‘Gadkari a cheap politician’

‘Gadkari a cheap politician’

Our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 7: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today dared BJP president Nitin Gadkari to substantiate with evidence the corruption allegations brought against him by the latter. Taking exception to charges of corruption levelled against him by Gadkari, Gogoi said: “If Gadkari levelled the corruption charges against me on being provoked by Assam BJP president Ranjit Dutta or others, it is certain that he is a cheap politician.”

Talking to newsmen here today, Gogoi said: “I have decided to write to Gadkari to furnish proof of his charges, because such criticism has never been levelled against me by any BJP leaders most of whom have cordial relationship with me at personnel level even though we have political rivalry. His allegations against me have no basis.”

No consensus on women’s quota bill

NEW DELHI, April 5: A meeting of leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha failed to reach a consensus on the women’s reservation Bill with most opponents of the legislation sticking to their stated positions.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad, a strong opponent of the Bill in its present form, said the legislation should provide reservation for Dalits, minorities and the backward castes.Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, also the leader of the house in the Lok Sabha, convened the meeting at the parliament complex.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Defence Minister A.K. Antony also attended the meeting.

The Bill seeks to reserve 33 percent of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures for women.Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said her party supported the Bill, but the interest of the minorities should be taken care of.

Ahead of the meeting, Lalu Prasad said that he and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav would oppose the bill in its present form.The Bill, passed amid uproar in the Rajya Sabha last month, is also opposed by the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and a section of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U).

On Sunday, Samajwadi Party spokesman Mohan Singh told IANS that the party would oppose the Bill at Monday’s meeting.The government, which faces a bigger opposition to the Bill in the Lok Sabha, wants to introduce it in the lower house in the second phase of the budget session that starts April 15.

The Samajwadi Party has suggested that reservation for women in legislatures should be brought down to 20 percent from the proposed 33 percent.The Congress has said it will strive to achieve a consensus on the legislation.(IANS)

Lakshmi Vilas Bank reports 22.79% business growth

Lakshmi Vilas Bank reports 22.79% business growth

CHENNAI: Private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank on Monday said it has registered a total business growth of 22.79 per cent at Rs 15,561 crore

for the financial year ending March 31, 2010.

Last year, the bank's total business stood at Rs 12,673 crore. "The total deposits of the bank rose from Rs 7,358 crore to Rs 9,076 crore, increasing by 23 per cent year-on-year basis," a statement issued by the bank here said.

The Current Account Savings Account deposits of the bank also increased from Rs 1,229 crore to Rs 1,650 crore registering year-on-year growth of 34 per cent, it said.

The bank's credit portfolio expanded from Rs 5,315 crore to Rs 6,485 crore, registering a year-on-year growth of 22 per cent, the statement added.

Lakshmi Vilas currently has 16 lakh customers and has 271 branches spread across 14 states and one union territory, it further said.

After Uma, Govindacharya quits his organization

After Uma, Govindacharya quits his organization

BHOPAL, April 4: Close on the heels of Uma Bharti’s resignation from the president’s post of her party, Bharatiya Jan Shakti (BJS), her mentor and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ideologue K.N. Govindacharya has quit as national convenor of his own organisation - Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan (RSA).He left for Delhi shortly before the organisation’s two-day national executive meet was to begin here Saturday.

Govindacharya’s decision to quit the RSA post was announced at the organisation’s meet on Saturday and Rakesh Dubey was nominated as RSA’s national convener. Govindacharya was the convener of RSA since its founding May 15, 2004, and was devoting his time and energy in working for the Bharatiya Shodh Sansthan, Kautilya Shodh Sansthan and Bharat Vikas Parishad.

The former BJP general secretary and an RSS ideologue had severed ties with the BJP during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government following his remarks calling the former prime minister a ‘mask’ and Advani the ‘real face’ of the party.Since then, Govindacharya, a patron of the RSS Swadeshi movement, restricted himself to academic activities even after Bharti roped him in 2009 and announced that the BJS would be the political wing of the RSA.