Kesri wants a Sacrifice!
The Congress will support the United Front to form the next government, provided H D Deve Gowda is replaced as the UF leader.
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The Winds of War
Congress MPs attack party president Sitaram Kesri for pulling down the Deve Gowda government. They urge Sharad Pawar to take on the leadership of the party.
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United Front not to support Congress or BJP
There is considerable speculation though that the Front may splinter early next week.
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President's experience, wisdom on trial
Does he dissolve Parliament and call a fresh election? Does he invite another leader to be prime minister? The hard choices ahead of President Shankar Dayal Sharma.
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BJP could wangle support in AP, TN
Things didn't quite work out in May 1996, but with an election looking imminent, there is a good chance these regional parties may move closer to the BJP.
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Will India have a caretaker President?
If a Lok Sabha election is delayed, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma may have to continue as a 'caretaker' President, advising a 'caretaker' prime minister' till a new person is elected.
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Then arose in the country a crisis the like of which no previous President had ever faced
How President Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy tackled the first constitutional crisis in 1979.
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What moral logic would allow the Congress, which lost its mandate to govern, to return to office on the invitation of the President?
Venu Menon on the latest political developments.
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The United Front sacrifices Deve Gowda, not power
Saisuresh Sivaswamy on the latest political developments.
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Coalition governments have come to stay, and that's the message of the United Front experiment
N Sathiya Moorthy on the latest political developments.
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The Congress will never return to power if they support the UF from outside again
Rajiv Shukla on the latest political developments.
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The Congress stood exposed as an outfit smarting under a guilt and infirmities of its own making
V C Bhaskaran reflects on Friday's dramatic developments in the Lok Sabha.
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Kesri makes his move
If you missed reading our comprehensive coverage of the political developments, why don't you check it out?
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OTHER STORIES

Pak troops shell Ladakh town; hundreds flee their homes
Heavy shelling and firing by Pakistani troops on the Indian border town of Kargil has killed two and injured nine.
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Air traffic controllers call of their strike
But the chaos continues at India's airports.
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Rs 20 million Jallianwalla Bagh memorial plan still on paper
Even as India celebrates fifty years of Independence, the most revered monument of martyrdom falls victim to government apathy.
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Britain denies any contact with the LTTE
'The British government reaffirms that acts of terrorism are never justified for political purposes.
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`Arabs and West should stress similarities, not differences'
Cultural exchange and inter-faith dialogue could alter Western opinion of Islam, Arab and European academics said in Dubai this week.
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APRIL 12

Deve Gowda
departs
H D Deve Gowda is voted out of office, but goes down fighting. United Front steering committee meets on Saturday.
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Parties reach consensus on passing Budget by April 23
The federal Budget is expected to be passed with the support of all parties at a three-day sitting of Parliament from April 21 to 23.
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Congress is slammed in Parliament during confidence vote debate
Kesri and Co are attacked by both the BJP and the United Front.
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'The old man is in such a hurry to become prime minister'
The transcript of Rediff On The NeT's commentary on the proceedings in Parliament.
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Panicky Front leaders contact Kesri
Finance Minister P Chidambaram is accused of playing a part in this strategy.
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Laloo, Mulayam fail to persuade Deve Gowda to quit
The prime minister insisted on a vote of confidence.
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Why the Congress didn't split
The rebels thought they did not have enough numbers to help the United Front win the vote of confidence.
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I can see a clear, secret understanding -- an understanding filled with unease and of short duration

K N Rao, who predicted Deve Gowda's departure on these pages two days ago, forecasts the body politic's immediate future. A forecast written at 8.42 pm on Friday, April 11.
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Vajpayee flays political untouchability in the garb of secularism
''India was secular, India is secular and India will remain secular,'' the former prime minister thundered
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Kesri makes his move
If you missed reading our comprehensive coverage of the political developments, why don't you check it out?
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OTHER STORIES

Air traffic controllers ground flights nationwide
Air traffic controllers go on a flash strike, to protest colleague's suspension.
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AP minister quits owning moral responsibility for paper leakage
The leakage of question papers led to the cancellation of the intermediate examinations in the state on Thursday.
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Sharief to look into murder charges against Benazir
A complaint with the Karachi police, claimed Bhutto conspired to kill the brother and nephew of exiled MQM leader Altaf Hussain.
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Indian 'doctor' convicted for death of child in Florida
Attorneys said it was unlikely Amrish Patel will face prison time when he is sentenced on May 22
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'If women are not allowed to work, how can we go back?'
There are about 90,000 Afghan refugees in India, more than 50 per cent of them women.
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APRIL 11

Showdown!
Unless there is a last minute compromise, the United Front government is set to fail the vote of confidence in Parliament on Friday.
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Congress issues whip to MPs to vote against UF govt
Two hours after the talks began at Sharad Pawar's home, it was clear there was no meeting ground between the two sides on the leadership issue.
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'We will not dissolve Parliament before the vote'
United Front spokesman S Jaipal Reddy tells Rediff Chat a few hours before the Lok Sabha convenes.
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'Please do not see us as an ousted government today itself'
Will some Congress MPs vote according to their conscience?
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The night of the long knives
Saisuresh Sivaswamy on the day of reckoning.
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Deve Gowda suffers from an Alice in Wonderland syndrome
V C Bhaskaran comments on the political crisis.
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What a waning comet signifies for Deve Gowda...
Comet Hale Bopp, the 'star attraction' of the evening skies is on the wane from Thursday. Will it take the Humble Farmer with it?
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Kesri makes his move
If you missed reading our comprehensive coverage of the political developments, why don't you check it out?
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OTHER STORIES

Heavy Pak shelling on Indian border villages
Indian villages and parts of Kargil town in Ladakh came under heavy shelling from Pakistani troops.
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Supreme Court grants bail to Kalpnath Rai
A temporary reprieve for the former Union minister who was jailed for ten years last month.
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Pak denies agreeing to freeze Kashmir dispute
"We have no plans to freeze or put the Kashmir issue on the back-burner,'' a foreign ministry spokesperson said in Islamabad.
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J&K militants opting for fifth column tactics, claim officials
Kashmir militants have begun opting for more subtle methods than violence.
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APRIL 10

Congress, UF falter on leadership issue
Still, the mood is optimistic. The discussions will resume on Thursday morning.
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Gujral joins Moopanar in race to succeed Deve Gowda
Moopanar, of course, has Sonia Gandhi's support.
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Congress, UF may sink differences to keep BJP at bay
As senior BJP leader Krishan Lal Sharma says his party will explore all possibilities which could put it in a 'very advantageous position'.
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Most of the problems with Congress because of communication gap: PM
H D Deve Gowda hopes some amicable solution will emerge from the talks between the Congress and United Front.
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Will the President call a mid-term poll?
If the prime minister advises him to dissolve the Lok Sabha, convention dicatates that the President does so.
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Summon Kesri in JMM MPs bribery case: counsel
The petition said Shailendra Mahato's confessional statement made it clear that Sitaram Kesri ''is also one of the accused who committed the same offence''
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Advani's acquittal has plus points for both Congress and UF
Saisuresh Sivaswamy's daily commentary on the political crisis in Delhi.
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Deve Gowda will have to step down as premier
K N Rao's astroforecast for the vote of confidence on Friday.
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Kesri makes his move
If you missed reading our comprehensive coverage of this week's political developments, why don't you check it out?
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OTHER STORIES

India to keep nuclear option open
The defence ministry's concerns centre around China.
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Gujral, Khan break the ice at first foreign ministers meeting in eight years
The ministers said India and Pakistan are committed to continuing their dialogue at all levels, to search for solutions to the problems between them.
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Cauvery water dispute will flow to Parliament
The Union government has decided to implement the award by framing a scheme under the Inter-state Water Disputes Act, 1956.
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BJP protests Kashmir post in British high commission
The British high commission in New Delhi has created a new post to deal with Kashmir affairs separately
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No secret codes in Jaya's Swiss watches
Forensic tests reveal that there's nothing fishy in the watches.
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Afghan neighbours prepare for Taliban offensives
With the snow on the Hindu Kush mountains melting in the spring sun, there is a widespread expectation that the Taliban will launch major offensives to capture north and north-eastern Afghanistan.
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World Bank flayed for "inadequate" study on dams
NGOs from 21 countries rejected as "incomplete and inadequate" a bank study declaring that the dams's economic benefits -- electric power and irrigation -- outweigh their environmental and social costs.
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More children go to bed hungry in South Asia than anywhere else: UN report
Just a five per cent cut in defence spending could mean an additional $ 80 billion for spending on human resources development in the next 15 years.
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APRIL 9

Off The Hook
The Delhi high court quashes hawala charges against L K Advani, V C Shukla. The court says the infamous Jain diaries do not constitute evidence under the Indian Evidence Act.
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THE CONGRESS CRISIS

Look, Who's Talking!
The Congress, United Front set up committees to discuss solution to crisis.
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BJP wooing regional parties to form govt
So far, the DMK and the Telugu Desam have refused to be enticed by the BJP.
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'We do not want a mid-term poll'
Dissident Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi tells the Rediff Chat.
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OTHER STORIES

38 killed in J&K bus mishap
More fatalities feared in state's worst accident ever.
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Vaghela wins crucial Radhanpur by-election
The Gujarat chief minister's victory is a major setback for the BJP which did not miss a trick in the campaign.
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Farooq Abdullah's proposal is unrealistic, says Pak foreign minister
Pakistan Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan has ruled out his government agreeing to convert the Line of Actual Control in Jammu and Kashmir as the international border.
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Sobhraj deported to France, held on arrival
The criminal finally leaves India after twenty years in prison.
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There is no room for imagination now; it is killing all personality of Madhubhani paintings
Sadly, this traditional art from Bihar's Mithila region, which has gained acceptance worldwide, is probably the most ignored one in the country
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APRIL 8

Going, going....
The United Front says Prime Minister Deve Gowda will go, but wants the Congress to support it on Friday.
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Kesri urged to summon CPP meet before trust vote
About a hundred party MPs have submitted a memorandum to the Congress chief demanding a meeting.
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BJP to decide strategy at 'last moment' on Friday
Even though the party's national executive decided to ''vote out'' the United Front government.
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V P Singh mediates from his sick bed
Both the UF and Congress feel only he can solve the current crisis as he is close to both parties.
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No truck with Congress, no way: Mulayam
The defence minister and Samajwadi Party president has ruled out a coalition with the Congress.
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Bank scam may kill Moopanar's chances of being PM
Though he has not been named in the Indian Bank case, there are allegations that former chairman M Gopalakrishnan was close to Moopanar.
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'I am challenging Moopanar. Let him go to the polls alone'
Congress leader V Ramamurthy challenges the Tamil Maanila Congress leader and likely premier to a political duel.
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For the third time in one year, the prime minister of India may be from a state south of the Vindhyas
Saisuresh Sivaswamy on the increasing importance of south India in national politics.
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Kesri makes his move
If you missed reading our comprehensive coverage of this week's political developments, why don't you check it out?
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OTHER STORIES

'Put the West Asia peace process back on track, Arafat tells NAM
The Palestinian leader makes an unscheduled appearance at the Delhi summit.
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Globalisation cannot be equated only with powerful economies: Deve Gowda
The NAM foreign ministers summit begins in Delhi.
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UN needs restructuring, says secretary general
Kofi Annan, on his first visit to India, said while an effective Security Council was vital for the United Nations, a more representative one would enjoy greater legitimacy.
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Revolutionary poet Gaddar survives murderous attack
The attempted murder caused some tension in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, especially after Gaddar claimed his attackers were policemen in plain clothes.
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CBI need not consult attorney general for prosecuting fodder accused: Supreme Court
CBI director Joginder Singh is off the hook, for now.
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Universe just had a birthday, says Vedic calendar
Turns 1,955,885,098 say texts, adding Kali Yugas just 432,000 years to go.
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