NEW DELHI, Mar 6: With his party not faring well in the Uttar Pradesh elections, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid today said the party leadership will assess the performance and draw conclusions.
“The campaign looked very good but I cannot take any instant decision. Please allow us some time,” Khurshid said while replying to a question on what went wrong for the party in the state.
Putting up a brave face, he said while the results are disappointing, Congress has performed better than last time and added that “there would be other elections two years down the road and five years down the road.”
Khurshid refused to be drawn into the comparison between Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav.
“Do you think I know Akhilesh that well… Please give us little time for the wisdom to dawn on us,” Khurshid said.
On whether Congress underestimated SP during the UP campaign, he said the party had targeted BSP this time as it was in power in the state.
“We did not underestimate any body. We targeted BSP as it was in power. In last election, we targeted SP and BSP got the benefit,” he said.
Khurshid denied suggestions that the UP campaign of the Congress had suffered as it lacked strong local leadership.
“There were lots of very good leaders campaigning in UP with base there in the state,” he said.
He hoped the election results would not impact the forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament.
“I hope it does not. There are all sensible people in Parliament,” he said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Mar 6: Rahul Gandhi, who was the face of Congress campaign in Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, today owned responsibility for the party’s dismal performance which he termed as a “very good lesson” for him.
Appearing before the media as the election results were coming in, Gandhi said he took in his stride the poll outcome and expected victories as well as defeats in his efforts to improve the political system of the country.
“I own the responsibility for this…This is one of my defeats and I take it in my stride,” said the young Congress General Secretary who extensively toured Uttar Pradesh and addressed over 200 rallies during the month-long campaigning.
Gandhi said he was trying to “improve the political system” of the country and his work would continue irrespective of today’s electoral result.
“I expect to have victories along the way and I expect to have defeats…I take it in my stride. I think, it is a very good lesson for me,” he said, adding “I think it will make me think in detailed ways which I like to do.”
“I led the campaign, I led from the front and so it is my responsibility. We fought collectively, we fought well, but results have not been good,” Gandhi said.
He said the party had improved performance overall since 2007 but there was need to go further.
Noting that Congress had not done well in the whole of Uttar Pradesh, he said he was attempting to ressurrect the party in the state so that “we win there one day”.
On the reasons for Congress’ poor performance, the Congress leader said the fundamentals of Congress in Uttar Pradesh were weak and needed to be corrected.
“Organisationally we are not where we should be in UP. So that is where our lot of work is going to be,” he said.
Secondly, he said the mood generally was in favour of Samajwadi Party which is “apparent”.
He noted that he had told people that he would be seen on the roads and in villages. “I will continue that…I view my work as working for the people. I will do my work.” (PTI)

UP poll results below expectations for BJP: Gadkari
NEW DELHI, Mar 6: BJP today said the results of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections fell below its expectations even as the party geared itself to form governments in three other states.
“We are in a position to form governments in the three states of Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand…I am confident that this result will give strength to the BJP,” party president Nitin Gadkari told reporters here.
On the party’s failure in Uttar Pradesh, Gadkari said there was polarisation of votes between the SP and the BSP.
“BJP did not get the support we expected,” he said, adding that the people of Uttar Pradesh wanted to change the BSP government and so supported the Samajwadi Party.
He congratulated Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for the historic victory, as a government has been retained for the first time in the history of the state.
“We have created history in Punjab where for the first time the government has been retained,” Gadkari said while lauding Badal for the performance of the SAD-BJP combine.
He said the BJP was forming government in Goa too, and expressed confidence that the party would return to power in Uttarakhand.
“It’s a big victory for us in Goa. BJP was being blamed for being against the minorities. This time Catholic Christians also voted us.”
Refraining to make a comment on the leadership of the Congress campaign in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP chief said the results have given a “big shock” to the Congress.
“I do not want to make any comment on the Congress leadership but Congress party had made the elections a prestige issue for Rahul Gandhi. The results have come as a big shock for the party,” Gadkari said.
Referring to Congress defeat in Rae Bareli and Amethi, considered as tradition Congress strongholds, he said, “The performance of the Congress shows that the people in the state have voted against the party and it serves as an alarm for them.”
Lauding the “efficient” role played by the Election Commission in holding the elections, Gadkari said his party will analyse the results of of the five states especially of UP and try to address the shortcomings before gearing up for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Mar 6: Terming the “dismal performance” of Congress in the assembly polls as the “second consecutive defeat” of Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj today said Congress had made the elections a prestige issue.
“Congress and the media had created a big hype about Rahul Gandhi. Congress had made it a prestige issue. These results show that this is the second consecutive defeat for Rahul,” she told.
She said the mandate in the elections is against “corruption, price rise and communal politics” of Congress.
Asked about the BJP’s performance in the elections, she said the results were “not unexpected for us in Punjab and Uttarakhand, but we could not do well in UP as it has been a mixed bag for us. We could have done better in UP.”
The BJP leader reasoned that in UP there was a four- cornered contest and this has gone against her party.
“Wherever there is a three or four cornered contest, the voter rejects a party and has to choose one as an alternative. The voter in UP has decided to defeat BSP but it selected SP as its choice. That is why SP has crossed 190 seats,” she said.
Swaraj maintained that there is a need for serious introspection about why the BJP could not do well in UP and it will be discussed within the party.
The BJP Parliamentary Board is meeting this evening to discuss the poll outcome in all the five states. (PTI)

MUMBAI, Mar 6: The CBI today claimed to have unearthed a conspiracy of dilution of charges against the accused in the muti-crore Adarsh housing scam and arrested its own counsel and a former Congress MLC, who is already an accused in the housing case.
CBI stumbled upon the case with the arrest of an Income Tax lawyer J K Jagiasi who allegedly asked an Air India official, accused in one case, to pay a bribe of Rs 50 lakh for dilution of case, official sources said.
The Air India official approached the CBI and a trap was laid after which he was arrested on February 20. During his questioning, the sleuths were surprised to know that he had been approaching other accused, including former Congress MLC K L Gadwani, an accused in the multi-crore Adarsh scam, the sources said.
After a thorough probe, the CBI alleged in its remand note in the court that Jagiasi entered into a criminal conspiracy with Special public prosecutor Mandar Goswami, representing the agency in Bombay High Court on Adarsh case, for diluting the case.
According to the remand note, Jagiasi had approached Gidwani and his son Kailash and asked them to cough up Rs 1.25 crore for diluting the case against them.
The father-son duo paid Rs 1.25 crore out of which he had paid Rs 25 lakh to Goswami, the CBI remand note alleged.
Jagiasi was arrested in this case again last night and the CBI today arrested Gidwani and his son as well as its own counsel.
The CBI has booked all of them under prevention of corruption act. (PTI)

IMPHAL, Mar 6: The Congress romped back to power in Manipur today for the third consecutive time with a clear majority, helped by a fragmented opposition.
In the poll results announced today for five states, Manipur came as the only solace for the Congress which clinched 36 of 52 seats in the 60-member house and was leading in five of the remaining eight seats.
Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh won from Thoubal and his wife O Landhoni Devi from Khangabok.
The Trinamool Congress, part of an 11-party Peoples Democratic Alliance which came into being very recently, sprang a surprise winning seven of the 48 seats it contested. It had a sole member in the outgoing House.
Other partners of the alliance together with the Trinamool Congress were able to secure only 16 seats.
The Manipur State Congress party won four, the Naga Peoples Front three and NCP and LJP won a seat each.
The BJP which contested 19 seats drew a blank.
The CPI, which was a former coalition partner of the Congress in the erstwhile Secular Democratic Front failed to win a single seat.
CPI candidate and Agriculture minister, Ph Parijat Singh, who had won from Lamlai four times was defeated by the Congress’ K Biren Singh. The CPI had contested 24 seats.
Senior Congress leader and Forest minister Th Debendra Singh won from Jiribam.
Social Welfare minister N Loren won the Nambol seat defeating former union sports minister Th Chaoba Singh of the Manipur Peoples Party.
Among two Congress ministers who lost were Minority minister Alauddin Khan from Keirao and Education minister D D Thaisi in Karong. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Mar 6: A public servant facing charges of corruption, cheating and other criminal cases in the discharge of his or her duties does not enjoy any legal immunity as no prior sanction is required for prosecuting such officials, the Supreme Court has ruled.
A bench of justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale set aside the concurrent findings of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and a sessions court which had quashed the prosecution and summons issued to a Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Gurgaon.
Citing the apex court ruling in the Prakash Singh Badal (2007) case, the bench said, “The offence of cheating under Section 420 or for that matter offences relateable to Sections 467, 468, 471 and 120-B can by no stretch of imagination by their very nature be regarded as having been committed by any public servant while acting or purporting to act in discharge of official duty.”
While Section 420 relates to cheating, sections 467, 468, 471 pertains to forgery and 120-B applies in cases of criminal conspiracy.
In the present case the official was accused by Omkar, a transporter, of collecting Rs two lakh money from him after impounding his three vehicles and refusing to issue any receipt.
Based on Dhankar’s complaint, judicial magistrate, Gurgaon, on June 2, 2001 issued him summons to face trial under Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 161 (illegal gratification by a public servant) IPC.
On a criminal revision appeal filed by the official, the additional sessions judge quashed the summons and a single judge of the high court affirmed the order while dismissing Dhankar’s appeal.
Aggrieved, he filed the special leave petition in the apex court.
Allowing the appeal the bench citing its earlier ruling said in such criminal cases the official status “only provides an opportunity for commission of the offence”.
The apex court said section 197 CrPC which provides certain immunity for public servants cannot be invoked under all circumstances as it is subject to certain conditions.
“In view of the above legal position, the additional sessions judge and the high court were not right in holding that for prosecuting the respondent No 2 (official) for the offences for which the summoning order has been issued, the sanction of the competent authority under Section 197 CrPC is required.
“The view of the additional sessions judge and the high court is bad in law being contrary to the law laid down by this court in Prakash Singh Badal case (supra),” the apex court said. (PTI)