NSA against Varun invalid: UP advisory board

NEW DELHI: The UP advisory board said on Friday that the use of the National Security Act against BJP leader Varun Gandhi, invoked for his alleged communal remark, was not valid.

"NSA invoked against the BJP leader Varun Gandhi has been held invalid by the board," UP home secretary Javed Ahmad said, PTI reported.

Varun had appeared in person before the advisory board on April 28 and explained that the CD on the basis of which an FIR was lodged against him was doctored.

29-year-old Varun, who is on parole granted by the Supreme Court, was detained under the NSA on March 28 on charges of inciting communal passion by making provocative and inflammatory speeches during election meetings in Pilibhit on March seven and eight.

The Mayawati government will now examine the board's decision before taking a view on whether or not to drop the charges under NSA against Varun.

The panel, which met on Friday, was not convinced by the material provided by the Pilibhit district magistrate.

Varun alleged that NSA was invoked against him with a political motive to sabotage his electoral debut but this was refuted by the UP government.

The board said it did not find "plausible and convincing" grounds for the NSA being invoked against Varun nor was it satisfied by the explanation given by the Pilibhit DM.

FIRs were registered against Varun for allegedly delivering inflammatory speeches in Dalchand locality of Pilibhit, about 300 km from Lucknow on March 7 and in Barkheda village on March 8.

Source : Times Of India

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Amar threatens to quit SP over Azam Khan issue

RAMPUR (UP): In an ultimatum to Mulayam Singh Yadav over the Azam Khan issue, SP
leader Amar Singh has threatened to quit the party after the Lok Sabha polls, accusing the Muslim leader of making "intolerable utterances" against him.

Singh said he would decide over continuing in the party after the end of the final phase of polls, referring to Yadav's statement that 'party mein rehna hai to Azam Khan ko khush rakhna hai' (If you want to remain in the party, you will have to keep Azam Khan happy).

"Azam Khan is a favourite of Mulayam Singhji and in spite of his (Khan) intolerable utterances against me, I was being asked to keep silent," Singh said addressing a public meeting in Rampur, 250 km from Lucknow, on Thursday.

Singh said he is expecting a shoe as a "gift" from his estranged party colleague Azam Khan, claiming he (Khan) must have readied one by now.

At the meeting in support of party candidate Jayaprada, Singh said, "I am waiting for a shoe from Mr Azam Khan. I sincerely invite him to come forward and hand me over the shoe which he is supposed to have readied by now."

"I am impatiently waiting for the moment when Mr Khan will implement his plan out of proportion to insult me," he said angrily.

"If a shoe comes from Khan, I would first decorate this precious gift and then place it in a museum," he said.

Taking exception to the "order" of Yadav that "if I have to stay in Samajwadi Party, I have to bear with Azam Khan," Singh said he had been told by the party chief, "You don't have to say anything, keep absolutely quiet.

"But now I am disobeying this order publicly. And I am doing this because there is a limit to how much one can bear," the SP general secretary said.

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We'll support any alliance that dismisses Maya govt: Mulayam

MAINPURI (UP): Virtually setting a pre-condition for post-poll alliance, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday said his party would extend support to any grouping that will "dismiss" the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh.

"The youth, farmers and traders, all are disheartened with the UP government. We will support whoever dismisses the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh," Yadav told reporters here.

The SP chief also said that "the trend after three phases of polling shows that no government at the Centre would be possible without SP's support".

The former UP chief minister added that the party's parliamentary board and MPs would meet after the elections to take a call on the issue of extending support.

"Everything would depend on the post-poll equations and the numbers, and taking all these things into account, we will decide," Yadav said.

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If Manmohan can become PM through back door, why can't I, asks Maya

LUCKNOW: Launching a scathing attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her comment `Aaj kal to har koi pradhan mantri banana chahta hai'(Everybody wants to become the PM these days), BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday said if Sonia could bring someone like Manmohan Singh through the ``back door'' to Parliament and make him PM, ``why can't a well-educated `Dalit ki beti' like me, who has won several elections and is CM of country's biggest state, become Prime Minister?''

Sonia in her recent election rallies while sarcastically commenting on prime ministerial aspirations of regional satraps surfacing during Lok Sabha polls, had said, ``The latest fashion in politics is that every one wants to become Prime Minister.''

While politicians whose names have cropped up for the coveted post so far have kept quiet, Mayawati hit back at Sonia in her characteristic style. Addressing a huge election rally in Agra, Mayawati said she qualifies ``more than anyone else'' for the post of PM and exhorted her supporters to vote in large number to ensure victory of BSP candidates.

Mayawati, who usually reads out a pre-written speech, spoke impromptu over Sonia's remarks and issue of prime ministership. ``Yeh Manmohan Singh aaj tak ek bhi chunav nahi lada hai... isse Sonia peechale darwaje se Rajya Sabha me chunva kar layi aur pradhan mantri bana diya. Agar Manmohan Singh pradhan mantri ban sakta hai, to phir padhilikhi Dalit ki beti kyun nahi (Manmohan Singh has not contest any public election... he was brought through back door in Rajya Sabha and made Prime Minister. If Manmmohan can become PM, why can't an educated Dalit women),'' she said amid thunderous applause by BSP supporters.

Mayawati also tried to evoke regional sentiments. ``If BJP can project L K Advani who comes from Gujarat as Prime Minister-in-waiting and Congress can present Manmohan Singh who belongs to Punjab as a candidate for the post, why can't UP think of making one of its candidates Prime Minister,'' she said.

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Polls head for photo-finish as BJP plays catch-up

The race for emerging as the single largest party and the largest pre-poll alliance in the Lok Sabha election has become really tight. Polling is
yet to be held in 171 seats, although campaigning is over in all but 86 seats. And as parties go into the final stretch of the race, it looks like it will be a photo-finish.

It also seems quite clear now that whichever party or formation emerges as the biggest bloc, it will still have to rope in many more partners after the election in order to form a stable government. By themselves, the two top groups - UPA and NDA - are certain to fall well short of the majority mark of 272.

TOI's political bureaus in 14 different cities and its network of correspondents have been tracking the poll's progress to bring you their best estimates of the likely results. We have done two rounds and here's the third. When we began, it looked like Congress
was well ahead of BJP and the UPA was more than 20 seats ahead of the NDA. No longer.

The Congress, according to our estimate, now looks like ending up with 152 seats and the UPA with 195. The BJP, we feel, is likely to get 145 seats and its allies another 42, taking the NDA's tally to 187. In other words, the gap between the two pre-poll alliances seems no more than 8 seats, and as these are nothing more than estimates, it's really tough to say which way the electoral see-saw will eventually tilt.

The bigger message that's emerging from this scenario is that the leading parties as well as alliances could be separated by less than 10 seats. This would obviously mean that the Left and "Others" could end up deciding who forms the next government.

The current estimates differ from the earlier one in several states. Among the most significant differences is that in Uttar Pradesh - we now feel both the Congress and the BJP might do better than earlier anticipated. Between them and the BJP's ally, Ajit Singh's RLD, they could win 30 of the state's 80 seats. The rest, we believe, will be split 28-22 between the BSP and the SP.

Source : Times Of India

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Taliban completely withdraw from Buner: Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Taliban militants have completed their pullback from a district just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Pakistani capital and troops have fanned out in their wake, a senior official said on Saturday.

The Taliban's retreat to their stronghold in the Swat Valley brings some relief for Pakistani officials trying to salvage a controversial peace deal that halted nearly two years of bloody fighting in the northwestern region.

But US officials kept up their pressure for more forceful action against Islamist groups they argue present a growing threat to Pakistan's stability as well as to American troops battling in neighboring Afghanistan
.

Militants from Swat seized Buner, a jumble of mountains and farmsteads on the west bank of the Indus River, after President Asif Ali Zardari earlier this month signed the peace pact, which provides for the introduction of Islamic law in the region.

They began pulling out on Friday as officials issued increasingly loud threats of military action and a hardline cleric who mediated the peace deal intervened to defuse the tension.

Syed Mohammad Javed, the top government official in Malakand division, which includes Swat and Buner, said on Saturday that all the militants had crossed the mountains passes into Swat.

"They all have gone back," Javed said. "No one is left in Buner."

He also said that six platoons of paramilitary troops had deployed to police stations across Buner.

"If police need their help, they will assistant them in maintaining law and order," Javed said.

Javed said the cleric, Sufi Muhammad, had also given his assurance that militants would soon retreat to Swat from another neighboring area, Shangla.

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Arun Shourie touts Narendra Modi as Advani's successor

NEW DELHI: In what may be the first clear advocacy of Narendra Modi for PM by a senior BJP leader, former minister Arun Shourie said the Gujarat chief minister's leadership of his state was exemplary as he had already implemented programmes being promised by political parties in their manifestos.

Speaking in Ahmedabad, Shourie suggested that it could be Modi's turn to be projected as BJP's prime ministerial nominee after L K Advani as he said, "You have an opportunity to elect the PM not only this time but in the next polls also." He said Gujarat was a model state for governance and development in the country.

Though Shourie was quick to clarify that he had voiced his personal opinion, his remarks are bound to create a stir in the party not only because they have come in the midst of the poll campaign but also as he has touched the faultlines between "gen-next" saffron leaders. Equations amongst the next rung of BJP leaders are far from easy.

Shourie's remarks are sure to go down well with Modi who has emerged as the party's top campaigner, ahead of Advani in the current LS polls, though allies like JD(U), who are eyeing Muslim support, are sure to get jitters.

Modi has been a first-among-equals as far as his peer group within BJP is concerned, a status reinforced by his re-election in December 2007 by a convincing margin, contrary to the expectations of the official faction in the party which had anticipated a modest win. Given the sharp rivalries, while Modi's position has been unstated, it is clear at party meets that he has the cadres rooting for him.

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Sri Lankans in 'catastrophic' situation: Red Cross

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lanka's northern war zone face a "catastrophic" situation, the Red Cross said, amid fears a final assault against the Tamil Tiger rebels would lead to a dramatic rise in casualties.

The United Nations and others have called for a negotiated truce to allow civilians to leave the rebel-held coastal strip and the government says more than 52,000 had escaped since Monday.

But it has refused to heed the international pleas to halt the fighting, saying Tuesday that it is on the verge of crushing the separatists and putting an end to the 25-year-old war.

The UN estimated more than 4,500 civilians have been killed in the past three months.

The rebels said more than 1,000 civilians died Monday in a government raid, while the government said it rescued thousands after they broke through a barrier built by the insurgents that protects their last stronghold.

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EC biased towards Congress, alleges Mayawati

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Tuesday launched a scathing attack against the Election Commission during a press briefing. Mayawati alleged that the Election Commission was biased in favour of Congress and working on its directions.

"I would like to say that the EC officials are acting on the directives of the Congress and its allies. The EC under political pressure is trying to stop BSP to gain power despite the party having peoples' support in its favour," Mayawati claimed.

Taking on CEC Navin Chawla and the Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, Mayawati said that no free and fair elections can take place in the state with Chawla heading the EC.

She told reporters, "Both members of EC (Navin Chawla and S Y Quraishi) are active members of the Congress coterie. Under such circumstances, free and fair elections are not possible in the country. I strongly condemn the EC tactics."

Mayawati also attacked Quraishi saying that he has vested interests in the state and is supporting the Congress as well as the Samajwadi Party.

"Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has interest in Uttar Pradesh as he himself hails from the state and has relatives there. He has relations with a famous Samajwadi Party leader," the BSP supremo alleged.

According to PTI, Mayawati also said that transfer of police officers on Monday in Jaunpur where a candidate was found hanging had "proved apprehensions of former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami regarding integrity of his successor Navin Chawla".

"Gopalaswami had written a letter to the President doubting the integrity of Chawla and had alleged that his deputy was working as a Congress agent. The Jaunpur transfers had proved that former CEC's allegations were true," the BSP supremo said.

She said never in the past such serious allegations have been levelled against any CEC. "Under such circumstances, Chawla should have resigned on his own. Unfortunately that did not happen," she said.

Mayawati alleged that Quraishi was indulging in activities which had nothing to do with the poll process, PTI said.

"Due to his personal interest, Quraishi, instead of visiting states where violence took place in the first phase, is coming to UP again and again and indulging in activities which had nothing to do with the poll process," she alleged.

Mayawati termed as unfortunate the Election Commissioner's remarks warning UP officials of serious action.

She added that "Quraishi has personal animosity against some officials of the state.

"Without making any inquiry, Quraishi asked the officials to mend their ways immediately and threatened them to ruin their career. This is very unfortunate. Keeping in view the attitude of the EC, I am sure that the Lok Sabha elections are neither fair nor free," she said.

"The inquiry committee, which submitted its report yesterday, has said that prima facie it was a case of suicide and no political person was involved," she said.

She said: "the EC on the basis of a report submitted by two IAS officials, who do not have any experience of investigating crime, transferred three police officers including the additional SP. The action taken by the EC was unfortunate."

Such action will demoralize the government machinery which is committed to ensure free, fair and peaceful conduct of the Lok Sabha elections, the UP Chief Minister said.

"In the first phase, no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the state. Under such circumstances instead of patting our back, the EC had removed three officers only on the basis of baseless complaints, which is not justified," she said.

Mayawati maintained the EC's action will create hurdles in the state government's effort to conduct peaceful and fair elections.

"This is a serious situation for democracy and Congress is solely responsible for this. But I would like to add that the EC's tactics will not help the Congress or any of the opposition parties in the ongoing polls," she said.

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Thousands flee Sri Lanka as deadline passes

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA: Tens of thousands of civilians fled Sri Lanka's northern war zone in a record exodus ahead of the government 's deadline on Tuesday for separatist Tamil rebels to surrender, officials said.

More than 39,000 civilians arrived at military checkpoints, within hours of a military operation that saw Sri Lankan soldiers break through a barrier that the Tamil Tiger rebels had erected to defend their ever-shrinking slice of territory along the northern coast.

The number of fleeing civilians on Monday was the largest in a single day, and that figure was expected to increase Tuesday as more people made their way out, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

The government issued a 24-hour deadline on Monday for the cornered LTTE rebels to surrender or face a final assault- a signal that the insurgents may be on the verge of total defeat after 25 years of rebellion.

The noon Tuesday (0630 GMT) deadline passed with no response from the guerrillas. Rights groups reiterated their concern for civilians still stranded with the rebels.

Human Rights Watch, which said 50,000-100,000 remained stranded, warned that the government might launch a major attack following its warning to the rebels.

``Both sides need to show far greater concern for civilians, or many more civilians will die,'' said Brad Adams, the New York-based group's Asia director.

The International Crisis Group called the situation ``a humanitarian tragedy'' and urged the government to stop any fighting. The group also said the rebels need to allow civilians to leave, and that the government should establish ``a humanitarian corridor'' to let them out.

The number of fleeing civilians made it clear that the government had vastly underestimated how many people were caught in the fighting. While aid groups had estimated that about 100,000 civilians were trapped ahead of this week's exodus, the government had cited about 40,000, roughly the number that crossed over on Monday alone.

More than 4,500 civilians have been killed in the past three months, according to UN estimates. The UN Children's Fund said it fears for the safety of children still trapped in the war zone if fighting continues and the rebels refuse to allow people to leave.

The government and human rights groups have accused the rebels of forcing civilians to stay in their territory to use as human shields, while the rebels have said remaining citizens are there by choice.

``With this latest surge in fighting, our greatest fear is that the worst is yet to come,'' said Daniel Toole, the agency's South Asia director.

The UN and others have called for a negotiated truce to allow civilians to leave the dwindling, rebel-held enclave.

But the government has rejected such calls, saying it is on the verge of crushing the rebels and putting an end to the Asia's longest-running civil war.

The rebels have fought for an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Source : Times Of India

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