Salman Butt wants fresh trial in Pakistan - ESPN.co.uk
Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, has asked for a fresh trial in Pakistan, claiming he was denied justice during the spot-fixing case in London. He also claimed to possess fresh evidence, which he said would prove his innocence.
"It's the highest and [most] renowned court in England, but what happened with me I can say I didn't find justice," Butt said during a press conference at his former club ground, Model Town Greens. "I request the Chief Justice of Pakistan to review my case. I have also written to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) to take up my appeal and I'm waiting for their reply."
Following a News of the World sting, which claimed Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir had conspired with player agent Mazhar Majeed to bowl deliberate no-balls during the 2010 Lord's Test, Butt was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison but was released after seven. He returned to Pakistan on June 22.
Butt, however, rejected all the evidence against him. During a 35-minute press conference, he appeared confident and had an answer for every question asked. "I am here in front of you people, facing the media, to clear my name and to give my viewpoint as I had no part to play in the spot-fixing case. I just want to prove a point that both [Mohammad] Amir and Mazhar Majeed struck a deal of their own."
He flourished a document that he claimed was the transcript of communication between Amir and Majeed and would offer a different perspective on the case.
Before he was convicted and jailed in London, Butt, along with Asif and Amir, had also been found guilty by an independent ICC tribunal and was banned from playing cricket for a minimum of five years.
"I have seen prison, served two years of my ban and I'm still serving the ban. I have suffered a lot and thank God that the time has passed, it was difficult period but I had family support," Butt said. "I will try my best to display better character and represent Pakistan again.
"I made a sacrifice last year for the sake of Pakistan cricket. I didn't want to take any names then because I expected justice. I didn't get it, even though there was no evidence against me that I ever exchanged messages with Mazhar to do spot-fixing, or I told the two bowlers to deliberately bowl no-balls in the fourth Test at Lord's.
"My only mistake was, for which I do apologise, that I failed to report to the ICC about Majeed. He had been offering me for quite a long time but I was negating him again and again. It was my code of conduct, which I had signed, that if someone [makes] offers [to] me, I have to report it - which I failed to do so."
Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent
© ESPN EMEA Ltd
Spain V Italy : UEFA Euro 2012 Match Preview - Football
Published: 29 Jun 2012 - 22:01:27
Italy bid to depose Spain as European kings
Having steadily risen to the boil in trademark fashion, Italy will seek to exploit chinks in the armour of defending champions Spain when the teams meet in the Euro 2012 final here on Sunday.
After beating strongly fancied Germany 2-1 in Thursday's second semi-final in Warsaw, the Azzurri appear to be hitting form at precisely the right time.
Reigning world and European champions Spain are bidding to become the first team in history to win three consecutive major titles, but they failed to convince in their last-four penalty shoot-out win over Portugal in Donetsk.
Despite dominating possession, as they did in the 2-0 quarter-final success over France, Spain laboured in attack against the Portuguese and have started to face accusations that their 'tika-taka' style has become sterile.
Italy, in contrast, have confounded low pre-tournament expectations to eliminate first England and then Germany, and now stand on the brink of a second European Championship honour.
Their preparations for the tournament having been clouded by the Calcioscommesse match-fixing affair, Italy could be poised to triumph in the face of adversity once again.
Their World Cup successes in both 1982 and 2006 were prefaced by match-fixing scandals, but coach Cesare Prandelli has cooled talk of omens by insisting that his side will be the underdogs at Kiev's Olympic Stadium.
"The favourites are Spain because they've been working for many years and they dominate every game," said Prandelli, whose side beat Spain 2-1 in a friendly in August last year.
"We'll come up against a brilliant team, who are always able to play their game and have shown that over recent years."
Spain and Italy drew 1-1 in their opening Group C game -- Cesc Fabregas cancelling out Antonio di Natale's opener -- and it will be the fourth time that two teams who have met in their first game resume hostilities in the final.
The last occasion was at Euro 2004, when Greece twice upset hosts Portugal.
Italy successfully stifled Spain three weeks ago in Gdansk, as Prandelli opted for a 3-5-2 formation that afforded his defenders extra room to manoeuvre against Spain's fluid front three.
Fabregas was used as a 'false nine' in that game, but Spain coach Vicente del Bosque appears to have doubts over who is the best player to spearhead his attack.
Fernando Torres played up front in the 4-0 win over Ireland and the 1-0 defeat of Croatia, while Alvaro Negredo started in the 0-0 draw with Portugal but was replaced by Fabregas early in the second half.
The powerful Fernando Llorente, meanwhile, is yet to see action in Poland and Ukraine despite a fine season with Athletic Bilbao.
One striker brimming with confidence is Italy's Mario Balotelli, who came of age in the semi-final against Germany with a confidently taken first-half brace.
The controvery-prone 21-year-old provided one of the images of the tournament by embracing his adoptive mother in the crowd after the final whistle, and he will enter Sunday's game as the tournament's joint-top scorer with three goals.
"I scored two goals in front of my mother and I would like to score four in front of my father in Kiev in the final," said the Ghana-born Manchester City striker.
An engaging tournament requires only a memorable final to confirm its status as a modern classic, but Spain will need to awake from their slumber if they are to overcome a disciplined and committed Italy side.
Spain V Italy - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.
Related Spain News
Assad forces bombard northern towns, avoid Turkish border - Reuters UK
GENEVA |
GENEVA (Reuters) - Foreign ministers of world powers gather in Geneva on Saturday to try and forge a common strategy to end the bloodshed in Syria, but differences between Russia and the West may thwart them.
Kofi Annan, the former U.N. chief who is special international envoy on Syria, has been hoping for consensus on a plan for a unity government that, by excluding from the leadership figures deemed too divisive, would effectively mean President Bashar al-Assad stepping down.
However, Moscow, a long-time ally of the Syrian strongman and an opponent in principle of what it sees as foreign meddling in domestic sovereignty, has voiced objections to any solution "imposed" on Syria from outside, while the United States and its European and Arab allies see no way ahead with Assad in power.
After Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met over dinner in St. Petersburg on Friday, Lavrov echoed Annan's own earlier upbeat assessment of the chances of agreement, but a senior U.S. official sounded less confident and said differences remained.
"We have a very good chance to find common ground at the conference in Geneva tomorrow," Lavrov told reporters, while also warning against what he called a counterproductive effort to dictate the outcome of a political transformation in advance.
His deputy, Gennady Gatilov, later tweeted Moscow's view of forcing Assad aside: "Our Western partners want to determine themselves the results of the political process in Syria," he said. "However, this is a matter for the Syrians themselves."
Nonetheless, Lavrov said he detected some flexibility on Clinton's part on the eve of talks due to start at U.N. offices in Geneva around 10 a.m. (0800 GMT): "I felt a change in Hillary Clinton's position. There were not ultimatums," he said.
"Not a word was said that the document we will discuss in Geneva cannot be touched," he said, a few hours after senior officials in Geneva failed to arrive at a compromise that could be presented to the foreign ministers for approval on Saturday.
A senior U.S. State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity after the meeting in St. Petersburg, said respect for Annan meant the ministers would still attend.
"There are still areas of difficulty and difference," the official said. But as for the chances of an accord in Geneva, the official added: "We may get there; we may not."
POWERS CONFERENCE
The foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - Russia, the United States, China, France and Britain - will attend Saturday's talks along with counterparts from regional powers Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq as well as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Nabil Elaraby, the secretary-general of the Arab League.
Annan is seeking backing for a proposal that does not explicitly state that Assad must step down, but does call for a unity government which would exclude figures who jeopardise stability.
Diplomats have said that Russia proposed changes on Thursday to Annan's plan for a national unity government, despite initially supporting it, but the United States, Britain and France rejected the amendments.
Annan, who brokered a much abused ceasefire in April, said early on Friday he was "optimistic" that the Geneva talks would produce an acceptable outcome. Later, senior officials holding preparatory talks there failed to overcome differences. Western diplomats said Russia was pressing for changes to Annan's text.
Russian diplomats said the work continued but they would not "impose" a solution on Syria.
Moscow has vetoed Security Council resolutions condemning the Syrian government over its crackdown on protests which began 15 months ago and have turned into something close to civil war with a sectarian tinge. The U.N. estimates at least 10,000 people have been killed.
Russia, and China, both conscious of the risk of internal revolt at home, have objected to what they see as Western interference in the domestic affairs of rulers like Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.
Western governments, however, have shown little will to repeat last year's Libyan experience of military support for Arab rebels in Syria, where Assad's forces are formidable and the complexities of religion and ethnicity much greater.
The world has been accused by Syrian opposition activists of inertia over the bloodshed.
Assad on Thursday dismissed the notion of any outside solution to the crisis which has imperilled his family's four decades in power: "We will not accept any non-Syrian, non-national model, whether it comes from big countries or friendly countries.
"No one knows how to solve Syria's problems as well as we do."
TANKS, HELICOPTERS
On the ground in Syria, fighting continued on Friday, with particular tension around the northern border with Turkey, a week after Syria shot down a Turkish warplane.
Syrian helicopter gunships bombarded a strategic town in the north and tanks moved close to the commercial hub of Aleppo, rebels said. But Syrian troops kept well clear of new Turkish air defences installed to curb Syrian action near its borders.
Regional analysts said that while neither Turkey nor its NATO allies appeared to have any appetite to enforce a formal no-fly zone over Syrian territory, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had made clear Assad would be risking what he called the "wrath" of Turkey if its aircraft strayed close to its borders.
Erdogan told a rally in the eastern city of Erzurum on Friday, broadcast by Turkish television: "We will not hesitate to teach a lesson to those who aim heavy weapons at their own people and at neighbouring countries."
Turkey, sheltering some 34,000 Syrian refugees and providing bases for the rebel Free Syria Army, is in the forefront of the efforts to bring down Assad.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn and Liza Dobkina in St. Petersburg, Tim Heritage and Gleb Bryanski in Moscow and Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Antakya, Turkey; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Ralph Gowling)
U.S. Congress eases way for BP oil spill settlement - Reuters UK
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Friday removed an obstacle to settling legal claims emerging from the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, when it approved a spending plan for the billions of dollars it expects the government to collect.
The plan, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign, directs 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties related to the spill to a new trust fund for restoration efforts in five states along the Gulf coast.
An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April 2010 killed 11 workers and led to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, with some analysts putting the cost at $60 billion (38.2 billion pounds) or more.
Officials involved in the spending plan said its approval would foster any settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and defendants BP Plc and Transocean Ltd, not for any legal reason but because of how Congress manages budget matters.
Any fines from the spill would be new money for the U.S. government, but under complicated budget rules, Congress could not spend it without offsetting budget changes elsewhere.
The plan passed as part of a massive transportation bill by a vote of 373-52 in the House of Representatives and 74-19 in the Senate.
Approving the plan required lawmakers to find $1.6 billion in offsetting changes over 10 years.
By comparison, civil fines alone from the oil spill have been estimated at up to $21 billion, depending on exactly how much oil spilled. Finding offsetting budget changes for that much money would be much more difficult.
Enactment of the plan "removes an impediment" to the Justice Department either settling oil-spill claims or making an announcement of what it would seek in trial against the companies, said Whitney Stanco, senior policy analyst at Guggenheim's Washington Research Group.
A Justice Department spokeswoman had no comment on Friday on negotiations of a possible settlement.
(Additional reporting by Kim Dixon, Thomas Ferraro and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller and David Gregorio)
What's in your RSS Reader? - The Verge
So, I was doing some RSS spring cleaning and, in the vein of the "What's on your desk?" and "Show us your homescreen" posts, I thought it'd be fun to discuss:
- What RSS apps you use on your platform(s) of choice - or, if you don't use RSS, what news aggregation apps you do use
- What RSS feeds you currently subscribe to, and why
- What RSS feeds you used to subscribe to, but no longer do, and why
I'm actually fairly late to the RSS party, relatively speaking. I started actively following RSS feeds about two years ago; I had just gotten the first-generation iPad, and found - like many people - that it was a great device for consuming information. I looked for a way to consolidate the news I was interested in and bring it to my new toy, which lead me to Reeder and thus Google Reader.
Apps I use
iOS - Reeder and Zite
Reeder is, unfortunately, not a universal app...but it's still worth getting for both the iPad and the iPhone, if you have both. Yes, it really is that good. I don't want to get bogged down in too much detail, suffice it to say it's beautiful and simple, yet powerful.
Zite, on the other hand, is billed as a "personalized magazine" for iPad - think Flipboard with less social features and a less-refined interface. Technically I don't use it to view my Google Reader, but instead to glance through other sites that I don't follow on a regular basis. It seems pretty good at picking out the kind of things I'd be interested in - not surprising, since it learns from both your Google Reader and your Twitter.
Android - Reader HD
Reader HD is, so far, the best Google Reader app I've found on Android, and I've tried several. I actually discovered it thanks to a commenter on my 29 Days With Android post. It's still not up to Reeder's standards, but it does what I need in a phone RSS app.
Multiplatform - Flipboard
Flipboard deserves special mention, as I often use it to quickly catch up on various news sources when I'm far behind. It's not the best dedicated Google Reader client, but it does sync with it, and it's great when I'm in a hurry.
Spring Cleaning Survivors
BBC News - US & Canada
Why? I want to have at least one feed of "normal people" news, rather than the nerd news I'm so fond of, so I'm giving this one a shot. Until recently, this spot was held by CNN...but, well, more on that in the next section.
Engadget
Why? Yeah, yeah...I know. But, despite their recent loss of talent to The Verge, I enjoy getting multiple opinions and reviews of the big tech events and products. I typically avoid the commenting community there, though, as somehow every single post seems to come back to Google/Microsoft vs. Apple. It's actually pretty impressive, in a sad sort of way. Honestly, I've been tempted to give up on Engadget all together, but for now, it makes the cut.
io9
Why? Despite my non-trivial amount of disdain for Gawker's new commenting system, io9 continues to be a reliable source of general geek news. I do miss scanning the comments, as I would often discover good, intelligent discussions, but despite that, the news is solid and - more importantly - I've yet to find an equivalent site.
Lifehacker
Why? The only other Gawker site to make the cut...I like community at Lifehacker (though I'm sure the new commenting system will ruin that as soon as it's implemented) and, like io9, the articles are fairly unique. I particularly enjoy their blend of technology with lifestyle.
The Oatmeal
Why? Because it's hilarious, of course - but also because it's not updated often enough to be part of my daily "Comics" bookmark folder.
Penny Arcade Report
Why? This one is a fairly recent addition, but they've had enough interesting gaming articles that it makes the cut, for now. It's not a particularly busy feed, either, so at least it's not spamming me by keeping it around.
The Verge
Why? Do you really have to ask? In its relatively short existence, The Verge has proven to be my favorite tech-news site, with fantastic reporting, best-in-class articles, and a generally great community that the staff is more than willing to highlight.
The Verge - Gaming
Why? It's The Verge...plus gaming. What more could you want?
Spring Cleaning Victims
CNN
Why? As I mentioned above, I wanted at least one feed that was just "regular" news, and not just tech/gaming news.
Why did you leave? 1. CNN is terrible. 2. They recently started spamming the same story multiple times, once for the text version and once for the video version. 3. Did I mention that CNN is terrible?
What filled the void? BBC News US & Canada
Gizmodo
Why? I'm repeating myself yet-again, but as stated previously, I wanted at least two tech sites, if only to get multiple opinions, and at the time, I was already subscribed to Engadget
Why did you leave? A few months ago, Gizmodo posted a story about an iPhone bug that allowed them to view a stranger's information. I won't post the link to it, because I don't want them to get any more hits, but basically, they chose to report on this story by actually showing that user's information, to the point where anyone who knew him would've easily been able to identify him. I found this to be unnecessary and - to be frank - disgusting - so I finally banned them from my feed.
What filled the void? The Verge
iLounge
Why? I use quite a few Apple products, and I found iLounge occasionally had good reviews and in-depth articles.
Why did you leave? There's next to no commenting community, and the articles iLounge posted that I actually cared about were few and far between. I'll just seek them out without a dedicated RSS feed.
What filled the void? Nothing.
Indeed.com Custom Job Feed
Why? I was looking for a new job, so I set up an RSS feed to bring me job listings based on criteria I specified.
Why did you leave? I found a new (much better) job, though sadly not through Indeed.
What filled the void? Nothing.
Kotaku
Why? I was interested in gaming news, and after being on N4G for awhile, I found Kotaku was the site I went back to most often, primarily because of the commenters.
Why did you leave? Well, as I said, was primarily interested in Kotaku for the commenting community, so the recent revision of the commenting system has ruined the site for me.
What filled the void? The Verge's Gaming Feed (aka Polygon)
TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Why? As I said, I own several Apple products, and wanted more Apple-based information.
Why did you leave? I've been reading their articles less and less...partially because they're just repeating information I already learned from another source (usually The Verge or Engadget), and partially because of their obviously-biased tone.
What filled the void? Nothing.
'Devastated' Cook gives up on Olympic dream - ESPN.co.uk
Aaron Cook has finally given up on his dream of competing at London 2012, announcing on Friday that he will not take his case against the British Olympic Association [BOA] to the High Court.
Cook was left out of the Team GB Olympic squad by British Taekwondo, a move Cook has always maintained was due to his decision to prepare outside of the system.
The world No. 1 at the -80kg weight category had hoped the BOA could step in and order Cook's selection, but the governing body did not feel it right to do so. Cook has since asked for his case to be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS], but the BOA rejected the request.
That left Cook with only one remaining option, to take his case to the High Court, but both time and funding is against him. An emotional statement has now confirmed he will give up his fight.
"After careful consideration over the last few weeks, and despite my representatives advising me that I still had a good chance of successfully overturning the BOA's ratification of Great Britain Taekwondo's decision not to select me for London 2012, I have decided not to take my case against the BOA to the High Court," Cook said.
"The financial implications for me, and, more importantly, for my parents, of doing so are too prohibitive.
"I am really disappointed that the BOA did not agree to my case being heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It is the specialist forum for sports-related matters. The High Court is significantly more expensive, time-consuming and does not have the experience or expertise in dealing with sports-related disputes.
"The World Taekwondo Federation [WTF] is currently conducting a review of British Taekwondo's selection process. It has already publicly stated that the selection process has brought the sport into disrepute due to a perceived lack of transparency.
"I welcome this investigation but I am hugely disappointed that the WTF has now indicated that it will not finalise the review and findings in time for London 2012. This is particularly disappointing as the BOA had reserved the right to reconsider its decision to ratify Great Britain Taekwondo's nomination in light of the WTF's findings.
"In the best interests of Team GB, I have decided not to take up the offer to be first reserve for London 2012. Clearly it would be hugely difficult for me to work with their coaches in view of what has happened in the last few weeks. I wish all of the athletes the very best of luck - that includes Lutalo Muhammad.
"I love my country. I love my sport. I don't think that I could have done any more in terms of my performance. I will sit down with my team though and consider my best way forward in the coming months.
"I have nothing more to say at this stage. I will not be doing any media interviews. The Olympics, and especially a home Olympics, would have been the pinnacle of my career. I feel totally devastated."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd
Congress, BJP can’t connect with young Indian voters - Gulf News
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to have a tryst with doom. In the wake of scams and scandals in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the BJP was gaining ground. Its performance in parliament was comparatively better and its younger leadership assertive. But once again old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) men have brought the party back to square one.
First, Gujarat Chief Minister Narender Modi crossed swords with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the concept of secularism. Then the RSS played the Hindutva card. Both have scotched even the remotest chance of the BJP returning to power. Modi, a person who has his hands tainted with the blood of Muslims, cannot be projected as India’s next prime minister.
The BJP has, by and large, remained quiet. One of its leaders spoke out of turn and questioned the very concept of secularism, but he was hushed up quickly. It seems that the party did delude itself with the idea that the Hindu voters were beginning to own the RSS philosophy. The BJP should have learnt the lesson in 2009 when it was all set to win, but lost to the Congress.
Political parties, including the Congress, do not understand the mostly young new electorate. It is liberal in outlook and hates to mix religion with politics. This was the ethos that the nation adopted during the independence struggle and after freedom under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad.
Article continues below
True, regional chauvinism is rearing its ugly head. This is because the Centre looks confused when it comes to policies which demand secular credentials. Receiving little feedback from the field, New Delhi continues to monopolise power and fails to appreciate that decentralisation would infuse life among the people in a state. Regional aspirations have gained a new edge and the locals are fired with confidence that they can sort out their problems themselves and find a consensus quicker than a remote New Delhi can.
This is the reason why parties like the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party won in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh respectively. The voters found the parties closer to them and more sympathetic to their problems. Even if these regional parties do not give them a better administration the people are not likely to go back to all-India parties which they have found failing them again and again. They may try another party within the region because they are getting convinced that all-India parties are not an answer to their problems of appalling living conditions.
The idea of India may be pushed further into the background. There may be insurgents and separatists in certain areas to assert the identity of their caste or community, believing that, in the affairs of all-India politics, they may get lost. Much would depend on how New Delhi handles the situation. The Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations has become outdated. Had its recommendations been implemented when the report came out more than two decades ago, the demand by the states to have more powers might not have arisen. The Centre has to curtail the subjects it has, either voluntarily or through a Constitutional amendment. Apart from defence, foreign affairs and overall financial planning, New Delhi should not have more subjects. Once it decentralises its power it should ensure that the decentralisation goes all the way, from the state capital to the district and then to the Panchayat so that people themselves participate in governance.
The Congress, the BJP and the Left would have problems. The Left does not seem to bother because it is dictatorial in its working. The CPM ousted a member from the party even though he had resigned after supporting Pranab Mukherjee, the Congress Party’s presidential candidate. Yet both the Congress and the BJP need to handle their members carefully. Even when a state chief minister speaks out of turn, he has to be brought around as has been the case with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, although he is a creature of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The BJP faces a bigger problem because it rules in twice the number of states as the Congress does. Leave Modi apart — he is a bull in the China shop — the chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka are too tall to tame. They are leaders of their own communities and command wide influence.
Both parties would have great difficulty for the 2014 election, first in choosing the top person and then tackling him or her. Take for example the BJP, it is already wooing Vasundheraraje Scindia, former chief minister, who thumbed the party and stayed in the wilderness because she was sure that the central BJP would one day come to her and accept her authoritarian leadership.
Problems of the Congress on this count are negligible. Sonia has all the authority. That Rahul Gandhi, her son, should be nominated as number two has already been done. There is no dissidence and she alone, more so after the departure of Pranab Mukherjee, has the confidence of allies in the UPA she chairs.
The BJP would need more and more assistance of RSS to sort out difficulties with the state leaders. Realising this, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has announced that Modi has all the qualifications to become India’s new prime minister. However, this has naturally infuriated the BJP’s main ally, Janata Dal (United). Its President Sharad Pawar has said that if Modi is the prime minister candidate, the JD (UP) would quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
What is wrong with having a Hindutva prime minister, questions Bhagwat. This question itself shows how RSS lives in a world of it own and does not face the reality of secular India. For the BJP, already a divided house, the confusion is more confounded. It realises that the country can never be ruled through a communal agenda. Even former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee realised this and always put his liberal foot forward. He refused to oust his principal secretary Brijesh Mishra despite the pressure of RSS. But then the BJP’s problem is that it does not have a tall person like Vajpayee to withstand the pressure of RSS.
— Kuldip Nayar is a former Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom and a former Rajya Sabha member.
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