Kudankulam protests: Police action unjustified, says report

Chennai: Tamil Nadu police has been slammed by a fact-finding team that probed the handling of protests against the Kudankulam nuclear plant, specially calling its 'descration' of a church "dangerous and deplorable". The police has rejected the findings.

The team, led by former High Court judge Justice Kolse Patil has said that the use of force against the peaceful protesters was unjustified. Police had lathi-charged the protesters who wanted work on the nuclear plant to be stopped. The team also found that police, while trying to control the agitation, looted and damaged private and public property. The fact-finding team was formed after demands from the Chennai Solidarity Team for Kudankulam and Teachers Against Nuclear Energy.

In the most damning finding, the team said that the desecration of a church by the police was a "dangerous and deplorable act". There were allegations that police officers had barged into the St Lourde's church looking for protesters there. The Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore had alleged that the policemen "insulted religious symbols".

Justice Kolse Patil's team also said that charging the protesters with sedition and waging war against the state was irrational and that police action had created "fear psychosis" in the area.

Tamil Nadu Police though said that they had acted "responsibly" and had been attacked by villagers.

A protest against fuel loading in the nuclear power plant that had been going on for several days in Kudankulam was broken up by police after the Madras High Court gave its green signal to operationalise the plant. Police who had cordoned off the area around the plant had been taken by surprise after the protesters approached the plant by walking along the beach, leading to a stand-off. The protests are still continuing.

In Bihar, a woman IPS officer takes on top cop

Patna: It is khaki versus khaki again in Bihar and this time it involves a woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and the State Director General of Police (DGP).

The Bihar Police has written to the state Home Department asking for the suspension of 2006 batch IPS officer Anasuya Rana Singh Sahu. According to the state police, which has prepared a dossier on her stint in Sheikhpura, she was trying to collect money through her bodyguard and her driver.

The state police's economic offences wing tapped the mobile phones of both the constables for over two months, and based on the transcription, showcaused Ms Anasuya. She was transferred out of Sheikhpura last week, and has yet to be given a posting.

But Ms Anasuya has now decided to fight back. After replying to the showcause notice, today she decided to charge none other than state DGP Abhayanand, for targeting her for what she describes as refusing to his "unreasonable and wrong recommendation."

She also said that when her bodyguard and driver are prima facie responsible, then action should be taken against them and not against her. "When I'm responsible for my driver's illegal activities, then shouldn't the DGP also face action for my lapses, if any?" she asked.

Ms Anasuya also admitted that she has had heated exchange of words with her boss on two occasions over his pressure to implement what she describes as something which was not consistent with the law.

Today, when contacted, Mr Abhayanand refused to comment on the charges made against him, saying in Ms Anasuya's reply submitted to the state headquarters, these charges were not mentioned. "It's beyond my comprehension why such charges are being levelled in media," he said.

This episode has once again exposed how divided Bihar Police has become these days and how the state DGP is facing criticism from his own juniours. Earlier this month, during the state DGP's meeting in New Delhi, he faced a lot of criticism from fellow colleagues when he read out his paper "riot vs lathi" on how to control mob without using minimum force.

Will protect panchayat members, says Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday promised security to sarpanches and panches amid reports of mounting resignations by them in the wake of attacks by militants.

The government will not remain a silent spectator to these attacks and would take all necessary measures to ensure their safety and security, particularly in vulnerable areas, he told reporters in Srinagar.

Referring to the killing of three panchayat members this year, Mr Abdullah said the state government would not allow the ultras to disrupt ongoing efforts to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system in the state.


Dubbing militants as cowards for attacking panches and sarpanches, Mr Abdullah dared the ultras to target him, saying they would not do so fearing a befitting reply. He also asserted that attempts to derail the Panchayat process by the militants would be thwarted.

"These (militants) cowards are attacking defenseless people. If they have the courage let them carry out an attack on me. But they will not do it as they know they will get a befitting reply," Mr Abdullah said.

In the aftermath of the killing of a panch in north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Sunday, reports said that nearly 100 panchayat members wanted to opt out fearing for their life.

Militants have targeted several panches and sarpanches since the landmark panchayat polls were held in the state last year after a gap of 30 years.

Posters have surfaced in many areas of Kashmir since early this year, asking the panches and sarpanches to resign from their posts or face dire consequences.

"So far, we have only received 50 resignations since the panchayat elections were held last year," Mr Abdullah said, adding "none of these resignations had been accepted so far."

"I have convened a meeting on October 1st to discuss this issue. We have to increase the deployment of security forces or change the deployment pattern according to the threat perception," he said.

He said devolution of power to the panchayats had not gone down well with a section of politicians and bureaucrats.

"Many MLAs and even two ministers from our coalition partner have come to me asking not to transfer block level powers to panchayats," in an obvious reference to Congress.

Opposition PDP lashed out at the state government accusing it of failing to provide security to Panchayat members. 

Sebi files petition with Supreme Court against Sahara firms

Market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, on Wednesday filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking action against the Sahara Group for not complying with the court’s orders.

The Supreme Court had on August 31 directed two unlisted Sahara group companies—Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIREC) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHIC)—to refund around Rs. 24,000 crore to investors from whom the group had collected money.

The court had also directed the group to hand over all documents submitted by the investor to Sebi within 10 days to verify the genuineness of the investors. The deadline expired on September 10.

The court had appointed retired judge, Justice B.N. Aggarwal, to oversee this. Mr. Aggarwal has already submitted his status report to the court saying that Sahara failed to hand over the documents.

However, the group failed to hand over the documents, prompting the market regulator to approach the apex court.

According to some media reports, the Sahara group had dispatched two truck-loads of documents to Sebi's headquarters, but this was not confirmed by Sebi or Sahara officials.

The case is likely to be taken up on Friday.

Sebi had last year ordered the companies to refund the money, with 15 per cent annual interest, after it found that the fundraising process did not comply with its rules. An appellate tribunal upheld the regulator's order. Sahara then moved the apex court challenging the tribunal’s decision. The court ruled against Sahara.

Ajit Pawar's resignation must be accepted, says Arvind Kejriwal

Mumbai: Appealing Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to accept the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday also demanded sacking of state Water Resource Minister Sunil Tatkare.

He also said that India Against Corruption would take to the streets if Vijay Pandhare, Chief Engineer in state irrigation department, who blew whistle on the alleged irrigation scam, was harassed.

"Chavan is going through a test at the moment. He is facing a lot of pressure. The question is will he succumb to pressure and save his government by not accepting Ajit Pawar's resignation, or will he accept the resignation and pass the test," Mr Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference in Mumbai.

"His (Pawar's) resignation should be accepted, even if the Chief Minister is facing pressure from (Congress) High Command (not to accept it)."

"Even Tatkare should be asked to resign as his name has surfaced in the irrigation scam," said Mr Kejriwal, the former Team Anna member. Both Mr Pawar and Mr Tatkare belong to NCP.

Mr Kejriwal also said that resigning was not equivalent to undergoing a punishment. "They are exerting pressure by submitting resignations...they are blackmailing the people in the country. Resignation is not a punishment," he said.

Mr Kejriwal alleged that both CBI and state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) were controlled by the government.
 
"Scams take place but nobody goes to jail. Instead they are granted bail. Even in this current scam of Rs. 70,000 crore, who will investigate? Both CBI and ACB are in the hands of the government."

This man was the whistle-blower in Maharashtra's irrigation scam

Nashik: Vijay Pandhare, chief engineer in Maharashtra's irrigation department, has been given police protection for serving as a whistle-blower.

Mr Pandhare had in writing tipped off Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to massive financial irregularities in the irrigation department.  Ajit Pawar, Mr Chavan's deputy, quit on Tuesday over allegations that placed him at the heart of the swindle. Mr Pawar belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP which has governed Maharashtra for 13 years in partnership with the Congress.

Mr Pawar served as Water Resources Minister from 1999 to 2009.  The state's last economic survey said that against an expenditure of 40,000 cores, an additional 0.1% of land had been brought under irrigation.

Mr Pandhare had written to Governor K Sankaranarayanan and
Mr Chavan, drawing their attention to the "poor quality" of irrigation projects, inflated budget and irregularities in purchase of materials.

"I have drawn the government's attention to violation of norms and pointed out faults in the projects," Mr Pandhare, a member of the Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute and chief of Maharashtra Engineering Training Academy, said.

Meanwhile, supporters of social activist Anna Hazare have backed Mr Pandhare and assured him of their cooperation.

At BJP meet, Narendra Modi's advice is go big on campaign against FDI in retail

Surajkund, Haryana: At a meeting of 300 top BJP leaders, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi intervened in a debate on foreign direct investment in retail today to suggest that the party take the issue to the village level and offered a systematic plan to negate the Congress' "reforms are back" campaign. He suggested that the party hold more than 5000 public meetings across the country to highlight the BJP's objections, 10 in each Lok Sabha constituency. The Gujarat CM also suggested the BJP emphasise to traders and farmers that the Centre's decision to allow big foreign chains like Walmart to set up shop would affect them adversely.

Party spokesman Prakash Javadekar later said the BJP will counter the government's decision to allow 51 percent foreign equity in multi-brand retail by pointing out that 100 percent FDI in back-end operations in the food processing industries has been allowed for a decade, but has yielded very low investment.

The argument will be part of an economic resolution that the BJP's national executive, the party's decision-making body, will finalise and pass. The BJP leaders are meeting over three days in the picnic town of Surajkund near Delhi to give shape to the party's strategy ahead of elections in states like Karnataka, Gujarat and  Himachal Pradesh, where it is in power.
The first brainstorming session today has also thrown up a plan for 100 rallies across the country to bring back the focus of people to corruption to maximise the BJP's campaign against the Congress-led UPA government, framed in recent months by a series of corruption scandals, and newly fragile after its biggest ally, Mamata Banerjee, quit the coalition over new economic reforms.

BJP leaders are of the view that the party should keep up its pointed attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Javadekar said Dr Singh's recent address to the nation justifying the economic reforms was disappointing for the people, who were expecting some relief from harsh measures his government had announced. "The prime minister keeps referring to the economic reforms started by him in 1991 but the Congress and its policies have been responsible for the economic mess the country is in today," the BJP spokesman said.
 
In the morning, the BJP's general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "The government isn't working; it is unable to manage allies and blames the Opposition for all that is wrong." He also said that instead of tackling the corruption within, the government uses the CBI to target political opponents. "An extension counter of the CBI should open at the Congress office," he said.

The three-day meeting of the  BJP's national executive will be followed by a gathering of the BJP National Council, which has 1,200 members, and will formally adopt a resolution to pave the way for a second consecutive term as party president for Nitin Gadkari.

While Mr Gadkari and  other senior leaders like LK Advani are present at the national executive meeting in Surajkund on the outskirts of the capital, Karnataka heavyweight BS Yeddyurappa has skipped the session, opting to enrol for a three-day course with the Art of Living Foundation in Bangalore, headed by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. His party no doubt wishes fervently that he finds the inner peace that the Foundation promises.

For close to two years now, since he was forced to quit as the Chief Minister of the BJP's only government in the South, Mr Yeddyurappa has been in perma-rebel mode. He threatens repeatedly to split the BJP - a warning that has teeth, given his extensive following among local leaders.In July last year, he chose his successor when corruption charges ousted him from office. A year later, he asked that his replacement be removed, and deftly delivered his new favourite, Jagadish Shettar, to the Chief Minister's office.

With elections in Karnataka just months away, Mr Yeddyurappa's absence from this week's three-day brainstorming session does not bode well for the BJP.

Will Amit Shah's bail be cancelled? Supreme Court verdict likely today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is expected to give its verdict today on cancelling the bail of Amit Shah, former minister and close aide of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, and whether to shift the trial to Mumbai.

The CBI had petitioned the court for cancellation of Mr Shah's bail on the grounds that he may try to influence witnesses in the case.

Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauser Bi were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) from Hyderabad and killed in a fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005.

Mr Shah was arrested by the CBI on July 25, 2010 and had spent over three months in Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad. He had to quit the Modi government in July last year after having been slapped with kidnapping and murder charges in the fake encounter killing. Mr Shah is currently out on bail but has been barred by the Supreme Court from entering the state. In an election year, how critical is his return for the BJP and Mr Modi in particular?

The party leaders don't want to say on record but they admit that the absence of Amit Shah could mean trouble for the Chief Minister. He is considered not just an important strategist for the party but a crisis manager for Mr Modi.

Post-2002, Mr Shah played a key role in Mr Modi's political planning. He also ensured the BJP's growing clout in the milk cooperatives that were traditionally Congress held.

"It's fine that Mr Modi himself is a strategist, but Shah has ensured party's immense strength in cooperatives, cricket associations and urban municipal corporations. That's why his absence could prove a big hurdle for Mr Modi during elections," said Ganshyam Shah, a political analyst.

But what comes as another blow to Mr Shah's supporters is the CBI filing a chargesheet against him in Tulsiram Prajapati case and his imminent arrest which could mean his political isolation. The Opposition hopes to draw electoral mileage out of this.

"One minister is behind bars for riots, another finds himself in the middle of a fake encounter. It's clearly an embarrassment for the BJP," said Congress spokesman Manish Doshi.

The CBI had said that Mr Prajapati was a witness in the Sohrabuddin case and his killing was part of a larger conspiracy in which Mr Shah, as the then head of the state administration, was involved.

Mr Shah's supporters want him to reclaim his clout in state politics which has of late seen domination by another aide of Mr Modi, senior minister Anandiben Patel. But faced with arrest, it's clearly tough times for Amit Shah, the once powerful politician of Gujarat.

From: NDTV

Should all natural resources be auctioned? Supreme Court's answer today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will pronounce its opinion today on whether all natural resources must be auctioned by the government, a decision the court made earlier this year in the context of the expansive telecom scam.

In February this year, the court cancelled 122 telecom licenses issued by former minister A Raja in 2008 on the basis of a first-come-first-serve policy which he allegedly manipulated.  In its landmark judgement, the court said that a get-in-line policy was fundamentally flawed and that a competitive bidding process must be followed for allocating all national resources.

The government, however, has argued that is not always possible, and that the verdict impedes upon the executive's right to decide policy.  It sought a clarification from the Supreme Court on whether its stand on an auction, as expressed in the telecom or 2G verdict, applies to other national resources too.

The government has been recently indicted  by the national auditor or CAG who said that because coal blocks were not auctioned from 2004-2009,  the country lost upto 1.86 lakh crores.  Though the government has challenged that estimate, the auditor's conclusion has added to the debate over how resources should be given away to private firms.  In the case of both airwaves for telecoms and coal blocks, the government has argued that an auction would have led to increased costs which would have adversely impacted consumers and the industry.

From: NDTV

WikiLeaks' Assange mocks Obama via video at UN event

United Nations: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, speaking via a choppy video feed from his virtual house arrest in London, lashed out at US President Barack Obama on Wednesday for supporting freedom of speech in the Middle East while simultaneously "persecuting" his organization for leaking diplomatic cables.

Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy since June to avoid extradition, made the comments at a packed event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Assange mocked Obama for defending free speech in the Arab world in an address to the United Nations on Tuesday, pointing to his own experience as evidence that Obama has "done more to criminalize free speech than any other US president."

"It must have come as a surprise to the Egyptian teenagers who washed American teargas out of their eyes (during the Arab Spring) to hear that the US supported change in the Middle East," Assange said.

"It's time for President Obama to keep his word ... and for the US to cease its persecution of WikiLeaks," he said.

Assange's combative comments, plus statements made by Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino and his other allies at the event, suggested no solution is in sight to the diplomatic standoff surrounding the 41-year-old Australian.

British authorities have surrounded the Ecuadorean Embassy and said if Assange sets foot outside, they will arrest him and extradite him to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault allegations.

Assange's lawyers and Ecuador's government fear that could lead in turn to extradition to the United States, where they say he would face "inhumane" prison conditions and even the death penalty.

Assange, who looked to be in good health as he sat at a desk in front of a bookshelf and addressed the 150 or so people at the event, said Britain and Sweden have so far refused to provide guarantees he would not be extradited to the United States.

US and European government sources have countered that the United States has issued no criminal charges or launched any attempts to extradite Assange.

IN BRITAIN'S COURT

Patino is scheduled to meet with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in New York on Thursday to discuss Assange, and he said there are "multiple paths" that could lead out of the standoff. Yet, in an interview with Reuters following the U.N. event, Patino made clear that Ecuador is not willing to cede much ground.

"The ball's in their court right now," Patino said.

Patino held in his hands a mimeographed copy of an 1880 agreement signed between Britain and Ecuador, which he said prohibits extradition in cases such as Assange's. He said he would show the document to Hague on Thursday.

Patino rigorously defended Ecuador's decision to grant political asylum to Assange, expressing disbelief that Britain is "determined" to arrest the former computer hacker even though he said there are no criminal charges against him. "This means you have reason to suspect he's being persecuted," Patino said.

He said Assange is in relatively good spirits but expressed concern his physical and psychological condition could deteriorate.

"I think of myself, how I'd react in that situation, not being able to go outside, being isolated," Patino said. "It's practically like being jailed."

© Thomson Reuters 2012

Maharashtra irrigation scam: Whistleblower names BJP chief Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: In a new twist in the irrigation scam in Maharashtra, that is the root of the political crisis in the state, one of the whistleblowers has named BJP chief Nitin Gadkari for trying to suppress it. The whistleblower, Anjali Damania, has been instrumental in blowing the lid off the Rs. 72,000 crore scam.

Speaking on NDTV, Ms Damania said that when she met Mr Gadkari in August at his Worli, Mumbai home, he told her to not push too hard to expose the scam. Earlier, without naming Mr Gadkari, Ms Damania had said that 'the opposition party chief' told her "we help Pawar and he helps us, can't do anything in this scam". She claimed to have met the BJP chief three times, once in Delhi in June 2011 and twice in Mumbai, in August 2011 and August 14 this year.

The BJP's Prakash Javadekar, who was also on NDTV, called it "rubbish". "Anyone can make allegations, it doesn't mean anything," Mr Javadekar said.


Ms Damania claimed that she had an SMS with her, sent to Mr Gadkari, right after the meeting, expressing her disappointment with his stand on the issue. Mr Javadekar dismissed this as well, saying that anyone can send SMSes. Mr Gadkari too has denied meeting her.

The BJP is in opposition in Maharashtra, whose Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been accused by political opponents and activists of being involved in the scam, when he was water resources minister.

Ms Damania was one of the two whistleblowers who dug out the scam after her farmland that was with her for more than decade was taken over by an irrigation project, that eventually turned out be a dud.  

Half of Assam under water, 18 dead, Gogoi tours Japan

Guwahati: The flood situation in Assam continues to be grim with over half of its 27 districts inundated, 18 people killed and more than 17 lakh affected, officials said on Tuesday.

A total of 1,916 villages under 69 revenue circles in the districts of Baksa, Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metro, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivsagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia districts have been affected by the flood, a government report on Tuesday evening said.

"Out of 27 districts of Assam, 16 are under the flood now. However, the situation has become steady now and we hope the situation will start improving in a day or two," State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) CEO Atul Chaturvedi told IANS.

"The predictions of Central Water Commission (CWC) as well as the meteorological department also indicated an improvement in weather soon," he added.


Officials at the SDMA control room said that 18 people have died so far due to the current wave of floods. However, many more people are reported to be missing in the affected districts, they said.

The worst affected is Majuli island - Asia's largest freshwater river island - with about 70 per cent of its land area submerged. Thousands of people are living in relief camps set up by the district administration. All the educational institutions in Majuli were closed down due to the floods.

Sadia subdivision in Tinsukia town also bore the fury of the flood forcing the administration to use Indian Air Force and army helicopters to air drop food materials for the affected people. District administration officials said over 80 per cent of the landmass in Sadia remained under water till Tuesday.

Over 3.84 lakh people have taken shelter at 166 relief camps set up by the districts administrations.

The Brahmaputra, Burhidehing, Subansiri, Dhansiri and the Jia Bharali rivers are flowing above the danger levels at many places.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who is in Japan on a study tour organised by the Centre, on Monday directed the administration to use helicopters and mechanised boats to step up rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit state. Mr Gogoi is expected to return from the tour today.

The National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the army and the IAF are engaged in rescue and relief operations.

Parts of National Highway 52, which connects Dhemaji in Assam to Arunachal Pradesh, has come under flood waters and there are fears of scarcity of food and other materials in the district.

Assam's main city Guwahati also came under threat of floods and many areas of Pandu and Adabari areas are submerged.

Over 80 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park remained under flood water and over 10 animals died in the park due to floods. Poachers also took advantage of the floods and killed a one-horned rhino and managed to decamp with the horn.

Although vast areas of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district and Dibru Choikhowa National Park in Tinsukia district also were submerged by floods, no animal death has been reported from there till Tuesday.

(With IANS input)

Ajit Pawar's resignation signals family feud, pressure tactic

Mumbai: Leaders of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party will meet in Mumbai this afternoon to discuss next steps after the resignation of party leader Ajit Pawar as Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister; sources say partymen are expected to request Mr Pawar, who has quit over allegations of an irrigation scam, to withdraw his resignation. Senior leader Praful Patel is flying to Mumbai to handle the crisis.

Immediately after Mr Pawar, who is also Sharad Pawar's nephew, announced last evening that he was resigning, the NCP's 19 ministers in the state too handed resignation letters to the NCP's state president, a gesture that was described by party leaders as expressing solidarity with "the state's tallest leader." Immediately too, speculation began over why Mr Pawar had really quit - there has been talk of a power struggle between Sharad Pawar and his powerful nephew, hotly denied, but fuelled by the fact that the NCP ministers sent their resignation letters very soon after Mr Pawar senior said that no other minister would quit and that there was no threat to the NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra. The NCP has 62 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

The complicated politics being played out in Mumbai is also seen as pressure tactics at two levels. At the state level, where ties between the two partners have been less than amicable ever since Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress began a clean-up drive. Several NCP leaders like Mr Ajit Pawar and PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal among others face corruption charges and the latest crisis is being seen as a signal from the junior partner that the Congress and its zealous CM must back off. Mr Chavan said in a statement last night, "I have received a letter of resignation from Mr Ajit Pawar. He has also suggested some alternative arrangements about the two portfolios he held - finance and energy. After speaking to leaders of both parties, I will take a final decision."

In Delhi, the Congress - still hurting from the blow dealt by Mamata Banerjee who exited the UPA government last week - is a soft target for allies like the NCP, which can flex muscle and ask for their pound of flesh when a Cabinet reshuffle is effected soon.

Mr Ajit Pawar faces allegations that as Maharashtra's irrigation minister some years ago, he allegedly granted 32 contracts within three months, worth Rs. 13,500 crores, in the state's Vidarbha region at high rates. The Opposition alleges that a change in tender processes meant that all tenders of over a crore required his signature. It has also been alleged that Mr Pawar overruled officials who tried to stop this. The Vidarbha region has come to be known for desperate and impoverished, debt-ridden farmers committing suicide. A failed monsoon this year has highlighted the problem of faulty canals that do not work throughout the region.

He said yesterday, ""I am just an MLA now. I won't accept any ministry or post till I am cleared of all allegations... I have not done this, why should I suffer the allegations? But if I did not resign, people will think I am guilty and did not want to give up my political posts." Mr Pawar also quit his post of the state's Power Minister.

This July, the Chief Minister announced, much to the NCP's dismay, that his government would present a white paper on what the state had spent on irrigation in the last 10 years; this after the opposition alleged that Maharashtra spent over 70,000 crores in that period but added only 0.1 per cent to the area under irrigation. Mr Pawar was the state's water resources minister between 1999 and 2009.

A senior NCP leader said yesterday that Mr Pawar had put in his papers because the NCP was "tired of the whisper campaign, mainly by friends." He did not name anyone but was clearly indicating Mr Chavan.

The white paper on irrigation is slated to be tabled in the next session of the Maharashtra Assembly. A report of the state auditor or CAG is also expected in a few months. The Opposition has also demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged scam.

The Congress has already weathered an NCP crisis a few months ago, when, after the Presidential elections, Sharad Pawar complained that his party was not getting its due as an ally. That came soon after Mr Chavan announced the white paper and it was clear that the conflict in Maharashtra between the two partners lay at the heart of the sulk. The crisis blew over with the setting up of a UPA coordination committee, but the NCP's misgivings about Mr Chavan continuing as Maharashtra Chief Minister are said to remain. There has been speculation that Mr Chavan might be called back the Centre  in the next reshuffle of the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, though he has denied this. 

From: NDTV

Our angel Aarushi is with us, say Talwars as Nupur leaves jail

Ghaziabad: Nupur Talwar, who left jail today after five months, and is charged along with her husband with murdering their daughter and their domestic help said today that "the truth will prevail."

Mrs Talwar said she will ensure she abides by the law while on bail - the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had argued in court that if she were allowed to leave jail, she would attempt to influence witnesses. As she walked out of the jail - dressed in a peach salwar-kameez - to a horde of waiting mediapersons, her husband Rajesh was beside her, his arm wrapped protectively around her. "We will face the trial and we will be vindicated. It has been a long, dark night for us so far...our angel Aarushi is here to take us through this," Mr Talwar, also a co-accused in the case, said.

13-year-old Aarushi, the Talwars' only child, was found dead in her bedroom in their Noida home in May 2008. Aarushi's father, Rajesh, told the police that their domestic help, Hemraj, was missing, and the police declared he was the main suspect and sent teams to his village in Nepal to search for him. However, hours later, Hemraj was found dead on the Talwars' roof.

The Noida police then arrested Mr Talwar, who is a dentist like his wife, and kept him in jail for nearly two months till the CBI took over the case and declared there was no evidence against him.

After that, the police arrested four domestic workers, including a man who worked as a dental assistant at Mr Talwar's clinic, but months later, the CBI did not oppose their bail, acknowledging that it had not found any proof of their involvement in the double-murder at the Talwars' home.

In December, the CBI asked the Ghaziabad court handling the case for permission to close its investigation because it had found no hard evidence. However, the agency said Mr Talwar was the main suspect, prompting criticism among legal experts, who said the CBI could not announce a suspect while acknowledging it had little proof against him. The judge refused to allow closure of the case, and said the Talwars would both be tried for murder and destruction of evidence.

Mr Talwar had been granted bail by the Supreme Court - a decision the CBI has challenged recently. Mrs Talwar was arrested on April 30 and moved to a jail in Dasna. 

BJP national executive meeting today; focus on UPA's 'misgovernance'

Surajkund (Haryana): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold its national executive meeting in Surajkund in Haryana today where it is expected to formulate its strategy on the current political and economic situation in the country. The event will be followed by a two-day National Council meeting, starting on September 27.

During the three-day deliberations, the BJP is expected to focus on "misgovernance" by the Congress-led UPA government and highlight recent scams including the allocation of coal mines, 2G telecom spectrum and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The meeting will start with BJP president Nitin Gadkari's address. Apart from its top leaders, chief ministers and deputy chief ministers from NDA-ruled states, 300 delegates are also expected to attend the party National Executive, while 1,200 will attend the BJP National Council meet.

BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the party top brass. including LK Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and others, will give a final shape to its proposed roadmap against UPA's "corruption and misgovernance".

The party is also expected to discuss its prospects in the forthcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Karnataka and strategise its poll campaign.

After the day-long National Executive on September 26 and National Council on September 27 and 28, a rally will be held on September 28.

The party meet comes at a time when the UPA has seen the exit of the Trinamool Congress from the coalition over the issue of FDI in retail and a hike in diesel prices, something that has seen opposition parties gunning for the Congress.

"People of this nation who are opposing the policies of UPA and have taken to the streets to expose corruption and scams indulged by it are doing constructive service to nation. They expect that they continue to do scams and corruption and we praise it and showers petals on its corrupt ministers.... They will not sit quietly," Mr Naqvi said on Tuesday.

Form: NDTV

Suresh Kalmadi brings more disgrace, Indian Olympic Association forced to accept international observers

New Delhi: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) faced more disgrace on Tuesday when it was forced to accept international observers for "fair" polls. The IOA buckled under the pressure when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) slammed both the disgraced Suresh Kalmadi and the Indian body's acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

The simmering war of words between the IOC and IOA intensified with the former slamming the latter for refusing to accept an observer for its upcoming elections and threatened to take action if poll date is not furnished by September 25.

The poll dates were announced by the IOA on September 24 but it was still not clear whether they would accept the 'observation'.

On September 14, IOA's acting president V K Malhotra in a strongly worded letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge had asked if appointing neutral observers is only for India or for other member associations as well.

"I was surprised to receive yet another letter dated dated September 11, 2012 (after the one on August 31) from your office which reads like a dictate. It virtually orders IOA to do things as specified in it," Malhotra wrote in the letter.

The IOC in its two letters dated August 16 and September 11 stated that IOA's election process of the IOA would have to be held in strict compliance with the Olympic Charter.

The IOC and the Olympic Council Asia (OCA) will be appointing observers for the elections and it is completely unacceptable to the IOA.

Later, Malhotra in his letter said IOA was only being singled out.

"I am also amazed to read that IOC and OCA will like to jointly nominate the observers for the elections of IOA. I will like to know whether IOC is sending observers to monitor the elections of all the NOCs or only IOA is being single out. In any case, the idea of IOC-OCA observers may not be acceptable to the IOA," said Malhotra.

In a strongly worded letter, in response to a September 13 missive by IOA acting president V K Malhotra in which he had termed the world body's decision to send an observer as unacceptable, the IOC said that such a supervision was necessary owing to the "confusion surrounding the status of Suresh Kalmadi".

"The IOC and OCA are extremely astonished by the content of your letter and by the fact that you do not seem to understand that the internal situation of your NOC is not as smooth and normal as you want to depict it".

"Should we remind you that, despite our numerous and repeated requests, you and your NOC were unable to take any clear decision vis-a-vis situation of Mr Kalmadi with much confusion surrounding the status, powers and decisions of your NOC Ethics Commission in this affair," the letter addressed to Malhotra said.

"We urge you once again to respond transparently and openly to all the questions which we have raised in our previous communications. If we do not receive any clear and satisfactory answers within a deadline of one week maximum, we will immediately produce a report for the IOC Executive Board for appropriate action," the letter dated September 18 and signed by NOC Relations Director Pere Miro said.

"In particular, we expect (i) a clear answer to the simple question of the date of which the Elective General Assembly of the IOA is expected to take place and (ii) a clarification of the composition of the General Assembly with respect to the principle of the voting majority for the national federation affiliated to the IFs governing sports on the programme of the Olympic Games," it said.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Malhotra had also termed the government's directive to adhere to age and tenure guidelines in its upcoming elections as "illegal" and "unconstitutional" and said that it could even move the Supreme Court if its case in Delhi High Court goes against it.

"Where is the law for IOA to implement these guidelines? There is no Act of Parliament. We have filed a case in Delhi High Court against the sports ministry guidelines, saying that these are illegal and unconstitutional. The high court had issued notices and hearing is coming up on October 15," Malhotra said.

"The government had sought to portray that the high court had directed the IOA to adhere to these guidelines. It's not like that. The court had simply said that the IOA can hold elections by taking into account its rules, by-laws and government sports code.

"What the high court said is a bit contradictory and we will fight out our case till the end. But, the court had also said that it (the high court observation) can be changed also later on. Besides, International Olympic Committee can even derecognise India if the government forces these guidelines on us," he said.
(With PTI inputs)

Former President Pratibha Patil in trouble over gifts

New Delhi: Controversy seems to be following Pratibha Devisingh Patil even after she finished her term as President of India.

Following a Right to Information (RTI) inquiry that revealed Ms Patil had taken several "gifts" given to her when she was President to her hometown Amravati, Rashtrapati Bhawan has acted. In his application, RTI activist Subhash Agarwal has said that the former President must return all the gifts by January 13, 2013.

In reply to the application, Rashtrapati Bhawan has said that all articles should be back by January 13. "It was a decision taken by President Pranab Mukherjee soon after he took office," said the President's Press Secretary.

When contacted by NDTV, the Patil family said that they were yet to receive any intimation from Rashtrapati Bhawan about this.

The gifts include things like a stone box given to Ms Patil as a memento by visiting US president Barack Obama.

Ms Patil's predecessor A P J Abdul Kalam had also moved gifts out of Rashtrapati Bhawan, but they were for display at the Defence Research and Development Organisation, where he used to work.

Conventionally, presidents and other dignitaries who are given these gifts deposit them with the government. 

Irfan Pathan or Virender Sehwag: Dhoni's big opening dilemma

Colombo: India take on Australia in the first of its Super Eights on Friday. Ahead of it, MS Dhoni has a problem of plenty. Harbhajan Singh is back in form and so is Piyush Chawla. Though the big question is whether Dhoni will persist with five bowlers or go back to the 7 batsmen-4 bowlers combinations.

Virender Sehwag opted to sit out of the game vs England. Now the question is, will he find his way back into the playing eleven, given the magnificent performance of the bowler?

Former India captain and NDTV expert Sunil Gavaskar thinks not only Sehwag but even Harbhajan Singh should be playing against Australia on Friday. Bhajji's 4 wickets and Piyush Chawla's good showing against England, however, has Dhoni in a fix.

Whom he selects to play could end up being the key for the big tie, but the Aussies aren't thinking of who they are going to face, but how they will face them.

But spin is not the problem, rather it's the pace department. While Irfan has looked good, Zaheer's form has been scratchy. The left arm pacer has got just one wicket in four games including the two warm-ups at the ICC World T20. But he still has the backing of the skipper. 

"We should give Zaheer equal respect like we give to Sachin because he is the Sachin for us when it comes to bowling department. I am hoping he gets back in form," India skipper MS Dhoni said.

If the Indian net session on Tuesday was an indicator of things to come, then Dhoni will once again be tempted to try Irfan. In which case, Sehwag, who skipped practice and sulked, sitting on the sidelines, will have to go out to the nets and impress.

PM turns 80 with signs of reformist mojo

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh marks his 80th birthday on Wednesday in fighting fashion with signs he has rediscovered his "mojo" as a reformer after being written off as a dithering under-achiever.

The soft-spoken Dr Singh, India's first Sikh Prime Minister, is widely expected to stand down at the next elections due to be held in 2014.

While he earned a place in the history books as the man who lit the fuse for India's rapid growth in the 1990s when he was Finance Minister, his reputation has taken a battering as premier - especially since his 2009 re-election.

Time magazine branded him "The Underachiever" on its front cover earlier this year while Dr Singh's office got into a spat with the Washington Post after it said he had "transformed himself from an object of respect to one of ridicule".

But a sudden blitz of reforms designed to revive an economy in which growth is stuck around three-year lows has also given his own image a shot in the arm with the Economic Times proclaiming he had got his "mojo back".

And his stock has also risen sharply with the business sector, which warmly applauded his moves to open the retail, aviation and broadcasting sectors to more foreign investment.

According to Adi Godrej, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, the premier has "unambiguously sent a message that the government is determined to see through the reforms".

Dr Singh, who always wears a blue turban, became premier when Congress took power in 2004, ending a long stint in the political wilderness.

His first term was relatively smooth-sailing, with growth almost reaching double digits.

But after success in the 2009 polls, his reputation has been hit during a second term marked by a litany of corruption scandals and policy paralysis caused in part by an impasse in Parliament with the main Opposition BJP party.

Deepak Lalwani, head of India-focused financial consultancy Lalcap in London, said Dr Singh's sudden burst of activity signalled a desire to salvage his reputation before he leaves office, employing a cricketing metaphor.

"In his last innings he would like to leave on a strong wicket -- he wants to leave a legacy that he was able to revive the economy again," Mr Lalwani told AFP.

Born in 1932 in what is now Pakistan, Dr Singh moved to India when Britain split the subcontinent at independence in 1947. His father, a poor vendor with 10 children, joked his son would become Prime Minister because he studied so hard.

The reformist zeal he would later display at the Finance Ministry - where he embraced free markets in the socialist-style economy and cut through red tape - was honed during his time as a Governor of the International Monetary Fund.

He became the surprise choice as premier in 2004 when his boss, Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi, decided that she did not want to head the government of the world's largest democracy after her election triumph.

Looming large over his birthday celebrations on Wednesday is another Gandhi - Sonia's son Rahul - who has borne the burden of expectation ever since his father Rajiv was assassinated in 1991.

Observers are watching to see whether Rahul, now 42, finally accepts Dr Singh's offer of a Cabinet berth in a major reshuffle expected soon, after a coalition ally pulled out of government last week.

Rahul, whose fumbling parliamentary performances have sparked big questions about his suitability for the premier's job, has never declared outright he wants to claim his inheritance and lead India.

But other young party leaders have not been allowed to take a prominent role in what analysts say is a move to ensure no-one outshines the Gandhi scion.

Since Independence, power in Congress has threaded from Rahul's great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first premier, to his grandmother Indira Gandhi, who was slain by Sikh bodyguards, and in tragedy-studded succession to his father Rajiv, who was blown up by a Tamil suicide bomber.

Congress party billboards drill home the message of succession - showing the elderly Dr Singh, beaming mother Sonia and in front, the fresh-faced Rahul.

Critics decry the need for continuation of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty, seeing it as a sign of political immaturity and incompatible with India's superpower aspirations.

But Gandhi family biographer Rasheed Kidwai told AFP that "Rahul is very much in the frame to succeed" when Dr Singh calls time on his lengthy political career.

"It will all start unfolding three to six months before the (2014) elections when the prime minister will seek a mandate for generational change to hand things on," Mr Kidwai said.

Arvind Kejriwal's party a foolish project: Jethmalani

New Delhi: Coming out in support of Anna Hazare, noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Thursday termed as "foolish project" the decision of Arvind Kejriwal-led group to form a party and urged the veteran activist to focus only on corruption.

In an open letter to Anna, the Rajya Sabha MP also suggested Anna to fight against candidates of Opposition parties who "do not have a spotlessly clean image" for integrity and selfless service of the nation.

"I have learnt with great disappointment, almost consternation, that some of your colleagues want to start a new political party. I mean no disrespect to anyone but this is a foolish project almost certain to perpetuate corruption and the regime of corrupt rulers.

"I almost suspect this move has been instigated by these whom you want to displace and destroy," Mr Jethmalani said and assured his "cooperation and assistance at all limits" to Anna. However, the lawyer did not take the name of Mr Kejriwal.

Anna and his supporters on Wednesday parted ways with the Kejriwal-led group who were pitching for the movement forming a party and fight elections.

Claiming that Anna's work was "much more important" than his "some success" in the fight against corrupt, the lawyer suggested that the activist should concentrate on the "single issue of corruption" and intensify struggle to tackle practisioners of graft.

"A new political party cannot have a one-point manifesto. People would like to know its views on other issues affecting every section of the electorate. You will only create confusion and invite ridicule," Mr Jethmalani, who has filed a petition in Supreme Court on blackmoney issue, said.

He also said that Anna should not succumb to the attraction of minority vote banks and he should tell minorities that he will support those parties who will honestly support the recommendations of the Sachar Committee report. 

Phone was tapped, says Mamata; not true, says centre

Kolkata: After pulling out of the UPA government over differences on the Centre's recent decision to hike diesel prices and allow Foreign Direct Investment in retail, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today hinted that the central government was tapping her phones.

"If you have the central government in your hand you can get the phones tapped. It has happened with me before. My number had three copies. When I would go to Nandigram or Midnapore, I could not use my number as it was being used in Kolkata," said Banerjee in Kolkata.

She said that she had filed police complaints then against the misuse of her phone.

"I have been in the central government and I am aware about all these methods. There is no need to make me open my mouth," added Banerjee.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has, however, denied this, saying Mamata Banerjee's phone was 'never' tapped.

(With inputs from Indo-Asian News Service)

FDI in retail: Mamata Banerjee-less UPA will need Mulayam Singh Yadav on its side, why he may oblige

New Delhi: Mulayam Singh Yadav, crucial to the survival of the UPA government, is making the Congress squirm.  He co-starred with Left leaders today in a massive protest in Delhi against the new reforms introduced by Dr Manmohan Singh. Like the Left and the BJP, the Samajwadi Party chief is also against opening India's vast retail sector to foreign super-chains and has attacked them publicly.

Mr Yadav walked to a police station with Left leaders like Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat to court arrest.  But he pointed out that he  did not share a stage with BJP leaders.  I am supporting the government to stop communal forces. BJP se hamara koi vaasta nahi hai (We have no relationship with the BJP)."

Sources say that the regional powerhouse has indicated that he is not ready to be a part of attempts to bring down the government and force mid-term elections. Like the Left and the BJP, the Samajwadi Party chief is also against these reforms and has attacked them publicly. That doesn't mean that the Samajwadi Party won't cash in on the government's new vulnerability.

"Don't take our support for granted," Ram Gopal Yadav, a senior party leader and Mr Yadav's brother, warned earlier this week.  The UPA is in a minority after its biggest ally, Mamata Banerjee, quit the government over last week's decisions to raise diesel prices, reduce the amount of subsidised cooking gas for households, and allow foreign giants like Wal-Mart to set up large retail outlets in India.  Mr Yadav's party has 22 MPS, three more than Ms Banerjee. But his party has said it will not join the government, and that it will decide in the next few weeks whether to continue external support to the coalition. 

In fact, Ram Gopal Yadav, said clearly that the party was prerparing its list of candidates for the 2014 elections, which is when they are due. But remarks like those - and there have been many - are political swagger that belie careful calculations. "Let the Congress get some wisdom," Mulayam Singh had said yesterday. "What have they given the people apart from corruption and rising prices?" he asked.

But behind the scenes, sources in the Congress say that back-channel talks with the Samajwadi Party chief are showing results. After initially announcing that the party would meet today to decide whether to continue support to the UPA, the session has been deferred. Samajwadi Party sources say that their leaders are worried that the Congress' decline could strengthen the BJP and that may bring Narendra Modi to power.

Mr Yadav's party has often justified its support to the UPA as its contribution to ensuring that the "communal forces" of the BJP are restrained.  Uttar Pradesh's large Muslim population is a crucial votebank for the Samajwadi Party. The BJP has been dithering over whether to pick Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the next general election.  Mr Yadav wants to impede any plans that could help Mr Modi's ascension to the national centrestage.

There's also the fact that Mr Yadav's rival, Mayawati, has made it clear that she is firmly on the UPA's side for now.  Since her humiliating defeat in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year - Mr Yadav's son, Akhilesh, powered the campaign and his party's victory and is now chief minister-  Mayawati has found it expedient to team with the UPA on important policies.  Though her party is opposed to FDI in retail, she is not participating in today's bandh or strike.  She has 21 Lok Sabha MPs, just one less than Mr Yadav, and like him, she guaranteed her support to the UPA in a letter to the President when the government was formed.  Even if Mr Yadav kills his support to the government, she can keep it in power. Mr Yadav is unlikely to take any move that would allow her that sort of prominence at the centre.

If that looks like a win-win for the Congress and the government, it will have to consider the fact that Mr Yadav could turn into a tougher opponent of reforms. He warned the government of a "bigger agitation" along with other parties if there is no rollback of its reform decisions. And he knows that with the Trinamool exiting, the Congress' options of allies to support it are also shrinking.

Mr Yadav's decision is important not only for the Congress' future, but also for the way the BJP will plan its next steps. The main opposition party reportedly feels that till the SP decides to ditch the Congress, the BJP will not be in a position to take political advantage of the situation. As long as Mr Yadav keeps the UPA safe, any move to seek a special session of parliament or pushing for a confidence vote to test the UPA's strength could well back-fire.

(with inputs from Agencies)

BJP packs mean punchline for Congress

Jaipur: After the success of cartoons lampooning the ruling Congress's role in the coal scam, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now launched an all-out cartoon war. Today, demonstrating against the UPA's decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in retail, a BJP worker on his scooter, carrying posters inspired from various internet and blogging sites was quite the centre of attraction.

BJP worker Mahendra Shastri from Jaipur's walled city area, set out to be part of the BJP's dharna at the city's Badi Chaupar. On his scooter were BJP flags and some interesting posters.

One of them, clearly a take on Pirates Of The Caribbean, showed Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh in lead roles. The caption read 'Dakuon Ki Rani Choron Ka Sardar.' It was obviously a poster made for the Hindi release of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - the uncomplimentary reference to the Prime Minister and the Congress President didn't appear to have daunted the party worker in the least.

Speaking to NDTV, Mahendra Shastri said his aim was to protest and show people how the aam adami was at the receiving end of the UPA's unfair policies especially when it came to price rise.

Mr Shastri's second poster showed Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi lugging an LPG cylinder between them. Mrs Gandhi in an ordinary saree and Dr Singh in a striped black shirt were made to look like an ordinary middle class couple, burdened with the hike in LPG prices.

The state secretary of the BJP, Sunil Kothari, says he received such a tremendous response to the cartoons on coal that even after the protest was over they actually left the hoardings for a day at the site of the protest at Ambedkar Circle in Jaipur for people to stop and stare. Now they plan to take these cartoons and posters to districts units every time they stage a protest. Clearly, the BJP has discovered that communicating through cartoons is a more effective way of taking on the UPA than mundane political rhetoric. 

Nitish Kumar takes the lead, drops diesel prices in Bihar

Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has decided to cut local taxes in Bihar to make diesel prices 85 paise cheaper. Last week, in an attempt to reduce fuel subsidies, the centre increased the price of diesel by Rs. 5, excluding Value-Added Tax (VAT). The price hike was part of a series of big-bang reforms that included limiting the supply of subsidised cooking gas to households and opening up the retail sector to foreign super-market chains like Wal-Mart.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has quit the PM's coalition over these economic measures, citing them as "anti-people" policies. Sources in the Congress say the government is leaning towards a 50-paise rollback in diesel prices, and increasing subsidised gas cylinders from six to nine per household. The party has also suggested that Ms Banerjee could drop state taxes to lower the price of diesel. She has angrily rejected that option on the grounds that her state is broke.

Diesel prices had shot upto Rs. 50.80 per litre in Bihar. With the discount he has thrown in today, Mr Kumar has stolen the centre's thunder should it decided to drop prices soon. The chief minister is on a tour of the state to highlight his campaign to get "special status" for Bihar, a petition rejected by the centre earlier this year. His decision to make diesel cheaper will be used at rallies to claim that his government intervenes when the centre ignores the needs of the aam admi or common man. Due to the VAT reduction, the total loss to state exchequer will be Rs. 118 crore.

Without Ms Banerjee, the UPA is in a minority. Mr Kumar belongs to the opposing coalition, the NDA, which is led by his partner in Bihar, the BJP. Yesterday, he declared that his support in the next general election will extend to whoever promises "special status" for Bihar, which would make it eligible for special financial packages from the centre along with assistance in attracting private investment. The chief minister, who has 22 of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats, said Bihar will be a major player in deciding who comes to power next in Delhi. Mr Kumar's remarks - which suggested he is up for grabs - shook up the BJP, which insists that he remains anti-Congress. But if Mr Kumar is open to wooing, the Congress has shown it's interested. "Several states including UP, Bihar need special packages, so we will have to discuss," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh told NDTV. 

From: NDTV

Anti-Islam film controversy: US turns to TV ads to spread message in protest-hit Pakistan

Washington: The United States has paid Pakistani television stations to run advertisements featuring President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, hoping to soothe public opinion in a country hit by protests against an anti-Islam movie made in California, the State Department said on Thursday.

The US embassy in Islamabad spent about $70,000 to run the announcement, which features clips of Obama and Clinton underscoring U.S. respect for religion and declaring the U.S. government had nothing to do with the movie, it said.

"In order to ensure we reached the largest number of Pakistanis, some 90 million as I understand it in this case with these spots, it was the judgment that this was the best way to do it," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing.

The U.S. announcement aired as Washington warned Americans to avoid non-essential travel to Pakistan, one of the mostly Muslim countries hit by a wave of anti-American demonstrations. In Libya, a deadly assault last week killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

The protests, which were sparked by an Internet video that mocked the Prophet Mohammad and swept through Yemen, Egypt and other countries, also prompted the U.S. government to withdraw non-essential personnel in Tunisia and Sudan.

In Pakistan, protesters have demonstrated in more than a dozen cities.

Counter-terrorism analysts for the New York Police Department warned in a paper circulated on Thursday that the anti-U.S. and anti-Western protests would continue to spread, fueled most recently by a French magazine's publication of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammad.

The cartoons in France's Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly have provoked relatively little street anger thus far, although about 100 Iranians demonstrated outside the French embassy in Tehran.

Nuland said the decision to buy the television ads, identified as paid public service announcements, was not unusual in countries where this is "the norm for getting your message out."

"I think the sense was that this particular aspect of the president and the secretary's message needed to be heard by more Pakistanis than had heard it, and that this was an effective way to get that message across," she said.

She said it would take time to measure the effectiveness of the ads in Pakistan, where on Thursday huge crowds again gathered to protest against the video.

(Reporting by Andrew Quinn and Mark Hosenball; editing by Warren Strobel and Mohammad Zargham)

© Thomson Reuters 2012

Sensex jumps to 18500, Nifty above 5600 as govt notifies FDI

The BSE Sensex jumped over 150 points to reclaim the 18,500 mark while the broader Nifty bounced back above the key 5,600 mark Friday. The strong gains came on the back of positive global cues and the government's notification allowing foreign investment in multi-brand retail, aviation, and broadcast on Thursday. The rupee, too, saw gains and traded at 54.14 to the dollar.

The government implemented its reforms decisions taken last week despite widespread political opposition, which has sent a positive signal to markets.

"There is no need to press the panic button as far as the domestic polity is concern... Markets may rise to 5,650 or 5,900 on account of global liquidity," Mehraboon Irani of Nirmal Bang Securities told NDTV Profit.

Strong buying was seen in aviation and retail stocks. Debt laden Kingfisher Airlines surged 4.5 per cent while SpiceJet traded with over 3 per cent gains. Pantaloon Retail shares jumped nearly 8 per cent.

All groups of stocks traded higher. Banks, realty, and capital goods stocks jumped over 1 per cent. On the Nifty, 42 of the 50 stocks traded higher.

Reliance Infra was the top Nifty gainer, up 2.4 per cent. PSU lender Punjab National Bank advanced 2.3 per cent. Heavy equipment maker BHEL and private lender Axis Bank were the other stocks to rise over 2 per cent on the Nifty.

Private steel maker JSPL declined 1 per cent after global brokerage CLSA downgraded the stock to "sell".

Global cues:

Assets from Asian shares to oil to gold rose and the euro steadied as stimulus measures from major central banks continued to buoy investor confidence, offsetting weak economic data. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7 per cent after slipping to its lowest in nearly a week on Thursday. Tokyo's Nikkei stock average added 0.6 percent.


(With inputs from Thomson Reuters)

FDI in retail: Mamata Banerjee's ministers to resign today, PM to address nation, trust vote likely

New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee's ministers will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh around 3 pm today to resign from his government over the new reforms he cleared last week. They will then head to Rashtrapati Bhawan where they will formally withdraw their letter of support to the ruling UPA coalition in which Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress was the second-largest ally. With his government reduced to a minority, the Prime Minister will most likely be asked by the country's President to seek a trust vote in Parliament.

This evening, the PM is expected to explain on television the economic measures for which he has staked his government. Even the opposition BJP concedes that he is likely to win his vote of confidence. The survival of the UPA depends on regional heavyweights Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, who provide external support to the government. So far, neither has indicated a change of heart, though Mr Yadav has warned that his party should not be taken for granted.

On Facebook last night, Ms Banerjee attacked the government for the notification it issued yesterday stating that its new policies for foreign investment in the retail sector are in effect. A week ago, Ms Banerjee said she would not accept either this or a hike in diesel prices and a cap on subsidised cooking gas for households. "Is it ethical, moral and democratic for a minority government to issue government order forcibly and hurriedly when massive protests against it are taking place across the country?" she posted on her Facebook page.

The relationship status for the UPA and Ms Banerjee has for long been "It's complicated" with the chief minister often challenging the policies the government wanted to champion. Last year, when the cabinet first cleared 51 per cent foreign direct investment for multi-brand retail, Ms Banerjee threatened to quit the government, and the policy was shelved, provoking international criticism, and a loss of both face and investor confidence. This time around, the Prime Minister was resolute about standing his ground.

So though Ms Banerjee gave the government 72 hours of notice, creating a window for negotiations, no concessions were offered. The fact that the new retail guidelines were notified hours after she said she was sticking to her schedule for exiting the UPA was a clear message that the coalition was resigned to a future without her.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, whose party is another key member of the UPA, refuted Ms Banerjee's accusations that she hadn't been consulted about the new economic measures. He said that he was present along with Ms Banerjee at a meeting of senior leaders of the coalition when Dr Singh discussed FDI in retail. "Nobody was happy to do this...not even the PM....but it was required," Mr Pawar said.

Sources say that to appease other crucial partners like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, the government is likely to announce a 50 paise rollback in diesel prices, and increase the quota of subsidised cooking gas cylinders per household from six to nine, and that the decision was not shared yesterday to prevent opposition parties who called a massive nationwide strike from claiming credit for the concessions.

Meeting over Cauvery dispute fails; Tamil Nadu will move Supreme Court, says Jayalalithaa

New Delhi: The meeting to discuss the long-standing water-sharing dispute over the Cauvery river has ended without a solution. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, whose state has been involved in a protracted legal battle with neigbouring Karnataka over the contentious issue, today described the outcome of the meeting as "disappointing".

The meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA), the first in nine years, was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - who also heads the group - as well as the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry. The session came after Ms Jayalalithaa demanded that a meeting of the CRA be convened to discuss the state's water problem while flagging the need for immediate release of water from the Cauvery to save standing crops. Karnataka, on the other hand, has refused to release water to Tamil Nadu, insisting on a new formula to share the water when monsoon fails.

Terming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's advice to Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water to her state as "unacceptable", Ms Jayalalithaa said "Tamil Nadiu is left with no option but to approach the Supreme Court...I have registered my protest against PM's award."

Tamil Nadu had earlier complained to the Supreme Court about non-convening of such a meeting prompting the top court to pull up officials of the Prime Minister's Office on September 3 for the inordinate delay. CRA, set up in 1997, met for the first time today after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power in 2004. The last meeting was held in February, 2003 when AB Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

Karnataka has refused to release water to Tamil Nadu and other riparian states on a formula announced by Cauvery River Tribunal in 2007 citing failed monsoon.

The dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing of Cauvery water dates back to 1990s.

(With inputs from PTI)

Stopped en route to Sanchi, Vaiko's sit-in against Rajapakse continues

Bhopal: The dharna by over a thousand MDMK workers, led by party general secretary Vaiko, stopped on their way to Sanchi to protest against the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, continued tonight at Gadchicholi near Pandhurna on the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border.

Jabalpur range Inspector General V Madhu Kumar told PTI late night that neither Mr Vaiko nor any of the MDMK workers had been arrested, as the protest so far was peaceful.

Mr Rajapakse is scheduled to be in Sanchi for laying the foundation stone of the International Buddhist University on Friday. MDMK has opposed his visit, citing his government's atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils.

Mr Kumar said police will take necessary action if MDMK protesters tried to proceed towards Bhopal/Sanchi.

Nanmaran, an MDMK leader, said the sit-in on the Nagpur-Chhindwara road continued. "Our leader will take call on further course of action tomorrow," he said.

Police have encircled the entire group of MDMK workers.

Earlier in the day, Mr Vaiko and MDMK workers, travelling in a convoy of 40 buses, headed for Sanchi, were stopped on Maharashtra-MP border, following which they staged a sit-in on the road.

Mr Vaiko alleged that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan misled him by promising to discuss the matter in Bhopal, but he had been now stopped on the border.

Talking to reporters at Nagpur, the MDMK leader had earlier lashed out at BJP government in Madhya Pradesh for inviting the Sri Lankan president, and the Centre for endorsing the visit, "despite knowing that Rajapakse is solely responsible for the genocide of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka."

Mayawati helps government, her party to skip bandh

New Delhi: Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said it will not participate in the nation-wide strike called by opposition parties on Thursday to protest the government's reform measures announced last week.

This will come as a huge relief to a beleaguered UPA, which is now in a minority in Parliament after the Trinamool Congress announced it was exiting the Congress-led ruling coalition. The ruling party is now looking at the BSP, which supports the UPA from outside, as its best bet to make up the numbers it needs to survive. The BSP has 21 MPs, two more than the Trinamool Congress.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP), which has 22 MPs and was for long considered the Congress' Plan B if Mamata Banerjee ditched the UPA, has been playing hard to get. The SP has said it will participate in tomorrow's bandh.

The BSP's Uttar Pradesh chief Ramachal Rajbhar's announced that the party would have nothing to do with Thursday's strike at a meeting of party workers today. Sources in Mayawati's party have said that she will decide on her relationship with the UPA at a meeting of her party on October 9 - the party supports the UPA from outside. Though the BSP too has opposed the hike in diesel prices and the new norms on foreign direct investment in retail effected last week, Ms Mayawati is seen to be the softest on the government right now. Unlike Ms Banerjee or Mr Yadav, who are riding recent electoral successes and would not mind mid-term elections to extend their gains, Ms Mayawati was the big loser in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections this year and she will not want early polls since she is unlikely to make too many gains.

BJP keen on special Parliament session to corner government on FDI

New Delhi: With the Trinamool Congress deciding to quit the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sees an opportunity to corner the ruling coalition and is planning to demand a special session of Parliament to discuss the issue of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail but its key ally Janata Dal (United) is not in favour of this move.

The BJP says it feels the government will not last its full term till 2014 if the Trinamool Congress goes ahead with its decision to exit the UPA.

Senior party leader L K Advani said his party would like a special session to be convened to discuss this issue, holding that the government has committed a "breach of trust" of Parliament.

The party, however, said it will consult its allies of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after tomorrow's nationwide agitation against FDI in retail and diesel price hike before firming up its position.

"Yesterday's development has destabilised the present government. It is only a matter of time that it will collapse. The present government cannot last its full term till 2014. Anything can happen before that," Mr Advani told Press Trust of India.

He said since the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had promised in both houses of Parliament that the decision on FDI in retail would not be taken before evolving a consensus with all stakeholders, the government had committed a "breach of trust of Parliament".

"The promise had been made to both houses of Parliament by the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that we will not bring FDI in retail until a consensus is evolved with all stakeholders including all political parties and all Chief Ministers. Therefore, we hold that the announcement of FDI in retail is a breach of trust of Parliament," Mr Advani said.

He said "therefore, we would request for convening of a special session of Parliament. We will make a formal request to the President for the special session after the September 20 nation-wide bandh called by us."

Asked whether there is a need for convening a special session of Parliament, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said there is "no need" for it as it will not solve any problem.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said "our leader L K Advani has said that we can demand a special session of Parliament on the issue as the Prime Minister had promised on the floor of the House that this is an era of federalism and if we bring FDI in retail, we will try and build a consensus before".

"We in NDA will decide on whether to convene a special session of Parliament... We will decide at the NDA meeting after tomorrow's nationwide bandh," he said. 

Prime Minister will make final attempt to change Trinamool's mind on Friday

New Delhi: The Prime Minister is likely to make a last attempt to persuade the Trinamool Congress to reconsider its decision of exiting the UPA government when its ministers come to resign. The TMC's six ministers are expected to resign on Friday.

At the same time, sources say, both the Congress and the government are standing fast on the reforms decisions taken last Friday that have now put the UPA government in a minority in Parliament, following the TMC pull-out.

The government also remains confident that it will manage the numbers and survive a trust vote if required in Parliament.

The sources said that both the PM and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi are unanimous in their decision to push through the reforms. Both the party and government are firm that there will be no rollback on foreign investment in retail as well as the hike in diesel prices and a cap on subsidised LPG cylinders for homes.

The party has already announced that the states ruled by it will increase the cap on subsidised cylinder from six to nine. Delhi has already done so for the poor.

About the reported secrecy around the Cabinet decision on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, the sources say that the decision was taken on September 14. The PM consulted Sonia, and allies Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah. DMK's T R Baalu was also informed.

The government consciously decided not to circulate papers before the Cabinet meeting regarding FDI in retail. Most cabinet ministers were also in the dark about the consultations on FDI and that Cabinet would take it up soon.

A day before the Cabinet meeting, commerce minister Anand Sharma spoke to Mamata Banerjee but did not raise the issue of FDI in retail with her.





 

From: NDTV

Did Nitish Kumar just put NDA on notice? His comment suggests he's up for grabs

Patna: With the UPA government reduced to a minority after Mamata Banerjee's withdrawal, political alignments are shaping and reshaping themselves virtually by the hour. And regional parties are looking at pushing their agendas and demands in the politically uncertain situation. Though it is the Congress which is in most pain right now, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA got a bit of kick in the shins as well.

It came from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who said that his party, the Janata Dal (United) was willing to support whoever gave the state special status. "Whoever supports special status for Bihar, we will support them at the Centre," Mr Kumar said.

His party, which is in alliance with the BJP in Bihar, has 22 MPs in Parliament, three more than the exiting Trinamool Congress. He said that Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, will play a lead role in deciding who comes to power next.
 And if Mr Kumar indicated his party was available, the Congress suggested it was available. "Several states including UP, Bihar need special packages, so we will have to discuss," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh told NDTV. He also said that Mr Kumar had "proved" his secular credentials several times, while pointing out that he was the Railway Minister during the Godhra riots in 2002.

But JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, who is also the NDA convener, made light of Mr Kumar's remark. "I speak to Nitish Kumar three times a day... He is usually three-four places ahead of me so what can I say about what he has said... there is nothing of the sort," he said.

The BJP, which leads the NDA coalition, of which Mr Kumar's JD(U) is a key constituent, downplayed the latter's remark. "You misunderstood what he (Nitish Kumar) was saying. He was taunting the Congress as there was a request for special assistance earlier. There is nothing more to it," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

Earlier this year, the Centre rejected the 'special status' tag for Bihar which would entitle the state to large loans, major tax concessions, financial packages, infrastructure development, and a concerted effort by the Centre to boost private investment in Bihar. Mr Kumar's administration says that when Bihar was bifurcated in 2000, it lost a significant part of its natural resources to the new state of Jharkhand. In retaliation to the Centre's refusal, Mr Kumar began his Adhikar Yatra (Rights March) from Bettiah in West Champaran district today. It will culminate on November 4 with a rally in Patna, the first since in the state capital in nearly seven years.

Over the last few months, the relationship of the BJP and the JD(U) has been disturbed by the chief minister's remarks against senior BJP leader Narendra Modi. Mr Kumar has said that as the largest party in the ensemble, the BJP has the prerogative of picking the coalition's prime ministerial candidate. However, he has warned that he will exit the group if the BJP makes Mr Modi its nominee. 18% of Bihar is Muslim, and their vote is crucial for Mr Kumar. He has stressed that the NDA's prime ministerial candidate must have secular credentials - a thinly-veiled remark against Mr Modi, whose ambitions to move to the national landscape from Gujarat are hampered by the communal riots in his state in 2002.

U.S. official says Benghazi consulate was 'terrorist attack'

Washingtom: The assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last week in which four Americans died was a "terrorist attack" that may have had an al Qaeda connection, a top U.S. counterterrorism official told Congress on Wednesday.

Rocket-propelled grenades and mortars struck the consulate on September 11, the anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the United States. U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died.

"They were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy," Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said in response to a question at a Senate hearing.

Olsen said whether the attack was planned for September 11 was under investigation, but the information so far indicated it was "an opportunistic attack" that "began and evolved, and escalated over several hours."

There were well-armed militants in the area, he said. "What we don't have at this point is specific intelligence that there was a significant advance planning or coordination for this attack."

Whether or not the attack was planned well in advance has become a point of dispute between the Obama administration and Republican lawmakers who say it bears the hallmarks of a premeditated assault. Senior Libyan officials have said the attack was planned in advance.

At the same hearing, Republican Senator Susan Collins said she agreed with Libyan officials that the attack was premeditated, planned and associated with the September 11 anniversary. She expressed concern about the security at the consulate, where no Marines were present and security was handled by foreign nationals.

Olsen told lawmakers U.S. authorities are investigating who was responsible for the attack, and it appeared that a "number of different elements" were involved, including individuals connected to militant groups.

"As well, we are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda affiliates, particularly Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," he said.

"The picture that is emerging is one where a number of different individuals were involved, so it's not necessarily an either-or proposition," Olsen said.

© Thomson Reuters 2012