 seats and NCP 14. Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) won 7 seats and Samajwadi Party 7

The Shiv Sena had contesting on 135 seats and BJP on 63. On the other hand Congress had fielded candidates on 170 seats and its alliance partner NCP on 57 seats. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Raj Thackeray s was the fray for the second time with 223 candidates, while BSP staked claims on 133 seats, SP (115), Communist Party (16), CPM (5), Janata Dal (Secular) (13), All India Forward Block (1), Lok Janshakti Party (9), Rashtriya Janata Dal (6), Janata Dal United (5).

The polling was held yesterday in Mumbai along with in nine other municipal bodies across the state.

Mumbai marked a turnout of only 45 percent; however, a top civic official said that the voter percentage has gone up by three percent as compared to 2007.

Billed as a mini-Assembly election, the polls are not just a test for Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray and his son Uddhav Thackeray but is also a pointer of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s strength in state politics.

While the Sena is desperately trying to extend its 16-year rule in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for another five years in alliance with BJP and Ramdas Athavale's RPI, the Congress has stitched up an alliance with NCP for the first time for the civic body polls

BJP Government: SP will win UP elections.

A minister in Madhya Pradesh's BJP government on Thursday said as per his assessment, Samajwadi Party will emerge as the single largest party in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Urban Development Minister Babulal Gaur, who originally hails from UP and had returned recently after addressing election meetings in 12 constituencies in the northern state, said, "SP will lead in UP followed by BSP, BJP and Congress."

The BJP minister said he was very impressed by Congress star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi. He said she reminds him of Indira Gandhi.

"It would have been better if the Congress had projected Priyanka in place of Rahul," he said.

Gaur said BJP was not in any position to form a government in Uttar Pradesh.

Answering a question, he said this was his assessment as a party worker and he did not know about the pronouncements made by senior BJP leaders.

Mulayam may support Congress to oust BJP

Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today said that he is willing to support the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after polls if he sees the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power.

"There is a wave in favour of SP, which is going to form the next government in the state...If I see BJP coming to power, our party can support Congress in the state to prevent communal forces," Mr Yadav told an election rally at Hamirpur.

The Congress, though, appeared lukewarm in its response to the SP's offer. The question is "premature and unnecessary at this point of time", party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury told reporters in reply to a volley of questions on the issue at the AICC briefing here.

Noting that the Congress' attitude on the issue was going to be "wait and watch", she said that "there has been no pre-poll pact between Congress and the Samajwadi Party. We have not arrived at post poll scenario as yet. We still have most phases of the polling left."

"I have no authority to rule it in or rule it out", she said but insisted that party leaders including Sonia Gandhi have made the party's stand against any alliance clear.

On whether Mr Yadav's offer was a virtual admission that his party was not getting majority on its own, she said it seems so.

The Congress is keeping its cards close to its chest on the issue of alliances in UP as it does not want to give an impression that it is a 'B team' of any other party.

Asked by a reporter if the Congress would like to go with Mulayam or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati in the post-poll scenario, Chowdhury sarcastically replied, "When the time will come, the party will consult you."

Sanjay Dutt: Amar Singh advised me to rejoin Congress

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt on Sunday claimed that his "return" to the Congress came on the "advice" of Rashtriya Lok Manch chief and former Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh.

"It was Amar Singh himself who gave me the advice that I should return to the Congress. He reminded me that owing to my family`s long association with the party, the Congress to me is like blood flowing in my veins", Dutt told reporters in Allahabad.

The 53-year-old actor also said that he was very disturbed and disappointed over the way the Samajwadi Party had treated Amar Singh. Dutt had joined the Samajwadi Party shortly before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and, with the backing of Amar Singh, was straight-away made the party`s national general secretary.

The party had also mulled fielding him from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency, but had to withdraw the decision as Dutt`s conviction in an Arms` Act case ran the risk of his being disqualified from contesting the polls.

The actor`s father Sunil Dutt was Congress leader till his death in 2005. He was also the Union Cabinet Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs. Sanjay Dutt`s sister Priya Dutt is also a Congress MP from North Mumbai.

Free laptops, cheap loans in SP poll manifesto

he Samajwadi Party on Friday released its manifesto for Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections promising a ban on land acquisition except in urgent circumstances and various sops for the agriculture sector.

The manifesto for the coming Assembly elections in the state also promised laptops to intermediate passed students, loans at four per cent interest to small and marginal farmers, pension to those above 65 years and loan waivers.

The party promised a ban on land acquisition, except in urgent need. It said in case acquisition would be done it would be with the consent of farmers and the compensation given would be six times higher than the circle rate.

If the land is unutilised for three years, it would be returned to the farmers.

The SP promised to create pressure on the Centre for implementation of recommendations of the Rangnath commission and Sachar committee reports.

The manifesto said the party would not allow Foreign Direct Investment in retail sectors at any cost.

Bar girls lure voters for Samajwadi Party

As the date for the Assembly Elections inches closer in Uttar Pradesh, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to lure the voters.

In an attempt to garner support, a candidate of the Samajwadi Party organised a dance programme in Kanpur on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti' on Saturday. But what caught the attention were the bar girls, who, wearing skimpy clothes, danced among the crowd and presented vulgar performances.

Hitting hard at the party, BJP Kanpur wing vice-president, Surendra Maithani, said the SP was using cheap tricks to woo voters and they would take up this issue with the Election Commission.

Five-day election tour of Rahul Gandhi will end today

After attacking the ruling BSP government in Uttar Pradesh and targeting the opposition BJP in the past few days, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will on Friday hold a rally in Saharanpur.

Saharanpur rally will mark the end of Rahul Gandhi’s five-day election tour of Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly Elections will be held between February 4 to 28.

Addressing a rally in Pilibhit on Thursday, the Congress leader made a scathing attack on BJP as the district is the political turf of his cousin Varun Gandhi, who is the Lok Sabha member from that constituency.

While accusing the BJP of making only "false and hollow promises", with the sole intent of serving its short-term political gains, Rahul Gandhi appealed to the people to vote for the Congress which alone could insure a bright future for them.

"While the BJP's unreliable character was known to all, it was once again amply demonstrated in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, when in sharp contrast to its earlier categorical assurance, the party declined to support the Lokpal bill," he said.

In Bareilly, Gandhi also chose to take on the Samajwadi Party. "Ever since the UPA government has announced 4.5 percent reservation for Muslims, Mulayam Singh Yadav has become jittery, which is reflected in his new found demand for raising the Muslim reservation to 18 percent," he said.

Terming it as Mulayam Singh's "lip service", he said, "I would like to see if Mulayam Singh Yadav is going to endorse this in his party's election manifesto."

He earlier flayed Uttar Pradesh Chief MInister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati for perpetuating large-scale corruption, which he termed as the cause of Uttar Pradesh's backwardness and poverty.

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.

Lokpal Bill in Lok Sabha today

The much-awaited Lokpal Bill will be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Today and the anti-graft legislation will be discussed during Parliament's extended session on December 27.

Although, the bill has solid backing of UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, threat of a fast by noted social worker Anna Hazare also looms large on it.

The session, originally scheduled to end on December 22, will now reconvene on December 27-29 to discuss the bill.

However, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, two parties supporting the ruling UPA from outside, have struck a discordant note, saying the bill would make the local police very powerful.

Meanwhile, Anna, who has already threatened to go on a three-day fast, has rejected the bill as a betrayal of the people and said the legislation would not provide for a strong anti-graft institution.

"People will teach a lesson to this government one day," Anna said yesterday in his Ralegan-Siddhi village in Maharashtra.

He wondered how the proposed bill could be described as strong when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was being kept outside the ombudsman's ambit.

Taking on Anna, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi also said that there was a "deliberate and malicious misinformation" campaign that the Congress was not tackling corruption.

She listed bills on protection of whistleblowers, enhancing judicial accountability, the citizens right to grievance redressal, and the Lokpal bill which will be taken up for discussion from December 27-29.

Stating "she was ready to fight for the anti-graft Lokpal and women's reservation bills in the Lok Sabha" Gandhi dismissed as "rumours" that there were differences between the government and the ruling party.

She urged Congress MPs to be prepared for the battle in the house.

Describing the Lokpal bill as a "pathbreaking" legislation, the UPA chairperson urged the opposition parties and anti-corruption activist Hazare to accept it.

"They must accept it. I am always ready for a fight," said Gandhi.

The government draft bill brings the Prime Minister under Lokpal but leaves out two other key demands of the activist for inclusion of the CBI and the lower bureaucracy.

Interestingly, while MoS Narayanasamy said the "only opposition to the bill was from Anna" both Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal opposed the legislation.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad joined SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in saying there should be "consensus" before the bill is brought to Parliament and a decision on such a major issue could not be taken without giving it a thought. The SP has 22 MPs while the RJD has four MPs.

However, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it will not comment on the bill until the final draft is circulated among MPs.

The remark came a day after several BJP leaders said they will protest the bill and called it "cheating the people."

"Even a full stop or a comma changes the meaning of a sentence... we will see the bill and only then give any comment," BJP leader SS Ahluwalia said.

The BJP said it wants the dissent note on the bill, given by its members who were on the Parliamentary Standing Committee, included.

Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader LK Advani along with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to discuss the bill.

PM refuted views that China is planning to attack India

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday refuted views that China is planning to attack India and maintained that the policy of both the countries is to engage in dialogue on the border issues though there has not been much progress in recent times.

Singh assured the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that India's borders with China "by and large remain peaceful". "Our government does not share the view that China plans to attack India," Singh said.

The Prime Minister's response came after Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav claimed in the House that he has information that China has made preparations to attack India and has marked out areas near the borders for this purpose. He said the attacks were imminent. Yadav maintained that the neighbouring country has also stopped flow of Brahmaputra river water to India.

The Prime Minister, however, maintained that he had assurance from the highest quarters that China has not stopped flow of Brahmaputra waters to India. Singh accepted that there were intrusions from China into areas which India considers to be a part of its territory. However, China differs from India's claim on this issue. "These matters are sorted out by the area commanders of the two countries," Singh said.

The Prime Minister stated that India has followed the policy of engaging in dialogue and good relations with China and underlined that the erstwhile NDA government had also continued with this policy.

India and China have been engaged in dialogue through its representatives on the border issue. Singh said both countries had made some progress in talks in 2005 and thereafter, but in recent times not much has been made.