Hurt by Union law minister Salman Khurshid's defiance of poll code, the Election Commission (EC) has sought President Pratibha Devisingh Patil's "decisive intervention" to ensure elections in Uttar Pradesh are conducted in accordance with law.BJP seeks Khurshid's immediate dismissal!
Over 60% turnout in UP second phase pollTroubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, chapter 742
Palash Biswas
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| Govt brainstorms on SC's 2G verdict, PM meets senior ministers |
| Discusses implications on pre-2008 and dual-technology licences, spectrum auction and FDI |
| BS Reporters / New Delhi Feb 12, 2012, 00:51 IST |
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday met Communications and IT minister Kapil Sibal, Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, among others, to analyse the implications of the Supreme Court order cancelling 122 2G licences issued in January 2008, its overall impact on foreign direct investments (FDI), and the options before the government.
Home Minister P Chidambaram, Attorney General G E Vahanvati and Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar also attended the meeting.
"This meeting was to inform senior ministers about the implications and ramifications of the judgment. This group was not meant to take any decision," Sibal said after the meeting.
The telecom secretary gave a presentation on what the judgment was all about and what it meant, Sibal added. "The matter has to ultimately go to the Cabinet. Therefore, the government has to be informed beforehand so that it can take a decision," he said.
According to people close to the development, the issue of licences issued before 2008 on the basis of the first-come-first-served policy was also discussed in the meeting. Besides, dual-technology licences awarded to Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices in August 2007 and the financial implications on the government if the licence fee had to be refunded to all whose licences were cancelled were also taken up.
A senior government official said the meeting was called to analyse the Supreme Court judgment and study what the government could do to implement the court order.
"It will involve multiple ministries. So, all ministers concerned were called for the meeting," added the official.
He stressed that the apprehensions associated with the possibility that an oligopolistic situation might arise after spectrum auctioning and that a company with licence might not get spectrum in the auction were set to be addressed in the final mechanism for implementation of the Court order.
The cancelled 122 licences and dual-technology licences were issued by the then telecom minister, A Raja, who is now undergoing trial in the alleged 2G spectrum scam.
The SC order had also directed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to frame new rules for licences and auction of spectrum. Trai has already floated a pre-consultation paper for framing the new norms and seeking comments from all stakeholders.
The new auction norms for 2G spectrum that about 540 MHz of spectrum will be released following the SC order was also discussed during the meeting. The PM had asked for the opinion of Attorney General GE Vahanvati on the issue in the last meeting held on Wednesday.
The companies impacted by the SC order include Uninor, Sistema Shyam, Loop, Videocon, Idea, Tata Teleservices, STel and Etisalat DB. Of these affected companies, Uninor, a joint venture between Norway's Telenor and Unitech Group and Sistema Shyam, a JV between Russia's Sistema and Shyam group, have invested close to Rs 28,000 crore and were considered serious new telecom entrants.
Both the companies have expressed their willingness to participate in the 2G auction, but will take a final decision after the new auction norms are finalised.
The telecom ministry is likely to take a legal opinion before sending termination letters to the new players.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/govt-brainstormsscs-2g-verdict-pm-meets-senior-ministers/464443/
Hurt by Union law minister Salman Khurshid's defiance of poll code, the Election Commission (EC) has sought President Pratibha Devisingh Patil's "decisive intervention" to ensure elections in Uttar Pradesh are conducted in accordance with law.
Addressing an election rally in Khatakpur locality last night, the law minister said that Election Commission had censured him, but even if the "Commission hangs him or does anything else, he would ensure that people of Pasmanda community get their rights".
"Can't I even say that Pasmanda Muslims would get their due?" he said, adding that Congress was set to hoist the tricolour in the state assembly after 22 years.
The Commission had censured Khurshid for his remarks on sub-quota for minorities, finding them to be a violation of the model code of conduct for elections.
Taking strong objection to Salman Khurshid's comments after his censure on his minority quota remarks, the Election Commission tonight wrote to President Pratibha Patil against the "defiant and aggressive" law minister and sought her immediate decisive intervention. The EC had earlier censured him for the same statement made on January 8 while campaigning in Uttar Pradesh elections, holding that it was violative of the Election Model Code of Conduct.
With Election Commission seeking President Pratibha Patil's intervention on Law Minister Salman Khurshid's defiance of poll body's censure of his sub-quota remarks, BJP on Saturday sought his immediate dismissal from the cabinet.
"We demand his immediate sacking from the Union Cabinet and ask the Prime Minister to clarify the stand of the government," said BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi who had earlier complained to the EC against Khurshid's defiance despite his censure by the poll body.
"Today, an extra-ordinary situation has arisen. There is a serious conflict between two constitutional authorites because of the action of some ministers of the Union cabinet," said Naqvi.
The BJP leader said the President of India and the Prime Minister should immediately intervene "in this extra-ordinary situation as this is the first time such a situation has arisen in the history of democractic India."
He said the Law Minister had challenged the EC's earlier order and said that "religion-based unconstitutional reservation will exist even if the EC exists or not".
Late on Saturday night, the Election Commission, in an unprecedented action, sought the "immediate and decisive" intervention of President Pratibha Patil after it charged Khurshid with "improper and unlawful" defiance of its orders under which he was censured for promising sub-quota for minorities.
Keeping up with the first phase, ballotting in 59 constituencies in the second phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections Saturday touched 60 percent and seemed set to go up, officials said. Polling was peaceful.
"Despite the chilly morning, people came out in large numbers to cast their vote in almost all of the 59 assembly constituencies that went to poll across nine districts of the state. No wonder, the polling percentage went up to about 60 percent, and will go up," state's chief electoral officer Umesh Sinha told media persons here. The first phase saw a 62 percent turnout.
"Even as we were keeping our fingers crossed, on account of the various complexities prevailing in the area, polling was carried out very peacefully, without a single untoward incident being reported from anywhere," he said.
Sinha described the task as huge, since the number of candidates and the spread of the constituencies was very large.
Over 120,000 security personnel, including about 55,000 central para-military troopers and 10,000 personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), were deployed to maintain a strict vigil in the crime-prone, communally-sensitive and poverty-ridden expanse of eastern Uttar Pradesh where the voting was held.
The voting has sealed the fate of 1,098 candidates, of whom the 1.97 crore voters were to elect their 59 representatives for the 403-member state assembly.
The phase is crucial for the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which had bagged as many as 30 of the 59 seats in the region in the 2007 assembly elections. The Samajwadi Party (SP) had won 21 seats, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) got 6 and Congress trailed last with two seats here.
Other than Gorakhpur, the districts where polling was held are Azamgarh, Ballia, Ghazipur, Maharajganj, Deoria, Mau, Sant Kabir Nagar and Kushinagar, where 20,426 polling stations with some 20,800 electronic voting machines (EVM) were in place.
Different political parties seem to view the impressive turnout from their respective angles.
The BSP claimed it was an indication of a major swing in its favour. "I am quite confident that our party will retain all of 30 seats we had won last time," claimed a key BSP functionary.
However, the Congress sees the high turnout of youth as a reflection of the surge for Rahul Gandhi, while Samajwadi Party was ready to give itself a substantial jump from its last tally of six.
"All the anti-incumbency votes against Mayawati will come to us," claimed SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Gorakhpur felt that the party would definitely make a significant gain.
A number of prominent leaders including 30 sitting legislators and 21 former ministers were in fray. Prominent among them were Assembly Speaker Sukhdeo Rajbhar, BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi, BSP state chief Swami Prasad Maurya, mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari as well as Peace Party president Dr. Ayub.
The SP had fielded Aman Mani Tripathi, the son of jailed politician Amarmani Tripathi, convicted for the murder of his girlfriend and Hindi poetess Madhumita Shukla.
In an unprecedented action, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday wrote to President Pratibha Patil against Union Law Minister Khurshid's alleged defiance of model code of conduct.The EC said the defiance by a union minister of the Constitutional body was "unprecedented" and his "improper and unlawful action" has put a strain on the delicate balance of functions between Constitutional authorities.
Khurshid had dared the Election Commission to act against him over his comment on Muslim sub-quota.
The Election Commission said that it is shocked that Khurshid chose to be defiant and aggressive.
In its letter, EC SY Quraishi wrote, "The Commission is approaching you with serious dismay and a deep sense of urgency that requires your kind intervention in the midst of the poll process in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The Union Minister for Law and Justice and Minority Affairs, Salman Khurshid, who is also a leader of the Indian National Congress Party, had made certain statements and announcements during the course of his campaign in the state. One of them was to the effect that the Congress would provide a quota of 9 per cent reservation to the minorities within the existing quota of 27 per cent for OBCs. He also indicated that Muslims having a sizeable population will be benefited from this move. Following complaints received from a political party that such announcement was a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, the Commission, after due notice and hearing, passed an order on February, 9, 2012 that Khurshid had indeed violated the MCC. The full Commission hence deliberated on the matter in an emergency meeting, this afternoon, while being concerned about the fact that Khurshid's action could vitiate free and fair poll in Uttar Pradesh."
Sources said that the President has forwarded the EC's letter to Prime Minister's Office for appropriate action.
The EC said the defiance by a union minister of the Constitutional body was "unprecedented" and his "improper and unlawful action" has put a strain on the delicate balance of functions between Constitutional authorities.
"The Commission is shocked that instead of being remorseful about the violation of the Model Code, that carries the consensus of all political parties and the sanction of the Supreme Court, the Minister has chosen to be defiant and aggressive. This is unprecedented," it said.
"The Commission is approaching you with serious dismay and a deep sense of urgency that requires your kind intervention in the midst of the poll process in the state of Uttar Pradesh," said the EC letter to President.
The EC cited "certain statements and announcements" made by Khurshid during the course of his campaign in UP, one of which was to the effect that the Congress would provide a quota of 9 percent reservation to the minorities within the existing quota of 27 percent for OBCs.
"He (Khurshid) also indicated that Muslims having a sizeable population will be benefited from this move," the letter noted.
The EC pointed out that it had censured Khurshid for these statements but today he said he would continue to pursue that line "irrespective of whatever the Commission directs".
The EC found "the tone and tenor of the Union Minister dismissive and utterly contemptuous about the Commission's lawful direction to him, besides the fact that his action is damaging the level playing field in the election," the letter said.
Underlining that the "response of a union minister and that too, the law minister, to the Commission's decision in a MCC (Model Code of Conduct) case has created a disturbing situation", the EC said, "we find the immediate need to draw attention of the Executive to the fact that the onus of holding free and fair polls falls on all organs of the State."
The Commission said it is "quite concerned that the delicate balance of functions between constitutional authorities has come under a strain, because of the Minister's improper and unlawful action."
The Election Commission "finds it necessary and unavoidable to turn to you at this juncture for immediate and decisive intervention so that the ongoing general election to the Uttar Pradesh assembly is conducted, and this Commission discharges its functions, in accordance with the Constitution and the law," the letter to the President said.
In its letter, the Commission also referred to its earlier order passed two days back holding that Khurshid had indeed violated the Model Code of Conduct.
In its earlier order, the Commission had said it "cannot help expressing its deep anguish and disappointment over his (Khurshid's) violation of Model Code of Conduct.
"As a union minister for law and minorities affairs, he has an added responsibility of ensuring that the Model Code of Conduct is observed in letter and spirit so that elections are conducted in a free and fair manner and all political parties enjoy a level-playing field in the matter of their election campaigns.
"In the above circumstances, the Commission hereby censures Sh. Salman Khurshid and hopes and expects that such violations of model code of conduct would not be repeated by him in future."
Congress mum on EC step against Khurshid
Congress tonight avoided commenting on the Election Commission's letter to President Pratibha Patil seeking "immediate decisive" action against a "defiant and aggressive" law minister Salman Khurshid for his remarks on job quotas for minorities.
"We have not gone through the letter written by the EC to the President. We will get back to you after we go through it," Congress spokesman Rashid Alvi said.
"Ask Salman," was the pithy remark of a senior Congress leader when reached for comments on the poll authority's unprecedented step against the law minister. A number of phone calls and text messages to Khurshid remained unanswered.
The EC had earlier censured him for the same statement made on January 8 while campaigning in Uttar Pradesh elections, holding that it was violative of the Election Model Code of Conduct.
BJP seeks Khurshid's immediate dismissal
"We demand his immediate sacking from the union cabinet and ask the Prime Minister to clarify the stand of the government," said BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi who had earlier complained to the EC against Khurshid's defiance despite his censure by the poll body.
"Today, an extraordinary situation has arisen. There is a serious conflict between two constitutional authorities because of the action of some ministers of the Union cabinet," said Naqvi.
The BJP leader said the President of India and the Prime Minister should immediately intervene "in this extra-ordinary situation as this is the first time such a situation has arisen in the history of democratic India."
He said the law minister had challenged the EC's earlier order and said that "religion-based unconstitutional reservation will exist even if the EC exists or not".
The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday wrote a letter to the President against Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid for his defiant attitude on the poll code.
Here's the full text of the letter:
Respected Rashtrapati Ji,
The Commission is approaching you with serious dismay and a deep sense of urgency that requires your kind intervention in the midst of the poll process in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The Union Minister for Law and Justice and Minority Affairs, Salman Khurshid, who is also a leader of the Indian National Congress Party, had made certain statements and announcements during the course of his campaign in the state. One of them was to the effect that the Congress would provide a quota of 9 per cent reservation to the minorities within the existing quota of 27 per cent for OBCs. He also indicated that Muslims having a sizeable population will be benefited from this move.
Following complaints received from a political party that such announcement was a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, the Commission, after due notice and hearing, passed an order on 9th February, 2012 that Sh. Khurshid had indeed violated the MCC. The following are the relevant observations contained in the Order:
"The Commission, therefore, cannot help expressing its deep anguish and disappointment over his violation of model code of conduct. As a Union Minister for Law and Minorities Affairs, he has an added responsibility of ensuring that the model code of conduct is observed in letter and spirit so that elections are conducted in a free and fair manner and all political parties enjoy a level playing field in the matter of their election campaigns.
In the above circumstances, the Commission hereby censures Salman Khurshid andhopes and expects that such violations of model code of conduct would not be repeated by him in future."
Sh. Khurshid has been seen in television media today (11th February 2012) making statements to the effect that he would pursue the line of his earlier announcement irrespective of whatever the Commission directs. In fact, the Union Minister goes on to say that he would stick to his line, "even if they hang me". We have found the tone and tenor of the Union Minister dismissive and utterly contemptuous about the Commission's lawful direction to him, besides the fact that his action is damaging the level playing field in the election.
The above response of a Union Minister and that too, the Law Minister, to the Commission's decision in a MCC case has created a disturbing situation. The Commission is shocked that instead of being remorseful about the violation of the Model Code, that carries the consensus of all political parties and the sanction of the Supreme Court, the Minister has chosen to be defiant and aggressive. This is unprecedented. The full Commission hence deliberated on the matter in an emergency meeting, this afternoon, while being concerned about the fact that Sh. Khurshid's action could vitiate free and fair poll in Uttar Pradesh. The Commission is perturbed because the undermining of its constitutionally mandated duties has come from the Law Minister who has a direct responsibility to uphold and strengthen the ECI rather than to denigrate it. Hence, we find the immediate need to draw attention of the executive to the fact that the onus of holding free and fair polls falls on all organs of the State. The Commission is quite concerned that the delicate balance of functions between constitutional authorities has come under a strain, because of the Minister's improper and unlawful action.
The Election Commission of India finds it necessary and unavoidable to turn to you at this juncture for immediate and decisive intervention so that the ongoing general election to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly is conducted, and this Commission discharges its functions, in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
With respectful regards,
(SY Quraishi)
More than 60 per cent voters turnout in second phase of polls
State BSP president Swami Prasad Maurya has heated exchange with a PAC jawan on an otherwise incident free polling day
Virendra Nath Bhatt
Lucknow
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The trend of increase in voter turnout continued in the second phase of polling during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on Saturday. The voter turnout is expected to be over 60 per cent where 59 assembly seats spread in nine districts of eastern UP went to polls. The hike in voter turnout was over 14 per cent more than the 46 per cent turnout during the second phase of polling in the 2007 Assembly elections. There had been a significant increase of 18 per cent in voter turnout compared to 2007 during the first phase of polling on 8 February as well.
"Approximately 57 per cent polling was recorded in 59 seats of nine districts and it is expected to go up to 59 per cent. The polling was completely incident free and absolutely peaceful. By 3 pm around 50 per cent polling was recorded in almost all the 59 seats in nine districts," said Umesh Sinha, the chief electoral officer of UP. "The polling continued till 8 pm in many districts against the normal polling hours of 7 am to 5 pm," he added.
In Kushinagar district, however, cabinet minister and state BSP President Swami Prasad Maurya had a heated exchange with a PAC jawan who prevented him from entering a polling booth. Maurya, who is seeking re-election from Padrauna assembly seat in the district, was asked by the PAC jawan to leave the premises of the polling booth, to which the minister strongly objected saying he was a candidate who has a high status. The PAC jawan, however, made it clear that it was well within his legal rights to prevent the entry of any unauthorised person inside the polling booth.
There were reports of voters boycotting polls at Bheeta in Ballia district and Hathiya in Azamgarh districts, besides minor complaints related to problems with electronic voting machines (EVMs). There were also reports of minor incidents in Mau and Azamgarh district where the police had to use mild force to disperse crowds.
The voters have sealed the fate of 1,098 candidates after Saturday's polling, held in Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia and Ghazipur.
The stakes are high for the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the second phase as it had won 32 seats in the 2007 Assembly elections followed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) with 20 seats while the BJP had won only seven and the Congress could win only two seats.
There are many high profile candidates whose fates have been locked in the ballot boxes after Saturday's polling. The state president of the BJP Surya Pratap Shahi, also a chief ministerial candidate, is in the fray from Patthardeva assembly seat in Deoria district; Ramapati Tripathi, also a former BJP state president, is in the fray from Siswa Bazaar seat in Maharajganj district; Dr Ayub Ansari, head of the Muslim-dominated political outfit Peace Party, is also seeking election from the Khalilabad seat in Sant Kabir Nagar district. Some other senior leaders whose destinies have been determined include Speaker of the state assembly Sukhdeo Rajbhar, revenue minister Phagu Chauhan, state president of BSP Swami Prasad Maurya, deputy leader of SP Ambika Chaudhary. As many as 31 sitting MLAs and 24 former ministers and the mafia dons Mukhtar Ansari and Brijesh Singh, who are both in jail, have also contested the elections.
Meanwhile, Hindutva leader Yogi Aditya Nath, BJP MP from Gorakhpur, caused huge embarrassment to his party by claiming that it will be a hung assembly as no party will get a clear majority and that the state will witness mid-term polls within the next one year. "Be it BJP, SP, BSP or the Congress, no party will get clear majority on the floor of the House and the BJP should not commit the folly of supporting any other party in forming the government," he said in Gorakhpur, adding, "I would suggest both the national parties--the Congress and the BJP--not to extend support to any regional party – the SP or the BSP – and wait for the mid-term polls to the state assembly, which will take place within next one year."
Yogi argued that "if the national parties extend support to any of the regional parties it will create a potential crisis of existence for them". He had earlier also opposed the entry of the NRHM scam-tainted BSP leader Babu Singh Kushwaha into the party and had announced that he will not campaign for the party. The BJP had in 1993, 1996 and 2003 had extended support and formed coalition government with the BSP.
The state BJP president Surya Pratap Shahi, who has a running feud with the Yogi Aditya Nath ever since he took over as the state chief of the party in May 2010 rejected his claims. "BJP has nothing to do with the ideas of Yogi Aditya Nath; what he said are his personal views. As far as I can understand the political situation of UP, the BJP will get a clear majority or will be at striking distance from the magic number of 202 in the state assembly," he said.
Virendra Nath Bhatt is a Special Correspondent with Tehelka.
virendranathbhatt@gmail.com
Editing by Arpit Parashar
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Ws110212ELECTIONS.asp
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