-The Economic Times &nBSP; A giant statue in a Lucknow square made 12-year-old Rashi curious. Whose statue is this, she asked her father. Although a BSP worker, Jhanki Ram couldn't go beyond the name, Jyotiba Phule. But not wanting to show his ignorance, he added, "He was a Mahatma who did a lot for the dalit community". Both had come from Etawah to take part in Kanshiram Parinirvan functions this month. For...

Ahead of its battle with dalit czarina Mayawati, the Congress-led Centre has made it mandatory for all central bodies to make at least 4% of their annual purchases from small scale industries owned by dalits and tribals. The decision, a leg up for developing entrepreneurship among SCs/STs, came as part of the new public procurement policy cleared by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday which mandates Union ministries/PSUs to make 20% of...

-The Economic Times &nBSP; Crying foul over politicisation of the rural jobs scheme, Chief Minister Mayawati has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, alleging a "preconcieved agenda" of Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. Mayawati in her letter on Friday alleged that the letter Ramesh wrote to her was leaked to the media much before it reached her office. She slammed Ramesh for accusing the state government by making his...

In his letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged bungling of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds in the state, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has specifically named seven districts where large sums have been spent on purchasing toys, calendars, tents and other such items of questionable relevance. National and state quality monitors have in their reports mentioned several instances...

-The Economic Times &nBSP; Congress sharpened its attack against BSP, with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh accusing the Mayawati government of embezzlingMGNREGA funds. In a letter to the chief minister, Ramesh asked the state government to seek a CBI probe into "violations and cases of deliberate embezzlement of funds" in the implementation of the Centre's flagship programme.&nBSP; Ramesh pointed to alleged siphoning of funds earmarked for the rural employment guarantee scheme in seven...