Thwarted from introducing the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned on Friday, 48 days after he assumed power, and recommended the dissolution of the State Assembly.
In a letter sent to President Pranab Mukherjee through Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, Mr. Kejriwal recommended the “immediate conduct” of elections.
The resignation came hours after his government could not introduce the Bill in the Delhi Assembly as 42 MLAs — 32 of the BJP, eight of the Congress and one of the Janata Dal (United) and an Independent — opposed it in the 70-member Assembly.
While announcing his resignation to cheering supporters at his party office, where he went from the Assembly, with his trademark muffler around his head, Mr. Kejriwal attacked the Congress and the BJP for stalling the anti-corruption legislation and linked it with his government’s decision to register an FIR against Reliance Industries head Mukesh Ambani.
“When we tried to pass the Delhi Jan Lokpal, the Congress and the BJP ganged up to stall it. Why did this happen? Because three days back, we registered an FIR against Mukesh Ambani who runs this country. For last 10 years, he was backing the UPA government, but for the last one year, he is behind Narendra Modi. From where does Mr. Modi get so much money?” he asked alleging a “nexus” among the Congress, the BJP and Mr. Ambani.
“People from the Congress and the BJP know if this law is brought in, their leaders will end up in jail. They realised that after we booked Mukesh Ambani and Union Minister Veerappa Moily, if we pass the Jan Lokpal Bill then other senior leaders like Sharad Pawar and Kamal Nath may be next in line,” he said.
Before facing defeat on the introduction of the Bill in the afternoon, the Assembly was repeatedly disrupted in the morning as the Congress and the BJP demanded that Speaker M.S. Dhir read out a written “message” from the Lieutenant Governor over the constitutional status of the Bill. The Bill was listed as the last item, but it ended up dominating the Assembly proceedings.
Finally, Mr. Dhir read out the message and allowed the Chief Minister to table the Bill and directed a discussion on it. This led to chaos and the House had to be adjourned and the Speaker called an all-party meeting.
When the Assembly reconvened, the Speaker decided to get a sense of the House whether the Bill could be introduced, where the motion was defeated. Apart from 27 MLAs of AAP, its rebel MLA, Vinod Kumar Binny, voted in its favour.
Reacting to Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation, Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh said: “We did not withdraw our support. Had that been the case, we would not have supported the Appropriation Bill that was taken for voting after the Lokpal Bill.”



2)Nissan dumps Hover, sparks row

Even as Japanese auto major Nissan unilaterally ended its exclusive sales, marketing and distribution tie-up with Hover Automotive India, the latter has threatened to pursue “the necessary course of action to protect the interest of its employees and stakeholders.”



3)Gold import norms under 80:20 scheme tightened

Nominated agencies will not be allowed to import gold in excess of their entitlementsSeeking to restrict gold imports, the Reserve Bank of India, on Friday, said nominated banks and agencies would not be allowed to import the precious metal in excess of their entitlements in the first or second lot under the 80:20 scheme.“Import of gold in the third lot onwards will be lesser of the two — five times the export for which proof has been submitted or quantity of gold permitted to a nominated agency in the first or second lot,” the RBI said in a notification. The government under the 80:20 scheme had in August 14, 2013, allowed nominated agencies to import gold on the condition that 20 per cent of the inward shipment will be exported. The permission to import the next lot would be given on fulfilment of export obligation.



4)SBI net profit dips 34 per cent in Q3

State Bank of India (SBI), on Friday, reported a 34.21 per cent fall in its net profit at Rs.2,234 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013, against Rs.3,396 crore in the year ago period.



5)Air Costa inks $3 billion buy deal with Embraer

Vijayawada-based airline Air Costa has signed an agreement with Embraer S.A. to buy 50 E-Jets E2s with an additional 50 purchase rights.



6)IDBI Mutual launches debt opportunities fund

IDBI Mutual Fund has announced the launch of IDBI Debt Opportunities Fund, an open ended income scheme, which is an accrual based product with focus on generation of interest income. The fund will invest in good quality rated corporate bonds through rigorous selection and monitoring process. The new fund offer is open for subscription till February 24. 



7)Foreign investors can pump only $2 b in commercial papers

Foreign investors will now have more leeway to utilise funds for corporate debt categories as their investment limit for commercial papers has been lowered to $2 billion.In separate circulars, the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India, on Friday, said the existing commercial paper sub-limit of $3.5 billion has been reduced to $2 billion.“The balance $1.5 billion shall, however, continue to be part of the total corporate debt limit of $51 billion, and will be available to eligible foreign investors for investment in corporate debt,” the RBI said.According to the central bank, the sub-limit of $3.5 billion for commercial papers “is being presently utilised only to the extent of around 58 per cent of the limit put in place by SEBI.’’The move to reduce the limit is aimed to “encourage long-term investors”, the RBI noted.The cap would be applicable for foreign institutional investors, qualified foreign investors and long-term investors. 



8)Sensex spurts 173 points, rupee rebounds