Will review naming of 650 Congress schemes after Gandhi family, BJP says

PATNA: Attacking "glorification" of only "one-family" by the Congress, BJP on Wednesday said that if voted to power the party would review christening of more than "600 schemes" in the name of three generations of Gandhi dynasty. "It has been the Congress that has glorified contributions of one family by giving it credit for everything taking place in the country before and after the Independence," former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here. Giving an impression that no other leader other than one family did any good for the country, Congress launched 650 schemes in the name of three personalities — Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, he claimed. Naidu promised that the BJP-led NDA, in the event of being elected to power in 2014 general elections would review christening of all these 650 schemes in the name of members of one family. "BJP will discuss all issues related to 650 schemes, including rationalization and christening of these schemes in the name of members of one family," he said. 

CBI need to be transparent; should be under RTI Act: Former VC

New Delhi: Advocating for bringing CBI under purview of RTI Act, former Vigilance Commissioner R Srikumar on Wednesday said the probe agency will never get "hurt" by revealing the truth it gathered in its probe and should win heart of the people by opening itself for public scrutiny. "The CBI got exemption from RTI Act directly from the government. They (CBI) did not involve the CVC while seeking complete exemption from the RTI Act. "As a public institution serving a public cause, CBI should stop taking shelter of secrecy under the RTI Act, and open itself for public scrutiny," Srikumar told . His comments come a day after former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi hit out at CBI for its being "clothed in opacity, ornamented by secrecy and finally perfumed by mystery." "For a short time, the CBI came under the RTI Act. The heavens did not fall during that time. But the triple wrappings of opacity, secrecy and mystery made it move to be taken out of the purview of the RTI Act. "This is a great pity. The CBI is about investigations into corruption and certain crimes. It is not a security or intelligence agency," Gandhi had said addressing a CBI function in New Delhi.