Uma Bharti's birthday gift for Rahul

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti Sunday took a dig at the Congress party and its general secretary Rahul Gandhi, to whom she said she had sent a history book on his 41st birthday.

Addressing a gathering of partymen at the state BJP headquarters here, she said: "I will make it a point to give Rahul Gandhi a book which has an interesting mention of his great grand-father Jawaharlal Nehru inviting the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) to join a Republic Day parade."

"I wish to ensure that a copy of the book reaches him today (Sunday) itself, because he needs to know his homeland's history, which he may not get to know as his mother happens to be a Roman."

And referring herself as Rahul's 'bua' (aunt) , she quipped: "Even if his mother is from Rome, he has this aunt who belongs to Ram."

Supreme court rejects Kanimozhi's bail plea

Supreme Court today dismissed the bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar in the 2G spectrum case.

Court asked Kanimozhi and Kumar to approach special court for bail after framing of charges.

Earlier

DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, accused in the 2G spectrum case had moved the Supreme Court seeking bail.

Kanimozhi, the 43-year-old daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, and Kumar have challenged the Delhi High Court verdict rejecting their bail.

"We have filed a Special Leave Petition on behalf of both Kanimozhi and Kumar challenging the High Court order," senior advocate V.G. Pargasm said.

The High Court had on June 8 dismissed the bail pleas of Kanimozhi and Kumar, saying they have strong political connections and the possibility of them influencing witnesses cannot be ruled out.

Kanimozhi and Kumar, named as accused in the second charge sheet for allegedly taking bribe of Rs 200 crore, were arrested on May 20 after the special court dismissed their bail pleas in the case.

Both Kanimozhi and Kumar have 20 per cent stake each in Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd which allegedly received
Rs 200 crore through a "circuitous" route from Shahid Balwa promoted D.B. Realty.

CBI Special Judge O.P. Saini had on May 20 rejected the bail pleas of Kanimozhi and Kumar and ordered their 'forthwith' arrest. They are currently lodged in Tihar Jail.

Kanimozhi, who sought bail in the special court on the ground of being a woman, had approached the high court seeking relief citing the need to look after her school-going child who is devoid of her care as his father is working abroad.

Justice Bharihoke had on May 23 dismissed bail pleas of five corporate honchos, including Unitech Group MD Sanjay Chandra and Reliance ADAG MD Gautam Doshi in the case, saying there was a possibility that they may influence the witnesses.

Kanna, sons left out in the cold at Manasarovar

June 19: The housing minister, Mr Kanna Lakshminarayana, his two sons and the Praja Rajyam MLA, Mr ‘Avanthi’ Srinivas, were stranded in the remote Hilsa desert area on the Tibet border on Sunday.

The minister was part of a group of 13 pilgrims returning from Kailash Manasarovar. The minister accused Southern Travels, the tour operator, of cheating them by not providing an airlift service, but the MD of the travel agency, Mr A.K. Mohan, said bad weather prevented the operation. However, the agency subsequently said the minister had not stuck to his schedule and had advanced the date of departure. The travel agency and the defence authorities also tried to send rescue helicopters but the aircraft had to turn back and the group was forced to spend a chilly night with inadequate facilities in a small house in Hilsa. It was fortunate that there was mobile network coverage and the minister could communicate with the state authorities, his family members and the media.

Lokpal Bill needs wider consultation: Sandeep Dikshit

After the outpouring of popular support for Anna Hazare in his campaign against graft, Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit has raised objections to the anti-corruption crusader's cause.

Dikshit has written a letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressing reservations over the Jan Lokpal bill. Pranab is the chairperson of Lokpal Bill drafting committee.

Speaking exclusively to Headlines Today, Dikshit has said that a few people cannot put pressure on the government to get the Lokpal bill passed and that it was important for MPs to be consulted.

Such campaigns, he said, should not undermine the responsibility of MPs and that it's important to take their opinion as well.

Maintaining that the joint drafting panel 'cannot be limited to 10 people or five activists', Dikshit said that the panel required wider consultation and that it couldn't be 'time-centric'.

India to get access to information on Swiss accounts

The Swiss Parliament on Friday gave approval to amendments to tax treaties with countries, including India, that makes it easier for them to access information about the illegal funds held by their nationals in Swiss private banks.

The upper house of the Swiss Parliament endorsed amendments to double-taxation agreements in line with internationally applicable standards.

Governments which have signed DTAAs can now secure easy legal assistance and information as well as identify an account holder from their territories by providing an IBAN number or social security number.

The new amendments to Swiss banking secrecy laws can still be challenged by a popular referendum within 100 days, analysts said.

The beneficiaries from the new amendments include India, Germany, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, Uruguay, Kazakhstan, and Poland.

The Swiss Parliament approval comes at a time when the Indian government is facing intense pressure from the Opposition, the Supreme Court and civil society to bring back black money stashed away in tax havens.

In January this year, a Swiss Parliamentary panel has given go-ahead to revised tax treaty with India.

As per the revised taxation treaty with Switzerland, India can get information on secret bank accounts from Swiss authorities for cases dating from January 2011.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Swiss Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey signed a "protocol" to amend the double taxation agreement (DTA) in the area of taxes on income on August 30, 2010.

Lokpal bill: Govt may soon call an all-party meet

With the issue of bringing Prime Minister within the ambit of the Lokpal remaining a ticklish affair, Government is expected to soon call an all-party meeting to seek views across the political spectrum.

This became clear on Saturday after a meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi had with top party leaders favouring such parleys against the backdrop of widening differences between the government and the civil society representatives led by Anna Hazare on the issue.

Grappling with the issue and other sensitive matters like Telangana, the Congress Core Group headed by Gandhi met on Saturday, the second meeting coming just after its two-hour long deliberations last night. Saturday's meeting also discussed Telangana problem.

The Hazare camp is pitching for inclusion of Prime Minister as also higher judiciary in the proposed Lokpal bill during meetings of the Joint Committee to draft the measure which will now be meeting on June 20 and 21.

Government is prima facie opposed to the inclusion of Prime Minister within the ambit of Lokpal but was open to the idea of covering him once he demits office.

HRD Minister Sibal on Saturday said, "within the government, we feel prima facie, the Prime Minister should not be covered (under the Lokpal). But at the same time we want to make sure that if he demits office, he should not be exonerated from prosecution."