Former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha appears to have applied a balm on the worsening relations between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal which had recently witnessed public outbursts where state Bharatiya Janata Party leaders openly accused chief minister Parkash Singh Badal of being aloof and discriminatory.
Recently made in-charge of the saffron party’s Punjab affairs, Mr Sinha called on chief minister Mr Badal after extended deliberations with senior party leaders including local government minister Manoranjan Kalia and Amritsar MP Navjot Sidhu.
“I want to tell you all that the alliance will continue. There are no misunderstandings between both sides,” Mr Sinha told reporters at an early breakfast meeting on Monday.
“Our alliance is a natural one and has been there for a number of years. It will continue for years to come. We are in this government because we have a responsibility towards the people of Punjab.”
But the confident assurance apparently came only after the BJP leader conveyed every one of his partymen’s many complaints to the chief minister over dinner on Sunday evening. Key SAD leaders, including deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal, rural development minister Ranjit Brahmpura and Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Dhindsa were also present while Mr Sinha, accompanied by Messers Kalia and Sidhu listed the BJP’s complaints.
Key among these is the BJP’s main grumble over the allocation of state funds for development.
Mr Kalia and other senior leaders have said that the largest chunk of the monies had been sent to Bathinda and other Akali-dominated constituencies while ignoring most urban constituencies represented by the BJP.
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Maya assets case hearing postponed
Age Correspondent
New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Monday postponed the hearing in the disproportionate assets (DA) case against Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati for four weeks following the submission by the CM that her lawyer was indisposed. The court accepted the plea in connection with the case which pertains to Ms Mayawati’s assets allegedly increasing from `1 crore from 2003 to `50 crores in 2007.
The order passed by a bench comprising Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar came while the court was hearing the case in which the CBI had filed a fresh affidavit claiming that there was credible, cogent and admissible evidence against the UP CM.