Is Chiranjeevi eyeing CM chair?

A recent video footage in which actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi interacts with youngsters has hinted that the neo-politician hopes for the Chief Minister's post.

"People say I joined politics with some vested interest. I may say no, but everybody has some hope inside. However, I am unable to gauge what that hope is," Chiranjeevi seen saying in the latest 9-minute-20-second video footage of suspected "sting operation".

At that point, the video showed his audience pitching in with the suggestion that becoming the Chief Minister was his "hope."

However, in the public domain
, Chiranjeevi had so far been beating around the bush over his political ambitions.

"I am into politics not for the sake of securing power or position but only to serve the people. I am their servant," Chiranjeevi had been proclaiming ever since he declared his intention to quit the tinsel town and jump onto the political bandwagon.

Within the four walls and amidst his close associates, Chiranjeevi, however, appeared to be clearly stating that he has indeed marked the Chief Minister's position as his target.

"Don't simply brush this thing aside, when people say Chiranjeevi wants to become the CM. Just cut the topic," the megastar said.

Of course, but he went on to say that the well-being of the society at large could be his "hope".

Sitting in the conference room at his Praja Rajyam Party office in Hyderabad with bureaucrat-turned-politician T Chandrasekhar, Chiranjeevi was in a jolly mood all through as he apparently spoke his heart out to a group of people.

Who his audience were, however, was not clear. One version was that they could be Information
Technology professionals (going by what one of them spoke about the forum called Do IT), while another was that they were a group of coordinators appointed by the Praja Rajyam to ensure co-ordination between Chiranjeevi fans and the party workers in each district.

All through the meeting, Chiranjeevi referred to them just as "youngsters" and dropped no hint about their antecedents.

"I have no belief in the senior politicians who joined my party." He was categorical in asking the "youngsters" to keep a tab on the senior politicians in every district and report back to the party headquarters if anything went wrong in any district.

"In a way you have to be the spies or rather agents," the Praja Rajyam Chief told them.

He, however, cautioned the youngsters to ensure that nobody smelt anything suspicious about their (spying) acts. Chiranjeevi assured the youth joining the Praja Rajyam party that he was not the kind to "use, exploit and dump" them and their "sacrifices" would not go waste.

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Will Cong take LS poll call before assembly results?

NEW DELHI: Amid indications that the Centre was mulling Lok Sabha polls in February, the moot question is whether Congress would announce its
intentions before the assembly results on December 8 if it indeed decides in favour of advancing the grand battle.

For UPA to hit the hustings in February, it is learnt that the Centre would have to announce it in the first half of December. While Parliament is to meet again, December 8 is when the results of polls in MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoram would be declared.

It is being speculated if Congress, deciding on early polls, would wait for its fate in the bulk of BJP-held states to make public its intentions. The Centre, which involves the Congress leadership as well as allies, is veering around the view that February could be a better time to visit the voters.

The ruling combine is averse to facing the budget session and would prefer a vote-on-account early. Also, the economic downturn has led to fears that it could turn worse in coming months and the uncertainty is too strong to gamble on. While it is only the markets and the slowdown which are visible at the moment, the worst fears revolve around possible job cuts and lay-offs, developments which can impact the voter mood.

Besides, there are a host of imponderables like terrorism and inflation on account of which Centre would not want to lose a relatively better moment for the elections. February is seen as the time when the economic crisis would not be much worse than it is now while the new fiscal could be different.

A halt in terror incidents, as is being seen for a month now, would dampen BJP's bid to make it a big-ticket issue while a stabilizing priceline is adding to Centre's confidence. But the timing of announcement of early polls gains importance, with its coming either side of December 8 set to be interpreted differently. If Congress waits for assembly results and then pitches for an early LS test, after a failure to wrest the BJP-ruled states, it is set to be seen as a sign of panic.

A decision before the assembly results would, however, demonstrably delink the Lok Sabha from the outcome of states. If Congress manages to upset the BJP in a few crucial states after having anyway called for Lok Sabha elections early, it would be seen as approaching the polls as a victor.

Insiders reveal while assembly results would impact the mood of the party — and the Congress has a lot riding on these polls as it is expected to reverse the string of defeats with anti-incumbency against BJP here — the decision on Lok Sabha would still be an independent one because of a different set of reasonings. It is about crisis, and aversion to budget session in the uncertainty of alliance politics.

For the planners, February is suitable because while it does advance the polls by a couple of months, it would also pre-empt the concern over availability of schools and teachers — two crucial tools in the conduct of the mega exercise.


Source : Times Of India

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EC transfers officials ahead of Chhattisgarh election

RAIPUR: The Election Commission has ordered the transfer of three officials, including two collectors, ahead of the Assembly elections in
Chhattisgarh.

The election commission ordered the transfer of Divisional Commissioner(DC) of Bastar district, Ganesh Shankar Mishra, Collectors, Sonmani Bora(Raipur) and R Pisda (Kanker), official sources said here.

The secretary of state health department, RS Vishwakarma will take over as the DC whereas the secretary agricultural department, Vikas Sheel and Woman and Child welfare department coordinator, Shahla Nigar will replace the collectors.

Mishra would serve as the secretary of the health department, Pisda as the Woman and Child welfare department coordinator and Bora as the joint secretary in the ministry.

As there were a lot of complaints against the officials, they were transferred, sources said.

Members of various political parties had met the Chief Election commissioner(CEC), N Gopalaswamy and alleged that some officials in the state election commission were working as agents for the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). They also gave him a CD on the same.

The CEC also expressed concern on the delay in executing election-related activities in the district, in a meeting held with authorities.

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‘Gandhigiri’ by Chhatra JD(U)

While Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers, in attacking Bihari students and examinees in Mumbai, have shown little
respect for the rule of law and court, a group of Chhatra JD(U) workers resorted to symbolic act of Gandhigiri to bring sanity and order.

Since names matter in all symbolic acts, they, led by their state president Arvind Kumar Nishad, entered the premises of Maharashtra Bank in Patna on Exhibition Road, and for tokenism, recalled the non-violent path pursued by Mahatma Gandhi.

But soon politics got better of him, as Nishad said that it was because of RJD supremo and railway minister Lalu Prasad that Bihari students had been suffering violence at the hands of the inspired followers of Raj Thackeray, or those of his ilk! As if it was not enough, he demanded immediate resignation of Lalu from the Union cabinet!

Farcical drama went on. For, Chhatra JD(U) general secretary Ritesh Kumar and Shashi Ranjan got reminded of Gandhigiri, again! Their purpose: to send a message to the people of Maharashtra that people of all states and Union Territories constitute one entity -- sons and daughters of India. Besides, they felt that it was due to "personal selfish interest" that "some people" take to sloganeering regarding regionalism, language and parochialism for their "kshudra rajniti (narrow politics)."

If not Raj Thakceray and his MNS workers, then the Chhatra JD(U) president Nishad was certainly listening to them, because he was in hearing distance from them on the premises of Maharashtra Bank!

Meanwhile, since realism was on the mind of the Yuva JD(U) president and party MLA Sunil Kumar, he appealed to the Bihari students, already in rage against the violence suffered in Mumbai, not to indulge in arson and stone pelting, and instead, cooperate with the Bihar government for the maintenance of peace and harmony.

However, it was not clear if the present round of violence suffered by the Bihari students in Mumbai, or elsewhere in the country would be the last one, or would not be repeated.

Source : Times Of India

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Cong chief, Modi fight over MNS issue

PATNA: The state Congress chief Anil Kumar Sharma has crossed swords with Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi for the latter’s claim with respect to
the attacks on Bihari and north Indian students in Mumbai that Congress was responsible for it.

On the other hand, CPI, expressing concern over the happenings in Mumbai and its fallout in Bihar reflected in the arson caused and committed by students returning from Mumbai, said that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray had taken to fascist methods, which poses a serious danger to both democracy and the country’s unity.

CPI state council member Jabbar Alam said that Raj Thackeray and his organisation have been undermining Constitution and law of the land. It amounted to bulldozing his way to bring about a fascist rule by crushing public opinion, he added.

Sharma, criticising Modi, said that his claim was condemnable, and also asserted that BJP, in fact, was responsible for the entrenchment of Shiv Sena and its chief Bal Thackeray as well as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and its chief Raj Thackeray in the affairs of Maharashtra, even as they believed in and practised narrow politics based on caste, religion, regionalism and chauvinistic ambitions.

According to Sharma, BJP entered into an opportunistic alliance with Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and also helped in paving the way for the rule of this party on Maharashtra. He called it “misdeeds and hunger for power” of the BJP.

Sharma even said that Shiv Sena and MNS volunteers, as well as “goondas and anarchical elements” indulged in attacks on Bihari and north Indian students, which was anti-national in spirit.

He said that BJP has been claiming to practise “nationalist politics,” but it was merely a “sham,” since what the Bihari students suffered in Mumbai
was a mere fallout of the misguided alliance and politics pursued by the BJP to grab and capture power.

According to state Congress working president Samir Kumar Singh, Sharma, in an appeal to the Centre, has demanded ban on SIMI, Indian Mujahideen, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, MNS and all other organisations of their ilk.

Sharma has also demanded enactment of an Act by Parliament for closing opportunities to any political party or organisation that indulge in obscurantism and raise such narrow, chauvinistic issues based on caste, religion and regionalism to capture power.

He said that Shiv Sena has been practising such politics. Despite that, BJP entered into an alliance with it during the polls for the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and state assembly adding that Modi had made himself ridiculous in the state.

Source : Times Of India

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Chiru T-yatra set to begin from Sircilla

HYDERABAD: Though it is not known whether he would announce his stand on the separate state more clearly than what has already been said in Tirupa
ti in August, Prajarajyam president Chiranjeevi is expected to reveal his action plan to help the weavers in the state during his second visit to Sircilla town on October 30.

According to party sources, this is the reason for him to choose Sircilla as the starting point of his nine-day tour of Telangana. Chiranjeevi is scheduled to visit the weavers’ town on October 30 and address a public meeting there.
Chiranjeevi’s Telangana tour is expected to spring surprises, said party spokesperson Parakala Prabhakar.

“The leader will announce several things during the T tour. Number of important personalities will join the party,” he said while announcing the road map of the tour. Commencing from October 30 from Sircilla, the tour will end on November 6 in Bhadrachalam.

Source : Times Of India

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Nobody is above the law: Maharashtra CM

MUMBAI: Rejecting that charge that Maharashtra government acted under pressure to arrest MNS chief Raj Thackeray, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
today said nobody was above the law and warned that anyone indulging in violence will be dealt with sternly.

"There has been no pressure on the government to arrest Raj Thackeray. No one is above the law. Do you want the government to be a spectator?" he asked.

Noting that many MNS activists have been arrested from across Maharashtra, Deshmukh said, "Once we decide to take action, some precautionary steps have to be taken by the police and they have been taken. There have been reports of minor incidents of violence. Those indulging in violence will be dealt with strictly".

Thackeray was arrested early today from Ratnagiri in connection with the attacks on north Indian candidates appearing for a railway recruitment examination on Sunday. The MNS has alleged that the Maharashtra government has acted at the behest of the Centre in arrested its leader.

"We have deployed SRP companies in various towns. So I don't think there is any problem," he said while asking Mumbaikars to go ahead with their routine life.

"It is no problem. There is no question of any fear," the chief minister said.

Source : Times Of India

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DMK's human chain protest on Tamils' plight today

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK wants its human chain agitation on Tuesday to highlight the plight of Tamil civilians in war-torn Sri Lanka to be a massiv
e event and is mobilising members of all its wings as well as various sections of society.

DMK president and chief minister M Karunanidhi has been issuing appeals to cadres through the party organ, 'Murasoli', for the last two days to participate in large numbers, and wrote again for the Tuesday edition.

In his missives, he has been highlighting the party's track record in taking up the cause of Tamils in Sri Lanka over the years.

On Monday, Karunanidhi sought to rebut criticism that the steps he had taken were mere gimmicks by underscoring the UPA regime's positive response to the all-party appeal to the Centre to intervene effectively in Sri Lanka to ensure cessation of hostilities there and commencement of fresh negotiations.

"While we have some detractors here, it is a big consolation for us that the regime in New Delhi is considering our demands sympathetically. The Prime Minister has spoken to the Sri Lankan president and the external affairs minister is due to visit Colombo shortly. A UN convoy carrying 750 tonnes of food could not be distributed in the north last week, but on the very day the Prime Minister spoke to the Sri Lankan leadership, the supplies were sent and distributed among 2,30,000 people," he said.

Source : Times Of India

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17 BJP MLAs rebel against Uttarakhand CM Khanduri

NEW DELHI: Just when it prepares for a crucial round of assembly polls, dissidence has once again wracked BJP in Uttarakhand with 17 party MLAs re
belling against chief minister Major General (retd) B C Khanduri.

Trivendra Singh Ravat, a minister in the Khanduri government, submitted the resignations to party chief Rajnath Singh here on Monday. Though the party chief, it is learnt, urged the MLAs not to precipitate matters ahead of the crucial assembly elections, the rebels were not ready to relent.

The tough posture underlines the challenge that the leadership has faced in the state since it prevailed over the MLAs to accept Khanduri in place of the the popular choice, former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.

While Khanduri got the nod because of the impressive stint he had as the surface transport minister at the Centre under the NDA government, he has since failed to enhance his appeal among the MLAs who find him to be too bureaucratic in his approach.

Though Khanduri, thanks to goadings by the central leadership, tried to trim his style to suit the MLAs' tastes and restored the perks — ministerial ranks and other trappings of power such as red beacons — he had withdrawn after taking over, this has not helped matters.

Rather, it seems his new-found adaptability seems to have alerted them to the pragmatic streak in a chief minister who, to many, seemed to value his ability to brazen out controversies about his style of functioning.

Source : Times Of India

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Pranab Mukherjee likely to visit Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: As Tamil parties continue to build pressure on the government over the Sri Lankan issue, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee is
likely to travel to the island nation to assess the situation and discuss the matter with the country's leadership.

Official sources here on Sunday said the visit is being considered in view of the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka.

Mukherjee is expected to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama.

However, no date has been fixed for the visit so far and it is being worked out, they said.

After a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rajapaksa on Saturday, Bogollagama extended a formal invitation to Mukherjee to visit Sri Lanka to assess the situation.

The government's key ally DMK has been demanding India's intervention to stop Sri Lankan military offensive in north Sri Lanka. To build pressure, its ministers in the Union Cabinet and MPs have tendered their resignations to the party chief.

Mukherjee's visit is intended to enable India to get first-hand account of the situation, particularly the condition of ethnic Tamils there.

During the telephonic talk with Rajapaksa, Singh said the Sri Lankan government should ensure that the rights and safety of Tamils are protected and that they don't get "enmeshed" in the conflict with LTTE.

The Sri Lankan president, on his part, assured Singh that his government is ensuring safety and security of the Tamils.

Singh has also asked Rajapaksa to look for a political settlement to the ethnic problem, insisting that there could be no military solution to it.

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Raj Thackeray a mental case, ban MNS: Lalu

NEW DELHI: Condemning the attack on railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai by MNS activists, railway minister Lalu Prasad on Sunday
demanded a ban on the outfit, saying its chief Raj Thackeray was a "mental case".

"I strongly condemn the incident. There should be an inquiry into the attack. There should be strong action against that party...MNS should be banned," the minister told reporters here.

His comments came as a response to the attack on 13 railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai by MNS activists who protested "inadequate representation" to locals and chased away candidates from north India.

Prasad said the directions of the Supreme Court or any other courts did not have any impact on the MNS leader. "We can see such incidents when the elections are near," he said.

The minister said he had spoken to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who assured him of a proper inquiry into the incident.

Source : Times Of India

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Mayawati promises quota for upper caste poor

LUCKNOW: With the next Lok Sabha elections round the corner, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Sunday promised to provide reservation to th
e poor among the upper castes if her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) came to power at the national level.

"The reservation on the basis of economic and other parameters will enable the upper caste community members to address their problems, especially those related to poverty and unemployment," she said.

"I have already written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard."

Addressing a convention of upper castes here, Mayawati held the Congress Party "most responsible for the sorry status" of these communities.

Post-Independence, the Congress has ruled the country and this state most of the time, but it never thought seriously of addressing the problems of upper castes, she said.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of misguiding the upper castes, Mayawati said: "The BJP projects itself as a custodian of upper caste rights. But during my three earlier stints (as chief minister) when BSP ruled with the support of BJP, the latter always pressurised us to drop the welfare schemes for the upper caste community members."

Mayawati called upon the upper castes to join hands with Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes "in order to get the key to the central and the state governments".

"With this master key, all communities will be able to get rid of their problems themselves by involving themselves in policy-making," she said.

Talking about the representation of various upper castes in the Lok Sabha and the assembly, Mayawati said: "The BSP ticket will be given only to those who can solicit full support of their community members."

This was why more Brahmin candidates than those from other upper castes were fielded in the last assembly elections, said Mayawati.

The chief minister also accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of not taking adequate steps for the all-round development of the state.

"For undertaking welfare schemes for upper caste sections and other communities, I have written several letters to the central government, but it has not replied to any of the letters," she said.

"Had the central government released funds for the Rs.80,000 crore (Rs.800 billion) package we sought, the development scene of the state would have been altogether different."

The chief minister said the BSP was the sole political outfit that can work for an-all round development of all communities.

"BSP has no vested interests - unlike other political outfits, which have become a puppet in the hands of industrialists and multinational companies," Mayawati told the gathering.

Source : Times Of India

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Mamata joins Amar in fuelling Jamia doubts

NEW DELHI: The competition to tap into Muslim unease over the Batla House encounter intensified considerably on Friday when SP general secretary A
mar Singh, along with his new-found ally Mamata Banerjeej, stepped up his attack on the police, calling the two terror suspects killed in the shootout `martyrs'.

Singh, who claimed that one of the Delhi blasts suspects killed in the encounter was a `gold medalist', said a probe was needed to establish whether the decorated inspector, Mohan Chand Sharma, who died in the encounter, was killed by bullets fired by his own men.

Addressing a crowd of about 10,000 at Okhla bus stand in Jamia Nagar, close to Batla House, he asked: "Should we believe that someone who always wore a bullet-proof vest while going for an encounter chose to be without the protective gear on that particular day because he wished to commit suicide?'' Singh's party is having to ward off a determined bid by key political foe, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, to poach Muslim vote in UP.

Singh's rhetoric was fully matched by Mamata Banerjee who said she was convinced that the police had staged a fake encounter and that the two terror suspects were targeted because of their faith. Setting a deadline of 72 hours for the government to order a judicial probe, the Trinamool leader made the boastful assertion that she was not known for quitting before accomplishing what she wanted to achieve. "Ratan Tata realised this in Singur,'' she said, claiming that she was committed to protect the interest of farmers and Muslims.

The crowd listened to angry speeches from SP MP Abu Azmi who disagreed with the demand for a judicial probe. "A judicial probe will not bring out the truth. Only an inquiry by a panel which has one-fourth of its members drawn from the minority community will do justice,'' he said.

Another speaker said that Y S Dadwal, police commissioner, and Karnail Singh, head of special cell, were criminals.

The aggressive postures will put the Congress under greater pressure as its rivals like BSP, as well as partners like SP, try to exploit the doubts among Muslims about the encounter to attack its `secular' credentials.

On Thursday, Amar Singh, along with SP boss Mulayam Singh Yadav, had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to ask for a judicial probe.

Source : Times Of India

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Gloomy picture for Cong in NE seats

NEW DELHI: The Congress may view "regularisation'' of unauthorised colonies as a potent poll weapon, but going by an internal survey this is not h
elping it overcome traditional incumbency factors like infighting and non-performance of sitting MLAs in the 10 assembly segments in the north-east parliamentary constituency.

The party's survey on these assembly seats about 500 of the 1,600 colonies to be regularised are in this area indicates that Congress has a fight on its hands and that the regularisation mantra may not be good enough to deliver the boost it seeks.

Ironically, the survey shows that the only seat where the party can hope for a win is Rohtas Nagar, represented by Sheila Dikshit's bete noire, Ram Babu Sharma. Here, incidentally, all four Congress candidates for the MCD pollslast year had bitten the dust. Congress won in all but one of the 10 segments during the last assembly elections.

The only other sitting Congress MLA who seems reasonably popular is S S Bittu who won from Timarpur but here too the party lost in all the MCD wards. The survey notes that Bittu has "fallen out with Jagdish Tytler. He (Tytler) seems to be ensuring he does not get the ticket and could work against him in the eventuality of Bittu contesting.''

In Burari where the constituents are predominantly Poorvanchali, SC and Tyagis, the sitting MLA, Jile Singh Chauhan, is described in the survey as "thoroughly unpopular'' with a mere 17% approval and recommends that the Congress should either get a local Tyagi to contest or take on board Vinod Nagar of the Lok Janshakti Party of Ram Vilas Paswan.

In Ghonda, the survey says, sitting MLA Bhisham Sharma of Congress has become "increasingly unpopular'' and there is a risk of the BSP that came second in 2003 making substantial inroads with the help of the Gujjars who form 19% of the constituency's population. The party had won in last year's MCD elections. The survey has given the names of Nathu Singh, a Gujjar, Ramkrishna Sharma, a Brahmin, and Mahendra Jain, ex-MLA from Baghpat, as possible choices for Congress candidature.

In Seelampur there is severe anti-incumbency against sitting MLA Chaudhry Mateen according to the survey and the name of three-time councillor Razia Sultana has been proposed.

According to the survey, the Congress would ensure "definite loss'' if it fields sitting MLA Vinay Sharma from this seat. Sharma has an "approval rating of 11% among Muslims and 19% among Brahmins. The BJP had won in 1993 and 1998 due to division of Muslim votes. Among the three candidates whose names have been proferred in the survey, two are Muslims Tariq Siddiqui and Abdul Aziz Malik. The third possible candidate according to the survey is Deepak Gothi.

In Seemapuri, Congress MLA Veer Singh Dhingan has "anti-incumbency'' working against him but has a fairly decent approval rating of 50% and "may yet win''. The other candidates who the survey says "could be considered'' are Mohini Jeenwal and Kiranvati Tank. In Gokalpur on the other hand the survey clearly says that Baljor Singh of erstwhile Nandnagri should be denied ticket in favour of a "young Valmiki.''

There is more to Congress's woes in the area than this survey. In Karawal Nagar interestingly, where the sitting MLA is Mohan Singh Bisht of the BJP, there is already disgruntlement in the offing with the seat having been promised to Jage Ram Bhati, former state president of BSP who recently returned to Congress. The seat has been split into two during delimitation.

Source : Times Of India

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BJP will 'review' liquor licensing policy

NEW DELHI: It may be election rhetoric but for those fond of their evening tipple, the BJP chief ministerial prospect's claim that the party would
review the Congress government's licensing policy for wine shops could come as a shock.

V K Malhotra, who was speaking out against the opening of a wine shop in a locality in Mount Kailash area, added that the present government's policy of issuing licences would need to be reviewed and corrective action taken once the BJP came to power. The statement came in the wake of the recent opening of a wine shop in the area, which Malhotra claimed posed a serious security threat to the residential locality.

It wasn't just Malhotra questioning the Congress' policies on Friday as fellow BJP leader Dr Harshvardhan also attacked the government for its inability to act on the Afzal Guru matter. Said Harshvardhan, "The government by failing to clear the file on recommendation of the mercy petition of Guru is encouraging terrorism. It is trying to play vote politics by postponing a decision on the issue.''

That the city BJP is planning to tow the national party line by using terrorism as a significant poll plank was also made apparent as the party questioned the Congress on its stand in the Batla House encounter issue. "Why are Congress leaders terming the encounter as fake? It has raised doubts on the martyrdom of M C Sharma, and people are questioning the entire episode, which is only giving shelter to terrorists,'' added Harshvardhan. With the Congress seeming to distance itself from the Jamia Nagar encounter, sources say the BJP feels that its the right time to play up the terrorism angle, even as it attacks the government on its lack of focus on the security issue in the city.

Source : Times Of India

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SAD to seek seats in Delhi, Rajasthan from BJP: Badal

PATIALA: NDA alley Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will hold seat-sharing talks with BJP to get its share of seats in the assembly elections in New Delh
i and Rajasthan, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Friday.

"The SAD will seek its share of seats in Delhi and Rajasthan and will hold discussions with BJP," Badal told at Khanuri in Sangrur district.

Party President Sukhbir Singh Badal and Secretary General Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa will hold consultations with BJP high command in this regard, he added.

With regard to BJP's demand for four Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, he said "there was no such demand and if came to fore we will resolve it

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Congress denies rift in Goa coalition, Naik skips meeting

PANAJI: Goa's ruling Congress has denied any rift in the ranks, but tensions were evident with its home minister conspicuous by his absence at a m
eeting to resolve differences following a minister's son being charged with the rape of a German teenager.

On Thursday night, home minister Ravi Naik stayed away from a meeting of legislators also attended by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Goa B Hariprasad who denied that the party's central leadership had sent him to the state to seal the rift in the cabinet.

"I was only called to discuss some problems faced by the legislators in their constituencies," Hariprasad told reporters.

But the divisions were apparent in the coalition led by the Congress and including the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

Earlier Thursday, Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao had said categorically: "There is a split in the cabinet."

Education Minister Atanasio Monseratte, the lone UGDP legislator, whose son Rohit has been charged with raping a 14-year-old German girl, has claimed that he was being targeted by Naik. He also accused Naik, whose son Roy has been linked to the murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling, of double standards.

The clash between the Congress minister and the UGDP minister has precipitated a crisis in the Goa government. A group of more than a dozen legislators has asked the Congress high command for a change in leadership.

Trying to cool down tensions, Hariprasad said there was no tussle between Naik and Monseratte.

"The law must take its own course," he replied, when asked about the rape complaint against Monseratte's son.

On Wednesday, Monseratte had told reporters: "The home minister is orchestrating the police, who are after us."

Monseratte said Chief Minister Digamber Kamat should take note of the developments. "Today it is me. Tomorrow it could be some other MLA (legislator)," he warned.

A group of legislators, including Alemao, Aleixo Reginald, Chandrakant Kavlekar, Babu Azgaonkar, Agenlo Fernandes and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) member Jose Philip Dsouza, had met Wednesday night at Monserratte's home and decided to demand Kamat's ouster.

However, after Thursday's meeting of the Congress party, Kamat said: "I have survived (as chief minister) only because I carry all sections together with me."

He added that he had assured Monseratte that no injustice would be done to him.

In the 39-member assembly, the Congress has 17 legislators, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 14, NCP three, UGDP one, MGP two and there are two independents.


Source : Times Of India

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All parties hail TDP’s pro-Telangana stand

HYDERABAD: All the political parties, including the ruling Congress, today welcomed the Opposition Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) pro-Telangana stand.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief D Srinivas described the TDP’s decision as good augury. He, however, was skeptical of the TDP taking a decision just before elections. The TDP had taken the decision now, only for the sake of elections, the PCC chief said and added that the TDP could have taken the decision three years back.

TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao said Vijaya Dasami Day had brought victory to Telangana forces.Welcoming the TDP’s decision, he said now the Congress State leadership had to bring pressure on its high command for a separate Telangana.

BJP senior leader Ch Vidyasagar Rao too welcomed the decision. He said it was now time for all the pro- Telangana parties to unite to defeat the Congress. He wished that a Bill be introduced in the present Parliament to realise separate Telangana before 2009.

Senior Congress leader Palvai Govardhan Reddy termed the TDP’s decision as sheer opportunism. The TDP’s decision was only to bag some seats and garner votes in the next elections, he said.

TDP leader K Srihari termed the decision as ‘historic’ and said separate Telangana was now very much possible. Though some leaders in the party had opposed the decision initially, later, they decided to respect the party’s policy, he added.

CPI State secretary K Narayana too welcomed the TDP’s decision. He said the CPI had already taken a similar stand long back. He, however, evaded a direct reply whether his party would work with the TDP in the next elections.

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Chiranjeevi sets the poll wheel rolling

Elections in Andhra Pradesh are six months away. And the new political entrant Chiranjeevi has decided to show his strength to his political rivals.

He will set the rath rolling for his maiden political yatra from the north coastal Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh on Friday.

The star politician's first public meeting at Tirupati in August was a huge hit with over 7 lakh people attending it and he hopes he could weave magic during his yatra too.

"I want to know the pulse of the people of Andhra Pradesh, their problems. It will help me design my manifesto and on top of everything, it gives me josh and motivation to be with people," he said.

His yatra Chiranjeevi's managers say, will be grand on a scale like never seen before. Nearly 800 private security men have been hired to accompany him throughout the tour and handle crowds.

The yatra is expected to silence Chiranjeevi's critics and political rivals who have been accusing the actor-turned-politician of not being clear in his stand on issues like Telangana statehood and the Naxal issue.

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Let's divide AP, Telangana a historic necessity: Naidu

Hyderabad, October 9: In a major shift from its policy, the Telugu Desam Party on Thursday for the first time took a pro-Telangana stand and said it was in favour of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

"In deference to the sentiments of the people of the region, the Telugu Desam supports the demand for a separate statehood to Telangana," the party Politburo said in its one-page resolution.

Announcing the decision at the party headquarters in Hyderabad, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu said Telangana was a ‘historic necessity’ and ‘our party has taken the right decision in this regard.’

The TDP, which was founded by late N T Rama Rao in 1982 to safeguard the ‘Telugu pride’ and ‘self respect’, would continue to uphold these ideals and ‘we shall re-dedicate ourselves to the Telugu people,’ Naidu said.

The TDP's pro-Telangana stand was not taken for any political aims, he asserted, adding that the party had conducted an elaborate exercise for over two-and-a-half years on the ‘sensitive’ issue.

"We do not take certain decisions only for political gains. We go by the people's wishes and respect them," Naidu said.

The TDP will do whatever required ‘legally, constitutionally and politically’ for the creation of Telangana state, he added.

Source : Internet

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Divided UPA can't decide on Bajrang Dal ban

Sources have informed NDTV that no decision as yet been taken by the Union Government to ban Bajrang Dal.

They say that Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Wednesday presented a report to the Cabinet on the role of Bajrang Dal, while a discussion on the recent violence in Orissa was underway.

Differences within UPA on imposing article 356 in Orissa emerged even as feasibility and practicality of imposing a ban on Bajrang Dal was questioned.

The Home Ministry now will provide further input on Bajrang Dal in the next Cabinet meeting.

Source : NDTV

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Modi slams Jamia VC for aiding terror suspects

The politics over the Delhi encounter in Jamia Nagar is intensifying. In an exclusive interview to NDTV India, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has attacked HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Jamia University Vice Chancellor Mushirul Hassan for giving legal aid to two terror suspects from the university.

Modi says the vice chancellor's decision shows he is working against his own government. The Gujarat Chief Minister's comments came on the Vice Chancellor's recent statement on legal aid for the two students who are in jail as terror suspects in the Jamia encounter.

The Gujarat Chief Minister said: "A university which runs on government funds says it will provide legal aid to terror suspects. It proves that the Jamia Milia Islamia University Vice Chancellor does not believe in the Constitution of India. Legal aid is provided in our country. The university need not interfere. They have basically shown lack of faith in the government. And on top of that the HRD minister fails to understand that the VC is working against his government. He is advocating mistrust of his own government."


Source : NDTV

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SP may withdraw from UPA if Jamia students innocent

PANAJI: Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Tuesday indicated that his party could withdraw support to the UPA government if the two students of
Jamia Millia Islamia arrested in connection with the Delhi serial blasts were proved to be innocent.

"Shoot them if they are terrorists. But if they are innocent, then they should be given justice," Singh said addressing reporters here, and added, "If a judicial probe says they are innocent, then we can think of withdrawing support to the UPA government."

Singh made the statement while talking on the issue of deceased Delhi Police (Special Cell) Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma's family rejecting his Rs 10 lakh offer.

"I feel sad that his family has reacted in this manner," he said.

Renewing his demand for a judicial probe into the Batla House encounter in which Inspector Sharma was killed, Singh said senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani has agreed to take up the case of the two students following his request.

Further, the SP leader said he will pay the legal expenses for the students after speaking to authorities of the Jamia Millia University.

Citing media reports, Singh said doubts have been raised about the Batla House encounter and the subsequent arrest of the students.

"A judicial probe is necessary to clear all confusions," he said.

He, however, said his statement did not mean to support any terrorist "but at the same time innocents should not be harassed".

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Bajrang Dal is a terror group, ban likely: Union Minister of State for Home

PATNA: The Bajrang Dal is a terrorist outfit and the central government will not hesitate to ban it like it outlawed the Students Islamic Movement
of India (SIMI), says Union Minister of State for Home Shakeel Ahmad.

"There is little doubt that the Bajrang Dal is a terrorist outfit involved in creating terror. The central government may ban it as it has banned SIMI," Ahmad said over telephone from his Bihar constituency Madhubani.

"The centre will ban Bajrang Dal if four to five state governments send reports making it clear that Bajrang Dal activities led to terror."

He said there was enough evidence to suggest that the activities of the radical Hindu group were leading to terror and that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government would not hestitate to ban it.

"If the activities of any outfit create terror, it is regarded as a terrorist outfit," the minister, who is also spokesperson of the Congress, added.

The spotlight is back on the Bajrang Dal after a spate of violence targeting Christians and churches in the country, particularly Orissa and Karnataka.

Source : Times Of India

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BJP for anti-conversion laws in Orissa, Karnataka

NEW DELHI: In the wake of continuing attacks on Christians, the BJP on Monday called for passing of an anti-conversion law in states like Karnata
ka and Orissa to check the communal violence there.

Stating the communal violence in the two states had its roots in socio-political and economic reasons, the saffron party accused the Congress-led UPA government of "selective condemnation".

Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu also demanded a comprehensive debate on the issue, while invoking Mahatma Gandhi's stand against conversions.

Quoting Gandhi, Naidu said, "If I had the power and could legislate, I should stop all proselytising". He said there was need for an anti-conversion law and called for a full-fledge debate on the issue.

When it was pointed out that five states, including Orissa, already had an anti-conversion law but this had not prevented communal violence there, Naidu said the reasons were more deep-rooted and there was a need for a dialogue between the two communities.

"Unless the core issues of land alienation and organised conversions are not addressed in its totality, the situation in Orissa cannot be expected to improve...the government should take steps to release large tracts of land that are being grabbed by fraudulent means," Naidu said.

Those forging caste certificates to get the benefits of reservation should also be dealt with severely by the government, he added.

Source : Times Of India

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'India is no longer enemy no. 1 for Pakistan'

ISLAMABAD: How much should India fear Pakistan, considering a recent BBC 23-nation survey found that Pakistan and Egypt were the only countries to
take a relatively positive view of al-Qaida. The poll said that only 19% of Pakistani respondents had a negative view of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network.

Should this be reason enough for India to worry about the stability and intentions of its next-door neighbour? Pakistani experts don’t think so. They say the survey actually shows Pakistanis as desperately keen to oppose the US rather than support al-Qaida. "I don’t think the public makes a distinction between opposing the United States and supporting the al-Qaida," says Ahmad Bilal Mehboob, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT). "Washington has been backing unpopular regimes in both Egypt and Pakistan, thus giving birth to anti-US feelings, besides imposing the war against terror," he adds.

Kamran Rahmat, Islamabad-based news editor of television channel Dawn News, points to an "overriding anti-America public sentiment" in Pakistan.

There is some dispute over whether this anger is directed at the US as a whole or the Bush administration. Surprisingly, India seems to have gained from this turn of events as it is no longer seen as Pakistan’s Enemy Number One. Political analyst Ijaz Shafi Gilani says, "Undoubtedly, India was perceived as enemy number one by the Pakistani people for decades but that has changed over the last couple of years." He says that Pakistan’s rising hostility towards the US has tempered the anti-India feeling.

A Gallup poll in Pakistan, conducted in 2007, showed greater support (compared to previous years) for trade with India, followed by support for relaxing bilateral visa arrangements. There was less support for boosting bilateral cultural exchange. Similarly, a 2006 Gallup survey showed that half of the respondents favoured Pakistani actors working in the Indian entertainment industry, but 49% were against this and 1% said they were undecided or had no opinion.

But anti-India feelings do persist. Tariq Rahman, a professor at Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University, says many Pakistanis believe that Indian consulates along the Afghan border are stoking low-intensity conflict in Balochistan and indirectly funding the Taliban. However, he insists that this anti-India feeling is greater in the NWFP region and Punjab, not in Sindh or Karachi.

Noted columnist Ayaz Amir says there is a feeling in some quarters that General Pervez Musharraf and his successor as president, Asif Zardari, have gone too far in their attempts to please the Indian leadership. He also believes that Islamabad has overstepped the mark in its repeated denunciations of terrorism.

Rahmat says it is important to understand that Pakistan’s residual anti-India feelings don’t necessarily stem from al-Qaida ideology. "Al-Qaida is not teaching its operatives to hate India as the US remains the sole target," he says. In other words, America’s pain is India’s gain.

But Ameer Yousafzai, a grocer from the NWFP’s Swat region, who has faced the brunt of the Pakistan Army’s yearlong operation against militants, does not mince words: "We should not be hypocrites. The US and India, both are our enemies. When India is waging a war against Pakistan, the US quietly stands aside. Now, India is happily seeing the Pakistanis die under American bombs and missiles." He believes the Army operation was meant to please Americans.

A majority of the people this correspondent spoke to was emphatic that the people have no love lost for al-Qaida or like-minded entities. Columnist Ayaz says: "With the ongoing US strikes inside Pakistan, anti-American feelings are bound to soar but the polls wrongly reflect that there is support for al-Qaida across the country." News of US troops' reinforcement in Afghanistan is viewed as US'preparation to invade its tribal areas. The PPP-led ruling coalition has been trying to sell the war on terror as Pakistan’s own war but few are listening.

Yet, Ayaz insists that Bin Laden is not a hero in most parts of the country and "the issue is not denunciation of Osama or al-Qaida; it’s the high handedness of the US that is relevant here."

The public anger is seen to be a result of the Musharraf regime’s policies and its flawed counter-terror strategy. "We were fighting for survival by tilling our farmland but the military operation uprooted us and claimed dozens of lives, though we never stood in the way of the government," says Ahmad Jan, whose entire tribe has been displaced from Bajaur Agency to Attock, about 100 km from Islamabad. He believes al-Qaida or Taliban may never become irrelevant so long as US troops stay in Afghanistan.

Many experts say polls to gauge Pakistan’s attitude to al-Qaida often use questionable methodology and betray suspect timing. PILDAT chief Bilal Mehboob recalls that another survey in January found that 12 % Pakistanis believed terrorism to be the biggest issue facing the nation but by June, only 2% were found to say terrorism and suicide bombings were the most important. Mehboob says the results would have been different had the poll been conducted after Marriot Hotel bombing just a few weeks ago.

Karachi-based sociologist Nazish Brohi believes that the newest BBC poll suggesting Pakistan’s 'positive'view of al-Qaida was conducted at a difficult time — from July to September, when "the US was violating Pakistani airspace frequently, along with an Army operation in Bajaur which resulted in massive displacement of people." Brohi explains that the al-Qaida "stands for anything in Pakistan that is anti-US or anti-state because the state is seen here as an entity that usurps the rights of the public". James Crabtree, a British national who visited various regions of Pakistan last year, says, "People on the streets didn’t dislike Americans, but did hate George Bush."

But the Pakistan Institute of Public Opinion (PIPO), the local affiliate of Gallup International that conducted the poll, says the BBC poll used the right methodology. A PIPO spokesman says 2,000 respondents were interviewed, their number being proportionate to the respective provincial population. He says the results were in line with the trend in 2006 — that the US and the war on terror have been unpopular since 9/11. But more empirical data may be required to establish a direct link between Pakistan’s alleged support for al-Qaida and its implications for South Asia, particularly India.

THE AUTHOR IS A FREELANCE JOURNALIST

Source : Times Of India

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Bhujbal withdraws defamation case against Bal Thackeray

MUMBAI: NCP leader and Maharashtra Public Works Department minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday withdrew the defamation case he filed against his fo
rmer mentor Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray.

After withdrawing the case at the suburban Bandra metropolitan magistrate court, Bhujbal, along with Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray, left for Bal Thackeray's residence 'Matoshree'.

Bhujbal had filed the case in 1997, prompted by a news report in Sena mouthpiece Saamna.

A former Shiv Sena man, Bhujbal fell out with the Shiv Sena chief and quit the party in 1991 to join Congress. He later joined Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

"Sanjay Raut and Subhash Desai wrote me a letter requesting that I should withdraw the case considering Balasaheb's old age. So I decided to withdraw the case," Bhujbal said after coming out of the court.

Raut and Desai are senior Sena leaders. When asked whether today's development indicated his plan to return to Shiv Sena, Bhujbal said, "This seems to be your suggestion for action."

The news report in Saamna was about allegations made by one Rajendra Agarwal that Bhujbal had instigated him to desecrate the bust of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Ramabai Nagar in suburban Ghatkopar.

The incident had led to a riot in the year 1997.


Source : Times Of India

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BJP threatens to move court over GU polls

PANAJI: BJP students' cell has asked the Goa University to reinstate the panel that were earlier declared winners of the elections of the students
council. The students' cell warned that failing which it would keep all options open in order to get their demands met.

Addressing a press conference , BJP students' cell convenor Atmaram Bharve said they would not hesitate to seek legal recourse and approach the courts. "The director of social welfare has been given all powers to conduct the elections, so why did the registrar intervene? If there are discrepancies in this election, then the elections of the last three years should also be declared as null and void," he said.

Bharve further referred to protests conducted by the student's wing of the Congress on earlier occasions and said that authorities were resorting to double standards. "When they had a protest at the Fine Arts college, they even broke the glass on the principal's table. Nothing was done about that. When we protested in a peaceful manner, the authorities have termed it as unruly behaviour," he added.

"We demand that the earlier status be restored to our panel, where our members have been elected as general secretary and lady representative. We will also meet and decide on our further course of action," Bharve said.

Meanwhile, chairman of Congress' students cell Sunil Kawthankar, , said that their members debated whether they should demand for conduct of early re-elections by the university . "After reaching a consensus , it was decided on letting the university take a call on it due to upcoming examinations on October 7," Kawthankar said.

Source : Times Of India

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