NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh governor N D Tiwari quit on Saturday late afternoon, a little over a day after allegations about his involvement in a
It is understood that Tiwari's fate was sealed by none other than President Pratibha Patil. The President, who is to arrive in Hyderabad on her annual southern sojourn on Sunday morning, had indicated that it would be untenable for her to come to the city with such allegations being made publicly. Patil would have been received by Tiwari at the airport.
Tiwari took the cue and with continued agitations outside Raj Bhavan by vociferous women activists realised that his position was untenable.
Indications from the Congress high command were also not very favourable for him. An emergency meeting was held earlier in the day over the ‘sex tape’ issue.
Though Tiwari men had been aggressive on Friday morning soon after the tapes were telecast, by evening, their position had tempered down. This might have been with the realisation that the governor was absolutely defenceless with foolproof tapes available with the ABN Andhra Jyothi, the channel that telecast the episode. Also Tiwari and his aides realised that he had been done in by elements deep within his camp.
Times Now reported that the 86-year-old leader has cited ‘health reasons’ for quitting.
He had also lately been overcome with fading memory and other indications of senility.
The Congress party welcomed Tiwari’s resignation. "I think he has taken an appropriate decision keeping in view the high standards of public life. We welcome it," AICC media department chief Janardan Dwivedi told reporters in Delhi.
Earlier in the day, the Central government had asked for a report from the state government and knowledgeable sources had already stated that he could be asked to quit the post following severe embarrassment to the Congress party.
After the sting operation was telecast yesterday by the ABN Andhra Jyothi channel, the Raj Bhavan approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court and got a restraint order on the channel from telecasting the footage.
However, the channel's Editor-in-Chief Vemuri Radhakrishna said that they have evidence to back what they have shown. "Let them serve defamation notice. We are even ready to deal with the issue".
Sources in the Government had said the Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary has been asked to give a report on the issue and it will take a view once it is received.
Congress sources had said that the party is concerned over the issue as it has embarrassed it. They said the embarrassment was more acute because of Tiwari's long association with the party and he may have to go.
This is not the first time that Tiwari, a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and a former Union Minister, has figured in controversies involving women.
Sometime ago, a lawyer Rohit Shekhar had filed a paternity suit in Delhi High Court against Tiwari claiming that he was born out of intimate relationship between the Congress leader and his mother Ujwala Sharma. The charge was, however, denied by the Governor.
The Delhi High Court, however, had rejected the petition on the ground that Shekhar filed it a long time after becoming a major and was time-barred.
Tiwari has taken an appropriate decision: Congress
NEW DELHI: Congress on Saturday welcomed the resignation of Andhra Pradesh Governor N D Tiwari in the wake of a sting operation that purportedly showed him in a compromising position with three women.
"I think he has taken an appropriate decision keeping in view the high standards of public life. We welcome it," AICC media department chief Janardhan Dwivedi told reporters in the national capital after Tiwari submitted his resignation to the President on "health grounds".
"I think he (Tiwari) does not want to hold on an office till it is proved that the video is true or false," Dwivedi said.
Both the party and the Central government earlier in the day dropped hints about the untenability of the continuance of the 86-year leader as Governor after the issue surfaced.
The Centre sought a report from the state chief secretary on the issue and highly-placed Congress sources said that he would have to go in view of the acute embarrassment he had brought to the organisation.
The resignation came a day after Telugu TV channel 'ABN Andhra Jyothi' aired a footage captured in a sting operation of an elderly man with three women in Raj Bhavan in a compromising position, which the channel said was of Tiwari.
The Raj Bhavan denied it and promptly approached the high court on Friday to get a restraint order on the channel from telecasting the footage.
Ruchika case: Govt threatens to strip Rathore of medal
NEW DELHI: The Centre has started the process to withdraw the police medal given to convicted former Haryana Director General of Police S P S Rathore, Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said today.
"The Home Ministry is taking steps to withdraw the police medal given to Rathore in 1985. The matter will be placed before an award committee on January 4. Thereafter the recommendation will go to the President," Pillai told reporters here.
Rathore has been sentenced by a CBI court to six months in jail for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra 19 years ago.
"As far as other issues are concerned - reduction of pension and (his) conduct unbecoming of a police officer - show-cause notice has been initiated," Pillai said.
The Ministry has sent the notice to Rathore asking why his police medal should not be taken away and pension reduced as his conduct was unbecoming of a police officer.
The 1965-batch IPS officer, who retired in 2002, was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious service on August 15, 1985.
Ruchika, a budding tennis player, was molested in 1990 by Rathore, the then Inspector General of Police. She committed suicide three years later by consuming poison. Her family alleges that she was forced to take the extreme step as authorities harassed her family for pursuing the case against the police officer.
Shibu Soren stakes claim to form Jharkhand government
RANCHI: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Shibu Soren on Saturday staked claim to form a new government in Jharkhand. He handed over to the governor a list of 43 legislators supporting him in the 81-member assembly.
Soren met Governor K Shankaranaryan at the governor's house at 3 p.m.
Former chief minister and BJP leader Arjun Munda said, "We have given a list of 42 legislators to the governor staking claim to form the government."
The 42 MLAs include 18 each of JMM and BJP, five of the AJSU besides the lone MLA of Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch led by Bandhu Tirkey, Munda told reporters at Raj Bhavan.
Tirkey, however, was not present among the MLAs who met the Governor.
Asked about the two MLAs of JD(U), an ally of the BJP, Munda said the JD(U) legislature party would meet after which its decision would be conveyed to the BJP.
BJP Vice-President Karuna Shukla said her party has extended support to JMM chief Shibu Soren.
Asked whether the BJP would participate in the government or give support from outside, she said, "We have just given a letter of support to JMM chief Shibu Soren. We will decide after the Governor invites Soren to form the government."
In the fractured verdict in the assembly polls for 81 seats, Cong-JVM(P) combine secured 25 seats, followed by BJP-JD(U) alliance (20), JMM (18) and AJSU (5).
Alert passengers save US Airliner from al-Qaida terror bid
Washington: A suspected Nigerian al Qaeda operative made an attempt to blow up a US Airliner in air on Saturday. Luckily he was over-powered by alert passengers who staved off what could have been a devastating Christmas Day terror attack.
The passenger Umar Farouk Abdul Mudallab, an engineering student in London, tried to ignite an incendiary device aboard the Northwest Airlines flight 253, an Airbus 330, carrying 278 passengers from Amsterdam to Detroit, in what was described as an "attempted act of terrorism" by the White House.
The man, 23, who sustained burn injuries in the failed bid, later reportedly told interrogators that explosive powder was taped to his leg and he used a syringe to inject chemicals into it to cause an explosion on the trans-Atlantic flight.
However, the device mal-functioned and as smoke and fire erupted from his seat, co-passengers pounced on him and along with the crew dragged him to the front of the plane.
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Two other passengers reported minor injuries, but the plane was able to land safely, the New York Times quoted an anti-terrorism official as saying. The incident has prompted the FBI to issue a nationwide red alert.
Muttalab, who is being questioned by FBI and other federal investigative agencies has reportedly said he had links to al Qaeda and that he had travelled to Yemen "to collect the incendiary device and instructions on how to use it," said The Washington Post.
However, an official expressed caution about the claim, saying "it may have been aspirational".
Indian Business News
World's fastest train link starts in China
Beijing: China launched the world's fastest rail link with a high-speed train connecting the cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan at an average speed of 350 kilometres an hour,substantially cutting down the travel time.
The super-high-speed train reduces the 1,069 KM journey linking Guangzhou, a business hub in southern China near Hong Kong, with Wuhan, a metropolis in central China, to a three hour ride and cuts the previous journey time by more than seven-and-a-half hours, Xinhua news agency said.
Test runs for the rail link began earlier in December during which it recorded a maximum speed of 394.2 km per hour and the operations officially began today, said Xu Fangliang, general engineer in charge of designing the link, according to Xinhua.
Gold regains Rs 17k level on fresh buying
Gold prices regained the Rs 17,000-level in the national capital on fresh buying by stockists and jewellery fabricators amid pick up in demand.
The precious metal, which dipped below Rs 17,000 level four days ago, today rose by Rs 80 to trade at Rs 17,040 per 10 gram on fresh buying for festivals like Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Marketmen said stockists and jewellery fabricators indulging in enlarging their positions on pick up in demand mainly pushed up both bullion prices.
Standard gold and ornaments rose by Rs 80 each to Rs 17,040 and Rs 16,890 per ten gram respectively while sovereign held unchanged at Rs 14,000 per piece of eight gram.
Silver ready and weekly based delivery also gained Rs 100 each at Rs 27,900 and Rs 27,500 per kg.
However, silver coins continued to be traded around previous levels of Rs 33,400 for buying and Rs 33,500 for selling of 100 pieces.
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