Dissident leader Nabam Tuki was sworn in seventh chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, ending a month-long political stalemate seeking change of leadership in the state. Governor J.J. Singh in the presence of AICC observers, Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, former minister B.K. Handique and party’s general secretary and in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh Dhaniram Shandil administered the oath to the veteran Congress leader.
Soon after taking the oath of office, Mr Tuki, the first chief minister from the Nyishi community, told reporters that his priority would be to maintain communal harmony among all tribes of the land-locked state. Earlier on Monday, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi directed Mr Jarbom Gamlin to step down and nominated Mr Tuki as his successor. In a swift development on Monday, the Congress Legislature Party, which was attended by 40 out of 42 Congress legislators, had also taken one point resolution authorising the Congress president to appoint a new leader.
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EC rejects rights to recall and reject
AGE CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Nov. 1
The Election Commission of India (EC) has outright rejected Team Anna’s two proposals of “Right to Recall” and Right to Reject” on the grounds that it would lead to instability and frequent elections.
This was conveyed by the EC in a statement. A delegation of Team Anna led by noted advocate Shanthi Bhushan had a discussion on electoral reforms with the three election commissioners namely Dr S Y Quraishi, Mr V.S. Sampath and Mr H.S. Brahma on Monday. According to the statement, Dr Quraishi told the delegation that “Right to Recall” would not bring instability, as the losers would begin their campaign from day one but also hamper developmental work.
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SP, BJP corner Cong on Muslim quota
Age Correspondent
Lucknow, Nov. 1
The Samajwadi Party and the BJP have started cornering the Congress on the issue of Muslim reservation.
The Samajwadi Party asked the Congress to immediately implement the recommendations of the Sachchar Committee and Ranganath Commission while the BJP accused the Congress of playing politics with the sentiments of the Muslims. “We will accept nothing short of the implementation of the recommendations of the two committees. We have held agitation twice on this issue and have raised it in Parliament also. During our regime in UP, the representation of the Muslims in the police force went up to 14.5 per cent,” said SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav.
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Gehlot meets Patel,Wasnik on reshuffle?
Narayan Bareth
Jaipur, Nov. 1
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political adviser Ahmed Patel on Tuesday in Delhi and discussed the political situation in the state and the issue of reshuffle in his cabinet. According to party sources, party’s Rajasthan in-charge Mukul Wasnik was also with him during the discussion on several key issues, including political appointments.
This was the CM’s fourth visit to Delhi in the last one month. Last week, he had a long meeting with Mr Wasnik regarding a change in his cabinet and making appointments in government bodies. Though, the CM had brushed aside when asked in Jaipur on Monday about expansion in his cabinet.
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BJD doles out sops for women in Orissa
Akshaya Kumar Sahoo
Bhubaneswar, Nov. 1
With an eye on the coming panchayat elections, the Naveen Patnaik government is now making all-out effort to woo women voters by launching sops for them.
The latest sop that came from the ruling BJD stable on Tuesday is “Janani Sisu Surakshya Karyakram,” (JSSK) to provide free services to pregnant women for delivery of newborns and neo-natal care.
Launching the scheme at Jayadev Bhawan here, state health and family welfare minister Prasanna Acharya said the new move would provide free and cashless services to pregnant women, including normal deliveries and caesarean births, and treatment for sick new-born up to 30 days after birth.
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Rahu pays surprise visit to Varanasi
Lucknow, Nov. 1: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday, made an unscheduled visit to Varanasi and drove straight to the Seer Govardhan Ravidas Mandir and did “darshan,” reports our Lucknow correspondent. Mr Gandhi arrived at the Babatpur airport around 10.30 am and a cavalcade of vehicles drove him to Lanka area where he had darshan at the Ravidas Mandir before leaving for his onward journey, the details of which were not known. District Magistrate Ravindra confirmed that the Congress MP had paid a visit to Varanasi.