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-------------------------------------------------- Guess who Judeo blames for being caught on tape... 'Christian Missionaries '!!! --------------------------------------------------- 'Expose' on Judev puts BJP in a fix By Our Special Correspondent NEW DELHI NOV. 16. The controversy generated by a video compact disk (VCD) purportedly showing the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Dilip Singh Judev ??” dubbed as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Chhattisgarh ??” accepting cash in an `expose' by The Indian Express today has come as a bombshell in the run-up to Assembly elections in five States. (Mr. Judev was shown allegedly taking money from men who claimed they needed "help" in obtaining mining rights within Chhattisgarh and Orissa.) The VCD, if authenticated, would deal yet another blow to the political establishment in the manner of the tehelka.com tapes that exposed alleged corruption in defence deals. The tehelka.com tapes cost the then BJP president, Bangaru Laxman, his job as he was `seen' on a videotape accepting cash and keeping it in his drawer. The latest `expose', coming just a fortnight before Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi go to the polls to elect new Assemblies, has raised the temperature in the political arena as the two traditional rivals ??” the BJP and the Congress ??” are pitched in a keen electoral tussle in these States. Though the authenticity of the VCD has been questioned by the Minister and the BJP who described it as "doctored and fabricated'', the 35-minute VCD, which was played by all the major private television news channels throughout the day, shows Mr. Judev accepting what looks like wads of currency notes. He is then shown keeping the cash on the sofa next to him. The Minister alleged that it was an attempt and a conspiracy to tarnish his image and that of his party. He said he did not even know the man seen on the VCD. The VCD, made available to The Hindu by The Indian Express, shows the Minister and his assistant personal secretary, Natwar Rateria, engaged in conversation. Most of the talking is done by Mr. Rateria and centres around distribution of tickets for the coming Assembly polls. Mr. Rateria is also seen talking at length on his cellular phone. It appears that there are more than two persons in the room, possibly in a hotel, as a couple of times a waiter is seen entering. Noise from a television set and the rustling of papers is heard on the VCD. The recording is steady and the film has been shot entirely from one angle. Twenty-three minutes into the recording a man appears in the room offering cash to Mr. Judev who then receives it and utters a few words stressing that money was not less important than God. The cash is left on the sofa for a few minutes and then a man appears and keeps it in a polythene bag. The room is seen empty for some time but noises of conversation, possibly over dinner, are heard. Towards the end ??” 34th and 35th minutes ??” the cash is transferred to a bigger paper bag, and both the Minister and his assistant personal secretary are seen leaving the room. The brief conversation with the other man in the room refers to mining licences in Chhattisgarh and Orissa and words such as "MNCs" are dropped. A brief note, appended along with the VCD by The Indian Express, said that the visuals published in today's edition were prints of frames from the VCD. "Upholding transparency in the public interest and in tune with the unique Express tradition of fairness and accuracy, the 35-minute CD is being released exactly in the form in which it was received ??” without any editing,'' the note said. The Hindu ------------------------------------------------------------------ Probe already on into charges against Judeo: PM November 16, 2003 23:53 IST Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Sunday night said a probe was underway into the allegations against Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Dilip Singh Judeo and action would be taken if he was found guilty. "It is a policy of my government to carry out an open probe into all charges of corruption and an inquiry is already being conducted," he told reporters in Delhi on his return from a week-long tour of Russia, Tajikistan and Syria. In Raipur, unidentified persons attacked the house of the special correspondent of Indian Express newspaper, which published video clips purportedly showing Judeo, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader of the state, allegedly accepting a bribe. A group of people gathered in front of Ashwani Sharma's house on Sunday evening and raised slogans against the newspaper, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Chief Minister Ajit Jogi. They threw stones, potatoes and eggs at his house, Sharma told PTI. The protestors ran away when the police arrived. In another incident, a group of youths went to the local office of Sahara Samaya television channel, which broadcast the video clips, and shouted slogans but left the place later, Sahara journalist Amitabh Tiwari said. Police are investigating. Jogi condemned the attack on Sharma's house and also on the office of the TV channel saying, "It reflected the Godse mentality of the BJP and their fascist attitude. I assure the entire media that they will be given full protection by my government." Raipur Press Club president Prakash Sharma condemned the attack on the journalist's house and urged Jogi to take prompt action against the attackers. The state unit of the BJP condemned the two incidents. Union Mines Minister and Raipur Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bais told PTI he was pained to see that some people were trying to portray it as an attack by BJP workers. http://in.rediff.com/election/2003/nov/17chhat.htm |
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| << November13, 2003 - [India Thinkers Net] Re-Manufacturing history |
November18, 2003 - [India Thinkers Net] RSS saffron has many colours >> |
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