President poll: Pranab Mukherjee emerges as front runner

June 13, 2012

New Delhi, June 13: It is the last lap in the race for the President. Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee is expected to meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday. Mamata and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav hold the key to the Rashtrapati Bhawan and for now both seem to have given the green signal to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Mulayam's residence was the first stop that Mamata made after landing in Delhi on Tuesday. "We did have talks, but no names were discussed. I will be meeting Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday," Mamata said.

The Mamata-Sonia meeting may be seen as a crucial meeting, the one in which Mamata is expected to stress on the need for a financial package for Bengal. Mamata will also meet Mulayam again after her meeting with Sonia. Sources say Mulayam and Mamata also discussed a possible consensus on the Vice Presidential candidate.

BJP leader, Jaswant Singh, who is believed to have positioned himself for the post, too met Mulayam earlier on Tuesday.

But the opposition to Pranab comes not from the allies like Mamata, or Mulayam. It comes from within the Congress. Sources say Sonia is worried as to who can step into Pranab's shoes. But the party also finds itself tied in knots.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "The CWC has authorised Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take the final decision about the party's Presidential candidate. Whenever there is some decision taken, we will tell the media.

With Pranab gaining wide acceptance cutting across party lines, it may be difficult for Sonia to deny Pranab the post he wants, unless she can pull out a surprise winner.

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You all can protest as much as you want, but Modi will surely amend Waqf Act: Amit Shah

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November 15,2024

Union minister Amit Shah on Friday, November 15, said PM Narendra Modi will amend the Waqf Act despite opposition from leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.

"Modi ji wants to change the Waqf Board law, but Uddhav ji, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule are opposing it," Shah said, addressing a rally at Umarkhed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district.

"Uddhav ji, listen carefully, you all can protest as much as you want, but Modi ji will amend the Waqf Act," he said. Shah said there are two camps in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, one of 'Pandavas' represented by the BJP-led Mahayuti and the other of 'Kauravas' represented by Maha Vikas Aghadi.

"Uddhav Thackeray claims that his Shiv Sena is the real one. Can the real Shiv Sena go against renaming Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar? Can the real Shiv Sena go against renaming Ahmednagar to Ahilyanagar? The real Shiv Sena stands with the BJP," Shah said.

"Rahul Baba used to say that his government would credit money in the accounts of the people instantly. You were unable to fulfil your promises in Himachal, Karnataka, and Telangana," he said.

Shah said the Mahayuti alliance has promised that women will get Rs 2,100 per month under the Ladki Bahin Yojana. "Kashmir is an integral part of India and no power in the world can snatch it away from us," Shah said.

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Manipur CM is mastermind behind violence; Centre lied in Supreme Court: Kuki MLAs

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November 11,2024

The Manipur Kuki MLAs have released a statement calling out Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's 'lies' in the Supreme Court. In a joint statement, the MLAs, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party, said they had not had any meeting with the Chief Minister since May 3, 2023, nor did they intend to meet him in the future as “he was the mastermind behind the violence”.

As per the MLAs, the SG lied about state CM N Biren Singh speaking to Kuki MLAs to control the situation there, in order to halt a Supreme Court probe into the leaked tapes which allege that Singh has been complicit in the violence that broke out between Kukis and Meitis there.

"We...clarify that we have never had any meeting with Chief Minister, Shri N. Biren Singh since May 3, 2023, nor have any intention to meet him in future as he is the mastermind behind the violence and ethnic cleansing of our people from the Imphal valley, which is continuing till today, the latest being the brutal killing and burning of Mrs Zosangkim Hmar on November 7, 2024," the letter read, while condemning the recent 'barbaric' killing of the woman there, and noting the SG's assertion is 'tantamount' to misleading the top court.

“We, the undersigned ten MLAs, have come to know that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace’. In this connection, we hereby categorically state that this submission is a blatant lie and tantamount to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the statement said.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition by a Kuki organisation, asked that it submit audio tapes to substantiate its claim that the Chief Minister was instrumental in inciting and organising violence in the northeastern State.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta orally informed the court that the Chief Minister was meeting all the Kuki-Zo MLAs and that peace in the State had come at a huge cost.

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