Techie in jail for killing wife, uncle moves HC for custody of their kids

DEHRADUN: A single-bench of Uttarakhand high court on Friday evening admitted a petition against a court order that refused to grant custody of Anupam Gulati's two four-year-old children to their maternal uncle S K Pradhan.

Pradhan, a Delhi-based scientist filed the plea after Dehradun chief judicial magistrate Kunwar Amrindra Singh refused to grant him custody of Sidhant and Sonaksi. The court had directed Pradhan to bring kids to CJM court from Delhi on last Saturday of every month to arrange their meeting with their father Rajesh Gulati. Rajesh was arrested after he allegedly murdered Anupam.

Software engineer Rajesh Gulati , who was arrested and remanded a 14-day judicial custody on December 17, continues to be in jail, after court extended his judicial remand till further order on Thursday.

In the petition filed before a single-judge bench of justice Sudhansu Dhulia in the HC, Pradhan has sought custody of children on the ground that since their father is in jail, facing murder charges, he is the only one who to look after them in a proper manner.

The petitioner Pradhan has also challenged order of CJM directing him to bring kids to Dehradun CJM court from Delhi on last Saturday of every month to facilitate their meeting with their father, on the ground that such travels will affect the kids' studies and health.

Aus-Eng: Matt Prior falls for a duck

Jammu and Kashmir: BJP's youth wing firm on hoisting flag in Srinagar

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Jan 22: The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) youth wing was firm on its stand on hoisting the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's appeals of not disturbing peace in the "sensitive" Jammu and Kashmir, a party leader said today.The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) had initiated Rashtriya Ekta Yatra from Kolkata on Jan 12 and it will culminate on Jan 26 with the hoisting of national flag at Srinagar's Lal Chowk, its president Anurag Thakur said."We had started our yatra on Jan 12 but our prime minister was quiet so far. Now suddenly he has started giving statements. But we would not change our decision and would hoist the flag at Lal Chowk at any cost," Thakur said here late today."So far, we have crossed nearly 10 states, but our movement did not disturb law and order situation at any place. We are committed to follow the peaceful path," he added.Thakur, who is also the MP from the Hamirpur constituency in Himachal Pradesh, is leading this yatra. (IANS)

'Yeddyurappa's deals cost state Rs 465cr'

BANGALORE: Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's alleged illegal acts and favouritism helped his family get pecuniary benefits of Rs 189.71 crore and caused the state exchequer a loss of Rs 465.32 crore, governor H R Bhardwaj said in his Janary 21 order while granting sanction to prosecute the CM.

Bharadwaj cited 15 cases but gains in two have not been quantified. One refers to the allotment of a site to the chief minister's son, B Y Raghavendra, which was later returned and another to a denotification favouring home minister R Ashoka. The cases refer to illegal denotification and other favours by the CM.

Two advocates, Sirajin Basha and K N Balaraj of the 'Justice Lawyers' forum had sought Yeddyurappa's prosecution citing these 15 cases.

The governor said: "I have also obtained the official records from the state government and got the veracity of the documents furnished by the petitioners verified. The documents furnished by the petitioners have been verified and found to be genuine. Where government records were not readily available and in respect of others, the petitioners were asked to produce the documents obtained under the RTI Act and certified copies, etc, and they have produced those documents and they have been verified and found to be genuine."

Mamata meets Sonia; Fuel price hike on agenda?

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi at the latter's residence. Though the reason for the meeting is not yet known - Mamata declined to speak to reporters after the meeting - it is believed that Mamata expressed her unhappiness over the recent fuel price hike, a speculation that strengthened after the new Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy met Sonia soon after Mamata left.

But Reddy described the visit as a courtesy call.

"These decisions are taken at the level of the cabinet. I did not get an opportunity to raise this issue with the Congress president", said Reddy.

Mamata's meeting with Sonia comes after the firebrand Trinamool leader shot off a letter to the Prime Minister this week asking for a review of the petroleum pricing policy.

Interestingly, she is also a member of the Group of Ministers(GoM) that freed petrol pricing last June.But, the latest hike seems to be hurting her politically what with assembly elections in West Bengal just a few months away.

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Observe restraint in sensitive states like J&K: PM on flag hoisting

New Delhi: In the backdrop of BJP's plans to hoist national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the Republic Day is not an occasion to score political points or promote divisive agendas.

The Prime Minister has also called upon all concerned to observe maximum restraint in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJP's youth workers are on their way from West Bengal to Jammu and Kashmir. They plan to end their march at Lal Chowk, where, in 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite. That speech forms the basis of separatist discourse. The BJP says hoisting the tricolor here will prove Kashmir is an integral part of India.

The separatists have called for a counter-march on January 26. And tense Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has warned, "It is clear we will not allow anybody to vitiate the atmosphere and the separatists travelling to Lal Chowk also fall under this purview?" (Read: Omar warns BJP against Ekta Yatra to J&K)

(With PTI inputs)


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Yeddyurappa slams Governor, calls him an 'agent of the Congress & JD(S)'

Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa today lashed out at Governor H R Bhardwaj, accusing him of "acting as an agent of the Congress/JD(S)".

Speaking to NDTV, Yeddyurappa said, " The Governor was in a hurry to sanction the prosecution. He was under pressure from the Congress."

He further said that the Congress had sent Bhardwaj to help the party come to power in the state.

Earlier in the day, Yeddyurappa had convened a press conference where he said that there was no question of him resigning.

Addressing mediapersons, Yeddyurappa said, "The Governor is overreaching his constitutional role. He is trying to destabilise the government. My growing popularity is troubling the Governor."

Yeddyurappa's outburst came after a meeting with his council of ministers at his residence to discuss their next move following Governor HR Bhardwaj's sanction for his prosecution. (Read: Yeddyurappa meeting ministers to discuss next move)

Justifying the statewide shutdown, he added, "We called a peaceful bandh against the Governor's decision. It was a success. The people of Karnataka took part and expressed anger against the unconstitutional and mala fide decision taken by Governor." (Read: BJP calls for a statewide bandh)

On Friday, Governor Bhardwaj sanctioned the prosecution of Yeddyurappa following several allegations of his involvement in land scams. (Read: Karnataka Governor's press communique on sanction to prosecute Yeddyurappa)

A Raj Bhavan communique said the sanction was accorded under Section 19 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.

Reacting to the prosecution sanction, Yeddyurappa said the Governor is behaving as an agent of Congress and the JDS. "This is nothing but a broad day light murder of democracy and justice," he said. (Read: Press statement by Yeddyurappa)

Earlier this week, the cabinet asked the Governor n! ot to sa nction the prosecution of the Chief Minister requested by a group of lawyers, who want to formally take up allegations of corruption against Mr Yeddyurappa. The Governor said the request by the cabinet was 'like a thief' requesting the police to not take action against him. (Read: 'Thief' remark by Governor angers Yeddyurappa) (Watch)


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Karnataka govt assures adequate steps to maintain peace: Pillai

NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government assured the Centre that it was taking adequate steps to maintain law and order in the state in the wake of protests following Governor H R Bhardwaj sanctioning prosecution of chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in alleged land scams.

Union home secretary Gopal K Pillai said he has spoken to chief secretary Ranganath S V and DGP Ajai Kumar Singh and both of them have assured him that they were well in control of the situation in Karnataka.

"Both of them have assured me that they are well in control of the situation. They made adequate arrangements to ensure that law and order is completely under control," he told reporters here.

BJP held protests all over the state denouncing the Governor's action and demanded recall of Bhardwaj.

Stone-pelting on shops and buses were reported from places such as Belgaum, Gulbarga, Shimoga and Bangalore.

Two state-owned buses were set on fire at Honnali in Davanagere district last night and a private bus was torched in Bangalore.

In view of a bandh today, elaborate security arrangements have been made, with heavy deployment of police forces in and around Bangalore.

Around 200 people in Bangalore have been taken into custody. Prohibitory orders have been promulgated in various places, including Bangalore, as a precautionary measure.

IAF to showcase network centric operations on Republic Day

THEINDIAN Air Force (IAF) Tableau for this year's Republic Day Parade will showcase the endeavor to uphold age-old military values, while transforming into a modern, competent and capable force.

Network Centric Operations involve the networking of sensors and critical capabilities to provide the IAF leadership with complete situational awareness. This will significantly enhance command and control and lead to superior decision-making.

Scale models of a Sukhoi-30 MKI tearing through the sky in the form of an aerostat, a satellite and an AWACS will be the star attraction.

The images of the situation board of AFNET (Air Force Network) and the Surface to Air Missiles firing depict the integration of sensors and capabilities of the IAF tableaux.

While IAF continues to acquire new capabilities and assimilate advanced technologies, it believes that the air warrior is the greatest force multiplier.

A flypast comprising 25 IAF aircraft including 13 fighter jets, ten helicopters and five transport aircraft, and three helicopters of the Indian Army's aviation arm will add to the aerial aspect of the RDP.

The flypast will be in two phases at the start of the parade by helicopters trooping the national tricolor and ensigns of the three services.

The second phase will be at the end of the parade with waves of formation comprising Mi-25 attack helicopters, a transport aircraft ''Big Boy'' formation of mixed fleet (IL-78, AN-32, Dornier) followed by fighter jets-Jaguars, Mig-29s and Su-30 MKIS. A vertical Charlie maneuver by a single Su-30 MKI spiraling upwards will signal the close of the proceedings.

The aerial show will be matched by 144 air warriors and 72 musicians of AF Band who will form the IAF marching contingent on Rajpath.

Flight Lieutenant CP Deshpande will lead the AF contingent, while Flight Lieutenant Jasdeep Kaur, Flight Lieutenant Mukesh Rai and Fg Offr Anupama Chaudhary will be the other officers march! ing alon gside.

50 other air warriors led by Sqn Ldr B Biswas as the IAF contingent commander will form part of the Inter Services Guard of Honour of 150 personnel to be led by Wg Cdr Ajay Dasari as the overall Guard Commander.

In view of the flypast at heights varying from 60 to 500 metres and the associated flight safety concerns posed by birds, the IAF has made an appeal to all citizens of Delhi and its neighbourhood to keep their areas clean and avoid throwing eatables, garbage, dead animals or carcasses in the open in all the days leading upto January 26.

Distress call by ship on Gujarat coast

Pipav: Rescue operations are under way off Gujarat coast after a distress call by a ship with 32 people on board.

The Coast Guard, Western region, is conducting the operations in the waters of the Gulf of Khabat near Pipav, Gujarat.

The Coast Guard has pressed two of its helicopters into service. An interceptor boat has also been sent.

Twenty six people have been rescued so far by the Coast Guard.



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CWG: Sanjay Mohindroo moves court to surrender in graft case

NEW DELHI: Commonwealth Games chief organizer Suresh Kalmadi slipped into deeper trouble with a former aide moving a city court to surrender in a graft case and cooperate with investigations just when the Central Bureau of Investigation readies to question the Pune MP on Monday.

Sacked Organizing Committee official Sanjay Mohindroo's application to surrender in one of two cases relating to the Queen Baton Relay states his willingness to cooperate with CBI. "I want to surrender myself in the case RC-42. I want to come before CBI and I am willing to respond to questions of the investigating agency. I am ready to answer the queries of the agency," the plea states.

The former OC deputy director-general's plea is worrying for Kalmadi as one other sacked official, T S Darbari, is believed to have agreed to cooperate with CBI. Darbari claimed he had nothing to do with CWG tenders and wrote to the CBI director on November 3 naming the officials involved.

CBI sources said the agency will assess just what Mohindroo has to say but seemed confident that they will be able to act against Kalmadi soon. If Darbari and Mohindroo actually agree to depose against him the agency may well be in a position to file a chargesheet against the OC boss.

Mohindroo moved the application to the Special CBI Judge at Patiala House court on Thursday. He is an accused in the award of contracts for cars and other facilities for a CWG function in London in October, 2009. The charges relate to forgery and criminal conspiracy.

Talking to TOI on Thursday, Mohindroo's lawyer said, "We have moved an application where my client is ready to answer the questions of CBI." The court asked CBI to file a reply by January 25. Asked about the relevance of Mohindroo's offer to help CBI, an officer said, "He is an accused in the case. It will depend on what he tells us because there is evidence against him as well and he was in the team of officials who went to London for the Queens Baton Relay ! (QBR) in 2009."

Mohindroo had reportedly not given satisfactory replies to the agency during his CBI custody after his arrest on November 15 last year. He wants to speak to CBI in the AM Films case, in which he has been named as accused with Darbari and Jaychandran. He is also an accused in AM Cars and A M Vans FIR along with Darbari and owner of these companies Ashish Patel.

Mohindroo was released on bail by a Delhi court on January 15. CBI alleged "he and T S Darbari connived with Ashish Patel to award the work of installation of video screens at the venue of Queen's Baton Relay, at exorbitant rates, to his company. The contract was awarded purportedly on the basis of fake quotations and without following the standard procedure".

Darbari shared information regarding tender/awarding process with the agency in November. He claimed that the "decision regarding the approval of the QBR tender to AM Films and AM Cars came from top including Suresh Kalmadi".

K'taka bandh: Shops shut, no untoward incidents

Bangalore: Normal life was on Saturday disrupted in Karnataka due to the day-long bandh called by the ruling BJP to protest Governor HR Bhardwaj's sanction for prosecuting Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in alleged land scams.

Majority of shops and business establishments across the state remaining closed while schools, including government-run ones, declared a holiday as a precautionary measure.

BJP activists staged protests and shouted anti-Governor slogans in the city and other parts of the state, according to reports reaching in Bangalore.

Transport authorities maintained skeletal bus services in the city, causing hardship to commuters.

The Governor has directed DGP Ajai Kumar Singh to take all security measures to ensure that there is no trouble during the bandh and to deal firmly with anti-social elements.

City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidri has promulgated two-day prohibitory orders in the city from Saturday.

The DGP said elaborate security arrangements have been made in the state and additional forces have been deployed in sensitive areas.

No untoward incident has been reported so far, according to police.

The Governor's sanction for prosecution came on Friday.

Lawyers to file prosecution case against Yeddyurappa on Monday

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Bangalore, Jan 21: With Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj late today permitting prosecution of beleaguered Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on land scam and corruption charges, city lawyers Sirajin Basha and K.N. Balaraj have decided to file a criminal case in a special court here on Monday."We are grateful to the governor for granting us permission to prosecute the chief minister. We are in touch with our counsels to draft the petition to file the criminal case in the 23rd special court Monday," Basha told the media.The governor's sanction came on a complaint by the lawyers under section 19(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 for prosecuting the chief minister on the various grave charges of corruption and criminal misconduct."We were forced to approach the governor after the Lokayukta (ombudsman) police refused to take our complaint as an FIR (first information report). The concerned police did not even acknowledge our complaint sent by registered post," Basha said.The governor's office in a communique said Bhardwaj considered the lawyers' complaint and passed an order to prosecute Yeddyurappa under the said provisions.Asked if they would press for the chief minister's resignation, Basha said it was up to him (Yeddyurappa) to decide whether to step down or not."To resign or not is a moral issue. We are dealing with legal issues on the basis of evidence we have collected against the chief minister. Don't bring politics into this case," Basha retorted.Bashan also clarified that the state government would not be able to prevent them from filing the petition in the speci! al court , as there was no provision for caveat by the state government in a criminal case."This is a criminal case and not a civil case. Where is the question of admitting a caveat by the court?" Basha quipped. (IANS)

BJP calls for statewide bandh in Karnataka

Bangalore: Karnataka's ruling BJP called a statewide bandh tomorrow protesting Governor HR Bhardwaj's sanction for prosecution of chief minister BS Yeddyurappa.

The party also ruled out Yeddyurappa's resignation in the wake of the governor's action.

Taking stock of the crisis triggered by Bhardwaj's action, an emergency meeting of the party declared it would fight "legally and politically" against the governor's sanction which it described as "unconstitutional and politically-motivated".

BJP decided to call a statewide bandh tomorrow to protest the governor's action, BJP State unit president KS Eswarappa told reporters in Bangalore.

"There is no question of the chief minister resigning. We will fight out legally and politically", BJP general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan, also incharge of BJP affairs in Karnataka, said.

Pradhan was earlier rushed to the city by the BJP central leaders to guide the state unit in deciding the future course of action against the Governor.

Eshwrappa described Bhardwaj's decision as a "murder of democracy, a black order in the history of the state and done under the promptings by Congress and JD(S)".

"The governor is carrying on his political agenda through his office and trying to breathe life to Congress", he said.

He said Bhardwaj should tender an unconditional apology to the people of the state for his offensive remarks made against the government.

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Karnataka Governor sanctions prosecution of Yeddyurappa

Bangalore: Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj has sanctioned the prosecution of Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa following several allegations of his involvement in land scams.

A Raj Bhavan communique said the sanction was accorded under Section 19 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. However, the communique did not mention about the petition filed by Lawyers Forum, which had also sought permission to prosecute Home Minister R Ashoka, alleging involvement in land denotification scam.

Reacting to the prosecution sanction, Yeddyurappa said the Governor is behaving as an agent of Congress and the JDS. "This is nothing but a broad day light murder of democracy and justice," he said. (Read: Press statement by Yeddyurappa)

The Chief Minister also wrote to the Governor protesting against the fact that he hasn't even been given a copy of the Governor's order. Not just that, Yeddyurappa says he doesn't even have a copy of the complaint on which the Governor's decision is based. (Read: Yeddyurappa's letter to the Governor following prosecution sanction)

Earlier this week, the Cabinet asked the Governor not to sanction the prosecution of the Chief Minister requested by a group of lawyers, who want to formally take up allegations of corruption against Mr Yeddyurappa. The Governor said the request by the cabinet was 'like a thief' requesting the police to not take action against him. (Read: 'Thief' remark by Governor angers Yeddyurappa) (Watch)

Following the prosecution sanction, the BJP has said the Governor is acting like the prosecutor himself and have called for a Karnataka bandh tomorrow. (Read: BJP calls for a statewide bandh)

"The BJP strongly condemns as constitutionally improper and politically motivated the action of Governor of Karnataka in granting sanction for prosecution against the Chief Minister of Karnataka and his cabinet colleagues," Leader of Opposi! tion in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said. (Watch)

However, Karnataka Lokayukta (anti-corruption watchdog) Santosh Hegde says Governor H R Bhardwaj was within his rights to grant sanction to prosecute Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on corruption charges. (Watch)

"Legally speaking, the Governor has the power to grant or refuse sanction despite the cabinet's resolution. He is empowered to do so", he said.

"Though the Governor has to go by the advice of the cabinet, there are exceptions where he can act independently and should act independently", he said, citing earlier rulings.

Fleet tanker INS Deepak joins Navy's Western fleet

ITALIAN-BUILTfleet tanker, INS Deepak, was today commissioned into the Navy by Defence Minister A K Antony, who said the year will see more acquisitions and commissioning of vessels to strengthen maritime security. The tanker was commissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.

Addressing the gathering, the Defence Minister said the Navy has embarked on an ambitious shipbuilding programme to provide it with the required maritime assets to meet its mandate. Indian defence shipyards are working to their full capacity to meet the countrys warship requirements, he said.

Indias continued presence in Indian Ocean waters necessitates pursuing our strategic and diplomatic interests for which a ship such as Deepak, with an ability to sustain the Indian fleets at sea for prolonged periods, is a vital asset to ensure Indian Navys continuous presence in our area of interest, he added.

He unveiled the ship's name plaque, marking the formal induction of INS Deepak into the Indian Navy.

Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma, Chief of Naval staff and Vice-Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin, the flag officer commanding in Chief of Western Naval Command and other dignitaries, attended the commissioning ceremony

Designed by Fincanteri Shipyard specifically for the Indian Navy, this ship is one of the largest ships of the navy, 175 metres long, 25 metres wide and has a full load displacement of 27,500 tonnes.

The ship has been designed, constructed and delivered in a record time of 27 months and is a second-generation ship. The erstwhile Deepak, commissioned in Nov 1967 was decommissioned in Apr 1996 after a glorious 29 years of service in the navy.

Army court finds Lt. Gen. Rath guilty in Sukna land scam

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Shillong, Jan 21: An army court martial today pronounced former 33 Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Rath guilty on three counts in a land scam in the Sukna military station in West Bengal.The sentence in the case will be delivered in a couple of days.Rath had been court martialled with intent to defraud the army by issuing a No-Objection Certificate to a private realtor to construct an educational insitution on a 70-acre plot adjacent to the military station sometime in 2008.The court martial, headed by a panel of five lieutenant generals headed by Lt. Gen. I.P. Singh, delivered its judgment here after about an eight-month-long hearing in the case. (IANS)

Request to shed discretionary powers falling to deaf ears?

A DIVISION bench of Supreme Court comprising of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly while listening to a petition which accused the Madhya Pradesh government of allotting 20 acres of prime land at throwaway price to the Kushabhau Thakre Trust having top BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Venkaiah Naidu as trustees has rightly commented that the discretionary powers are not being used in people's interest.
Discretion invites corruption, favouritism and nepotism. Bench has commented that discretionary powers are to be used in in the good interest of the public but in the last fifty years this is exercised just for the opposite. If we go by the instances of discretionary powers used by the Chief Ministers of various states and central ministers after the Independence, we can safely conclude that by and large these were used to oblige one's near and dear ones by ignoring the merit.
Discretionary powers, be it allotment of plots, flats, institutional plotsare usedby politicians in power to favour their supporters. The recent gesture by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi has hit the headlines for allotting flats to his favourites. It is good that sense has prevailed upon him and the Chief Minister has shed his discretionary powers.
The solution lies in abolishing of all type of discretionary powers by the chief ministersand the central ministers. The land and flats allotted under the discretionary quota should be put to open auction which will fetch considerable money to the government which can be used for launching pro poor welfare schemes.
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has recently asked his party chief minsters and central ministers belonging toher party to shed their all types of discretionary powers particularly in the field of allotment of lands. After making such appeal in Burari session of the party, she recently shot letters to chief ministers and central ministers again requesting them to shed their discretio! nary pow ers. Despite of the appeals being made, it is saddening that no concrete action was initiated.
Sonia should ensure that her words are paid heed to otherwise the Opposition and its other alliances will be right in alleging that it is only part of diversionary tactics to mislead the people from various scams and scandals. Not only the chief ministers and central ministers belonging to Congress party should act on Sonia's advice but the chief ministers of non congress and left party ruled states and central ministers belonging to coalition partners should also follow this which will be a right step in bringing out the true colours from this corruption plagues country.
Sonia is reported to have written in her letter to chief minsters that there was ample evidence that all discretionary powers particularly in land allocation breed corruption and she would like that all Congress chief ministers and ministers both at the centre and the states to set an example by reviewing and relinquishing their discretionary powers particularly in matter of allotment of land. Media and citizens should join hands in launching a national wide campaign to force congress and opposition parties for making sure that discretionary powers are not used illegitimately by their chief minsters.
Haryana had also hit the headlines three decades back when the then Chief Minister Bhajan Lal allotted thousands of residential plots to influential people from his discretionary quota which fetched him considerable premium. His beneficiaries included top civil and police officers, High Court judges, Congress workers and journalists. At that time Bhajan Lal also obliged employees of All India Congress Committee by allotting plots from his discretionary quota. Haryana's current chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda made a policy for allotment of plots and the residential plot given to army chief Deepak Kapoor which also hit the headlines with Kapoor requ! esting f or permission for selling the plot against the policy.
An unholy nexus of bureaucrats and politicians is looting the country putting even Mahmud of Ghazni to shame. The bench hearing the Madhya Pradesh government case has rightly commented that our bureaucrats are taught and trained according to British traditions and they never say no to their political bosses.

Omar Abdullahs no to BJP's march to Lal Chowk

Srinagar: The BJP will not be allowed to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day. Sources say Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has decided to stop BJP's Ekta Yatra, flagged off earlier this month by party chief Nitin Gadkari, and it may not be allowed to enter the state.

Omar had earlier asked BJP not to "precipitate" the situation in the Valley by going ahead with its yatra to hoist the tri-colour at Lal Chowk. On Wednesday, the Chief Minister met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister P Chidambaram to apprise them of the situation in the state and discussed how to deal with any situation arising out of the BJP programme.

''In the national interest, they should not do anything that could precipitate trouble and once again reignite the sort of problems that we with great difficulty dealt with in the summer of last year,'' Omar Abdullah had said.

Disregarding Omar's appeal, the BJP has vowed to go ahead with its yatra with senior BJP leader LK Advani insisting that hoisting the flag is not provocative. "If they want to go and hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk then they are not challenging anyone. They must go and hoist it," he said.

The yatra is made up of largely youth workers of the BJP and is headed from West Bengal to Srinagar. It has now reached Delhi.

With Akali-BJP government in Punjab, the party expects a smooth passage till the J&K border.

The BJP's route has also led to separatists warning that they will hold their own march on January 26 to Lal Chowk.

It's that sort of tension that the government is desperate to avoid.

Lal Chowk is where Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite in 1948 - a speech that forms the basis of separatist discourse. The BJP says by bringing the flag here, it wants to drive home the point that Kashmir is an integral part of India.
However, some sections within the BJP are wondering whethe! r it wil l be sensible to go ahead with the yatra because any subsequent violence in the Valley would be blamed on them.


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Here's why the corrupt need not fear the law

The accompanying article explains just what is wrong with the mechanism we currently have to deal with corruption. Lest you think that is just a theoretical argument, take a look at the official data on the subject and your doubts should be settled. The rapidly diminishing circles depicted alongside show how just a fraction of those accused of corruption actually end up getting nailed.

The data presented here is all from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The first set of circles pertains to the status of investigations by the state anti-corruption or vigilance wings under the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant section of the IPC.

In 2008, the latest year for which data is available, there were 8,554 cases for investigation across all states and Union territories. Of these, 7,292 were actually investigated during the year, while 2,543 resulted in chargesheets. In other words, only about a third of the cases investigated resulted in chargesheets as a proportion of the cases available for investigation, the figure drops even further to about 30%.

But chargesheeting is only the first stage in the tortuous road to nailing the accused. The next set of circles depicts what happens to those being tried for corruption. In 2008, there were 29,783 people facing such trials.

Of these, trials were completed only for 2,985 people. Of those, 977 were convicted. That translates again to about a third of all those whose trials were completed being convicted, but when compared to those facing trial, the proportion drops to a mere 3%.

Is this reading too much into one year's figures? After all cases tried in one year might lead to conviction in a subsequent year. True, but the fact is that we looked at figures for the last few years and found that in each case these proportions are roughly the same.

Now, let's look at happens when cases are reported for departmental action against the accused. That's the third set of circles. In 2008, there w! ere 736 such people, of whom 268 were punished in some form or the other by their respective departments. But only 65 of them lost their jobs. That means less than one in eleven reported for action actually were sacked.

Put all these figures together and the picture you get makes it clear why public servants can indulge in corrupt practices with such impunity in our country. The chances of the investigation leading to chargesheeting are slim, even if they do get chargesheeted the chances of the trial concluding any time soon are even slimmer and finally when the trial does conclude the odds are on being let off.

A final thought. We are dealing here with a few thousand people being investigated or tried in any given year. Now consider the fact that there are about 10 million central and state government employees. Assuming conservatively that just 1% of them are corrupt, that would mean about a lakh of people indulging in corruption.

With less than 1,000 getting convicted, the corrupt can be 99% sure they'll get off. That's the problem.

Murdered Chandigarh boy's kin return compensation

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Chandigarh, Jan 20: The family members of five-year-old boy Khushpreet Singh, who was kidnapped and murdered for ransom here earlier this month, today returned a compensation cheque after Chandigarh Administrator Shivraj Patil rejected their plea to book lax policemen for murder.Patil, a former union home minister, refused to accept the representation made by the boy's family that a case of murder be registered against officials of Chandigarh police for mishandling the kidnapping case which led to his murder, even after paying a ransom of Rs.400,000.The family returned the cheque of Rs.100,000 that the Chandigarh administration had given to them earlier this week as compensation."We lost our son due to the indifferent handling of the matter by the Chandigarh police officials. We are seeking their dismissal from service and registration of a murder case against them. We want justice," said Khushpreet's distraught father Lakhbir Singh.A magisterial probe into the incident on Wednesday had indicted four police officers for treating the kidnapping case casually and not even bothering to follow proper procedure or informing senior officers.The probe pointed out that a trap laid by police, to nab the kidnappers at the time of payment ransom near Kharar town in Punjab, 25 km from here, last month, was withdrawn at the last moment, letting the kidnappers get away with the money.The body of the boy was found Jan 5 after he was kidnapped on Dec 21. (IANS)

Why was Praful Patel moved out of Aviation Ministry?

New Delhi: As Vyalar Ravi takes over from Praful Patel as the new Civil Aviation Minister, the key question that's being asked in political circles is: Was this a last minute change? And if so why?

Apart from wresting the crucial Aviation portfolio from NCP, sources say, Patel's handling of Air India played a role in his change of portfolio.

Also, NDTV has learnt that the CAG will submit a report on Air India soon.

The report could raise questions about the Civil Aviation Ministry opening up Air India's lucrative Gulf routes to private carriers. And an adverse CAG report with Patel at the helm could have created more problems for the UPA.

An ill-advised merger of Air India, employee strike and his proximity to airlines owners, made Patel's tenure controversial.

"When I took over, Aviation Ministry was unrecognised globally. Now, India is the ninth largest aviation market in the world; aviation has grown, so much. It's OK, you have to take the brickbat with the bouquet," Patel said after taking over oath as the Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister.

The new man in-charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Vyalar Ravi, has strong trade union roots. He has been brought in with a clear focus on Air India, especially to take employees on board before carrying out tough decisions.

"Commercial aspects are also important but the main aspect is to bring back prestige of Air India," Ravi said.

Many believe that eventually, the Aviation Ministry will go to a younger face of the UPA. But before that Vyalar Ravi will have to do the repair job of bringing Air India back on track.



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Gurudas Kamat takes over as Minister of State for Home Affairs

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story New Delhi, Jan 20: Gurudas Kamat today assumed charge as Minister of State for Home Affairs.He was a Minister of State in the Telecom Ministry before the cabinet reshuffle effected by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.Kamat, who is a five-time Congress MP from Mumbai, later called on Home Minister P. Chidambaram, apart from interacting with his ministry's officials.Kamat, a law and business management graduate, is an advocate and an agriculturalist. He represents the Mumbai North-West Constituency in the Lok Sabha. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Mumbai in 1984. (IANS)

Mobile Number Portability at Rs 19 starting today

New Delhi: Starting today, you can switch your cellphone provider without changing your cell phone number. It'll cost you Rs 19 and you're guaranteed the change in less than a week.

Mobile Number Portability across India was launched formally by the Prime Minister on Thursday evening. Describing telecom as one of India's great success stories, Dr Manmohan Singh stressed that India adds an average of 50 million new cellphone subscribers a month.

"More Indians have been touched by this revolution than any other program in the history of our nation," he said.

Telecom Minister said he has proved that the customer is king.

How to switch

To switch operators, Type PORT, leave a space, type your mobile number and text it to 1900. You will receive a reply from 1901 with a unique code and date.

You then have to submit your identity proof, address proof, and photograph with the code to the service provider you want, by the date given to you.

In the next seven days, the master clearing house will check if you have any outstanding dues and then process your request. Your new service will then start on your old number.

Restrictions include a minimum stay of three months and the subscriber can't change the circle. Portability began in November 2010 in Haryana.

What Operators say

Bharti Airtel, India's largest cellular operator says it is confident of retaining its customer base. "I think the customer at the high end is very discerning and is looking at sustainibility and therefore large networks,innovative services,bringing in value addition life enriching services are all going to play a very vital role." said CEO Sanjay Kapoor.



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Ind-SA: India aim to wrap up series

ED issues notice to suspended Madhya Pradesh IAS couple

THE ENFORCEMENTDirectorate (ED) on Thursday issued notices to suspended Madhya Pradesh Indian Administrative Service (IAS) couple Arvind and Tinu Joshi for allegedly violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

The high profile IAS couple of 1979 batch were suspended after an income-tax raid at their Bhopal house in February last year during which officials detected wealth worth Rs 360 crore, which was disproportionate to their income.

Income-tax officials found Rs three crore worth of cash and also recovered jewellery and documents of properties disproportionate to their known sources of income.

They nailed the couple in a report, which details the total value of their properties and other assets.

The couple owns 400 acres of land in Bhopal and other districts of Madhya Pradesh. They also own 25 flats mostly in Bhopal and one in Delhi.

The anti-corruption watchdog had also raided the couple''s official bungalow in Bhopal.

The Lokayukta of Madhya Pradesh had also filed an FIR against them.

The two IAS officers have held important posts.

While Tinu Joshi was the Deputy Secretary in the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) from 1988 till 1990, Arvind Joshi was Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry during the Kargil war.

Sabarimala pilgrimage season ends in 102 deaths, what next?

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Sabarimala (Kerala), Jan 20: Yet another two-month-long Sabarimala pilgrimage season came to an end when the doors of the famous temple were closed early today. But a larger question remains open - who will shoulder the responsibility for the 102 lives lost for no fault of theirs in last week's stampede.The stampede occurred on Makar Sankranti day at Pulumedu, a forested area about 30 km from the temple, when pilgrims were climbing down a hillock after watching a celestial light - the most important event of the pilgrimage season - on the first day of the Malayalam month, Makaram.The celestial light appears three times on the horizon, shortly after dusk. This single event draws close to a million devotees, who fill up all available space on the hillocks in and around the temple town.The blame for the tragedy has to be taken by the authorities, 46-year-old Hari Kumar, a driver by profession hailing from Thiruvalla and a staunch devotee of Lord Ayyappa, told media."The crowds of people arriving at the temple have gone up drastically in the past one decade. The steep increase is on account of an increasing number of devotees from the South Indian states," Kumar said."Those in charge of controlling traffic, especially on the Thekkady border, have to be alert. If they had done that this time, the Pulumedu tragedy could have been avoided," he added.Of the two main points of entry to the temple town, it is the Thekkady-Kumily stretch which is the most treacherous because of the topography and the narrow roads and it is on this route that Pulumedu sits.Thirtyfive-year-old K. Babu, who owns a small plantation near Kumily where the autop! sies of those killed were conducted, remarked that it is sad that the government fails to learn from past mistakes."Was it not in 1999 that 54 lives were lost in a similar stampede on the day the celestial light appears on the horizon? We wish to know what steps did the officials take based on the report that was submitted then," Babu said."The callousness of officials should stop and the political parties should stop the blame game and see that they sit down and work out a strategy to see that such man-made tragedies are avoided," he added.The state cabinet is meeting in Thiruvananthapuram today and topping the agenda is the stampede episode. The findings of the report of the judicial probe would also be announced."I am told that the last time a judicial probe was done in the state with the service of a sitting high court judge was way back in the mid-1990s," said J. Kiran, who hails from Kanjirapally en route to Pulumedu."If the government is responsible, they should take out the previous two or three reports that have been given in the past one decade and the best that they can do is to work out a programme to see that the pilgrimage becomes an easy affair," he added.The Sabarimala temple is situated on the Western Ghat ranges at an altitude of 914 metres above the sea level and four km uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta district.Pathanamthitta legislator K. Sivadasan Nair, who has taken part in several discussions ahead of the pilgrimage season, said the need of the hour is proper scientific planning and "if we start that now, we could make huge positive gains ahead of the next pilgrimage season"."I am told that the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad has in principle agreed to come to our help to prepare a satellite imagery of the places in and around the Sabarimala temple," Nair said."I will request the state government to seek their help because they have used this technology in disaster management in Andhra Pradesh," he added.With two major tragedies occurring in the past 12 years and more than ! 156 live s lost, all are hoping against hope that the first step the authorities would do is to go into the three reports that have been submitted on what needs to be done.With the Kerala High Court suo motu asking the state government for a detailed report on the tragedy, hopes are also being expressed that authorities will act now. If not, then there would be none to be blamed but an insensitive government which fails to wake up from tragedies. (IANS)

Australian company to sue CWG organisers over unpaid bills

Sydney: Controversy-marred Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi last year finds itself in yet another embarrassing situation with an Australian company deciding to sue the event's organisers over unpaid bills.

An Australian company which was behind the CWG opening and closing ceremonies has still not received the bills from the Organising Committee (OC) and hence is all set to take legal action against it, reported ABC.net.au website.

Ric Birch, who was the mastermind behind the successful opening and closing ceremonies of the mega-event which took place from October 3 to 14 last year, told the website that his employers have still not paid their bill.

"I supplied the services of 12 people over the course of the year leading up to the Games, which included choreographers, producers and myself as executive producer," he was quoted as saying.

"They're all production people who were intimately involved in the creation, production and direction of the opening and closing ceremonies."

He also added that when he tried to contact the organisers of the Games in relation to the unpaid bills, the calls were first ignored.

"Then finally in December I got a very short note from Lalit Bhanot who is Secretary General of the Organising Committee," he said.

"He sent a note saying that now they wanted to claim a performance guarantee because Mr Birch's performance was not up to the mark. So I am mortified as you can imagine."

Birch is now planning to sue the OC so that they could recover their hundreds of thousands of dollars in outstanding fees.

He has also given his lawyers the names of other businesses, which may also want to take legal action against the Committee.

"There were up to 15 other companies involved with the opening ceremony and many more companies involved with the Commonwealth Games overall," he said.


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ED notice to MP IAS couple for FEMA violations

Video

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday served a notice to tainted Madhya Pradesh IAS couple Tinu and Arvind Joshi for Foreign Exchange violations.

Both of them were accused of purchasing benami property in the name of an NRI relative.

During a raid at their residence foreign currency disproportionate to their income was recovered and Rs 3 crore was also found.

Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday served a notice to tainted Madhya Pradesh IAS couple Tinu and Arvind Joshi for Foreign Exchange violations.

Both of them were accused of purchasing benami property in the name of an NRI relative.

During a raid at their residence foreign currency disproportionate to their income was recovered and Rs 3 crore was also found.

Some crucial documents pertaining to unaccounted investments were also seized.

Both the IAS officers of the 1979 batch have held important posts. While Tinu was the Deputy Secretary in the PMO from 1988 till 1990, Arvind was Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry during the Kargil war.

The Income Tax department has claimed to have detected wealth valued at a whopping Rs 360 crore from suspended Madhya Pradesh IAS officer couple Arvind and Tinu Joshi and disproportionate to their known source of income.

Price rise: I'm not an astrologer, says PM

World Cup: the final squads of 14 teams

Delhi HC questions government on workers' welfare

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story New Delhi, Jan 19: Upset over the delay in implementation of social security schemes for construction workers, the Delhi High Court today asked the government to explain why the benefits under various initiatives had not reached the needy.The court also directed the central and Delhi governments and other departments in the city to furnish the details of workers employed by them and directed them to get the workers registered.The division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna issued summons to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner, the union government's chief labour commissioner, Delhi government's labour department secretary, besides officials of civic agencies and organisations involved in construction work in the capital.Those issued notices included the Delhi Development Authority, the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Delhi Metro, the Delhi International Airport Limited and public works departments.While ordering the government officials to appear before it Feb 9, the court cautioned them against resorting to any excuse for seeking exemption from personal appearances.The court issued summons to officials while hearing a public interest lawsuit filed by a civil society group fighting for the legal rights and benefits of workers under the existing statute. (IANS)

Who is KC Venugopal?

New Delhi: KC Venugopal, a first time LokSabha MP from Kerala, is the only brand new minister to join the Manmohan ministry and another young face in the Union government.

Making a ministerial debut at the Centre, the 47-year-old MP from Alapuzha has got "power" quickly getting the Minister of State slot in the Power ministry.

Beni Prasad Verma and Ashwani Kumar, the new ministers in UPA after today's minior expansion and reshuffle who were sworn in along with Venugopal, have been Union ministers earlier.

An avid sports fan and a university-level volleyball player, Venugopal comes in following the exit of Shashi Tharoor from the ministry following the IPL controversy.

The induction of Venugopal, a post graduate in Mathematics, is seen as a move to woo the influential Nair community ahead of the Assembly elections in Kerala due in May. The Nair community, to which Venugopal belongs, has been demanding his induction in the Ministry.

Interestingly, Venugopal who hails from Kannur districtin northern Kerala has won the Lok Sabha elections from a district in southern part of the state.

With Venugopal becoming a minister, Alapuzha districtnow has three ministers in the Centre, the other two being Defence Minister A K Antony and Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi.

He is a three-time MLA and former minister, who resigned from the post of MLA to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and won the elections with a huge margin. He was a minister looking after temple affairs and tourism in the state for two years.



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Cabinet reshuffle: Jaipal gets Petroleum; Kamal Nath moved to Urban Development

New Delhi: Sweeping changes to portfolios - a record 37 - but nobody was dropped in today's Cabinet reshuffle - a point stressed by a sniggering BJP soon after the announcements. After the speculation about whether there'd be dramatic changes, what the Prime Minister seems to have implemented is a game of musical chairs.

The big impact has been on economic and infrastructure ministries like Petroleum, Roads, and Rural and Urban Development, but ministers have traded places - so it's the same old faces now brandishing new portfolios.

Manmohan Singh described today's reshuffle as minor, stressing, "There will be a more expansive reshuffle after the Budget." Government sources say that the reassignment of portfolios could be interpreted as a message from the PM against "crony Capitalism". Ministers in charge of economic portfolios who were observed to be close to select corporates have been transferred. Government sources also say that ministers seen as poor performers are now on notice and the next round of changes will apply the "perform or perish principle".

The major changes

After petrol prices were raised six times in the last year, Murli Deora moved from the Oil Ministry to handle Corporate Affairs. "I couldn't have held onto Oil forever," he said, denying that he was disappointed with his transfer. Jaipal Reddy takes on Oil now, and Kamal Nath gives up Roads and Surface Transport to replace Reddy in the Urban Development Ministry. CP Joshi, who was Minister for Rural Development, will replace Kamal Nath to handle Roads. (In Pictures: Know your ministers)

Praful Patel has been promoted to Cabinet rank but instead of Civil Aviation, he has been assigned to Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, a ministry that some say may be too low-key for the high-profile NCP leader. Not true, said Patel. "I am very happy that I am a Cabinet minister. In any person's political career, it i! s import ant to rise in the political hierarchy and after 20 years in Parliament if I did not become a Cabinet minister and my juniors were moving ahead, it was, certainly very important, both personally and politically for me to become a Cabinet minister." (Watch: Praful Patel on his promotion)

Vayalar Ravi, the minister for Overseas Indian Affairs will hold additional charge of Civil Aviation. (Read: Ministers now promoted)

Kerala, UP handled with care

The four crucial ministries - Home, Finance, External Affairs and Defence - remained untouched. Despite the PM's interest in a younger Cabinet, no young MPs were inducted.

Also left out - key allies DMK and Mamata Banerjee's TMC. Sources say the elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal will decide how the political equation at the Centre is recalibrated.

However, UP and Kerala, both politically crucial for the Congress have got important additions in the Council of Ministers.

Two ministers from UP - Salman Khursheed and Sriprakash Jaiswal - have been given promotion and Cabinet rank. Beni Prasad Verma, also an important leader from UP, joins the Cabinet as Minister of State (MoS) with Independent charge. (Watch: Beni Prasad Verma in, thanks Rahul)

The Cabinet already has three ministers of state from UP.

Kerala benefited likewise. KC Venugopal was made Minister of State (MoS), Power.

KV Thomas, a prominent Christian leader in Kerala, now has independent charge of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Vayalar Ravi, already handling Overseas Indian Affairs gets additional charge of Civil Aviation and E Ahamed takes over as Minister of State for External Affairs, a post vacated by Shashi Tharoor last year.

Other key changes

In other key changes, Sharad Pawar will be Agriculture and Food Processing Minister. He will not have charge of Food and Civil Supplies anymore. Kumari Selja will be Cabinet Minister, with additional charge of Culture and Subodh Kant Sahay h! as been moved from Food Processing to Tourism.

The Congress' Kapil Sibal who took over from A Raja after the 2G spectrum scam controversy forced the latter to step down, will stay on as Telecom Minister. He will also retain his Human Resources Development portfolio. He has been relieved of the Science and Technology portfolio which was given to him after Prithviraj Chavan was moved to Maharashtra as Chief Minister late last year. Veerappa Moily stays on as Law Minister, despite reports that the PM was not happy with his handling of the 2G controversy in court. Jairam Ramesh stays Environment Minister.

Promotions, losses and new faces

Among those taking their place in the ranks of Cabinet ministers are Salman Khursheed and Sriprakash Jaiswal. Khursheed gets his promotion and moves to Water Resources, with additional charge of Minority Affairs. And Shriprakash Jaiswal keeps Coal and is elevated. (Cabinet reshuffle: New Faces)

Ajay Maken has been given independent charge as Minister of State of Sports, a ministry that MS Gill has lost after the CWG mess. Gill will be Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Virbhadra Singh has lost the important Steel portfolio and got the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises portfolio.

KC Venugopal from Kerala and Ashwani Kumar from Punjab are new Ministers of State. Ashwani Kumar will be junior minister for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. Ashwani Kumar is known to enjoy the Prime Minister's confidence and was a minister in the UPA 1 government. KC Venugopal will be in the Power Ministry. (Read: Complete list of changes)

No political message, says BJP

The BJP was quick to react saying the Government had failed to send out a political message. BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain pointed that the "government has failed to act against the corrupt" and that it had merely moved those ministers from one bhavan to another. (Watch)

Cabinet ministers:
< ul>

Sharad Pawar: Agriculture and Food Processing Industries

Virbhadra Singh: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Vilasrao Deshmukh: Rural Development and additional charge of Panchayati Raj

Jaipal Reddy: Petroleum and Natural Gas

Kamal Nath: Urban Development

Vayalar Ravi: Overseas Indian Affairs and additional charge of Civil Aviation

Murli Deora: Corporate Affairs

Kapil Sibal: Human Resource Development and additional charge of Communications and Information Technology

B.K. Handique: Development of North-Eastern Region

C.P. Joshi: Road Transport and Highways

Kumari Selja: Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and additional charge of Culture

Subodh Kant Sahay : Tourism

M.S. Gill: Statistics and Programme Implementation

Pawan Kumar Bansal : Parliamentary Affairs and additional charge of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences

Minister of State (Independent Charge):

• Dinsha Patel: Mines

Ministers of State:

• E. Ahamed: External Affairs
• Harish Rawat: Agriculture and Food Processing Industries
• V. Narayanasamy: Parliamentary Affairs and Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Prime Minister's Office
• Gurudas Kamat: Home Affairs
• A. Sai Prathap: Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
• Bharatsinh Solanki: Railways
• Jitin Prasada: Road Transport and Highways
• Mahadev S Khandela: Tribal Affairs
• R.P.N. Singh: Petroleum and Natural Gas and Corporate Affairs
• Tusharbhai Chaudhary: Road Transport and Highways
• Shri Arun Yadav: Agriculture and Food Processing Industries
• Shri Pratik Prakashbapu Patil: Coal
• Shri Vincent Pala: Water Resources and Minority Affairs

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Deja vu marks Rao, Maoist meeting

KATHMANDU: A strong sense of dj vu prevailed over Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao's meeting with Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda Wednesday, with the former revolutionary predictably backtracking on his anti-India rhetoric.

When Rao expressed India's concern at the growing attack on India by the Maoists in their public meetings, wall writings and party organs, the spectre of a people's revolt raised by Prachanda and his growing exhortations to party men to brace for a combat with India, the former revolutionary predictably backpedalled, saying his party was not against India. However, the denial rang hollow with Prachanda's confidants like former information and communications minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara and lawmaker Barsha Man Pun Ananta blaming India for the withdrawal of the UN from Nepal's floundering peace negotiations last week.

Also predictably, Prachanda raised the issue of abrogating all past unequal treaties with India, demands with which the Maoists went to war in 1996. However, Indian diplomatic sources say it has been mostly rabble-rousing rhetoric with no clear vision or intention about what they really want in place of the old agreements. Even after the Maoists led the government in 2008-9 and Prachanda visited New Delhi officially as prime minister, no efforts were made by the former guerrillas to get the proposal rolling. Though India was ready to discuss the treaties, the issue was quickly swept under the carpet by the Maoists.

The anti-Indian rhetoric is not going to go away after Rao's visit. If anything, it is likely to grow even more strident. The leadership challenge between Prachanda and his deputy, Dr Baburam Bhattarai, has never been as open as it is currently. It caused the Maoists to shelve a training programme for their cadre and call an emergency meeting of the central committee Thursday after the politburo failed or feared to tackle the smouldering dispute. The Prachanda faction considers Bhattarai as having th! e ear of the Indian dispensation and if it suffers any losses, New Delhi would be automatically blamed.

More fireworks are in the offing when the caretaker government seeks to decide what to do with the nearly 20,000 Maoist soldiers still cooling their heels in cantonments, five years after the peace agreement was signed. Though after protracted stalling the Maoists agreed to free their People's Liberation Army from their control and put it from Saturday under the prime minister-led special committee formed to supervise, integrate and rehabilitate the fighters, the work is not likely to be smooth. The Maoists have already laid down new conditions that the committee be also asked to monitor the entire national army and in the days to come, the question of whether the PLA should be disbanded and how many of them should be recruited in the army are going to be hotly debated issues.

Cabinet reshuffle: Who got what?

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story New Delhi, Jan 19: Reshuffling of the Union Cabinet didn't bring much surprise to the entire mechanism:Kamal Nath is the new urban development ministerPraful Patel gets heavy industries and public enterprises Sriprakash Jaiswal gets coalSalman Khurshid to take care of water resources ministryAshwani Kumar gets parliamentary affairs and science and technologyK.C. Venugopal is given the power ministryM.S. Gill transferred to statistics and programme implementation ministryOverseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi gets additional charge of civil aviationS. Jaipal Reddy gets the petroleum and natural gas ministryE. Ahamed moved from railways to external affairs as minister of stateHere is the list of new ministers of state giving independent responsibilities:Ajay Maken gets youth affairs and sports portfolioBeni Prasad Verma gets Steel MinistryK.V. Thomas given consumer affairs and public distribution ministry.

Air space violation by Pakistan

Jammu: Two Pakistani aircraft flying close to the border entered the Indian air space today in Jammu and Kashmir- the third violation of its kind by Pakistan in six months.

The planes were olive green and one had "Pak Army" written on it. After a few minutes, one plane retreated but the other toured the area for some time, flying over four border outposts of the Border Security Force in the RS Pura sector before it headed back to Pakistan.

Sources say these were not fighter planes and describe them as small six-seater aircraft.



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India gears up to new diplomatic challenges at UN

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story New Delhi, Jan 19: From reaching out to smaller nations to taking up positions that it has not done so far, India's external affairs ministry is gearing up to cope with the diplomatic challenges of high visibility and constant pressure of being part of the United Nations Security Council after a gap of nearly two decades.In the first two weeks of the new year, the Security Council has had to deal with issues related to, among others, the South Sudan referendum and the end of the UN's mandate in Nepal, as well as discussions on resolutions on Cote d'Ivoire and the Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.It is but the start of a two-year period for India as a non-permanent member, a place it won after polling 187 out of 190 votes.For the South Block mandarins, it has been a learning process, as they crank up the ministry's internal system to cope and respond to the daily pressures.The preparations had started last year, with circulars sent out in December by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, as well as by the ministry's UNP (United Nations Political) division. The tone of all these cables highlighted the tight timeline under which India's Permanent Mission at New York will be working to respond to changing global issues.The need for "timely and regular" information to be sent to the New York mission as well as the UNP division was stressed in the documents sent to all the Indian missions abroad."We always used to make briefs and backgrounders on important subjects. Now, the main difference is that we are sharing it with the UNP division," said a senior MEA official, speaking on condition of anonymity.Heads of all Indian missio! ns world wide have been told that any reference from the Permanent Mission and the UNP division had "the highest priority.""We have tried to gear up the network and coordination not just between the territorial divisions but also the missions in order to create a responsive system," said a senior ministry official.Coordination is, therefore, the key word, with India having to prepare and articulate its detailed views on any significant global issue."For the statement on Sudan made by India's Permanent Representative Hardeep Singh Puri on Jan 6, there was an input not just from the territorial division and the mission but also consultations with the Addis Ababa embassy (as host of the African Union), as well as from the capitals of Sudan's neighbours," he said.With new responsibilities, India has to take positions on issues that it has not done so far.For example, on Monday the UNSC-formed Special Tribunal on Lebanon (STL) at The Hague filed charges on the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. India has so far preferred to remain aloof from the STL, mindful of the sensitivities of Syria, with which it has good relations. But, internally, the ministry has been holding discussions on an Indian position.India has also been elected to chair three UNSC subsidiary bodies - two committees on counter-terrorism, a committee on sanctions against Eritrea and Somalia and a working group on additional measures against terrorism.For all this extra work, the Permanent Mission in New York had been augmented, with four to five officers added to deal only with UNSC-related issues.The UNP division here also has more hands. But it still has to stretch itself thin, working as the nodal point between the Permanent Mission and the ministry. "Ultimately, most of the decisions for UNSC are taken in the capital," explained another senior ministry official.There has also been a lot of consultations with the foreign offices of the UNSC's five permanent members. In December the French foreign ministry official looking after U! N matter s visited New Delhi, while the Russians and the British are scheduled to come calling this month."The Chinese have also indicated that their official for the UN would like to visit. We are discussing the dates," the official said.But India is not just focussing on the big five but also reaching out to smaller nations - with an eye on its campaign for a permanent UNSC seat."We are working with the Small Island States who have a bloc of 30 votes. Of course, we already have a robust relationship with the African Union and African countries," the official told media.India will be hosting in the last week of January in Delhi the permanent representatives of 14 Caribbean countries that are part of the Caricom (Caribbean community).India will also be hosting a run-up ministerial conference to the fourth United Nations Least Developed Countries Conference in Turkey."We are expecting several ministers and permanent representatives to come to Delhi, which will be another opportunity for networking and outreach," the official said. (IANS)

Alagiri, bound for Delhi, denies rebellion

Chennai: After the reported rebellion, firm denials. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Karunanidhi's dissatisfied elder son MK Alagiri has now said he never asks for party positions.

"If they give I will accept it," a Delhi-bound Alagiri said graciously.

He also denied that he had asked his party, the DMK, to take action against party colleague and former Telecom Minister A Raja, who had to step down after the government's auditor blamed him for costing the government upto Rs 1.76 lakh crores by deliberately mishandling the allocation of mobile licenses in 2008.

Alagiri, who is Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers at the Centre, was reported to have sent in his resignation to his father and DMK chief Karunanidhi earlier this month demanding the sacking of Raja from his party position and seeking a more prominent role for himself in party politics at the state level.

The DMK has denied this and Alagiri said today, "Karunanidhi has answered about reports on my threat to resign."

He would also not comment on the Cabinet reshuffle this evening. "I am not the PM to talk about berths for the DMK in the cabinet re-shuffle," Alagiri said.

After DMK leader A Raja resigned in November as Telecom Minister over allegations of corruption in the 2G spectrum scam, Kapil Sibal was made Telecom Minister- he's expected to continue in that position, along with his original assignment as Minister for Human Resources Development.

Tamil Nadu votes in a few months and Alagiri's reported resignation drama was being seen as a pressure tactic designed to land his supporters more seats for the state elections.

DMK cadres are worried that any battle within the party would seriously affect its chances for a comeback.


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Cabinet reshuffle today, new faces likely

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story New Delhi, Jan 19: In the first-ever reshuffle of the 19-month-old United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-II government scheduled for today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to induct some new faces and send out some Congress ministers for party work. The oaths of office and secrecy would be administered to the new ministers at 5 p.m. at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, official sources told the media.However, the official notification and invitation for the function is yet to be issued, the sources added.Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for nearly two hours to finalise the reshuffle of the union council of ministers.While there were different versions in the political circles about the nature of the reshuffle, it was clear that the "big four" in the cabinet - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Home Minister P. Chidmabaram and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna - will retain their portfolios.The sources said that while DMK is likely to get a berth in place of former communications minister A. Raja, Trinamool Congress is also expected to get an additional ministership.While Sharad Pawar's portfolios of agriculture and food, consumer affairs and public distribution are likely to be split, the party may be compensated either by elevation of Minister of State for Civil Aviation (Independent Charge) Praful Patel to the cabinet or allotment of another portfolio.Minority Affairs Minister and former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Salman Khurshid's elevation to cabinet rank a! ppears a lmost certain as the party prepares to woo larger sections in the most populous state which goes to polls in 2012.Khurshid may be given law portfolio with M. Veerappa Moily shifted to human resource development which is currently with Kapil Sibal, who also holds the communications and science and technology portfolio.From West Bengal, which goes to polls in May, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay is likely to be inducted.From Kerala, K.C. Venugopal may find a place in the ministry. Venugopal is seen as a replacement from the Nair community for Shashi Tharoor, who had to resign last year in the wake of Kochi-Indian Premier League row.From the DMK, the choice may be between former ministers T.R.Baalu or T.K.S. Elangovan.From the agitation-hit Telangana region, former Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Keshava Rao may be inducted.Among the other names doing the rounds are Congress spokespersons Manish Tewari and Jayanthi Natarajan, party's chief whip in Lok Sabha Paban Singh Ghatowar and former minister Suresh Pachouri.If there is a major reshuffle, several ministers including Kantilal Bhuria, Virbhadra Singh, B.K. Handique and Vilasrao Deshmukh may be drafted for party work. Sports Minister M.S. Gill may also be shifted.Today's induction of new ministers will be followed by a reshuffle of portfolios.The cabinet reshuffle will be followed by the constitution of a new Congress Working Committee which will include many of the ministers moved out. (IANS)

Delhi shaken as earthquake strikes Pakistan

New Delhi: A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan at 1:53 am am on Wednesday. Preliminary reports suggest that the epicentre of the earthquake was in Southwest Pakistan.

The immediate extent of devastation was unknown though the tremors were felt as far as Delhi. Apart from the national capital, tremors were also felt in some parts of Haryana, and Jaipur and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.

Local TV reports in Pakistan said the earthquake was felt in several provinces in the country.

Earthquakes often rattle the region. A magnitude 7.6 quake on October 8, 2005, killed about 80,000 people in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir and left more than 3 million homeless.


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3rd ODI: India see defeat as Yusuf falls

Lal Chowk could be formally off-limits for BJP

Srinagar: The BJP's plan to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day is running into new resistance.

Sources in the state government say the BJP's march, Ekta Yatra, flagged off earlier this month by Nitin Gadkari, may not be allowed to enter the state. The yatra is made up of largely youth workers of the BJP and is headed from West Bengal to Srinagar.

The BJP's route has also led to separatists warning that they will hold their own march on January 26 to Lal Chowk.

It's that sort of tension that the government is desperate to avoid.

Lal Chowk is where Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite in 1948 - a speech that forms the basis of the separatist discourse. The BJP says by bringing the flag here, it wants to drive home the point that Kashmir is an integral part of India.

"During their five years rule, the BJP did not come here with the flag. Instead they came a with peace process. On January 26, you will see, who gets to hoist the flag at Lal Chowk," says Yasin Malik, leader of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

The BJP has been told its members are welcome to join the official government function at Bakshi Stadium.

"In the national interest, they should not do anything that could precipitate trouble and once again reignite the sort of problems that we with great difficulty dealt with in the summer of last year," said Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.

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Munda to be ruling alliance joint nominee for by-poll: Soren

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Ranchi, Jan 18: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief and Jharkhand's ruling alliance steering committee chairperson Shibu Soren today said that Chief Minister Arjun Munda would be the joint nominee of the alliance in the assembly by-poll scheduled on Feb 10. "Arjun Munda will be joint candidate of the ruling alliance in Kharsawa assembly by-poll," Shibu Soren said at a joint press conference with Arjun Munda here. Sudesh Mahto, deputy chief minister and president of All Jharkhand Students Union, was also present. Soren's announcement comes a day after Arjun Munda met him and sought his help in the by-poll.Soren had stunned the BJP Jan 13 when he said his JMM would field a candidate for the Kharsawa assembly poll. The notification of the by-poll was issued on Jan 13. The nominations began on Monday. Munda will file his nomination paper on Wednesday.BJP legislator Mangal Singh Soy vacated the Kharsawa assembly seat in November to facilitate Munda to get elected to the state asembly. He is a Lok sabha member.Munda became the chief minister in September last year and in a statutory obligation has to get elected to the state assembly within six months of being sworn-in.Munda had won the Kharsawa seat in 1995 on a JMM ticket. He joined the BJP just before the 2000 assembly polls. He again won the seat in 2000 and 2005 on the BJP ticket. In 2009 assembly elections, BJP's Mangal Singh Soy won the seat.The JMM is keen that the BJP should support its candidate for the Lok Sabha bypoll from the state in lieu of its backing to Munda at Kharsawa.! (IANS)< br/>

Distribution franchise is a way to privatise power sector: AIPEF

PRIVATISATION IS being introduced in power sector through backdoor by giving distribution franchise of urban industrialised areas with low losses and maximum revenue earnings of a state to the private parties, alleged Padamjit Singh, Chairman All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF).Daljit Singh, General Secretary, Haryana Power Engineers Association said that Haryana government was trying to give Gurgaon and Panipat on distribution franchise whereas both the areas had low losses and high revenue. The collection efficiency of Gurgaon was over 100 percent. He said that the association had a meeting with management of Dakshin Haryana Discoms where the association questioned the move to give Gurgaon to a franchise. It was assured by management that before taking any decision the Association would be consulted. The financial condition of the two Haryana Discoms has deteriorated since unbundling. While the accumulated loss of Dakshin Haryana Discoms was Rs 1900 Cr, the outstanding loan has increased to Rs 3800 Cr. In case of Northern Haryana Discom the losses had accumulated to Rs 2400 CR and loan to Rs 9000 Cr.Padamjit cited the example of Aurangabad in Maharashtra where, franchise had been given to private party even though the losses had been reduced from 30.5% in 2006-07 to 19.5% (2010-11.The revenue had increased from Rs 377 crore in 2006-07 to Rs. 491 crore in 2009-10 with collection efficiency of 100.61%.Padamjit added that Aurangabad division was given the India Power Award in 2010 for reduction in AT & C losses and reduction in transformer failure rate. Aurangabad urban division -II was adjudged the best performing division in Maharashtra by the Discoms management for 2009-10. The case of awarding Aurangabad to franchise is thus a proven case of picking out the best performing areas with low losses and high revenue for giving on franchise to private party. The same is going to be repeated in Haryana. Shalien der Dubey, Secretary General, AIPEF said that in case of Agra Franchise, Discom (Paschimanchal) had already suffered a loss of over Rs 100 crore on account of power purchase at higher cost to meet Agra Franchise requirement with power being supplied at much lower rate. Agra example proved that by giving franchise the private franchise party will gain huge profit while the state Discoms would be loser.Further despite the proven case of Agra, UP govt. was trying to give Kanpur on private franchise even through the AT&C losses had been reduced and revenue had increased. There was a master plan to introduce to franchise model in other major UP towns like Varanasi, Allahabad, Moradabad, Meerut, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Bareilly etc.The engineers and workers in power sector throughout the country are forming a joint front to oppose distribution franchising and an action plan has been drawn up starting with regional conventions.

MoEF report: Lavasa violates environment laws

Mumbai: Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has ruled against the Lavasa hill city project. Sources have told CNN-IBN that the Ministry's report says Lavasa violates the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 1994 and the construction is unauthorised as well as environmentally damaging.

The Ministry has ordered substantial penalties on Lavasa Corporation Limited for the violation of environmental laws in its report submitted to the Bombay High Court on Tuesday. The report has also ordered status quo to be maintained at site.

But Lavasa Corporation Limited hit out at the Ministry claiming that it does not have objective and measurable norms.

Lavasa, in the statement released on Tuesday, alleges that the Ministry's report has misrepresented the state of affairs at the site.

Questioning the basis of the Empowered Committee report, the company blames Ministry of amplifying minor faults and of ignoring the environmental work done at the site. The company also alleges that the Ministry's order on Lavasa is more on jurisdiction than on environment issues.

"If the report misrepresents state of affairs at the site by amplifying minor faults and ignoring the environmental work done, it is bound to have a negative bearing on the decision of the competent authority," the statement says,

The statement also says that status quo at the site will continue.

The MoEf report has challenged Maharashtra governments hill stations policy of 1996, saying it should be reviewed.

Lavasa also accuses the Ministry of siding with activist Medha Patkar and her supporters.

BJP questions PM on CVC PJ Thomas appointment

Bhubaneswar: A day after the government defended the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) PJ Thomas in the Supreme Court calling him a person of impeccable integrity, the BJP has hit out at the government over Thomas' appointment.

Addressing a press conference today, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government is trying to defend a tainted CVC.

"Sushma Swaraj had told the government that anybody but not Thomas should be made the CVC...Why are there strict rules of appointment for juniors but not for the CVC?" he questioned.

The BJP also took a dig at Sonia Gandhi. "Doesn't Sonia Gandhi's five-point anti-corruption plan cover the CVC?" said Prasad.

Earlier in the day, BJP president Nitin Gadkari described the affidavit submitted by the Centre in the Supreme Court defending the appointment of Thomas as "unfortunate."

Stating that the Leader of the Opposition, Sushma Swaraj had opposed Thomas' appointment, Gadkari said he wondered if Centre felt there was no need for consensus of the three-member committee on CVC's appointment, for what purpose the panel was formed.

"Since appointment of CVC was a sensitive matter, Swaraj's dissent should have been taken into account to ensure fair, independent and impartial functioning," Gadkari said accusing Congress of not following democratic norms.

Stating that BJP stuck to its demand for a JPC probe into 2G spectrum scam, he said steps should be taken to seize and auction assets amassed through corrupt means after they would be unearthed.

The Centre had strongly defended the appointment of the controversial bureaucrat Thomas saying he was an "outstanding officer" with "impeccable integrity".

In an affidavit in the Supreme Court cleared by Attorney General G E Vahanvati, Government also said there was no need for "consensus" of the three-member high powered committee on CVC's appointment.

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Ministe! r P Chid ambaram had approved his appointment, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who was the third member of the panel, opposed the same on account of Thomas' "tainted" image.

The affidavit said no statutory norms were violated in the appointment of Thomas and his suitability for the post should not be decided by the apex court.

"It is well settled that a question of suitability should be left to the wisdom of the appointing authority. Suitability cannot be questioned by the court and the suitability should be left to the wisdom of the appointing authority," it said.


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Cabinet reshuffle: Sonia Gandhi meets PM Manmohan Singh

New Delhi: In what's believed to be the latest in a series of preparations for a Cabinet reshuffle, the Prime Minister has met Sonia Gandhi and Congress leader Ahmed Patel this morning.

Changes in the Cabinet are expected by the end of this week. Sources say the Congress is divided on the extent of change. While the PM is keen to see younger faces in his Cabinet, a faction believes that with a stormy Budget session of Parliament weeks away, this is not the time for a big shake-up.

Last evening, the PM met President Pratibha Patil for 45 minutes - they are believed to have discussed changes to the PM's team. Another round of consultation is expected between the PM and Gandhi to finalise changes.

There are some vacancies within the Cabinet - the position of Minister of State for External Affairs, for example, has not been filled since Shashi Tharoor resigned last year over a cricket controversy involving his now-wife, Sunanda Pushkar.

After DMK leader A Raja resigned in November as Telecom Minister over allegations of corruption in the 2G spectrum scam, Kapil Sibal was made Telecom Minister. But the arrangement was seen as a temporary one - Sibal also heads both Science and Technology and the Ministry for Human Resources Development. The Congress has not indicated whether it will hold onto the Telecom Ministry, or allow a new DMK leader to step in.

Balancing its allies will be tricky for the Congress. Ahead of the Cabinet rejig, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said his party already has a request pending with the Centre for three ministerial berths and had not asked for anymore. (Watch)

"We have no suggestions to make with regards to the cabinet reshuffle. We have not said anything about increasing quota. We know how many seats are there for our MPs. We should get 3 berths and are not asking for a fourth seat," said Pawar.

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) is also reported to have indicated that it would lik! e anothe r cabinet position.

The Congress' own Big 4 - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister AK Antony, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Foreign Minister SM Krishna - are likely to hold onto their current portfolios.



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Manmohan Singh a failure on economic front, says BJP

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Bhubaneswar, Jan 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his "poor economic policy" were responsible for the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari said here today."The country is suffering because of the poor economic policy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," Gadkari said.Addressing a press conference at this Orissa capital city, he said the more than six years' rule of the prime minister has been a saga of utter failure."Our economist prime minister has failed miserably to handle our economic situation," he said.He also said the Congress party's wrong economic policy was the reason behind the country's unemployment, poverty and price rise.The central government has lost credibility due to its dismal performance in controlling the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, Gadkari said, adding that the successive hikes in petroleum products were mounting an unbearable burden on the rural poor and the urban middle class.He said the government appeared to have lost control over the administration and the ministers were busy in a blame game.The United Progressive Alliance partners are in near revolt, challenging the authority of the prime minister, the BJP chief said.Citing various scandals like the 2G spectrum scam, Bofors, Commonwealth Games and the Adarsh society fiasco, he said, "The country today looks like a banana republic.""I am afraid the country can ill afford such a sorry state of affairs. The political situation is fraught with dangers for democratic institutions with the Manmohan Singh government having lost moral right to continue in the office," he said.G! adkari a rrived here on Monday on a two-day visit. (IANS)

MNS: Old Sena in new bottle

MAHARASHTRANAVNIRMAN Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is a perhaps the best media manager. He kept unusually mum initially after Harshavardhan Jadhav, his MLA from Kannad, was beaten up mercilessly in Ellora after Jadhav attacked the cop. While reporters eagerly awaited his response, Thackeray waited for an opportunity and heightened the excitement of the Marathi press. And finally he simply announced a rally in Aurangabad to express his view on the episode.
There was so much anticipation to Rajs speech that both the local crowd and the local news media wanted to listen it live. While the crowd flocked the ground, the entire Marathi news channels aired the rally live - giving them perhaps the best TRP since the Dombivali - Kalyan election rallies.
The result was a record breaking gathering at the venue. But strange as it may seem, the response to this rally must have given sleepless nights not to the Congress NCP but to the Sena- BJP. The Alliance has a virtual monopoly in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) since last 25 years. And if this event is a harbinger of MNSs big bang entry into the city and district, both Sena and BJP have more pondering to do keeping their base intact in the region.
The MNS is not only getting highlighted in media but is on a spree in its attempt to dislodge the rule of Shiv Sena from various Municipal Corporations and local bodies. Its interesting to note that while MNS targeted Shiv Sena bastions such as Kalyan - Dombivli, Navi Mumbai and Aurangabad and the Mumbai university Senate, the party pulled out of local elections from Kolhapur - the NCP-Congress bastion.
Aurangabad rally saw Raj Thackeray launching his most acerbic attack yet on Home Minister R.R. Patil, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and his deputy Ajit Pawar. However he neither spoke of Shiv Sena nor the renaming of Aurangabad to Sambhaji Nagar done a week ago by the Sena BJP in the AMC. On the other hand, he accused the NCP and ! Congress of playing caste-politics in Pune over Dadoji Konddev case. Raj, surprisingly, chose not tohold a rally in Pune to expose NCP-Congress gameplan and instead spoke of statues issue in Aurangabad.
Today, MNS stands on cross roads as it is evolving itself from the nascent state to an established party. The Shiv Sena too began as a party of pro-Marathi manoos before it became the party of anti-South Indians and later the party of anti-Muslims. Sena never grew to the extent to really pose any challenge to the Congress or NCP at state level. Bal Thackeray too drew huge crowds in rallies but hardly translated into all out victory against Congress. Its 1995 victory would not have come without support of about four dozen congress rebels.
MNS too has attracted youths from all sections of the society with a new hope and alternative but he is turning out to be the B-Team of Shiv Sena with same ideology, same operating model and same autocracy not to mention same leaders like Shishir Shinde and Bala Nandgaonkar. Raj and Shiv sena have exactly same views on all issues whether it is migration into Mumbai, Shivaji Maharaj and Dadoji Kondevs relation, reverence to Babasaheb Purandares depiction of Shivaji Maharaj, or its opposition to the Sambhaji Brigade. MNS probably has same views of opposing affirmative actions against weaker sections like Shiv Sena does.
Keshav Sitaram Thackeray known as Prabodhankar Thackeray, Raj Thackerays grandfather and Bal Thackerays father was a great writer and social reformer. Ironically his views where totally opposite to the brand Sena - MNS has. In the book Dharmachi Devale and Devalancha Dharm (temples of religion and religion of temples), for instance, he attacks the priestly class for the discrimination against the Bahujans. His concept of Bahujan is completely forgotten by his descendents - Shiv sena and MNS. His birth anniversary is never celebrated in a big bway y MNS or Sena lest his views and books get highlighted. Organisations such as Sambhaji brigade are ideologically closer to the Prabodhankar Thackeray's views. The MNS needs to take a leaf out of his grandfathers book and have a more rational socio-political ideology than simply carry his Uncle Bal Thackerays tried, tested and failed ideology.
Although Raj Thackerays shrill rhetoric is keenly followed by all Maharashtrians but his recent lewd statements are going to affect him in long run. MNS has been performing below expectations in recent times and his defeat by Shiv Sena in Kalyan-Dombivali and Mumbai Senate election has perhaps hurt Raj Thackeray deeply. His unprecedented outburst may be the result of this.