No clean chit to Modi govt on Rafale from SC: Yechury
Samastipur, Dec 22: Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Saturday asserted that no clean chit has been given to the Narendra Modi government in the Rafale deal by the Supreme Court, which has "merely stated" that it did not have the jurisdiction to intervene in the matter.
The former Rajya Sabha member said the Opposition has, therefore, been seeking a probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee, but the government appears to be wary of the same.
"There is no clean chit. It is a misleading propaganda by the BJP. The Supreme Court has merely said that a scam of this nature did not fall within its jurisdiction and hence, it could not entertain the petitions.
"And, that is exactly the reason why we and other Opposition parties have been demanding the JPC. If the Modi government has nothing to hide, it should not be afraid of agreeing to this demand," Yechury, who was here to address a rally, told reporters.
The CPI(M) general secretary rubbished doubts raised over whether a coalition of Opposition parties could take on the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying people used to say similar things in 2004.
"People used to ask who after Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
But, the BJP lost power despite his leadership and its 'India Shining' campaign and Manmohan Singh went on to become the only Prime Minister, after Jawaharlal Nehru, to have remained in office for two consecutive terms," he said.
"The nation is outraged over the BJP's brazenly communal politics, its tinkering with institutions and its policies, which have led to soaring unemployment, even as those defaulting on huge loans taken from public sector banks have been allowed to flee the country," Yechury alleged.
The combined Opposition, he said, represents the voice of the people dissatisfied with the regime.
The "winds of change" are evident as NDA's allies, one after another, have started walking out of the BJP-led coalition, the CPI(M) politburo member said.
Yechury's remark came in the wake of the recent exit from the NDA of former Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha, who has joined the Congress-led UPA.
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KKR defeat LSG via Super Over
Lucknow (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders edged Lucknow Super Giants via Super Overs in a battle between two bottom-placed teams in the IPL, here on Sunday.
Chasing a modest 156, LSG suffered a batting collapse and managed to tie the contest and take it to Super Over with No. 9 Mohammed Shami striking a last-ball six against a wayward Kartik Tyagi, who leaked 16 runs in the final over.
But Sunil Narine bowled a stunning Super Over conceding just one run and taking two wickets to give KKR an easy target.
Rinku Singh then finished the chase with a boundary off first ball from Prince Yadav.
Earlier the KKR were in deep trouble with 93/7 in 15 overs but Rinku smashed a sensational 83 not out from 51 balls including four sixes in a row in the final over to lift them to 155/7.
Cameron Green (34) was the only other batter to reach double-digit scores as KKR suffered a familiar batting meltdown with Mohsin taking his maiden fifer.
In reply, LSG continued their dismal show with the bat to succumb to their fifth loss in a row.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 155/7; 20 overs (Rinku Singh 83 not out, Cameron Green 34; Mohsin Khan 5/23). Lucknow Super Giants 155/8; 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 42). KKR won via Super Over.
