AN INSIDER STORY: ANNALILA: How Team-Pranab broke Anna deadlock!

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By Venkatesh Kesari, via Asian Age, New Delhi / DC / August 28, 2011.

Team Pranab finally controlled the damage by virtually evolving consensus on the three demands of Team Anna in Parliament on Saturday evening and thus moved forward to break the deadlock between the government and the civil society led by Mr Anna Hazare for a stronger Lokpal bill.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee involved his Cabinet colleagues Vilasrao Deshmukh, Salman Khurshid, P.K. Bansal, V. Narayanasamy, besides MP Sandeep Dikshit, in this exercise.

While Leaders of the Opposition in the two Houses of Parliament Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jatiley and NDA leader L.K. Advani also made their contribution to resolving the crisis-like situation, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar played a key role behind the scenes by involving Maharashtra leaders close to Mr Hazare, including state home minister R.R. Patil, to convince the social activist to break his fast that began from August 16.

Room No. 10 and room number 13 in Parliament House — the offices of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr Mukherjee — were the centre of activities during the day.

While members of Team Pranab wanted Mr Hazare to end his fast on Saturday night itself, the Maharashtra leaders pointed out Anna never breaks his fast after sunset.

Then it was communicated to a interlocutor of Team Anna that he (Anna) should announce the breaking of the fast before 9.30 pm. “If he does not announce, then he can change his mind on Sunday,” they feared.

On the other hand, a group of young Congress MPs was mounting pressure on the government to resolve the crisis at “any cost”.

Rest at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/how-team-pranab-broke-anna-deadlock-768

                           

MONSOON SESSION - LOK PAL: Govt ready to fast-track Lokpal Bill: Pranab!

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Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday kick-started a debate in Parliament on the contentious Lokpal issue, while appealing to Anna Hazare to end his fast.

Making a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha, Mukherjee said the government has consented to refer the Jan Lokpal Bill as well as other drafts on the issue to the Parliamentary Standing Committee examining the government’s draft Lokpal Bill.

He added that the government was willing to request the Standing Committee to expedite the process of bringing the Lokpal bill.

Mukherjee appealed to Anna Hazare’s team, saying Parliament should be given space to legislate. He added that supremacy of the Parliament to form legislation should be maintained.

”Laws have to be made by Parliamentarians,” he said. “It’s our duty to abide by the Constitution and uphold its principles,” he added.

Rest at,

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/govt-ready-to-fast-track-lokpal-bill-pranab_728583.html

     Call of the commons: People vs corruption : report of a CSE media task force to Ralegan Siddhi

Anna Hazare: The Face Of India's Fight Against Corruption

PM appeals to Anna to end his fast; Pranab to lead talks with activists!

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NDTV Correspondent / Updated: August 23, 2011 17:46 IST.

New Delhi:  Even as Anna Hazare announced that his fast against corruption will continue - the 74-year-old is now on his eighth day without food - his widely-welcomed movement against corruption seems to be heading into its third act. (Read: Who is Anna Hazare?) | (Read: What is Jan Lokpal Bill?)

The Prime Minister has written to the activist, urging him to end his hunger strike. In his letter, Dr Manmohan Singh wrote, "We are concerned about your health." He has also offered that the activists' version of the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill may be considered by a Parliamentary Committee, if the Speaker of the Lok Sabha permits. This committee - the Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Personnel - has so far been scrutinising the government's version of the Bill. Before the PM's letter, the government had suggested that some features of Anna's Bill could be added as amendments to the government's Bill. The PM has gone a step further, suggesting that Anna's Bill in its entirety may be discussed by the Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Personnel which combines 31 MPs from different parties.

Team Anna has so far said it wants its Bill to be debated directly by Parliament, instead of being weighed by a committee.

The Prime Minister met with Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi this evening as the government scrambled to find a compromise that will end the stand-off with Anna and his advisors. 

The first set of talks were held by Law Minister Salman Khurshid who met with Anna's close aide, Arvind Kejriwal. "Time is running out," said Mr Khurshid. "We need to find a solution fast...and a solution is possible through such talks," said the Law Minister.   

Full Story at,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/pm-appeals-to-anna-to-end-his-fast-pranab-to-lead-talks-with-activists-128435

     

Markets crashed due to external reasons: Pranab Mukherjee!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 5, 2011.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the plunge in the stock markets is purely due to external factors, like concerns over the U.S. recovery and Euro Zone debt crisis, and hoped the volatility is temporary and it would recover soon.

“This is nothing domestic. It is substantially due to external factors,” Mr. Mukherjee told reporters here.

The stock benchmark Sensex had crashed by over 700 points to slip below 17,000-point level for the first time since May last year. However, as the day progressed it made some recovery and the sensex closed 387 points lower.

“This is mainly because of the fact that some projection has been made about poor recovery of U.S. This has affected the market sentiment. Current volatility is temporary. Hope that there will be a recovery shortly,” the minister said.

Mr. Mukherjee cited two-main reasons for fall in stocks world over.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article2327694.ece

2G Spectrum Scam: Now, bid to drag Pranab in!

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Express News Service Last Updated : 02 Aug 2011 10:10:48 AM IST.

NEW DELHI: After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, on Monday it was the turn of  Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who had held the External Affairs portfolio in the UPA-I Cabinet, to be dragged into the 2G scam in the trial court .

Making a rather startling allegation, 2G accused Shahid Balwa’s lawyer, Majid Memon, claimed that the CBI had withheld from the court some crucial documents pertaining to a personal discussion between Mukherjee, then Minister of External Affairs, and the Solicitor General of those days, Ghoolam Vahanvati, on the telecom allocation policy. This was in 2007.

“There was a personal discussion between the then External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee and the Solicitor General G E Vahanvati on the allocation policy. The CBI should place all the documents before this court,” Memon argued before Special CBI Judge O P Saini on Monday.

Full Story at,

http://expressbuzz.com/nation/Now-bid-to-drag-Pranab-into-2G-scam/300167.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Post-Maran: Congress-DMK alliance intact, says Pranab Mukherjee!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: July 09, 2011 11:39 IST.

Chennai:  Putting all rumours to rest that Congress-DMK alliance is on the rocks, Finance Minister and Congress' chief troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee has said that the alliance is intact.

"There is a lot of writing and speculations whether the alliance between Congress and DMK is continuing or not. My respectful submission would be, this alliance is there, the alliance will continue and it will be strengthened," Mr Mukherjee said after meeting DMK patriarch Karunanidhi in Chennai today.

Mr Mukherjee said that he discussed the current political situation with Mr Karunanidhi.

"This is my first visit to Chennai after the general elections to the state Assembly took place. Whenever I come to Chennai, I make it a practice to call on the leader and discuss political situations prevailing at that point of time. Therefore, when I came to Chennai this time, I took the opportunity of calling on the leader, Kalaignar Karunanidhi, and discussing the current political situation prevailing in the country," he said.

The meeting comes shortly after the resignation of DMK leader Dyanidhi Maran as the Union Textiles Minister and a Cabinet reshuffle in the UPA II government. Mr Maran put in his papers a day after the CBI, investigating the 2G scam, said it had preliminary evidence against him and he is being investigated for misusing his office when he was the telecom minister.

Full Story at,http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/congress-dmk-alliance-intact-says-pranab-mukherjee-117939

BUGGING F.M.'s.: Make public Pranab’s letter to Manmohan on bugging incident - BJP!!

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PTI / The Hindu /  CHANDIGARH, June 26, 2011.

Rubbishing the Home Minister’s contention that reported bugging of Pranab Mukherjee’s office was a “non-event”, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said it was a very serious matter and demanded that the Finance Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister in this regard be made public.

Reacting sharply to Mr. Chidambaram saying he did not know about the bugging incident in the offices of the Finance Minister and his aides, BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad said, “while the Finance Minister takes services of CBDT and foreign investigators before writing to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister says he was not aware.”

Expressing surprise at Mr. Chidambaram’s statement that he was not aware of the Intelligence Bureau’s probe into Mr. Mukherjee’s complaint about “bugging” of his office in North Block despite the IB being under the Home Minister, Mr. Prasad said, ”...It is the biggest comedy of Independent India.”

Really grave issue that is being archived by the over-sensitive UPA Government but, Nation needs to know the truth!

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2137020.ece

UPA CABINET RESHUFFLE: PC, Pranab want to shift to safer terrains!

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Santwana Bhattacharya, Express News Service, Last Updated : 26 Jun 2011 09:52:33 AM IST.

NEW DELHI: After Mamata Banerjee became the chief minister of West Bengal, she parked her close party aide MoS Mukul Roy in the Railways.

She has since been lobbying to get Roy elevated to a Cabinet rank, but the PM seems to have put his foot down. So Sonia Gandhi had a chat with Mamata to convince her to relinquish the Rail Bhavan. This was when she was in the Capital last week. But, sources said, she refused to do so saying that she needs the Railways for development of West Bengal.

Now another TMC man, MoS for Health Dinesh Trivedi is the front-runner.

Mamata's fixation with Railways Ministry beats the logic; UPA better appoint Railways Minister for West Bengal and another for the rest of India!

Full Story at,

http://expressbuzz.com/nation/pc-pranab-want-to-shift-to-safer-terrains/288082.html

BUGGING F.M.'s.: Why I wasn't involved: Home Minister on Pranabgate!

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Sonia Singh, Updated: June 25, 2011 19:21 IST / http://www.ndtv.com.

New Delhi:  In an exclusive interview with NDTV's Sonia Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram - to whom the Intelligence Bureau reports - has said he had no idea about the so called 'bugging' attempt on the Finance Minister's office till he saw it in the newspapers this week.

Mr Chidambaram, however, rubbished Opposition's arguments that this proves 'there is a civil war' between him and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Asked why he had been bypassed by Mr Mukherjee who wrote to the Prime Minister, he said it had been dismissed as a non event which is why he wasn't briefed.

Here's the transcript of the interview:

NDTV: The political story that has dominated the headlines this week is the alleged bugging attempt of the Finance Minister's office. As Home Minister, in charge of internal security, could you clarify what it actually was?

Mr Chidambaram: Well, I didn't know about it until it hit the newspapers or the media. Apparently last September or October the intelligence bureau was asked to look into this complaint or suspicion that the Finance Minister's office has been "bugged". They went into it, did a complete investigation and sent the substance to a forensic science lab. They got a report that it was an adhesive kind of substance and there was no evidence of any bugs being planted anywhere and those reports I saw three days ago.

...................................................................................................................................................................

One this is for sure: either they are running a play-pen, which unruly kids might have carelessly stuck up bubble gum at 16 different points of three chambers of the office of the Finance Minister or something is, really, fishy they found and they are trying to protect someone!

Full Interview at,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/why-i-wasnt-involved-home-minister-on-pranabgate-114736

BUGGING F.M.: Govt says bugging issue bogus, matter should be closed!

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• June 23, 2011 
• PTI 
• New Delhi / DC.

• 
  

• Government today insisted that there was no bugging of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office, saying the whole thing is 'bogus' and the matter should be closed now.
  "I had myself talked to the Finance Minister last evening on this matter. There is nothing to take forward. The Finance Minister has categorically and emphatically stated (to the media) that it has been investigated and the answer is there has been no bugging," Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni told reporters here.
  Mukherjee had maintained that the Intelligence Bureau had not found any evidence of bugging and the substance found in 16 key places in the Finance Minister's office was "chewing gum".

For IB's Chewing Gum Theory to be true, Mr. Mukherjee must be running a play pen, on the side and that the kids were so unruly that they leave chewed gum here and there!

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/govt-says-bugging-issue-bogus-matter-should-be-closed-180

BUGGING F.M.: Pranab security breach: BJP rubbishes 'chewing gum theory'!

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• June 22, 2011 
• IANS 
• New Delhi / DC.

• 
  

• 

• File photo - Sushma Swaraj - Agencies.

• 
  

• The explanation given by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that the adhesives found in Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office were chewing gums, is a 'joke', the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Wednesday.
  "IB's chewing gum theory is a joke. A childish argument like this...if they want the country to believe that it was a chewing gum, people will laugh," BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told reporters on Wednesday.
  "From where such intelligent chewing gum came, which goes to the finance minister's room, his OSD's room, advisor's room, to the conference hall, and sticks? Before giving such argument, the IB must think," she said.

IB explaining away this episode was so unimaginative that it appears to have lifted the plot from a James Bond movie! 

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/pranab-security-breach-bjp-rubbishes-chewing-gum-theory-971