Two MPs in Jharkhand – one from the ruling BJP and the other from the Opposition JVM – have taken to the public protest route to seek solutions to problems that could have been addressed better by dialogues. The MPs’ act has evoked mixed feelings among their supporters and opponents.
While the BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey sat in a hungerstrike on Saturday against the state’s BJP-JMM government alleging its continual neglect to his constituency and the entire Santhal Pargana area, Jamshedpur’s newly elected Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) MP Ajay Kumar blocked trains in southern Jharkhand with JVM supporters on Sunday demanding resumption of passenger trains in the night.
Dubey ended his strike on Sunday after chief minister Arjun Munda reportedly agreed to his demands. Munda had earlier mocked the MP’s idea of hunger strike, saying: “He (Dubey) is the local MP and he is highlighting the local issues, which is his work”. Sources said the CM, who has had cold relations with the MP, agreed to accept his demands after BJP central leaders like Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley intervened. Dubey’s hunger strike was largely seen as a result of his political ambitions beyond his constituency.
JVM MP Ajay Kumar, whose election by a huge margin in the bypoll in July remained shadowed by allegations of his links with the Maoists, took up the crucial issue of resuming nightly operations of passenger trains in the Chakradharpur-Howrah route by blocking trains with his supporters at Ghatsila and other places.
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Amarmani shifted to hardwar jail
AGE CORRESPONDENT
lucknow, SEPT. 11
Former UP minister and a convict in the Madhumita Shukla murder case, Amarmani Tripathi, was transferred to Hardwar jail late on Saturday evening after a medical board that examined him found him to be “fit”. Tripathi, who enjoyed a prolonged two-month holiday from jail by feigning sickness, was examined by a team of doctors in Varanasi and was found to be suffering from lumber spondylitis “which is a common ailment these days”. The medical board said that the patient did not require any hospitalisation for his ailment. Varanasi district magistrate (DM) Ravindra told reporters on Sunday that the detailed report of the medical board would be sent to Hardwar jail.
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Don’t vote for those who opposed bill: Anna
Making it clear that there will be no let-up in his crusade against corruption, Anna Hazare sunday asked people not to vote for MPs who have opposed the Jan Lokpal Bill in the next general elections and “gherao” their houses even as he announced to undertake a nationwide yatra, including states where assembly polls are due. “Watch the MPs on television and note those who have opposed the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament, and later gherao their houses chanting bhajans in a non-violent protest,” he said at the end of the two-day meeting of the core committee of his anti-corruption movement, the first since he called off his 12-day fast. — PTI
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Diggy says hazare is ‘simple, well-meaning’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 11
Days after describing Mr Anna Hazare as an RSS mask, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh called the Gandhian a “simple, good, well-meaning man” and said the issue of his arrest should have been handled more tactfully. “The matter (Anna’s arrest) should have been handled more tactfully. Anything else that I’ve to say about it, I’ll say it directly to my leader,” the Congress general secretary said in an interview to a TV channel.
“... When I say more tactfully I mean for example: why were the Opposition parties not involved in the drafting process (of Lokpal). We made an unprecedented move, and we made it just out of respect for Anna. But why leave the Opposition out?”
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Roy, dey refute arvind on lokpal dialogue
AGE CORRESPONDENT
jaipur, SEPT. 11
Noted social worker Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey took exception to Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal’s reported statement saying they and the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information refused to engage in a dialogue on the Jan Lokpal Bill. “In fact, the NCPRI never refused to engage in dialogue,” a statement issued by Ms Roy and Mr Dey said. Mr Kejriwal had been seen as highly critical of his mentor, Ms Roy, at Ralegan Siddhi on Saturday while speaking to the media. He reportedly said Ms Roy opted to block the dialogue. “Mr Kejriwal himself states that the issue has been discussed in three meetings. The allegation that we refused to engage in dialogue is wrong,” Ms Roy and Mr Dey said.