Political highlights of 2012
UPA govt's trials and tribulations refused to abate in 2012 as well
* Modi hat-trick in Gujarat: The Narendra Modi juggernaut has rolled through Gujarat, securing for the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) leader a third term as chief minister. BJP bagged 115 seats, two less than its 2007 tally, while the Congress improved its show by two seats, winning 61.It was Modi’s win — a victory for the Gujarat strongman who swept the entire Congress brass away. He won the Maninagar seat, where his closest opponent was the Congress’ Shweta Bhatt, by more than 80,000 votes — an astounding margin for an Assembly election.
* Govt in a coal pit: An estimated financial gain of Rs 1.86 lakh crore was made by private allottees that were given coal blocks by the ministry of coal, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said in a report submitted to Parliament. The report said the ministry of coal should urgently go forward with competitive bidding for captive coal blocks mining.
* Pranab Mukherjee sworn in as India's 13th President: Pranab Mukherjee was sworn-in as the country's 13th President at an impressive ceremony in the packed and historic Central Hall of Parliament. Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia administered the oath of office to Mukherjee in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers, Governors and a host of dignitaries.
* Mamata dumps UPA: On 22 September, a chapter in the history of the United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) coalition ended with the 19-member Trinamool Congress (TMC) snapping ties, protesting a clutch of economic decisions. TMC ministers met the prime minister to hand him their resignations and gave President Pranab Mukherjee a letter withdrawing their support from the UPA government.
* Anna, Arvind part ways: Social activists Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal parted ways, with Hazare declaring Team Anna had ceased to exist and he had nothing to do with the political plans some members of the movement might have. The veteran activist was blunt, saying his name and picture should not be used by the India Against Corruption movement or the political party it launched.
* The return of Kejriwal: Arvind Kejriwal and his party India Against Corruption (IAC) have kept the newsrooms, political offices and corporate board rooms quite busy in the last one month with his stream of high-profile exposes. Amid all the hoopla, politicians have been trying to devise foolproof electoral campaign strategies and businessmen have been trying to win back investor confidence to see their scrip values go up on the stock markets.
* New ministers, new agenda: With the induction of 22 new ministers in the Cabinet and changes in the portfolios of several others, the face of the UPA-II has received a complete makeover. The news ministers seem to have come with a clear objective: give the government the image of being effective and reform-oriented.
* Liquor, real estate giant Ponty Chadha shot dead: In an alleged shootout between brothers, 55-year-old liquor baron Gurdeep Singh Chadha, known as Ponty Chadha, was shot dead. His younger brother, Hardeep, also died in the firing at Ponty’s 10-acre Chhattarpur farmhouse in New Delhi, apparently over a property dispute. This leaves a question mark over the Chadhas’ Rs 6,000-crore business empire, now branded Wave Inc.
* Akhilesh Yadav, the son also rises: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had arrived as a rising star in the national political firmament, leading the Samajwadi Party to a stupendous victory in state assembly polls this year. The tech-savvy neta was credited with scripting the party’s best poll performance ever, almost single-handedly. For the youth, he represented a way forward from the decay and corruption that had crept into the state.Yet, the decline in Akhilesh Yadav’s public image has been equally sharp. The euphoria has left behind an average report card.
* 26/11 villain Ajmal Kasab hanged: Pakistani national Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving terrorist of the Mumbai terror attack of November 26, 2008, was hanged in a Pune jail at 7.30 am on Wednesday, after his mercy plea was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee.