Lalu Yadav is an empty shell: Yashwant Sinha
Ranchi: BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Saturday termed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav as an “empty shell” aiming to gain relevance by criticising the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. “What to say about Lalu Ji. He is an empty shell and lost his explosiveness,” Sinha told reporters here. Responding to Yadav’s accusation of the BJP as communal and Modi as a supporter of the Capitalists after his release from jail on Monday, Sinha said the current political trend was such that many politicians want “to become relevant” in the country by criticising the Gujarat Chief Minister. “And Lalu is in that category,” claimed the former external affairs minister. Stating that Modi has been sending out developmental messages through his meetings across the country, Sinha said Modi’s last meeting of the year scheduled in Ranchi on December 29, would be a “turning point” for politics in Jharkhand as well. “His (Modi) message to Jharkhand would be to vote for one party which would erase the past instable coalition governments,” he claimed. (PTI)
Slain former CPI-M leader’s widow threatened with murder
Kozhikode (Kerala): K.K. Rema, widow of former CPI-M leader T.P. Chandrasekheran, said Saturday that she has received two letters threatening her with murder if she does not stay silent about her husband’s killing. The letters were received Friday. While one of the letters was sent from Aluva, the other was received from Kozhikode. Speaking to reporters here Saturday, Rema said that she has received two letters and both threatened that if she did not keep quiet, she and her family would be killed. “I suspect that those behind these letters are the very people who master-minded the killing of my husband. I have been asked not to speak against the accused, who are now in jail,” Rema said. Chandrasekheran, who was ousted in 2008 by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) after he became the proverbial thorn in the side of the party leadership in Kozhikode district, then founded a new party, the Revolutionary Marxist Party. On May 4, 2012, as the 51-year-old Chandrasekheran was returning home near Onchiyam in Kozhikode district, he was hacked 51 times by a group of gangsters. The case rattled the CPI-M and caused a huge dent in the image of the party. (IANS)
Industrialist to reward Jazeera for fighting against sandmafia
Kochi: A 31-year-old woman from Kerala, who is presently waging a lonely battle in New Delhi against sand mafia in her village, will be given a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh by an industrialist for her courage. Industrialist Kochouseph Chittilapally has announced to give the reward to Jazeera, who has been demanding an end to illegal mining of sand at her coastal village of Puthiyuangadi in Kannur, for courage and commitment, company sources said. Jazeera, hailing from Kannur in northern Kerala, took on the powerful sand mafia and lodged protests in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram. When she found that her sit-in outside the state secretariat was not bearing fruit, she shifted to Delhi along with her three small children a few months back. Undeterred by cold climate, Jazeera is continuing her fight by sitting outside the Kerala House awaiting an assurance from the government that illegal sand mining would be stopped in her village. The announcement for the reward comes close on the heels of Chittilapally, founder Chairman and Managing Director of V-Guard Industries, giving a similar amount to Sandhya, a housewife at Thiruvananthapuram, who lashed out against the LDF blockade in front of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s official residence at Cliff House recently. (PTI)
Ramdev praises Modi
Chandigarh: Describing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a giant like the Himalayas, Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday said Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was “very very small” in stature in comparison. He told reporters that several Congress leaders were trying to project Rahul as the next Prime Minister out of “sheer compulsion”. Ramdev said the country was facing numerous issues like poverty, hunger, corruption and inequalities, but the Congress leaders were in “deep slumber”. He said he and his supporters have taken it upon themselves to rid the country of Congress’ alleged misrule. (PTI)