[ The BJP has also come under attack from leftist parties over its failure to punish chief minister of southern Karnataka state B.S. Yeddyurappa, whose family members are supposed to have benefited inappropriately in land deals involving government land. The party, nothing that Mr. Yeddyurappa denies the allegations, has previously said that it would not ask him to step down while an inquiry was still under way.]
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The political tussle between India
Thousands of people gathered in New Delhi
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the party would not relent in its demand for a joint parliamentary investigation into the flawed allotment of second generation telecom spectrum licenses in 2008 and other scams and added that the “protest rally is an attempt to keep the issue alive.”
“The Prime Minister should face a parliamentary probe or quit,” Mr. Jaitley said, addressing the rally in New Delhi
The BJP is also distributing a brochure called, “2010: A Year of Scams” that aims to highlight the incompetence of the Congress-led government in dealing with corruption.
“Having got no justice in Parliament, we have decided to take our dissent to the streets, go to the people,” BJP spokesman Prakash Javedkar told India Real Time.
The protest rally comes barely two days after the 125th anniversary session of the ruling Congress party, where party leaders took turns to condemn the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, also on the issue of corruption.
On Wednesday Congress slammed the opposition’s protest rally and said the BJP should be ashamed of its own dismal performance in fighting corruption.
“It is just another BJP attempt at subverting Indian democracy,” Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told India Real Time.
The BJP has also come under attack from leftist parties over its failure to punish chief minister of southern Karnataka state B.S. Yeddyurappa, whose family members are supposed to have benefited inappropriately in land deals involving government land. The party, nothing that Mr. Yeddyurappa denies the allegations, has previously said that it would not ask him to step down while an inquiry was still under way.
The BJP has planned 22 rallies across the country over the next two months. On Wednesday, there were huge traffic jams in New Delhi
Some Indian media reports last week suggested that Karnataka was dropped from the list of states that are due to hold similar protests over the next two months, so as not to give the Congress any fodder. The BJP spokesman refused to confirm this but that didn’t stop Left politicians from commenting on it.
“This smacks of BJP”s double standards over corruption,” said D. Raja, leader of the Communist Party of India.
Political observers say that if the BJP is able to sustain its anti-corruption crusade into the new year, it could disrupt the budget session in February next year as well.
The Associated Press
Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun took over recently as the ministry's Communist Party secretary, state media reported Wednesday, likely putting him in line to eventually take over from Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. Yang was accused of being caught off guard when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced at a security conference in Vietnam Washington South China Sea disputes as part of the American national interest.
Zhang, 57, had served almost his entire career in the party's International Liaison Department, a type of shadow Foreign Ministry focusing on contacts with foreign political parties, until he became deputy to Yang last year.
The Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
That party background may mean he has more of a say in policymaking than his predecessor, as China United States
China's aggressive assertion of its territorial claims in the South China and East China seas have, meanwhile, sparked a backlash from other countries in the region, drawing them closer to Washington.
The powerful People's Liberation Army is believed to be leading the calls for a tougher line in such disputes, while other Cabinet officials have emphasized quietly advancing China
China's most senior diplomat, State Counselor Dai Bingguo, is seen as balancing the different arguments, although the country's opaque political system ensures that such debates almost never make it into the public arena.
Little is known about Zhang's personal style, although his party background and relative lack of experience working abroad suggest he will closely reflect the tone set by the party leadership.
Zhang's appointment was announced on official websites, including that of the party's People's Daily newspaper, but no exact date was given.
He takes over from Wang Guangya, a courtly career diplomat who was ambassador to the U.N. from 2003-2008, during which China U.S.
SRI LANKA NEPAL
The Himalayan Times Online
Earlier‚ Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris had time and again claimed that President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav sought help from Mahinda Rajapakse asking him to take up the role of a peace mediator in
Both the Sri Lankan and Nepali media had published the news regarding the apparent request. Nevertheless‚ the President’s Office in
Referring to an unnamed source in Kathmandu‚ the Sri Lanka Guardian said
“However the Prime Minister advised the Minister to be wary of future false claims as this was not the first time it has happened and was not conducive to diplomatic relations between the two countries‚ either internationally or locally‚” the report filed from
