A35
THE WEEK
THAT WAS
India Abroad
October 7, 2011
Pranab Mukherjee clarifies stand on 2G note
To quell the controversy over the finance
ministry note that hinted at Home Minister
P Chidambaram’s role in the 2G scam, India’s
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the
note was an ‘inter-ministerial background
paper’ and contained ‘certain inferences’ that
‘did not reflect his views.’ After consultations
with United Progressive Alliance
Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and senior
Congress party leaders, Chidambaram and
Mukherjee made a joint statement to the
media to end speculation of a rift in India’s
cabinet.
Gujarat governor vs Modi
The row between Gujarat Governor
Kamla Beniwal and Chief Minister
Narendra Modi intensified after the former
sought details of the expenditure incurred
on Modi’s three-day fast. The governor had
earlier bypassed the state government in
appointing the Lokayukta. Modi had retaliated by requesting the federal government
to recall Beniwal.
Row over clemency
petitions heightens
A resolution seeking clemency for
Afzal Guru, the 2001 Indian parliament attack convict, could not be
discussed in the Jammu and
Kashmir state assembly after a
clash between Congress party and
Bharatiya Janata Party legislators.
The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in
Punjab and the BJP were
also divided over a resolution for the mercy petition of Devinder Pal
Singh Bhullar sentenced
to death for killing nine
security personnel in a
1992 car bomb attack in
Delhi. Meanwhile,
Arputham Ammal, the
mother of Rajiv Gandhi’s
assassin and death row
convict A G Perarivalan,
is on a multi-city tour to
promote his book An
Appeal from the Death
Row.
Autograph please! Autograph please!
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signs the cast of a man injured in the September 18 Sikkim earthquake at a hospital in Gangtok, September 29 REUTERS
Portugal court terminates Abu Salem’s extradition
The Portugal high court revoked the
extradition of gangster Abu Salem, an
accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, on the
grounds that Indian investigative agencies
violated the terms of extradition. Salem will
remain in Indian custody as the Central
Bureau of Investigation prepares to appeal
against the order.
also faces re-arrest after the court dismissed his bail petitions.
Cash-for-votes: Former Advani
aide in jail, Amar Singh faces
re-arrest
Omar for DNA test on bodies in unmarked graves
Arputham Ammal, mother of
Rajiv Gandhi’s assassin and
death row convict A G
Perarivalan, promotes her son’s
book An Appeal from the Death
Row, in Mumbai
HI TESH HARISINGHANI/REDIFF. COM
A Delhi court ordered the arrest of senior
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani’s
former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni,
September 27, for masterminding a conspiracy to bribe three BJP lawmakers with
$200,000 each, to vote for the United
Progressive Alliance government during a
July 22, 2008 confidence motion in the
Indian parliament. Lawmaker Amar Singh
Mamata wins Bengal by-polls
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata
Banerjee made her maiden entry into the
West Bengal assembly by winning the
Bhowanipore seat in the by-election. The
state chief minister defeated the
Communist Party of India-Marxist’s
Nandini Mukherjee by 54,213 votes.
