Congress party magazine turns Gandhi family album

NEW DELHI, JUNE 7 (AGENCIES): Notwithstanding Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's public statements against sycophancy and his talk of democratization of the party, his young colleagues do not seem to be heeding him.

The latest issue of Congress Yuva Sandesh, the mouthpiece of the Youth Congress, looks like a family album of the Gandhi family.

The Hindi version of the Congress Yuva Sandesh is liberally splashed with pictures of Rahul - right from his childhood to his involvement in political activities, of his late father Rajiv Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Vadra, her husband Robert Vadra and their son Rehan.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Ministers from the family - both Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru - occupy the rest of the space in the 43-page magazine that came out Friday.

The latest issue, branded as a 'Congress Yuva Sandesh', has at least 25 photographs of Rajiv Gandhi, whose death anniversary was observed May 21, and more than 50 photographs of Rahul, who is viewed as the ruling party's future prime ministerial candidate.

The Hindi version listed Rahul's name as a 'source of inspiration'.

An article by Jagdish Sharma showers praises on the Congress general secretary, in charge of the youth and students' wing of the party, saying that he had 'even sacrificed the ministerial post offered to him to work for the organization'.

'If not today, tomorrow Rahul will hold the reins of this country,' Sharma predicts, adding that the Amethi MP dreams of a 'corruption free and terror free' India.

It is not only Rahul, the young leaders of the Congress are placing their hopes on.

According to Sharma, Priyanka is 'four steps ahead of Indira Gandhi'.

Sharma has lavished praise on Priyanka for her recent meeting with Nalini, one of the conspirators of her father's assassination in 1991 in Sriperumbudur.

Priyanka's pictures are splashed along with those of her husband and son.

There is also a four-page article on Nehru.

While the front page is adorned with Rajiv Gandhi's portrait, the back page has a close-up of Priyanka with the title 'Four steps ahead of Indira-ji'.

Arunachal seeks security clearance for revival of border trade ITANAGAR, JUN 7 (Agencies): Arunachal Pradesh has sought security clearance from the Union Home ministry for development of traditional trade routes to revive border trade with Myanmar and Bhutan in the first phase and with China later.

In a recent letter to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, state Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu said Union Commerce Minister Jairam Ramesh had inaugurated a multi-facility border trade centre buillding at Nampong in November last to reopen trade through Pangsau pass with Myanmar which will benefit people on both sides.

In the long run, Pangsau pass may also serve as gateway to South East Asian countries, Khandu said.

The opening of the proposed Dongsengmang-Bleeting road will reduce the travel time between Bhutan and Arunachal significantly.

Besides trade, the road link would also help increase the tourist inflow, he added.

Under the Assitance to State for Developing of Infrastructure for Export scheme, minimum infrastructure for development of border trade with Myanmer and Bhutan from Arunachal Pradesh had been created.

In the second phase, border trade with China through traditional trade points such as Bumla and Kenzamane in Tawang district and Mechuka in West Siang, Gelling in Upper Siang and Kibithu in Anjaw district could be taken up for mutual benefits.

In order to implement phase-wise development of traditional trade routes, security clearance from the Centre was a must, Khandu said and requested Patil to expedite the process to enable the state government to revive its traditional border trade.

Rebel SP MP Verma appears before LS privileges committee NEW DELHI, JUN 7 (Agencies): It was a mixed luck for the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee.

Rebel Samajwadi Party MP Beni Prasad Verma, who was playing traunt for the last few months, made an appearance yesterday before the Committee headed by senior Congress MP V Kishore Chandra Deo.

But rebel Congress member from Haryana Kuldip Bishnoi, son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, who is also facing disqualification proceedings like Verma, failed to appear for the second time.

Verma, himself a member of the Privileges Committee, had done the vanishing trick at least one three occasions when the Committee asked him to give his version on the petition by SP seeking his disqualification.

The former Union Minister is currently MP from Kaiserganj.

Verma had fought last year's Uttar Pradesh assembly polls from Ayodhya through his newly launched party Samajwadi Kranti Dal (SKD), while still a Samajwadi Party MP.

The Committee has been asked by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to give its fact finding report on the two MPs amid reports that Verma could find himself in trouble in the wake of the SP petition.

Incidentally, Verma had recently claimed he would contest the next general elections from Gonda on a Congress party ticket.

Bishnoi had announced his resignation from the Lok Sabha after he attacked party chief Sonia Gandhi but apparently did not quit formally prom About us | Advertise | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Weather | Letters | Send Mail Disclaimer: Information is being made available at this site purely as a measure of public facilitation.

While every effort has been made to ensure that the information hosted on this website is accurate CHAIRMAN: VED BHASIN Kashmir Times Group of Publications Edited, printed and published by Prabodh Jamwal Editor-in-Chief, The Kashmir Times, Residency Road, Jammu, J&K, INDIA.

Executive Editor: Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal E-Mail: vbhasin@sancharnet.in, jmt_prabodh@sancharnet.in