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Ranchi CBI court frames charges against Lalu

      Ranchi/New Delhi: A special CBI court in Ranchi today framed charges against Railway Minister Lalu Yadav in the 1996 multi-crore fodder scam case, reingniting a demand by the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the minister's resignation. Pandemonium reigned in Parliament during Zero Hour on Monday when news of this development reached its members. Yadav, who is already in the opposition dock over his demand for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's resignation, was charged with having illegally instructed concerned state Animal Husbandry Department officials to withdraw over Rs 37 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury, which is now in Jharkhand. "We had asked the court to discharge us in the case but they rejected our petition. The charges have been framed and we will fight the case at all levels," said Yadav's lawyer Chittaranjan Sinha.

     The BJP in Delhi was quick to demand that Yadav resign from the Union cabinet. But the minister seemed unfazed by the demands, saying the BJP wanted to deflect attention from the events in Gujarat. He was referring to the reported attack on him in Vadodara by VHP and RSS members, where he had gone to meet victims of the Sabarmati Express-Goods Train collision last week. "This is a legal matter. They are saying I am a culprit but we'll prove it wrong. The BJP is afraid of Article 356," he said. The court also framed charges against former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, former MP Rajo Singh, MLA Jagdish Sharma and Shajjal Chakarvorty, besides 66 others. "There is no question of my being in league with Lalu Yadav. I have always said I had no role in the scam and have been framed. I am innocent," Mishra said. This is the first time since Yadav's induction into the Union Cabinet that he appeared in court. The charges have been framed against Lalu under Section 120 (b), 420, 467, 468,471, 477a of the Indian penal Code and under Section 13(2), 13 (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Govt clears BB Tandon as next CEC (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Election Commissioner BB Tandon was today appointed the next Chief Election Commissioner. Tandon, 64, will replace TS Krishnamurthy, who retires on May 16. The new CEC will assume office on the same day, an official announcement on his appointment said. Tandon, an IAS officer of 1965 batch, was appointed as Election Commissioner in 2001. Prior to becoming Election Commissioner, Tandon was Personnel Secretary at the Centre. He was also a member of the Delimitation Commission. Tandon has held various top level posts at the Centre as well as in the Himachal Pradesh Government and Union Territories of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar islands. He had held the post of Secretary in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions earlier.

PM returns after Asia-Africa summit (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returned on Monday after a successful Asia-Africa summit in Indonesia. Heads of many Asian and African governments met in Indonesia over the weekend discussing ways to form partnerships and cooperation to work together for a better and developed future of the two continents. Singh met Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf briefly and reiterated his government's commitment to solve the Kashmir problem. Singh also held talks with Nepalese king Gyanendra, for the first time since the monarch dissolved the government in the Himalayan kingdom earlier this year.

Reuters to pick up 26 per cent stake in Times TV channel (Go To Top)

     London: Reuters will pick up a 26 per cent stake in the Times of India Group's television news channel that is expected to be launched this year. "Reuters will supply branded programming to the proposed Times Group's channel in a deal designed to support its strategy of growing its consumer media business," said the two media organisations in a joint statement. The Times Group has appointed JM Morgan Stanley while Reuters have engaged Lazard India as financial advisors for fine-tunning the agreement, which is subject to regulatory approvals. The proposed 24-hour channel is expected to operate from Mumbai and Delhi.

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