The disapproval came soon after Singh, who oversees the party's affairs in UP met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
While it was not known what transpired in the meeting, Singh, denied that he was summoned by Gandhi on the issue.
"The statement did not come up for discussion ... It is absolutely rubbish. I had gone there for a meeting in which many senior leaders, including Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Suresh Pachauri were also present."
According to reports on Monday Osama's body had been buried at sea. Reacting to it, Singh had said: "No matter how big a criminal one might be… His religious traditions should be respected while burying him".
On Tuesday, Singh stood by his comments and said there were no differences between his views and that of the party.
"I am not responsible for this controversy created by the media."
According to an official communiqué, Mr. Badal, who is also the Home Minister, made the demand while speaking at a function.
Mr. Badal said that the security package was necessary owing to developments in the neighbouring country in the last few days. He also reiterated need for a special modernisation programme for the police to deal with serious challenges.
“I think Pakistan has a lot to explain on that score,” visiting External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters.
His comments came when he was asked to react to constant Pakistani claims that it was not aware of the whereabouts of the al-Qaeda chief, who was killed in Abbottabad, near Islamabad, on Monday by U.S. forces
Mr. Krishna, who is in Kuala Lumpur on a three-day official visit, made the one line comment after signing the fifth joint commission agreement with his Malaysian counterpart Anifah Aman.
The two Ministers, however, refused to take any questions at a joint press conference and instead read out a statement about the joint commission, leaving hordes of Malaysian and other international press disappointed as they wanted to quiz Mr. Krishna about Islamabad’s claims and related issues.
Mr. Krishna, in a statement on Monday, termed bin Laden’s killing as the “victorious milestone” in the global war against terrorism and said the world “must not let down” its united effort to eliminate the safe havens that have been provided to terrorists in its neighbourhood.
Sources said Ali admitted to the theft during interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate officials here. ED is investigating a case of money laundering against Ali suspected to have $8 billion in his Swiss bank accounts.
Sources said Ali sent these antiques abroad but the value of the antiques is yet to be established, a senior official said. ED wrote to the AP police asking to investigate Ali's admission to antiques theft. Central Crime Station at Hyderabad investigated and registered the case, an official said.
Ali is believed to have smuggled the antiques abroad between late 1990s and early 2000, sources said. Officials said Ali met one Hassan Suleman Baig in Hyderabad who claimed to have the power of attorney of the Nizam's famous jewellery. The rights were later transferred to Ali who sold some jewellery to Singapore-based businessmen. "From Hyderabad he shifted to Pune and got involved in betting on horses. Last 25 years, he was into money laundering. Investigations are on," an official said.
"The antiques were kept in Salarjung museum and could not have been stolen without the help of some people who had access. This is under investigation," an official said. Police have also registered a case under Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972, meant to prevent smuggling of artifacts. Ali in the past had claimed that he was related to the Nizam.
Municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade has gone on a mid-career training plan of eight weeks and divisional commissioner Dilip Band has been given his charge. Band has not been attending civic meetings.
Garden superintendent Naresh Zurmure, an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, is holding charge of additional municipal commissioner and has most of the responsibility is on his shoulders.
Against this background, corporators have been demanding the appointment of a full-time municipal commissioner, who would whole-heartedly attend to the civic administration.
Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal on Monday said it was decided in the meeting of group leaders of political parties in the PMC that they would meet the chief minister to demand the appointments of top-most officers in the civic body.
Opposition members in the civic body recently locked the general body meeting hall to protest against the absence of the municipal commissioner.
BJP corporator Vikas Mathkari said the PMC administration has become “headless” as not only the top positions in the administration but also posts of the second rung officials are vacant. Development works would come to a standstill in the election year.
He said Zurmure, who is holding charge as additional municipal commissioner, has gone on leave till May 9. While senior officers heading various departments are on leave, others are holding additional charge of three to four departments.
There are many departments, for which appointments of head of the department have not been made for years. Officers of a lower rank are holding charge of those departments, said Mathkari.
The BJP Central Core Group is meeting tomorrow in which Uma's return to the party is said to be one of the main topics of discussion. Gadkari and BJP Parliamentary Party chief L K Advani are keen on taking her back into the party.
Asked about Uma's status, Gadkari told reporters in Jaipur, "I cannot talk about her chances (of returning to the party) but discussions are on within the party on the issue."
Gadkari has not been able to bring Uma back to the party fold due to stiff opposition from her bete noires like Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and RSS joint general secretary Suresh Soni.
BJP wants to use Uma in Uttar Pradesh where the party wants to revive the Hindutva card and the Ram temple issue. Moreover, it needs an OBC face and Uma fits the bill. A Lodh by caste, Uma can fill the vaccum created by the exit of Kalyan Singh, who is also from the same caste.
However, Uma's detractors feel she will interfere in Madhya Pradesh, her home state where she was Chief Minister in the past, and this will disrupt the apple-cart there. All attempts to convince Chouhan and others have failed till now.
Central BJP leaders like Ananth Kumar and M Venkaiah Naidu are also opposed to Uma's return to the BJP. She is considered a firebrand, maverick leader who cannot be pinned down by anybody. Her public outburst against Advani in 2005 is said to be one of the main reasons for her expulsion from the party.
BJP sources said Gadkari seems to have made up his mind about bringing her back despite all opposition. In case a decision is not taken at tomorrow's Core Group, the party top brass may induct her after May 13 when the results of the five assembly elections- West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry- are announced.
"If the poll results show that BJP has gained in these states then this will strengthen Gadkari's position. He can then have his way on Uma's fate," a BJP leader said.
Sources close to Uma said she has not been contacted about tomorrow's Core Group meeting. She is away in Jhansi and is not expected to return to the capital this week.
Gadkari and Advani are keen on having Uma as the face of BJP's election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, which is the next state going to polls as Assembly elections are due there in April 2012.
The Ram temple issue has gained new prominence after September 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict in the title suit. BJP sees a fresh opportunity to sway the public in its favour after the verdict. Uma was one of the BJP leaders who were present in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 when the Babri mosque was demolished.
Ultras who have given a call for boycotting the elections exploded a landmine in which three policemen were injured in Muzaffarpur district yesterday.
Altogether 256 persons including a Zila Parishad candidate and mukhia contestant were arrested from Saran district for allegedly causing disturbances, Director General of Police Neelmani said.
A presiding officer in Araria was arrested for allegedly violating rules, he said. Police also seized unaccounted money to the tune of Rs 1,71,930 from different persons during the polling process.
75 vehicles, one DBBL gun and two cartridges were also seized in Bhojpur district, he said, adding that the polling was by and large peaceful.
An estimated 49 lakh voters in Bihar are eligible to exercise their franchise and decide the fate of 85,403 candidates in 51 blocks spread over 37 districts to elect their representatives in a total of 25,980 panchayats, Zila Parishads and Gram Kutcheries during the fifth phase of the polls.
Election authorities have set up 11,604 polling stations of which eight are located in Maoist-hit areas.
Speaking to the media for the first time on the PAC's controversial proceedings, Joshi said the report which indicts the Prime Minister, then finance minister P Chidambaram and the cabinet secretariat in the 2G scam was valid as it had been adopted.
"I would expect the Speaker Meira Kumar to place it before Parliament," he said, insisting that the document was a valid report of the PAC, not his personal views as alleged by the Congress.
"The Congress does not want the truth about corruption to come out. It was extraordinary that ministers were present in Parliament, sending in chits and calling members, telling them what to do," the BJP leader said. Dismissing the ruling party's charge that the document was a "Joshi report" meant as a hatchet job on the Prime Minister and the government, Joshi pointed out that the very same Congress had praised him as "wise, senior and neutral" just a couple of months ago. "Why did this change?" he remarked. Providing the answer himself, Joshi said, "Things began to change in April when the committee decided to call top officials like the cabinet secretary, the principal secretary to the PM, attorney general and the CBI director."
Joshi's aggressive remarks show that the UPA-opposition fight over the report is unlikely to end soon. The UPA had rejected the draft circulated by Joshi, saying that it was not the report of the committee but merely represented the partisan views of the chairman. The Congress, which won over the SP and the BSP to gain 11 votes in the 21-strong committee, wanted to reject the report "outright", but was thwarted by the chairman who did not allow a vote. With both sides tussling out on the report's status, the Speaker will have the final say.
Joshi said the report was to be adopted after a "paragraph by paragraph" discussion, but this could not take place as committee members from the ruling alliance did not allow proceedings. The BJP leader contended that their claim that a majority of 11 members had rejected the report was incorrect as "there is no provision for dissenting notes in the PAC".
Amit was acquitted of all the charges by special judge of CBI court BL Tidkey on May 31, 2007 in the murder case of NCP leader and treasurer Ram Avtar Jaggi, who was murdered on June 4, 2003 in Raipur. The Judge then held the three police officers and twenty-five others guilty in the high profile case.
Bhaduri denied there was any delay on the part of the central investigating agency to initiate the appeal process against the acquittal. "We did our job the moment we got the consent from the central government," the CBI counsel said.
Amit was held as prime accused in the case and the CBI indicted him for plotting the murder of Jaggi.
The maximum temperature was 41.1 degree Celsius, up from Monday's 40.3 degrees, while the minimum was at 25.9 degrees, up from 25.4 degrees.
The mercury had touched 41.1 degree Celsius on Saturday also.
The maximum was three degrees below normal while the minimum was two degree below normal for this time of the year. The past four days have been witnessing temperature above 40 degree Celsius.
The humidity was recorded between 22 and 65 per cent.
The weatherman has predicted that the temperature will oscillate between 27 and 40 Celsius on Wednesday.
"There could be dust storms also," the MeT Department said.
Rail traffic unaffected
The station was a junction for the 96-km-long narrow gauge Kalka-Shimla rail line, but traffic was plying normally on the route. Police said that no one was injured in the blaze.
“The entire station located on the Kalka-Shimla track in Solan district was destroyed in the fire that broke out late on Monday night,” said Inspector General (railway traffic) Pradeep Kumar Sarpal.
He said five fire engines took more than five hours to bring the blaze under control.
Fire due to short-circuit “Prima facie, it seems the fire was caused due to a short-circuit,” he said.
Another police official said that several important documents and ornate furniture was gutted in the fire.
Officials of Northern Railways from Ambala division have reached the spot to evaluate the loss and to know the reasons for the fire. Divisional Railway Manager P K Sanghi said that an inquiry has been ordered.
Track record
» The century-old Kalka-Shimla rail line was built in 1903 to ferry Europeans to and from Shimla.
» It has been chosen as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
» It was opened to traffic by Indian Viceroy Lord Curzon
