Sargam Radio

Punish the visa racketeers in Chicago

sargam — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:05:05 +0000

New Delhi, Government must take stern action against those guilty of providing visas to terror suspects David Headley and Tawaffur Rana. While Headley got a five-year visa, Rana managed a one-year visa and his wife a five-year multi-entry visa which provided them easy access to carry out their nefarious activities, and all this happened with the close connivance of Indian diplomats, who are now taking seeking shelter under a 2005 Home Ministry circular which says that no pre-verification checks are mandatory for those of Pakistani origin residing in the US and Canada.

While they may have a technical point and the North Block and South Block are engaged in a war of words, nothing explains what prevented Indian Consul General Ashok Attri and his consular team from verifying the basic facts, such as where did the person stay in Chicago and which business was he carrying out.

More so, since the visa was issued under the personal discretion of the consul general, as a senior foreign service he should have known that there is a standard operating procedure when it comes to those of Pakistani origin. Else he should come clean if he or his senior officials had any connections or dealings with the duo that facilitated the visas for them. Also there has to be a probe that needs to be conducted on the alleged role played by visa agents who may have bribed the consulate officials.

In both the cases the matter is serious and can not be ignored. This is simply not a case of an oversight but this raises serious questions about how our nation’s security is being compromised in these Indian missions. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must seek a report from Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on what action have they taken against the guilty officials. Because so far the role played by the foreign office has been less than satisfactory, imagine if it was a junior officer then the officer would have been suspended immediately, but sadly the consul general still happens to be holding his chair. The foreign secretary should have ensured that in interest of a fair inquiry the officer is divested of his charge and an independent probe is conducted because the matter is too serious to be brushed under the carpet.

Rat grounds Ansari’s big plans
Vice President Hamid Ansari is changing ways in Parliament with a string of innovations in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament that the former diplomat heads as its chairperson. While the introduction of two-minute rules for the members intervening during the Zero Hour has led to the participation of more members, another big innovation which was due to be unveiled on the first day of the winter session was a digital display that would have helped regulate time especially when the house debates important issues.

Members often exceed their time limits despite several reminders of the chair and parties used to haggle with the chair to seek more allotment of time. The digital timer would also indicate how much time was remaining for each party so that the debate could be wrapped up in time and the minister could reply. Surely this would have changed the way the debates are conducted in the upper house, but the plans have been grounded as believe it or not the rats decided to feast on the wires of the display, just ahead of the inauguration the digital timer. Now replacing wires is proving to be tricky and the innovation will have to wait till the next session.

Reward for the quiet performer
It is the season of surprises in South Block, but the good thing is that it is the performance not lobbying that is being rewarded in the foreign office and the recent one is the decision to appoint a new Indian envoy to United Arab Emirates, so instead of a political appointee the quiet performer, M.K. Lokesh, currently the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Brussels, is being sent as the new Indian envoy to the strategically important United Arab Emirates.

The 1977 batch IFS officer has also served in Washington, Sri Lanka and in the Department of Atomic energy here, has been rewarded for his hard work. Lokesh’s better half Radhika is also a foreign service officer and is currently posted as India’s Consul General in St Petersburg.

While the UAE appointment has been cleared and the name has been sent to Abu Dhabi, the other hot contest is for the post of Indian envoy to South Africa where the grapevine has it that it is the battle of the two Mukherjee’s, India’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Bhashwati Mukherjee and India’s Deputy High Commissioner in London Ashok Mukherjee.

Violation of rules by Indian Consulate in US in visa for Rana?

sargam — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:04:09 +0000

New Delhi : Generosity of the Indian Consulate in Chicago appears to have facilitated the entry into India of Tahawwur Rana, arrested by the FBI in connection with a terror plot against India.
Copies of visas issued to Pakistani-Canadian Rana and a woman Samraz Rana Akhthar, who he claimed to be his wife, show that both were issued multiple entry visas by the Indian Consulate in October 2008.

Both the visas were issued “under the discretion of the Consul General” in apparent violation of rules under which clearance of Ministry of Home Affairs is required for any person born in Pakistan. Rana is born in Chichawatni and woman is born Bahawalpur. Both the places are in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

The two were exempted even from registering with the police if their stay did not exceed 180 days. Rana was given a year-long business visa and Samraz was here on a tourist visa valid for five years. Both of them arrived at Mumbai airport on November 12 last year after which they travelled to Kochi in Kerala on November16.

An associate of a US citizen David Headley, who has also been arrested on terror charges by the FBI last month, Rana and Samraz had stayed in a five star hotel for a night during which they were allegedly looking for recruits for Pakistan- based Lashker-e-Taiba.

Ahead of the Kochi visit, Rana had given an advertisement in a prominent English daily asking youths willing to immigrate to US and Canada to appear for interview, sources said.

Rana and his school friend Headley were arrested last month by the FBI on charges of being part of a plan by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to carry out terror attacks in India and Denmark.

The NIA was also looking for the people who had booked the advertisement in the newspaper. A team of central security agencies had also visited Kochi edition of a prominent English daily to take the details about the people or agency who had booked the advertisement on behalf of Rana.

Priest arrested for mortaging temple jewels for own benefit

sargam — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:48:47 +0000

The police arrested the head priest of a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam(TTD) run temple after he(the priest)disclosed on Friday that he had mortgaged ten pieces of gold and diamond jewelry belonging to the deity to a pawnbroker to raise money to pay back the loans incurred in the marriage of his two daughters.

AP Venkatramana Deekshithulu(55),the head priest of Sri Kodandarama Swamy temple in the pilgrim town, is said to have collected Rs 10.15 lakhs from Sagar Mal, the proprietor of Kamadhenu and Co ,a pawnbroker by pledging the Lord`s jewels at different times since early 2008.

After the TTD, under the directive of Andhra Pradesh High Court, started making an inventory of all jewels in all the temples under its jurisdiction, Deekshithulu felt that he could be exposed soon and chose to admit his culpability.

“Grinding poverty drove me to the brink of pledging lord`s ornaments though I knew it was sin. I have three daughters and am in deep financial crisis. Besides, I am suffering from a lot of ailments for several years. Unable to maintain the family and meet my medical expenses, I pledged the jewels,” he said.

He also said that though the TTD was the richest temple, the priests working in the sub-temples under it lived in abject poverty as till October last they were receiving monthly remuneration of Rs 2000 only. Only recently it was increased.

After his revelations, the TTD vigilance officer lodged a formal complaint with police regarding the loss of jewels. The police swung into action by booking case of theft, cheating, criminal breach of trust against Deekshithulu.

The police arrested Sagar Mal and booked cases against him under breach of trust and misappropriation of temple jewelery.

V Ganga raju, DSP of Tirupati police told HT that the priest had pledged 10 items of god`s jewels including a diamond necklace and had collected Rs 10.15 lakhs.Only 15 days back he repaid Rs 3 lakhs and redeemed three jewelery items. Apparently he could not organize entire money to redeem the whole lot.

“We recovered the remaining 7 items of jewelery weighing 1.305 kgs from the pawn-shop owner today,” he added.

Deekshithulu in his confession to the police said that his family were hereditary priests of Kodandarama Swamy temple and he was engaged in serving the lord from the age of six when his father was chief Priest. He was made head priest of the temple only in 2000.He said that two of his three daughters were married.

The TTD authorities placed under suspension the temple inspector for dereliction of duty.” We have taken serious note of the issue we will do whatever possible to restore the confidence and faith of the pilgrims.We are planning to appoint a special officer to exclusively look after the jewels in all temples,” said TTD Executive Officer,IY R Krishna Rao.

Indian diplomat in Chicago accused of ‘divide and rule’ policy

sargam — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:31:34 +0000

Chicago: Simmering tensions between members of the Indian American community in Chicago and Indian Consul General Ashok Kumar Attri have come out in the open with prominent community members accusing the diplomat of dividing the community.

Matters came to a head at the India Independence Day celebrations where the consul general was conspicuous by his absence. Neither did any consulate staff attend the parade on Devon Avenue, the heart of Chicago’s Indian district, nor the banquet the previous day.

The parade, which is attended by thousands of Indian Americans from Chicago and the neighbouring Midwestern states, is the highlight of the Indian Independence Day celebrations for Chicago’s Indian American community. The Indian consul general has always been the guest of honour, alongwith members of the US Senate or Congress and lawmakers from the state of Illinois.

Hyder Mohammed, president of the Federation of Indian Organizations (FIA), the umbrella body of Indian community organisations in the Chicago area, said that the FIA had not extended an official invitation to Attri to attend the festivities, in protest against his consistent “insulting” behaviour.

“The FIA has never been invited for any event organised by the consulate. When Attri took over (as consul general) the entire board of the FIA met with him, introduced ourselves to him and welcomed him to the city. But he has never invited the organisation to any event. As a representative of the government of India, his job is to serve the Indian community. It is very unfortunate that instead, he adopts this policy of divide and rule,” Mohammed, a physician turned businessman, told IANS.

Attri’s rift with the community goes back a couple of years. Soon after he took over as the consul general in Chicago in 2007, Attri was invited to attend the Indian Independence Day festivities in Rolling Meadows, a Chicago suburb. Community leaders say they resented that he chose instead to attend another event organised by the Asian American Coalition.

“The host country for that event was Pakistan,” said Iftekhar Shareef, a former FIA president, and one of the few Indian American community leaders to remain untainted by the scandals swirling around deposed Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

“The Indian Independence Day event was held a bare 10 minute drive from the Asian American Coalition dinner,” Shareef told IANS. “Many American politicians attended both events. How can the Indian consul general, with a good conscience, attend an event hosted by the Pakistani community and skip entirely the Indian Independence Day event? He could have come for 10 minutes at least.”

Attri did not respond to a request from IANS for comment.

Meanwhile, investigations against prominent Indian American community leaders in connection with the corruption charges against Blagojevich had its impact on Independence Day festivities this year.

As some had predicted, only a handful of American politicians attended.

In the past, the parade and banquet were attended by at least a couple of US congressmen, senators or members of the Illinois Senate. Past participants in the parade have included Barack Obama, then a US senator.

Although Pat Quinn, Blagojevich’s successor, who has a stellar reputation as an honest politician, attended the parade this year, the rest of the VIP guests comprised mostly local aldermen (the American equivalent of the municipal corporator).

Many community leaders rued that this was due to the image of the Indian community in Illinois as wheeler dealers. None of the Indian Americans being investigated in connection with Blagojevich scandals have been convicted or even charged of any crime. But nevertheless, the community’s fall from the “model community” could be attributed to the fact that more often than not, in politics, perception trumps reality, said community old-timers.
By IANS

BJP demands Virbhadra Singh’s resignation

sargam — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:45:19 +0000

Shimla (IANS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Himachal Pradesh Wednesday demanded that Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh resign over the corruption charges filed against him.

“We are demanding the resignation of Virbhadra Singh as his name figures in corruption deals,” BJP spokesperson and legislator Randhir Sharma told reporters here.

“He should submit his resignation on moral grounds. His adamant approach (not to resign) shows his lust for power,” he said.

Virbhadra Singh, a five-time former chief minister, and his wife Pratibha Singh were booked Monday night by the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

According to the police, they were booked on the basis of an audio CD released by (Virbhadra Singh’s political adversary) Vijai Singh Mankotia in 2007. In the CD, Mr. Virbhadra Singh was heard referring to some monetary transactions on the phone with former IAS officer Mahinder Lal, who is now dead. The CD also contained recordings of his wife, a former MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

Mr. Virbhadra Singh has refuted the allegations against him and his wife, calling it as an attempt by the BJP-led state government to malign him.

Mr. Mankotia, whose audio CD formed the basis for the graft case against him, has also demanded his expulsion from the cabinet. He had been suspended from the Congress for criticising state leaders and the party high command.

“Virbhadra Singh should be expelled from the union cabinet following the registration of corruption cases against him. The Congress had taken strong action against tainted ministers like Natwar Singh and Shibu Soren, but why is it maintaining silence on Singh is difficult to understand,” Mankotia told IANS on phone.

“I have already requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to expel him from the cabinet,” he added.

The police had sent the CD and their voice samples for analysis at the Chandigarh-based Central Forensic Science Laboratory. The laboratory said the voices of Virbhadra Singh and his wife matched with that on the CD.

Meanwhile, Congress state president Kaul Singh Thakur accused the state BJP government of framing Virbhadra Singh and his wife in false cases before the assembly by-elections of Rohru and Jawali.

“It is a political move by the BJP to defame Singh and his wife before the by-election of Rohru (vacated by Singh). Their aim is just to weaken Virbhadra Singh’s wife claim for that seat, but it will boomerang on them,” Thakur said.

Love Aaj Kal grosses Rs 62 cr worldwide

sargam — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:11:43 +0000

MUMBAI: Love Aaj Kal, co-produced by the Eros International and Saif Ali Khan’s Illuminati films, has registered impressive opening weekend
collections.

The film, directed by Imtiaz Ali, grossed Rs 62 crore worldwide, according to Eros. Of this, Rs 47 crore came from the Indian box office, while Rs 15 crore came from overseas markets.

Love Aaj Kal was released across 1,800 plus screens world-wide on Friday. The film has performed better at the multiplexes than at single screen theatres.

In the UK, the film grossed almost £4.1 lakh, while in Australia its collections were Australian $2 lakh. In Pakistan, the film grossed Pakistani Rs 1.05 crore for 211 shows over the weekend, and in the US it collected $2,51,799.

Double trouble chases Buta -Colleague’s charge after son bribery case

sargam — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:42:37 +0000

New Delhi, July 31: Former Union home minister Buta Singh is assailed by twin troubles, his son Sarobjit arrested by CBI in a bribery allegation and a woman colleague accusing Buta of victimising her to hide his own misdeeds.

Both charges relate to former Bihar governor Buta’s current position as chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

A CBI team arrested Sarobjit in Delhi yesterday after a Nashik-based contractor, Ramrao Patil, alleged Buta’s son had demanded Rs 1 crore to suppress a case against him before the commission. Sarobjit, a businessman, was taken to Mumbai and produced in court today.

Three others have been arrested including Anup Beghe, a Nashik-based Congress worker, and two hawala operators allegedly working for Sarobjit.

Buta held a news conference this morning to allege a political conspiracy and said he would meet the Prime Minister. Soon afterwards, one of the commission’s five members, Satya Bahin, went on TV with her charges.

Bahin, a Congress member from Uttar Pradesh, alleged Buta tried to frame her in false cases because she would not agree to his “misdeeds” as commission chief. “He tried to pressure me to join him in his wrongdoing,” she told The Telegraph. “He made people level allegations against me that I was taking money to get people absolved from charges of harassing the SCs.”

When this newspaper phoned Buta, a member of his staff said: “He doesn’t want to react to this issue.”

The BJP demanded Buta’s resignation. The Congress, which had expelled Buta after he contested the Lok Sabha polls as a rebel from Rajasthan, washed its hands of him saying it was for the government to decide on his continuance as commission chief.

At the news conference, Buta had refused to resign and said the CBI was being “pressurised” to file a case against his son. “I have been the home minister of the country and I know the CBI cannot act without someone putting pressure on them,” he said. “I am prepared to tell my position before the Prime Minister. I will seek an appointment.”

CBI sources claimed they had a watertight case against Sarobjit and might also question Buta. The case Sarobjit had allegedly promised to suppress was one filed under the Dalit Atrocities Act, accusing contractor Patil of taking a Rs 10-crore loan against the names of 100 Dalit workers and pocketing the money. The CBI sources claimed they had records of at least 30 calls between Sarobjit, Patil and Beghe where details of the deal were discussed.

The sources said that on June 10, the cheated Dalit workers had complained to Beghe, who took them to Buta. Patil has apparently told the CBI he was called to Buta’s Delhi home on June 16 and met Sarobjit, Beghe and Buta. The sources said Patil had received a call from Buta’s Delhi landline number and was asked to pay Rs 3 crore, a figure later pruned to Rs 1 crore.

On June 27, Patil went to the CBI, the sources said. The agency laid a trap at Mumbai Central railway station on June 28 where Beghe allegedly came to receive the money. Beghe led them to Sarobjit.

“I know the political forces behind this conspiracy,” Buta said but refused to name them.

Buta is no stranger to bribery scandals. He and former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, in whose cabinet Buta was a minister, were handed three-year terms in September 2000 for allegedly bribing Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs but were acquitted by a high court for lack of evidence.

Sikh soldiers guard Queen Elizabeth II

sargam — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:43:32 +0000

LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II has switched bearskin hats for turbans outside Buckingham Palace, where Sikh soldiers have begun guarding the monarch and her treasures, Britain’s defense ministry said Friday.

Signaler Simranjit Singh and Lance Cpl. Sarvjit Singh are the first Sikhs to take part in patrols outside the queen’s residence and to stand watch over the Crown jewels at the Tower of London across town.

Guard duties are usually carried out by the Guards of Household Division, famed for their bearskin hats and crimson coats that attract picture-taking tourists in their thousands. The ministry said the Sikh soldiers instead wore turbans and blue uniforms.

Other army regiments often help carry out guard duties at Britain’s Buckingham Palace when the Household Division is on operations. The ministry said the two soldiers are the first of the 90 Sikhs in Britain’s army to be handed the task.

“It’s purely a coincidence that this has happened now,” said a defense ministry spokeswoman, on condition of anonymity in line with policy. “Regiments take it in turn to stand in for the Household Division and it just happens that two of the soldiers this time round are Sikh.”

Sarvjit Singh, who was born in India and is a member of 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, said he was thrilled to have had the opportunity to guard the queen.

“My experience being a Sikh on the queen’s guard is beyond words,” said the 28-year-old. “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I feel privileged to have this honor.”

“Being in London and parading in front of hundreds of people has been brilliant. Being Sikh hasn’t made any difference,” said Simranjit Singh, 26, from Coventry in central England, who is attached to the 21 Signal Regiment (Air Support).

“It’s been hard work, but definitely worth it,” he said.

He said the toughest part of the role is keeping perfectly still when on sentry duty outside the queen’s home.

Sikhs routinely guarded Queen Victoria — a colonial ruler of India. At the time of World War I, Sikhs formed about 20 percent of the British army, but numbers dwindled following India’s independence.

Prof Kartar Singh ji got President Award for his contribution to Gurmat Sangeet

sargam — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:32:31 +0000

A very proud moment for all the Sikhs living all over the world. Prof Kartar Singh Ji, Director Gurmat Sangeet Academy run by SGPC, got President’s Award from Her Excellency Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil, honourable President of India. Prof Kartar Singh got this award for his contribution to traditional form of Gurmat Sangeet. Prof Kartar Singh has also written 4 books on Gurmat Sangeet. A very much congratulations to all the Sikhs

Jackson’s will cuts out ex-wife Debbie Rowe

sargam — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:54:13 +0000

Michael Jackson’s 7-year-old will was filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles court, giving his entire estate to a family trust and cutting out his former wife Debbie Rowe.The will, dated July 7, 2002, estimated his estate at that time at more than $500 million.

It names his mother, Katherine Jackson, as a beneficiary of the trust and the guardian of Jackson’s children, who are named in the will.
It also names entertainer Diana Ross as a successor guardian for the children and their estates if something happens to Katherine Jackson.
Ross introduced the Jackson 5 on the Ed Sullivan Show in the late 1960s and was instrumental in launching their career. She was a lifelong friend of Michael Jackson.

Meanwhile, a person familiar with the situation said no public Jackson memorial was planned for Neverland.
Santa Barbara officials had discussed the possibility a memorial or public viewing could occur Thursday.
But the person, who is not authorized to speak for the family and requested anonymity, said nothing was planned for Neverland at least through Friday. The source said it appears more likely a funeral and burial will take place in Los Angeles. The family has the final say.
The person says billionaire Thomas Barrack, who owns Neverland in a joint venture with Jackson, sought an exemption to bury the singer at the ranch. But the person says it’s a complicated process and it couldn’t be done for a burial this week.
The will gives the entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust. Details of the trust will not be made public.
The documents said Jackson’s estate consisted almost entirely of “non-cash, non-liquid assets, including primarily an interest in a catalog of music royalty rights which is currently being administered by Sony ATV, and the interests of various entities.”
One of Jackson’s most lucrative assets is his stake in the massive Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalog, which includes music by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers, and is estimated to be worth as much as $2 billion.
Jackson’s longtime lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, are named in the will as co-executors.
In a statement, Branca and McClain said: “The most important element of Michael’s will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children. As we work to carry out Michael’s instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve.”
The five-page will is signed by Jackson, and each paragraph includes Jackson’s scrawling initials.
Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. Rowe was the mother of the two oldest children; the youngest was born to a surrogate mother, who has never been identified.
Katherine Jackson was granted temporary guardianship Monday of Jackson’s three children. A judge held off on requests to control the children’s estates, and gave her limited control over her son’s property.
Rowe, who was married to Jackson in 1996 and filed for divorce three years later, surrendered her parental rights. An appeals court later found that was done in error, and Rowe and Jackson entered an out-of-court settlement in 2006.
Neither Rowe nor her attorneys have indicated whether she intends to seek custody of the two oldest children.
Funeral plans have not yet been announced.
On Tuesday, heavy construction equipment and workers passed through the gates of Neverland Ranch, fueling speculation that it could soon be hosting Jackson’s funeral or even a permanent memorial.
Groups of gardeners and florists bearing huge wreaths were also spotted on the 2,500-acre Santa Barbara County property about 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Members of Jackson’s family met Tuesday with officials from the Los Angeles police and California Highway Patrol about funeral services. But “details are still pending,” according to Fran Clader, a spokeswoman for the patrol. The patrol would need to be consulted if the body was moved from Los Angeles to Neverland.
It was unclear whether Jackson could be legally buried at the ranch. The state’s health and safety code makes interring any uncremated remains outside of a cemetery a misdemeanor. Cremated remains can be kept in a home or private mausoleum outside a cemetery.

Air India asks employees to face ‘moment of truth’

sargam — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:39:09 +0000

NEW DELHI: Loss-laden Air India on Saturday said it was fighting for survival and urged the employees to rise to the challenge.

The newly-appointed CMD of the national carrier Arvind Jadhav told the airline staff that loans from financial institutions at high rates of interest cannot be availed of endlessly to meet working capital expenditure and the time had come to face the ‘moment of truth’.

“Air India employees have thus far not felt the impact of problems confronting the aviation industry because employees have been receiving their wages/salary and PLI month after month even when people in the industry in India and abroad have lost jobs or seen their emoluments take a dip. We should therefore consider ourselves fortunate that we have been insulated from the adverse impact of the economic meltdown so far,” Mr Jadhav said.

Air India is estimated to have lost nearly Rs 4,000 crore in 2008-09 due to high fuel price, weak demand, poor load and irrational pricing. The company is expected to submit a bail-out package to the government seeking equity infusion and soft loan. Mr Jadhav met top government functionary here today to place the airline’s case for consideration.

The Indian flag carrier which is facing one of the worst cash crisis last week said it had deferred the June salary and performance-linked incentive (PLI) of its 31,000 employees by 15 days. In a communication to its top management staff the company chairman on Friday requested them to forego July salary voluntarily.

Zardari forgets NAM after Singh slap

sargam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:28:33 +0000

NEW DELHI: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has opted out of the NAM summit in Egypt in an apparent bid to avoid meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had delivered him a tough message on cross-border terrorism in Russia this week.Instead of Mr Zardari, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will now attend the NAM summit.

This latest development, which could be translated as a snub to India, comes after Prime Mr Singh met Mr Zardari on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Russia this week and delivered a tough message on terror in full media glare. Mr Singh had told Mr Zardari that his mandate was to deliver the message that Pakistan should not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against India.

This statement was made in the full glare of the media much to the embarrassment of Mr Zardari.
Nevertheless, both India and Pakistan after the meeting had announced that the two leaders would have a repeat meeting on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt. The foreign secretaries of the two countries are supposed to meet to discuss the issue of terrorism before that meeting in Egypt. In fact, the Pakistani foreign office had also released a statement on Wednesday saying that Mr Zadari and Mr Singh would meet in Sharm-al-Sheikh in Egypt.

But this sudden change of stand once again underscores the different forces at work in Pakistan. Significantly, this latest development also comes after Pakistani foreign office on Thursday expressed satisfaction with the meeting between Mr Singh and Mr Zardari.

“The outcome of the meeting was satisfactory as the two foreign secretaries will meet in the future. We hope they will be able to look at all issues (between the two countries),” foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit was quoted as saying. He had also listed meetings between the foreign secretaries and the political leadership as tangible results of the Russia meet.

After the meeting Mr Singh had said that India would review Pakistan’s action against the terror infrastructure that was targeted at India. He had further said that the meeting of the foreign secretaries would tell India if Pakistan has taken effective action and plans to take action against the terror infrastructure.

But Mr Singh’s blunt message was clearly not well received in Pakistan. In an indication of the domestic pressure at play, members of the Pakistani Senate had said that Islamabad should react strongly to Mr Singh’s statement to Mr Zardari before the media. The Senate was also planning to move a resolution on the matter.

Shiney gets a character certificate

sargam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:26:53 +0000

Bharati Dubey , TNN

Mumbai: Shiney Ahuja may or may not have raped one of his maids, but the allegations have not stopped the other maid, Sangeeta, from giving a character certificate to the beleaguered actor. Investigators, of course, do not put too much store on this certificate as they feel Sangeeta may have been influenced by her employers. “The probe is still on but this is not too different from what the actor’s wife and friends have been saying all along,” a senior police official said.

Sangeeta has been working in the Ahuja household for more than seven months now. She left the house about two hours before the alleged incident took place. “I had, in fact, asked her to accompany me to the church as it was her idea. But she told me that she didn’t want to go out just then,” Sangeeta said. “I returned home around 7 pm but she had already left by then,” Sangeeta added. She went on to add that her colleague might have developed a liking for Shiney.

But investigators are not buying this line. “This is the most preposterous defence of an alleged rape,” an official said. “It is normal for people to be besotted by stars and, even if we accept that the victim had actually developed a crush on Shiney, can that ever be a justification for what allegedly happened? Which world are we living in?” the official asked.

Sangeeta, however, admitted that she knew the victim for only about two weeks. “I returned to Mumbai from home only on June 2,” she said.

Akshay-Kareena’s Kambakkht Ishq gears for a July 3 release

sargam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:25:26 +0000

Manisha Mahaldar
CNN-IBN

Mumbai: Bollywood’s most sought after stars Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor, along with Hollywood hotties, Sylvester Stallone, Brendan Routh and Denise Richards make up Sajid Nadiadwala’s ambitious and stylishly mounted film, Kambakkht Ishq.

The cast is a talking point even before the film hits the screens next month.

Director Sabir Khan, who makes his directorial debut with the film, is confident about hitting a jackpot with his Hollywood-meets-Bollywood masala.

“We have tried to raise the bar, push the envelope a bit and have tried to set the film in the Hollywood industry. It has the USP of merging the mainstream Hollywood into Bollywood with A-list celebrities doing cameos in the film,” says Khan.

Believe it or not Kareena Kapoor plays a practicing doctor in the film, who doubles up as a supermodel too. And though that might take some convincing, designer Akki Narula needed no convincing when it came to styling for Kareena.

“I would give her a 10 on 10 for sure. She has an amazing body, amazing poise and she is one of those who can rock whether it is in really short dresses, saris, lehangas, shorts, or even in outfits you would have never imagined,” says Akki Narula.

Though Kambakkht Ishq has been running on a lot of hype, the censors weren’t too impressed with the first promotional video of the film, which was found to be a bit sexist and offensive.

“The complete film hasn’t been shown to the censor board, but yes, one trailer was shown and they thought that one dialogue was offensive. But when explained to them, they had no problem with it,” says Khan.

With the film releasing on July 3, any publicity is good publicity.

SAD retains Nurmahal assembly seat in bypoll

sargam — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:24:45 +0000

Jalandhar, June 15 SAD’s Rajwinder Kaur Bhullar has bagged the Nurmahal Assembly seat, the results of which were declared here this afternoon.

She beat her nearest rival Gurbinder Singh Atwal of the Congress by 15,053 votes in a straight contest. Bhullar polled 50,983 votes to 35,930 polled by Atwal. A total of 92,120 votes were cast.

Contrary to the expectations that the Vienna incident would cast its shadow on the SAD prospects, the ruling alliance sailed through comfortably and surprised everyone by the impressive wining margin.

Added to this is the fact that the entire campaign had been going on in jumps and starts and that the SAD candidate was a green horn as compared to the veteran Atwal.

Political pundits are of the view that the result has shown that in the absence of the BSP candidates, a majority of the dalit voters tilted in favour of the ruling alliance. Also this segment seems to have been placated by the deft handling of the volatile situation by the government in the wake of the Vienna incident.

Another factor is that, since the seat would cease to exist by the next Assembly elections, the people decided that they would be better placed if they vote for the ruling party.

Congress wins eight seats in Punjab SAD gets four, BJP one

sargam — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:48:39 +0000

CHANDIGARH: The Congress party has won eight out of 13 Lok Sabha seats of Punjab while the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal has won only four. The BJP has won one seat.

The Congress has scored victory in Patiala, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Anandpur Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur and Ludhiana.

The SAD has won Bathinda, Faridkot, Ferozepur and Khadoor Sahib, while the BJP has won one seat of Amritsar by thin margin.

A hat trick has been scored by Preneet Kaur wife of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh the candidate from Patiala and Navjot Singh Sidhu the BJP MP from Amritsar won their seats third time successively.

Preneet Kaur has defeated Prem Singh Chandumajra by about 97,383 votes. Sidhu has defeated Om Parkash Soni of Congress by 2,900 votes.

Vinod Khanna who had won Gurdaspur seat three times lost this time to Partap Singh Bajwa of Congress by small margin.

Rana Gurjit Singh who was looking up to make hat trick had lost from Rattan Singh Ajnala in Khadoor Sahib by margin of about 51,000 votes.

Sukhdev Singh Libra a Congress candidate from Fatgehgarh Sahib has won the seat by defeating the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, Charanjit Singh Atwal with margin of 34,219 votes. Libra a former SAD leader, sitting MP was expelled from SAD when he voted in favour of Dr. Manmohan Singh government during no-confidence motion in parliament.

Rajiv Gandhiâ€™s team fared well too. The two out of three candidates selected by him won. Ravneet Singh Bittu president Punjab Youth Congress has won from Anandpur Sahib by defeating SAD leader Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema.

Vijay Inder Singla former Youth Congress president has won from Sangrur by defeating SAD stalwart and sitting MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Rahulâ€™s third candidate, Sukhwinder Singh Danny from Faridkot lost to Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, the sitting Akali MP by 62,042 votes.

The Akalis have managed to win their â€œprestige seat: of Bathinda. Harsimrat Kaur, wife of Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, has defeated Raninder Singh son of former CM Capt Amarinder Singh by over 90,000 votes.

The SAD has also won Ferozepur seat from where Sher Singh Ghobaya sitting Akali MLA has won defeating a Congress stalwart sitting MP Jagmeet Singh Brar.

Mohinder Singh Kay Pee PPCC working president has won from Jalandhar defeating Hans Raj Hans of SAD by margin of over 51,000 votes.

The BJP has lost Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur where its candidates gave tough fight to Congress. Vinod Khanna lost the Gurdaspur seat and Som Parkash of BJP has lost the Hoshiarpur seat by only 86 votes. â€” Agencies

UPA set to return to power

sargam — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:47:26 +0000

New Delhi, The Congress-led UPA is all set to retain power at the Centre by putting up an impressive performance in states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to overwhelm the BJP-led NDA.

The UPA alliance was ahead in 250 constituencies with Congress alone leading in 198 seats. The ruling Front is just short of a little over 20 seats for the magic figure of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

The NDA was leading in 157 seats with BJP ahead in 119 seats.

The Congress exulted over its victory saying it was a vindication of its policies while BJP spokespersons were still unwilling to concede defeat though they admitted that the UPA was ahead in early trends.

Manmohan Singh will be the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after a full five-year term with the Congress having nominated him as its candidate for the top post, first time it had done in its history.

The Congress performance was spectacular in Kerala where it routed the Left Front and dealt a severe blow to the Marxists in West Bengal with help from ally Trinamool Congress.

It also swept Delhi, did exceedingly well in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and more than doubled its tally in UP leading in 20 of the 80 seats there. â€” PTI

Moily removed as AICC media head

sargam — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:58:39 +0000

NEW DELHI: M Veerappa Moily, who launched a surprise attack on JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, has been abruptly removed as chairman of the Congress media department.

He has been replaced by AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi, who had been holding the charge earlier, party sources said on Saturday.

The removal of Moily is believed to be due to the displeasure of the party high command over his remarks against the Bihar Chief Minister, who was sought to be wooed by party leader Rahul Gandhi.

Moily had on Friday said that Congress is not going to “make a hero” of Nitish Kumar.

“I do not think Congress is going to make a hero of Nitish Kumar, the manner in which he has aligned with BJP and is carrying on…that kind of pollution of his secular credentials with the communal,” Moily had said.

When asked about the Congress decision to relieve him of his charge as AICC media head, Moily, who is in Bangalore, merely said that he had given the charge to Dwivedi as he would be away in Karnataka till May 17.

Moily is contesting elections from Chikkballapur in Karnataka.

In a flip-flop yesterday, the AICC media head had first attacked Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and LJP Chief Ramvilas Paswan in the wake of reports that they were boycotting the meeting of the union cabinet but later softened to say that they were part of the UPA and would be back in a UPA government.

The sources said Moily had exceeded his brief on earlier occasions too and had created an awkward situation for the party.

Moily, who had been the party’s media department chief for quite some time, had handed over the charge to Dwivedi last month when he went to Karnataka and had resumed the responsibilities only last week.

Varun NSA revoked, setback for Mayawati

sargam — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:57:14 +0000

NEW DELHI: In a major embarrassment for the Mayawati government as well as the Centre, the UP advisory board, set up by the Allahabad High Court to go into the validity of imposing NSA on BJP leader Varun Gandhi, has ruled invoking of the Act against the Pilibhit candidate â€œinvalidâ€ . This gave BJP an opportunity to claim that invoking of NSA against Varun Gandhi was dictated by political considerations.

The three-member advisory boardâ€”headed by Justice Pradeep Kant, a senior judge of the Lucknow Bench of HCâ€”has reportedly handed over its findings to the state government. The latter is mulling its next course of action, which includes appealing in the Supreme Court against the advisory boardâ€™s order rejecting the grounds for invoking NSA against Mr Gandhi.

For now, the Mayawati administration is bound by the advisory boardâ€™s ruling and must order revocation of NSA against the BJP leader with immediate effect. An appeal in the apex court may, however, help it buy time until May 13, when the last round of polling in the state is scheduled.

According to reports, the UP advisory board was not satisfied with the material submitted by Pilibhit district magistrate to justify the slapping of NSA against Mr Gandhi for making communallycharged remarks during election speeches in Pilibhit.

Incidentally, the Centre had only some time back rejected Mr Gandhiâ€™s plea for revocation of NSA against him saying that it did not find â€œany material evidence or ground in the representation to justify revoking of the order or interfere in exercise of its power under section 14 of the Actâ€ .

The relief to Mr Gandhi may have repercussions on the upcoming electoral battle for the remaining 14 parliamentary seats in UP. Though slapping of the tough charges against Mr Gandhi is said to have been a conscious move by BSP to woo the minority community, the need for it to revoke the same now may backfire. BJP, on the other hand, will harp about its â€œvictimisationâ€ theory.

Mr Gandhi, who is currently on parole, had on April 28 submitted his representation before the advisory board in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. He subsequently appeared in person to argue that CD, based on which EC had ordered an FIR to be registered against him, was not genuine. The whole thing, he said, was part of political vendetta directed at him.

As the ultimate statutory authority on NSA, the advisory board has the right to approve or revoke the government order invoking the act against Mr Gandhi. Its verdict is final and binding on the state administration.

BJP on Friday welcomed the relief for Varun Gandhi, saying the rejection of the validity of NSA against Mr Gandhi is a rebuff to the Mayawati government. â€œWe welcome the development. It is a slap on the face of Mayawati government. Now, the people of Pilibhit will answer them,â€ BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The state government had invoked NSA against Mr Gandhi on March 29, following which he was lodged for almost two weeks in Pilibhit/Etah jail. However, the Supreme Court, following an undertaking from him that he would not indulge in any more communal rhetoric, ordered his release on parole on April 16.

Kasab wants Urdu chargesheet, probe urged to find out his age

sargam — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:17:16 +0000

Mumbai (PTI): Prime accused in Mumbai terror attack case, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, on Tuesday urged for Urdu translation of the 11,000-page chargesheet and one month time to argue on charges proposed to be framed against him, while prosecution sought probe to determine if he was a juvenile.

The judge M L Tahilyani has reserved orders until Wednesday on these applications.

Kasab’s advocate Abbas Kazmi moved two applications, one urging for Urdu translation of the chargesheet and the other seeking four weeks time to argue on charges. Kasab needs to understand the proposed charges and only then he can instruct him on his defence, Mr. Kazmi pleaded.

Special public prosecutor, Ujwal Nikam, strongly opposed Kasab’s plea and said these were “delay tactics” employed by the accused to prolong the trial. He said Marathi was the official language of the court and the chargesheet in English and Marathi had already been provided to Kasab.

This is the second time Kasab has urged for chargesheet in Urdu. Earlier, a Magistrate had rejected his claim for an Urdu translation, saying there was no provision in law to provide this document in the language understood by accused.

In another development, Mr. Nikam urged the court to order an inquiry to determine whether prime accused Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab was a juvenile when he allegedly committed crime.

Varun to file nomination tomorrow

sargam — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:16:12 +0000

Pilibhit (PTI): BJP candidate VarunGandhi will file his nomination papers from here on wednesday afternoon amid elaborate security arrangements.

Mr. Gandhi, who is on a two week parole after being jailed under National Securities Act for his alleged hate speech, will be accompanied by his mother Menaka Mr. Gandhi during the filing of his nomination.

After the district administration denied permission for a procession of his supporters to accompany him, Mr. Gandhi has kept the event low profile, a party source said.

“He will file his nomination between 1 and 2 in the afternoon,” a family source told PTI.

Mr. Gandhi, grandson of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and son of Sanjay Gandhi, is making his electoral debut with the Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Tuesday rejected Varun Gandhi’s request for transfer of Pilibhit District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police as also appointment of neutral observers.

“The Commission did not find any reason to transfer District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police,” Deputy Election Commissioner R Balakrishnan told reporters when asked about BJP’s candidate’s plea in this regard.

Rejecting Mr. Varun’s request for appointment of neutral observers, he said that the poll panel’s observers were always neutral and critical events were video-tracked.

Sonia: Country faces threat from terrorism

sargam — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:15:07 +0000

21 Apr 2009, 2106 hrs IST, Navtan Kumar, ET Bureau

RANCHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday reiterated that the country faces threat from forces within which are out to divide the society on the basis of religion and caste.

Without naming the BJP, Ms Gandhi said such forces keep on raising the issue of terrorism saying terrorism is a threat to the nation. “But the fact is that these forces are more dangerous than the terrorists. These people are enemies of the society who are poisoning the society in the name of religion,” she said, adding everybody want to live in peace and better future.

Addressing an election rally at Shaheed Maidan here in support of Union minister of state for food processing and partyâ€™s candidate from Ranchi, Subodh Kant Sahay, the Congress president said that her party has always stood for unity, integrity and communal harmony in the country.

“On the contrary, our rivals have been dividing the nation. They are not really concerned about the country,” she said.

On the issue of extremism, she said: “Some of our youths have been misguided. We need to bring them to mainstream. But that can be done only by development.” She said violence cannot be solution to any problem and that it is not going to benefit anyone.

Speaking about the achievements of the UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh, the Congress leader said despite worldwide recession, the Indian economy went to a certain height. She also listed the welfare schemes launched by the Manmohan Singh government like the NREGA and loan waiver worth Rs 65,000 crore to the farmers.

On the issue of revival of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), Ms Gandhi said: “Four years ago I had made the promise that HEC will not be allowed to be sold off. Now I am happy that the promise has been fulfilled as HEC is doing a good job now. It will definitely help in creating an industrial atmosphere in the state.” She also hoped that the public sector undertaking (PSU) would soon acquire the status of a â€˜Miniratnaâ€™ company.

Congress asks Modi to apologise for ‘attack’ on Indian culture

sargam — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 10:46:42 +0000

New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday slammed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his description of Congress as an old woman and demanded an apology from the Gujarat Chief Minister for “perverting” the concept of Indian culture.

“He (Modi) has perverted the concept of Indian culture and should apologise immediately…He has attacked the very ethos of India and Indian culture,” party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters here.

Mr. Modi had referred the Congress as a 125-old woman, who has become a burden on the nation.

Ms. Natarajan said Indian women will “never forgive or forget this insult of Modi. It is a grievous insult to all those men who look after their mothers and sisters with love and care.”

She also referred to the age of BJP prime ministerial candidate L K Advani (82) and asked whether Mr. Modi supported him for the post or not.

The spokesperson claimed that it was not the first time that Mr. Modi had made derogatory references to women. She alleged that under Mr. Modi’s government in Gujarat women have been subject to terrible violence and atrocities, the worst sufferers being those belonging to minority communities and the Godhra victims.

Jarnail Singh wanted to provoke, not to hurt me: Chidambaram

sargam — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:36:41 +0000

New Delhi : Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was the target of a Sikh journalist’s ire on Tuesday on the issue of CBI clean chit to Jagdish Tytler in anti-Sikh riots cases, said on Wednesday that he thought the scribe intended to provoke him and not hurt him.
He said it was for the party to decide whether it should give ticket to Tytler and he cannot comment because he “is neither the minister-in-charge nor the judge.”

“I cannot pronounce anybody guilty or innocent,” he said when asked by a TV channel whether it was proper for the party to give tickets to people like Tytler against whom questions have been raised.

“No, not at all. I don’t think he intended to hurt me. He intended to provoke me. Why should I be provoked,” he said in reply to a question whether he was scared by Tuesday’s incident.

He also said that he did not expect the journalist to apologise to him personally as he has apologised and his employer called up to apologise. “I don’t expect any further apology.”

Asked if he felt that the journalist’s action would rapture relations between media and politicians, the minister said “why, no, not at all. I think it was an emotional outburst by one journalist and I think we should allow it to rest.”

To another question if this incident merited enhanced security for him, Chidambaram shot back saying “one PSO is one too many.” Asked if he was sure, he said “hundred per cent sure.”

On whether Tytler and Sajjan Kumar should be given tickets looking at the Sikh emotions, he said “I cannot answer the question. Because I am not the judge, I am not the court. I think it is quite improper for anyone to pronounce a person either guilty or innocent.”

Chidambaram said his message to Sikh community would be that law has to take its course. Those who have been charge-sheeted have to be tried by court of law. Some will be punished and some will be acquitted either on technical grounds want of evidence.

“But the Sikh community must have faith to best of my knowledge no one in the government is trying to whitewash anything. No one is trying to pressure the court or to influence the court,” he said

Journalist hurls shoe at P Chidambaram

sargam — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:20:23 +0000

Express news service Posted online: Apr 07, 2009 at 1611 hrs
New Delhi : A journalist threw a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram at a press conference on Tuesday, protesting against the minister’s reply on his question on CBI’s clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 Sikh riots case.
The shoe did not hit the minister and the journalist, a senior reporter with Dainik Jagran, was taken into custody.

The press conference was being held at the Congress headquarters where Chidambaram was presenting his party’s report card on terrorism. The journalist asked the minister whether letting Tytler off the hook ahead of the elections was not politically motivated.

To which Chidambaram replied that CBI had only presented a report to the court and it was up to the court to either accept or reject it. The journalist wanted to ask another question but Chidambaram said he did not want to get into an argument and refused to take further questions.

The journalist then threw his shoe at the minister, saying ‘I protest’.

It is the first of its kind incident in India but throwing shoes at political leaders has become a high-profile form of protest. The trend was started by an Iraqi journalist who had thrown shoes at former US President George Bush at a press conference in Baghdad last year.

Thereafter, the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was meted a similar treatment while delivering a speech at Cambridge University. The Israeli ambassador to Sweden was also hit by a shoe when he was addressing an audience in Stockholm University.

Jarnail Singh released

Journalist Jarnail Singh who hurled a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram at a press conference was released by police after brief detention.

Station House Officer of Tughlaq Road Police station Anil Kumar Yadav told reporters that the scribe has been freed for the time being.

“No case has been registered against him. He has regretted about his action,” the official said, adding that the journalist was questioned for his action and then he was released.

After being freed, the Sikh journalist of a Hindi daily, who has caused a flutter in the political circle, said the issue that he raised was an appropriate issue and the victims should get justice.

“May be my way of protest was wrong,” said the scribe who later left with his journalist friends and Sikh supporters.

Meanwhile, Sunita Tiwari, who claimed to be his lawyer and had come to meet him at the police station, alleged that she was not allowed to talk to her client.

“I was misbehaved. The SHO asked the constables to take me out of the room. I wanted to talk to Jarnail as he was mentally disturbed,” she said.

BJP condemns shoe hurling incident

BJP condemned hurling of a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram by a Sikh journalist at a press conference in New Delhi. “We condemn the incident,” BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj said in New Delhi.

Jarnail Singh of a Hindi daily hurled a shoe at Chidambaram protesting against CBI’s clean chit to senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler accused in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Chidambaram was addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters.

(With PTI inputs)

Dream come true for Nano team

sargam — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:55:49 +0000

PUNE: It was a 500-odd Nano team at the Engineering Research Centre (ERC) at Tata Motors’ Pune plant that was behind Rata Tata’s dream: an all-weather affordable car for Indian families.

“It’s a car that made history,” the exclusive website for Nano says, introducing the team behind the iconic car led by engineer Girish Wagh.

“It was an incredibly tough journey - filled with challenges, questions, detours and self-doubts. But the Nano team developed and delivered a car that exceeds the world’s expectations beyond their dreams,” says Wagh.

It all started in 2003, when Tata asked a four-member Tata Motors team to start work on a new project. “The brief was very fluid,” the website says.

Nikhil A. Jadhav, industrial designer at INCAT - a Tata group engineering and designing firm - says it began as an advance engineering project.

“The idea was to try and create a very low cost transportation with four wheels; it was not even defined as a car,” said Jadhav, who has been working on the project since inception.

The Nano design team looked at every alternative to construct the vehicle within the strict price constraints. There were debates on measures to bring down the costs: whether plastics could be used instead of metal, whether a low powered engine would suffice, or even whether doors were necessary.

As the Nano website says: “One question was a consistent driving factor: What is the bare minimum a customer will accept.”

According to Jadhav, the team also looked at other concepts such as soft doors in vinyl with plastic windows, two big doors, or a bar in place of doors. “But all these were turned down by Mr. Tata, he was very clear that it had to be a complete car,” he added.

As if in support of this, Tata said at the press conference in Mumbai Monday: “All we set out to do is to move Indian families at an affordable price. It is serendipitous in some manner that things have worked out this way.”

The original thought was to have a conventional front engine and a front wheel drive. But the design team threw conventions to the wind, keeping a rear engine with front wheel drive.

“It made the car more low-cost, more efficient and more compact ,” said assistant general manager of vehicle integration at Tata Motors’ research Centre Abhay Deshpande.

K. K. Attri takes over as Punjab DGP

sargam — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:40:00 +0000

CHANDIGARH: K. K. Attri IPS, a 1971 batch officer of Punjab cadre, today took over as Director General of Police. He took over the charge from N. P. S. Aulakh who has been named as Director General of National Security Guard (NSG). Prior to this assignment he was working as DGP cum Commandant General, Punjab Home Guards and Director Civil Defence.

It may be added that earlier in the day in a function at Punjab Bhawan, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal having the charge of home department, disclosed the decision of government to appoint K. K. Attri as new Director General Police of Punjab.

Speaking to the media after assuming office Attri said that he was feeling privileged to head the most professional police force of India. He said that Punjab Police was the only state police that had successfully curbed terrorism from the state. He said that his endeavor would be to give humane face to the Punjab Police by increasing police-public interface.

The new DGP said that in Punjab there was mostly urban policing and citizens of Punjab were well educated about their rights. Therefore, aspirations from Punjab Police were quite high and it would be his priority to fulfill most of their aspirations by adopting purely professional attitude.

Speaking about his priorities he said that his first priority was to ensure peaceful conduct of Lok Sabha elections in total non partisan way. He said that he was looking forward to meet this challenge with the total support of his force.

Appreciating the Punjab Police the new DGP said that the state police was a fully professional force and he would try to focus on police welfare to maintain their high morale.

He said that he would like to review long pending unsolved and blind cases and work out a strategy to crack these cases. Earlier, the outgoing DGP N. P. S. Aulakh formally handed over the charge to Attri.

A contingent of Punjab Armed Police gave a ceremonial guard of honor to outgoing and new DGP.

After taking over the charge Mr. Attri had a formal review meeting of top brass of Punjab Police and reviewed law and order situation in the state and also preparedness of the Punjab Police to conduct ensuing Lok Sabha elections peacefully

My only close friend in the industry is Rekha: Hema Malini

sargam — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:01:15 +0000

Mumbai, (IANS) Dream Girl Hema Malini turns an ageless 60 Thursday and her daughters - Esha and Ahana - have planned a grand birthday party where all her close friends will be present, and only one good pal from the film industry - Rekha.

“I’ve kept the birthday party for Saturday when I’ll be back from the Tirupati temple after my annual visit with all my relatives. I like to have a birthday party every year for which family and close friends are invited,” Hema told IANS.

“My close friends are all from outside the industry, except Rekha. I’ll only call her. We’re very fond of each other over the years. We’ve been colleagues and friends for decades. I’ve invited her. I hope she comes,” she added.

Hema and Rekha featured in Feroz Khan’s “Dharmatma”, but they didn’t have any scenes together.

The actress, who is gearing up to play erstwhile Gwalior queen Vijayaraje Scindia in the movie “Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi”, says she had her first birthday party when she turned 16.

“I don’t remember any birthday party as a child. Even that 16th birthday party was organised by my producer Ananthswamy who discovered me for Hindi cinema in ‘Sapnon Ka Saudagar’. It was when he insisted that I have a birthday party I realised, ‘My god, you have party on your birthday?’”

Excerpts:

Q: So what makes this birthday so special?

A: You tell me. People like you make it special for me. Believe it or not, I didn’t know what a birthday was until I was 16 years old. I don’t remember any birthday party as a child. Even that 16th birthday party was organised by my producer Ananthswamy who discovered me and gave me a chance in “Sapnon Ka Saudagar”. It was when he insisted that I have a birthday party I realised, ‘My god, you have party on your birthday?’

Q: What do you mean?

A: My mother never celebrated my or mine or my brother’s birthday. I don’t know why! Looking back it seems so funny. Sad, no? I think birthdays are big in North India, not so big in the South.

Q: So after 16 you became addicted to birthday parties?

A: Once you become a star, everyone is eager to celebrate your birthday. There would be a cake on the sets, co-artistes singing for me. I started looking forward to my birthdays.

Q: So how are you bringing in your birthday this year?

A: It started nicely enough two evening earlier with the ‘mahurat’ of “Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi” where I play Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia. I met Vinod Khanna, my parliamentarian colleague who plays my co-star. He’s looking so good these days. We had done one of my favourite films “Meera” together many years ago. Now we’re doing another film in the same Rajasthani ambience.

Q: You haven’t changed at all since “Meera”.

A: Neither has Vinod Khanna.

Q: What about the birthday party?

A: I’ve kept that for Saturday when I’ll be back from Tirupati after my annual birthday visit with all my relatives. I like to have a birthday party every year for which family and close friends are invited. Everyone is so busy with their life. This is one time during the year when I’m able to meet all the people who matter to me.

Q: And who are they?

A: My close friends are all from outside the industry, except Rekha. I’ll only call her. We’re very fond of each other for years. We’ve been colleagues and friends for decades. I’ve invited her. I hope she comes.

Q: Who’s planning the party?

A: Esha and Ahana. Everything is being organised by them while I’m off to Tirupati with about 15 of my relatives including the brother.

Q: Will Dharamji be there at the party?

A: Of course, he will. What do you mean? He has to be there.

Q: And your fans, how do they connect on your birthday?

A: There’re some fans for years who would go crazy if I don’t let them wish me. I make it a point to take their call on my birthday. There’s a lady from Nasik Lata Shirke. She’s so fond of me. She sends all kinds of gifts like perfumes. I truly value this kind of love. And when you say no one in the industry speaks badly of me I feel my life is worth it.

Q: When you visited Tirupati on your birthday what you prayed for?

A: I hardly have anything to ask for. I just want to be doing the right things in life. And to create new opportunities for myself. I can feel god with me all the time. Also, I’d like to produce a film with Esha in the lead. I don’t know why that isn’t happening as quickly as I want.

Q; What gift would you like this birthday?

A: Some new level of excitement in my life? Can you suggest something.

Hema Malini turns 60 Thursday, but feels sweet 16

New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) An actor, classical dancer, filmmaker and politician - Bollywood’s ‘dream girl’ Hema Malini who juggles different roles with aplomb, turns 60 Thursday but says she still feels 16 at heart.

“I feel 16 at 60. I guess age has nothing to do with creativity, but it certainly has a lot to do with maturity and dedication. I have lived life on my own terms and conditions and now when I look back, I feel happy about all the decisions I have taken,” Hema said in a statement released here Wednesday.

The actress, who is also a Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer, plans to start her special day by offering prayers at the famed Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh with daughters Esha and Ahana Deol.

“The best way to celebrate one’s birthday is by praying to the lord for peace and harmony in the world. In times of terrorism and global financial depression, I guess we can only find peace in our prayers,” Hema said.

Known for her memorable performances in films like “Johnny Mera Naam”, “Seeta aur Geeta”, “Jugnu”, “Sholay”, “Dream Girl”, “Satte Pe Satta”, ” Khushboo” and “Baghban”, the actress has had a successful film career spanning almost 40 years.

However, Hema’s entry into films was not a cakewalk for her. In 1964, she was rejected by director for not having star appeal when she tried her luck in southern cinema.

Hema got her break in “Sapnon ka Saudagar” opposite Raj Kapoor in 1968 but became an overnight star with “Johnny Mera Naam” in 1970.

By 1972, she gained the status of the reigning Bollywood star and the success of her double-role in “Seeta Aur Geeta” fetched her the Filmfare award for best actress in 1973.

Throughout her career, Hema has been paired opposite a range of actors but it was her on-screen chemistry with actor Dharmendra - whom she later married - that made the duo a hit pair in films like “Sholay”, “Charas”, “Jugnu”, “Seeta Aur Geeta” and “The Burning Train”.

Hema took a sabbatical from the big-screen in the early 1990s during which she tried her hand at direction with box office dud “Dil Aashna Hai” in 1992 that was Shah Rukh Khan’s launchpad.

The actress made a comeback in 2003 with box office hit “Baghban” opposite Amitabh Bachchan and since then has been seen in films like “Veer-Zaara”, “Baabul” and “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag”.

An acclaimed dancer, Hema does not think age is a deterrent and plans to continue performing Bharatnatyam and her dance ballets across the country and abroad.

Representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Hema is a Rajya Sabha member.

Asked how she manages to juggle different roles in life, she said: “Its all about time management and I guess one can do even more than this if we sort out our priorities.”

Hema’s future projects include “Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi”, “Saadiyan” and Deepa Sahi’s directorial venture opposite Nana Patekar.

IANS

Kingfisher too may hand out pink slips

sargam — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:11:02 +0000

HYDERABAD/MUMBAI: Close on the heels of the countryâ€™s largest private carrier Jet Airwaysâ€™ decision to lay off nearly 1,900 employees, its new alliance partner Kingfisher may be looking at a reduction in manpower to cut costs. The Vijay Mallya-owned airline employs around 8,000.

The manpower reduction is perceived to be part of the operational alliance that the two airlines announced on Monday. The plan includes common ground handling, route rationalisation and cross-selling of seats, among others. The alliance would result in savings of Rs 1,500 crore in operational costs. Kingfisher and Jet have set up a joint working group to fix the nuts and bolts of the commercial agreement.

Talking to the reporters at the companyâ€™s headquarters in Mumbai, Jet Airways executive director Saroj K Dutta said the decision to lay off 1,900 employees has nothing to do with the proposed alliance. â€œThis is an independent decision,â€ he said.

Kingfisher chairman Vijay Mallya, however, endorsed Jetâ€™s plan to lay off staff. â€œManpower reduction is inevitable. We completely endorse Jet Airwaysâ€™ move to lay off temporary staff,â€ Mr Mallya said in Hyderabad on the sidelines of the countryâ€™s first civil air show â€” India Aviation 2008.

Mr Dutta said it was a painful decision to opt for layoffs. â€œIt is an unfortunate decision, which all of us in the company regret, but it is an attempt to save the company and the jobs of the remaining 11,100 employees,â€ he said.

Mr Dutta denied that the proposed alliance with Kingfisher would lead to cartelisation. A section of industry said the alliance could create a monopoly in the aviation space since the combine commands nearly 60% share of the domestic market. They felt the move could put pressure on competition at a time when most players are incurring huge losses.

â€œIt is just rationalisation and co-operation,â€ Mr Dutta said.

â€œIn our alliance, which is purely commercial in nature, there is no cross-equity participation. We will have code-sharing arrangements with each other both on domestic and international sectors. But we will maintain a gap of half an hour between two flights. We may code-share with Jet on Bangalore-London sector. There is compelling commercial reason for this,â€ Mr Mallya said.

On job cuts, Mr Dutta said 800 employees have already been served notice. Last month, the UB Group, which owns Kingfisher and Kingfisher Red, the no-frills airline which was earlier branded as Air Deccan, sacked close to 300 personnel. Jet Airways, too, handed out pink slips to nearly 300 people working for its low-cost carrier JetLite. Manpower costs account for around a quarter of airlinesâ€™ operating costs.

The two airlines have envisaged several initiatives to synergise operations. Together, they will return 14 aircraft to the lessor. While Jet would return seven B737s, Kingfisher would remove seven A320s from its fleet. Kingfisher is also re-evaluating its plans to operate in international sectors.

Sugar ‘makes you sweeter’

sargam — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:32:29 +0000

London, (PTI) No doubt, you can do away without it, but if a new study is to be believed, sugar can make you a sweeter person.
An international team has carried out the study and found that sweet drinks do give people a sugar rush that helps supply the brain with the fuel required to suppress outspoken opinions.

“The findings suggest a link between glucose levels and the expression of prejudice and the use of stereotypes.

“People with lower glucose levels are more likely to use stereotypes when describing others and, if they are high in prejudice, are more likely to make derogatory statements,” ‘The Daily Telegraph’ quoted researchers as saying.

The researchers from Amsterdam University and Florida State University have based their findings on an analysis of two groups of student — one given lemonade with sugar and the other lemonade with an artificial sweetener.

They were then shown a picture of Sammy, a young man said to be gay, and asked to write for five minutes about his typical day. Using a list of 58 stereotypes associated with gay men, the researchers then counted the number of times they were written. PTI

300 suspected illegal immigrants caught in SC raid

sargam — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:47:43 +0000

By MITCH WEISS and JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press Writers
Federal agents swept through a chicken processing plant Tuesday, detaining more than 300 suspected illegal immigrants, sending panicked workers running and screaming through the hallways. Worried relatives collected outside, fearful their loved ones would be deported.

Police and agents during a shift change ordered all workers at the House of Raeford’s Columbia Farms to show identification, according to officials and witnesses. The business had been under scrutiny for months and the raid comes on the heels of even larger roundups at plants across the country.

Maria Juan, 22, was one of about 50 relatives and friends who huddled at the edge of the plant after the raid, some weeping and others talking frantically on cell phones. She was seeking information about her 68-year-old grandmother, a legal immigrant from Guatemala who went to work without identification papers but was later released.

“Families are going to be broken apart,” Juan said. “There will be kids and babies left behind. Why are they doing this? Why? They didn’t do anything. They only wanted to work.”

Workers began running down hallways crying and screaming, said Herbert Rooker, 54, a third-shift janitor. He wore a blue band on his wrist, indicating agents had determined he was in the country legally.

Rooker had to duck into a bathroom to avoid what he called a stampede of people.

“I didn’t know what they were running from. I had no reason to run,” said Rooker who remained at the plant five hours after the raid because police still had his truck blocked.

Immigration officials kept the workers inside, spending most of the morning trying to figure out how many are in the country illegally, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said.

The number could be substantial. A recent review found that immigration paperwork for more than 775 of 825 workers contained false information, McDonald said. Immigration agents scoured the plant for paperwork and other information for the investigation.

Hector Zapata said he was hauled in when he dropped his daughter off for work. Agents ignored his cries that he didn’t work there, he said. Seven hours later, his daughter, in the U.S. legally, emerged, joining dozens of others milling around trying to figure out where their loved ones were being taken.

When he heard about the raid, Mateo Matias got his neighbor’s three children out of school and brought them to the plant. He wanted immigration officials to see the boys â€” ages 4, 5 and 6 â€” in hopes they might release their mother, who is from Guatemala, where her husband remains.

“The mother is fighting for a better life so the children can survive,” Matias said.

House of Raeford processes chickens and turkeys in eight plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Michigan. A sales manager at the Greenville plant referred questions to the company’s Rose Hill, N.C., headquarters, where a woman answering the phone said there was no immediate comment.

Federal prosecutors and immigration agents have been investigating the plant’s hiring practices for several months. Eleven supervisors and the plant’s human resources director have been charged, most accused of falsifying documents. Seven have pleaded guilty, three are awaiting trial and two have fled, McDonald said.

U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins wouldn’t say whether other plants or executives were being investigated.

The Charlotte Observer first reported in February that plant workers were in the country illegally and company managers knew it.

One worker backed up that account Tuesday.

“Everyone knew most of the workers were illegal. It was no secret. We just came in and did our work and you kept to yourself,” said Dorothy Anthony, who works with sister Alice on the deboning line.

The women, both American citizens, were released after showing ID.

Greenville immigration attorney Amy Shelley said the phone at her law firm was ringing nonstop Tuesday as word of the raid spread. She didn’t have any clients yet, but figures she will represent some of the arrested workers.

“The frustrating thing is most of their families don’t know anything right now either,” she said.

Officials are arranging to care for children of workers detained in the raid, one of several nationwide this year.

In August, more than 600 suspected illegal immigrants were detained at a Mississippi transformer plant in the largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history. And in May, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized from the plant’s human resources department, according to court records.

Curfew in cautious Valley

sargam — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:09:03 +0000

MUZAFFAR RAINA
Srinagar, Oct. 5: The government today clamped indefinite curfew across Kashmir and cracked down on separatist leaders and some local news channels ahead of a possible showdown with pro-azaadi protesters.

The authorities are trying to pre-empt a separatist march to Srinagarâ€™s commercial hub Lal Chowk, eight weeks after a â€œmarch to Muzaffarabadâ€ led to the death of a Hurriyat leader and several other protesters in police firing.

The Lal Chowk march, called tomorrow by the Hurriyat-led co-ordination committee, marks the resumption of the standoff between the government and separatists after a lull during Ramazan.

The authorities placed all the 10 Valley districts under curfew early this morning, and erected barricades and installed iron gates on all roads leading to Lal Chowk. Police vehicles fitted with speakers were on the streets before daybreak, asking people not to step out of their homes.

The police and the CRPF have been deployed in thousands to prevent any flare-up that could set the stage for a face-off at tomorrowâ€™s rally. Clashes were reported from a couple of places but no major curfew violation was reported.

Several people were admitted to hospital after being beaten up by the security forces.

Srinagar district magistrate Mehraj Kakroo said Section 144 had been imposed for a month, banning assembly of five or more persons.

The authorities arrested JKLF chairman Yasin Malik, who heads the 15-member organising committee for the Lal Chowk march, last night. Moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and hawk Syed Ali Geelani were placed under house arrest.

Geelani was later admitted to hospital with chest pain. â€œHis condition is stable and he took a cup of tea in the morning,â€ a Hurriyat spokesman said.

Local cable news channel SEN TV was taken off the air after the Srinagar administration stopped the transmission of local cable network News Channel. â€œThe local channel telecast objectionable material to incite people,â€ an official said. The Hurriyat has vowed to go ahead with the rally.

â€œPeople are ready to defy curfew and march towards Lal Chowk. We request people not to resort to violence or raise objectionable slogans, which could give the security forces an excuse to resort to force,â€ said Saleem Geelani, a Hurriyat leader.

The separatist-led uprising was on in full swing before Ramazan but was toned down during the month of fasting. The government had prevented a Lal Chowk rally on August 25 by imposing a nine-day curfew that was lifted the day before Ramazan began.

Senate passes $700B rescue; House votes lured

sargam — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:30:44 +0000

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and CHARLES BABINGTON,

Associated Press Writers
After one spectacular failure, the $700 billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday, winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where Republicans opposition softened.

Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners before passing it by a wide margin, 74-25, a month before the presidential and congressional elections.

In the House, leaders were working feverishly to convert enough opponents of the bill to push it through by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.

The measure didn’t cause the same uproar in the Senate, where both parties’ presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, made rare appearances to cast “aye” votes, as did Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

In the final vote, 39 Democrats, 34 Republicans and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut voted “yes.” Nine Democrats, 15 Republicans and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont voted “no.”

President Bush issued a statement praising the Senate’s move. With the revisions, Bush said, “I believe members of both parties in the House can support this legislation. The American people expect and our economy demands that the House pass this good bill this week and send it to my desk.”

The rescue package lets the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a deep recession.

Even as the Senate voted, House leaders were hunting for the 12 votes they would need to turn around Monday’s 228-205 defeat. They were especially targeting the 133 Republicans who voted “no.”

Their opposition appeared to be easing after the Senate added $110 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.

They were also cheering a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.

There were worries, though, that the tax breaks would cause some conservative-leaning “Blue Dog” Democrats who voted for the rescue Monday to abandon it. The bill doesn’t designate a way to pay for many of the tax cuts, and Blue Dogs typically oppose any measure that swells the deficit.

“I’m concerned about that,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the majority leader.

Raising the deposit insurance limit â€” along with the SEC’s accounting change â€” helped House Republicans claim credit for some substantive changes. And with constituent feedback changing dramatically since Monday’s shocking House defeat and the corresponding market plunge, lawmakers’ comfort level with the package increased markedly.

Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., who voted “no” on Monday, said he was leaning toward switching, and Rep. Steve LaTourette,R-Ohio, said he was “getting there.” Several others were weighing a flip, said Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the lawmakers had not yet announced how they would vote.

Leaders in both parties, as well as private economic chiefs everywhere, said Congress must quickly approve some version of the bailout measure to start loans flowing and stave off a potential national economic disaster.

“This is what we need to do right now to prevent the possibility of a crisis turning into a catastrophe,” Obama said on the Senate floor. In Missouri, before flying to Washington to vote, McCain said, “If we fail to act, the gears of our economy will grind to a halt.”

Critics on the right and left assailed the rescue plan, which has been panned by their constituents as a giveaway for Wall Street, and has little obvious direct benefit for ordinary Americans.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a leading conservative, said the step was “leading us into the pit of socialism.”

Sanders, a self-described socialist, said the rescue was fundamentally unfair.

“The masters of the universe, those brilliant Wall Street insiders who have made more money than the average American can even dream of, have brought our financial system to the brink of collapse,” Sanders said, and are demanding that the middle class “pick up the pieces that they broke.”

Still, proponents argued that the financial sector’s woes were already being felt by ordinary people in the form of unaffordable credit and underperforming retirement savings and without the bailout would soon translate into even more economic pain for working Americans, including more job losses.

“There will be no balloons or bunting or parades,” when the rescue becomes law, said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman. But lawmakers will have “the knowledge that at one of our nation’s moments of maximum economic peril, we acted â€” not for the benefit of a particular few, but for all Americans.”

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said the intense, at times contentious, 11-day round of bipartisan talks to craft the bailout â€” which followed dire warnings of impending economic meltdown from Bush’s economic chiefs to congressional leaders â€” was an “extraordinary experience.”

“This is the way government’s supposed to work, folks, and it did,” Gregg said.

The Senate specializes in high-stakes legislating by enticement, and the long list of sweeteners it added was designed to attract votes from various constituencies.

In addition to extending several tax breaks popular with businesses, the bill would keep the alternative minimum tax from hitting 20 million middle-income Americans and provide $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana.

Tax cuts new and old are favorites for most House Republicans. Help for rural schools was aimed mainly at lawmakers in the West, while disaster aid was a top priority for lawmakers from across the Midwest and South.

Another addition, to extend the deductibility of state and local taxes for people in states without income taxes, helps Florida and Texas, among others.

Increasing the deposit insurance cap was a bid to reassure individuals and small businesses that their money would be safe if their banks collapsed. It was particularly geared toward small banks that fear customers will pull their money and park it in larger institutions seen as less likely to fold.

The FDIC would be allowed to borrow unlimited money from the Treasury Department through the end of next year as a way to cover the increased insurance limit. If used, it would be the first time the agency has tapped Treasury for a loan since the early 1990s.

The rescue bill hitched a ride on a popular measure that gives people with mental illness better health insurance coverage. Before passing it, senators voted by an identical 74-25 margin to attach the massive bailout and the tax breaks.

Temperature of Debate? Lukewarm.

sargam — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:10:35 +0000

By Dana Milbank
OXFORD, Miss., At one wooden lectern stood the Republican nominee, tempestuous and tightly wound. A few steps across the red carpet stood his Democratic opponent, cerebral and condescending. “Is John McCain too hot?” Chris Matthews of “Hardball” broadcast from the Ole Miss campus before Friday night’s first general-election debate. “Is Barack Obama too cold?”

But when they opened their mouths, what came out was neither hot nor cold, but a tepid gruel.

McCain was controlled. Obama was succinct. And both were so mild that moderator Jim Lehrer didn’t know what to do. “Talk to each other,” he urged. “Say it directly to him,” he pleaded. “Do you have something directly to say, Senator Obama, to Senator McCain about what he just said? . . . Respond directly to him about that, to Senator Obama about that. He’s made it twice now.”

No use. Lehrer asked about the financial-bailout plan gripping the nation. “Do you favor this plan?” the moderator pressed.

“We haven’t seen the language yet,” Obama demurred.

“Are you going to vote for the plan, Senator McCain?”

“I — I hope so,” McCain hedged.

It was 75 minutes into the 90-minute debate before any real blood was drawn, when Obama was defending his willingness to meet with foes. “So let me get this right,” McCain snapped. “We sit down with Ahmadinejad, and he says, ‘We’re going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,’ and we say, ‘No, you’re not’? Oh, please.”

Laughter came from the audience. Obama struggled to respond but McCain kept cutting him off. “And Senator Obama is parsing words,” he said.

“I am not parsing words,” Obama insisted.

“He’s parsing words, my friends.”

But within moments, the spark was gone, the two men were back to room temperature, and McCain was going on about “the political process in Ukraine between Tymoshenko and Yushchenko.”

“Senator McCain and I agree for the most part,” was Obama’s reply.

To the extent either man had the upper hand in the debate, it was Obama in the early parts while McCain looked uncomfortable, and McCain in the later parts as he kept Obama on the defensive. McCain twice called Obama’s views “naive,” called them “dangerous” four times, and seven times said Obama doesn’t “understand.” In reply, Obama said nine times that what his opponent claimed was “not true.” Four more times he piped up to “correct” his opponent.

At one point, the men who would lead the nation engaged in a bit of jewelry one-upmanship. After McCain mentioned the bracelet he wears in honor of a fallen soldier, Obama broke in: “Jim, let me just make a point. I’ve got a bracelet, too, from Sergeant” — here Obama paused awkwardly, looking at his wrist — “from the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek.”

Throughout the campaign, the clash of personality has defined the race as much as ideology has. If one moment captured McCain’s performance in the primary debates, it was his awkward grin as he promised to follow Osama bin Laden “to the gates of hell.” If Obama had a corresponding moment, it was his cool putdown of Hillary Rodham Clinton: “You’re likable enough.”

There were flashes of those traits last night, too. McCain grinned while saying the words “wipe Israel off the map.” He slipped into his “my friends” tic twice, and reminded the audience twice that “I did not win Miss Congeniality.” He had a great deal of trouble pronouncing the name of Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

McCain, who battles the accusation that he is erratic, ran into trouble at the outset, when, with red and moist eyes, he announced that “Senator Kennedy is in the hospital.” (In fact, Kennedy had already been released.) “I’ve been not feeling too great about a lot of things lately,” he added. It seemed as if he might cry.

True to form, McCain was sharper in his attacks on Obama. “Senator Obama has the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate; it’s hard to reach across the aisle from that far to the left,” he said. On Iraq, he charged: “Incredibly, incredibly Senator Obama didn’t go to Iraq for 900 days, and never asked for a meeting with General Petraeus.”

That was a bit too hot.

Obama, in turn, occasionally retreated to his professorial default. “It’s hard to anticipate right now what the budget is going to look like next year,” he advised the viewers. And, “There’s some things that we’ve got to do structurally to make sure we can compete in this global economy.”

While McCain seemed more agitated, stepping back and forth at the lectern, Obama gazed over at him with a look of mild disappointment. He allowed himself the occasional smirk, and true to his nature, he treated the audience to discussions of Franklin Roosevelt and the American share of oil supplies. “I reserve the right as president of the United States to meet with anybody at a time and place of my choosing,” he announced. When McCain challenged his committee work in the Senate, Obama brushed it off with “That’s inside baseball.”

That was a bit too cool.

But Obama showed that he could take off his professor’s cap, particularly when the topic turned to Iraq, and he repeatedly lectured McCain: “You were wrong.” McCain, for his part, found a way to rib his opponent for once speaking behind a lectern with a faux presidential emblem. “I’m not going to set the White House visitors schedule before I’m president,” he said. “I don’t even have a seal yet.”

But such moments of sharpness were rare. The job of being hot fell to, of all people, Jim Lehrer.

“Ten days ago, John said that the fundamentals of the economy are sound,” Obama said into the camera.

“Say it directly to him,” Lehrer instigated.

“Well,” Obama obliged, “John, 10 days ago, you said the fundamentals of the economy are sound.”

McCain was amused at this attempt to start a fight. He asked Lehrer: “Are you afraid I couldn’t hear him?”

Rahul pays obeisance at Golden Temple

sargam — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:14:06 +0000

Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, The unscheduled visit of Rahul Gandhi, general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), to Golden Temple here today surprised the police, mediapersons as well as the public.

Clad in a white kurta-pyjama and wearing a saffron headscarf, the young Congress leader started his three-day visit to the state by paying obeisance at the temple amid tight security of Special Protection Group (SPG) commandos in mufti.

He partook of langar in the Guru Ram Das Langar Hall and listened to kirtan. The SGPC has not been honouring Opposition leaders with siropa (robe of honour) at the temple for quite some time. Hence Rahul preferred to keep the SGPC in the dark about the visit.

Except for senior airport officers, nobody in the district administration, including the police, knew about his visit.

It was the first visit to the Sikh shrine by the 38-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family. He was escorted by a few local Congress leaders because the visit was kept top secret from the security point of view.

The offices of the SGPC were closed in view of Gurpurb (death anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev) and none of its senior officials was present there.

The Congress general secretary reached the temple in a Tata Safari after landing at the local Rajasansi Airport at around 7 am in a Kingfisher-Air Deccan flight along with his six SPG personnel.

He stayed in the temple for about 25 minutes and left for Chandigarh in a chartered flight around 10 am.

So much so mediapersons came to know about his visit after seeing him in the live telecast of Gurbani. However, he refused to entertain any query of mediapersons.

However, on repeated requests of the media, he quipped: â€œI am here as a humble devotee and not to pose for photographs. For the next two or three days I am in Punjab for mediapersons, but now at a religious place I would prefer not to talkâ€.

Rahul Gandhi visited Jallianwalla Bagh and paid tributes to the martyrs of the 1919 massacre. He was presented with a siropa at the Durgiana temple by its head priest.

Rahulâ€™s visit to the state is part of his â€œDiscover Indiaâ€ programme under which he had toured Karnataka, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh this year.

Aafiaâ€™s son freed by Kabul, flown to Islamabad

sargam — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:02:00 +0000

By Syed Irfan Raza

ISLAMABAD, A 12-year-old son of neuroscientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui was handed over to his aunt Fauzia Siddiqui here on Monday after years of detention in a US military base in Afghanistan.

Touching scenes were witnessed when Mohammad Ahmed, wearing white Shalwar Qameez, was brought to Dr Fauzia Siddiquiâ€™s house in Sector F-7/1 amid tight security. He was warmly hugged by his aunt.

According to published reports, Ahmed was only six when he and his mother, a brother and a sister were abducted from Karachi in 2003. Later they were reportedly handed over to US authorities.

â€œHe is traumatised and quite afraid but seems to be in good health,â€ Dr Fauzia told journalists after the boy had been handed over to her by officials of the interior ministry and intelligence agencies.

She gave a written statement to the officials expressing her gratitude to the nation, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, PMâ€™s Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik, Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah and the National Assembly and Senate for getting the boy freed.

Dr Fauzia said: â€œAhmed is mentally disturbed and so far he has said nothing about what had happened to him in custody.â€

She suggested that he should undergo a thorough check-up to determine his health condition.

The boy was handed over by the Afghan government to Pakistani officials in Kabul earlier on Monday.

Pakistanâ€™s Press Counsellor in Afghanistan Naeem Khan told the PTV that Mohammad was in good physical and mental health and â€œhe is OK and fineâ€.

Answering a question about the other two children (son and daughter) of Dr Aafia, he said only Mohammad Ahmed was in the custody of Afghanistan and he had no information about the other children.

The boy arrived at the Benazir International Airport in Islamabad from Kabul in a PIA flight and was taken to his auntâ€™s residence. Security officials did not allowed journalists to talk to him at the airport.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan co-chairman Iqbal Haider said that the daughter of Dr Aafia was also in Afghanistan. He regretted that despite having US nationality, the US government did nothing for the release of its four citizens. â€œThis is severe violation of the US laws and constitution.â€

He said that earlier the US and Afghan governments had denied the presence of Mohammad Ahmed in Afghanistan but some Afghan citizens had informed Dr Fauzia that he was in custody of US troops at the Bagram base.

HRCP Director I.A. Rehman urged the government to get the other two children of Dr Aafia released.

Agencies add: â€œUnder the presidential order of Hamid Karzai, we hand over Ali Hassan to Pakistan authorities,â€ Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmad Baheen told reporters in Kabul, naming the boy as Ali Hassan and not as Mohammad Ahmed.

â€œWe hope this step should symbolise friendly ties with our neighbouring nation Pakistan,â€ he said.

Mr Baheen said: â€œThe boy was kept in a guest-house like a guest. He was not a prisoner.â€

He said Dr Aafia had adopted the child in 2005 after he lost his parents, a doctor and an engineer, in the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.

Afghan police said they had arrested Dr Aafia and her son Ali Hassan outside the governorâ€™s office in Ghazni province in July after becoming suspicious of her behaviour.

US soldiers in Afghanistan later took Dr Aafia under their custody after she allegedly grabbed a US warrant officerâ€™s rifle during an interrogation session and fired at them, US officials said.

While Dr Aafia was flown to New York to face federal charges of assault and attempted murder, the boy remained in Afghan custody prompting calls by Pakistan and rights group for his release.

Until her arrest in July, Dr Aafia had been declared as missing by rights groups since she left her parentsâ€™ house in Karachi in March 2003.

In 2004, Dr Aafia was identified by the FBI as an â€œAl Qaeda operative and facilitator who posed a clear and present danger to America.â€

She was married to a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks. Her husband was captured in 2003 and is now held at the Guantanamo Bay.

Pakistan’s Zardari expects no more U.S. raids

sargam — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:52:32 +0000

LONDON, - Pakistan’s new President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday he did not believe the United States would carry out any more cross-border raids into Pakistan.

Frustrated at militants hiding across the border with Afghanistan, U.S. forces have stepped up attacks against targets inside Pakistan in recent weeks with missile strikes from unmanned drones and a raid by helicopter-borne U.S. commandos.

The attacks have sparked an outcry from Pakistani leaders.

Asked if Pakistani troops had been authorised to fire on U.S. soldiers if they staged any more cross-border raids, Zardari told reporters in London: “I don’t think there will be any more.” He did not elaborate.

Zardari was speaking after several hours of talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband which addressed the security situation on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Asked if Brown agreed with him that U.S. cross-border raids were wrong, Zardari said: “He did agree that they didn’t help.”

A spokesman for Brown declined comment.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said this month he was not convinced Western forces were winning in Afghanistan and said militant bases across the border in Pakistan would be targeted in a shift of war strategy.

Helicopter-borne U.S. commandos carried out a ground assault this month in Pakistan’s South Waziristan, a militant border sanctuary, the first known incursion into Pakistan by U.S. troops since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, killing 20 people.

In a joint statement released after their talks, Brown and Zardari said there was a “particularly acute problem with extremism emanating from the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region. This had an impact on Pakistan as much as anywhere else, but was also impacting on (British) forces in Afghanistan.”

“It was for the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to lead the efforts to combat this extremism, with the support of the international community,” they said.

It said Britain and Pakistan had agreed to enhance cooperation against violent extremism and radicalisation, but did not say how.

Zardari said cooperation would be improved through more interaction and understanding, suggesting Britain could help other countries understand Pakistan’s view.

Britain, the former colonial ruler, had “always had better understanding of the (Indian) sub-continent than any other country so if they would take our point of view and put it across to the world I think it would be better,” he said.

Zardari was elected president this month to replace staunch U.S. ally Pervez Musharraf, a former army chief who stepped down as president last month under threat of impeachment. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

Five explosions rock Delhi, 20 dead, many injured

sargam — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:55:25 +0000

New Delhi, September 13: Five explosions rocked busy market places in New Delhi on Saturday evening, killing twenty people and injuring many others. The blasts at Ghaffar market in Karol Bagh, at Connaught Place and Greater Kailash took place in a quick succession, police said.

The first blast took place at Ghaffar market in which at least 20 people were injured. They were rushed to nearby RML hospital.

Immediately after that two explosions took place in Connaught Place in which at least 10 people were injured.

Another explosion rocked M-Block market in Greater Kailash-I.

The impact of the the blasts in Karol Bagh could be gauged by the fact that an auto was thrown up and got caught in the electrical wires.

Senior Police officials including Joint Commissioner of Police Karnail Singh rushed to the spot in the central district and were assessing the situation.

In Ghaffar market, the explosive was believed to have been kept near a Maruti car. Several vehicles were badly damaged due to the impactof the blast.

In Barakhamba Road, one of the bombs was suspected to be placed near Nirmal tower. The second blast in the CP took place near Gopal Das Bhavan and the third one in central park.

At least eight people were injured in these two blasts. In the GK-I blast two people were injured who were rushed to a nearby hospital. Eight to ten shops were damaged in the explosion that took place at around 6:40 pm. The bomb was suspected kept in a dust bin.

Survivors’ Tale

After the blasts when panicked shoppers started to rush back home, some saviours came forward to help the injured.

Chanchal Kumar, a student of Mass Communication was one such example. He was heading towards his home in Noida after partying at a pub at Connaught Place area when the incident took place. He, along with his friend, was moving towards the Connaught Place outer circle when they heard a loud bang.

“The intensity was such that I could hear it even when my music system in the car was in full volume. Such loud sound was enough to tell that it was a bomb blast,” said he.

He asked the girls who were accompanying him to go home in another car and rushed towards the blast site along with his friend.

The site was soaked in blood and injured people were crying for help. He immediately got into act and took four people to nearby RML Hospital. He returned to the blast site and found three more people lying unattended while police was managing more serious patients.

While they were taking these people to hospital, parents of Chanchal saw him on television wearing a blood stained shirt. His phone was also going unattended which made them even more concerned. Later, Chanchal called them up and assured them that he was fine.

House expels Amarinder

sargam — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:17:34 +0000

Prabhjot Singh

Chandigarh, Stripping former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of the membership for the remaining term of the 13th Punjab Vidhan Sabha was one of the unprecedented decisions taken by the Punjab Assembly as the third and last sitting of the monsoon session came to a dramatic end here this afternoon.

The other major decisions were referring the House Committee report on the Amritsar Improvement Trust land exemption case to the Vigilance Bureau for launching criminal proceedings and unanimous adoption of the Punjab Official Language (Amendment) Bill .

It is for the first time in the history of 13 Vidhan Sabhas of the state since Independence that any former Chief Minister has been expelled on the basis of a House Committee report that substantiated charges of corruption and misuse of official position against four senior functionaries of the immediate past regime.

It may be perhaps the first case of its type in Punjab in which action has been taken by the House against a sitting member on charges of corruption and misusing official position.

The ruling SAD-BJP alliance went a step further in moving a privilege motion against expelled Amarinder and Makhan Singh for their utterances against the chairman of the House Committee and the constitution of the committee in a section of the media. The resolution moved by Virsa Singh Valtoha, a member of the House Committee, also had a majority voice vote endorsement.

Against apprehensions of a confrontation, it was a day of mixed and dramatic events that witnessed moments of bonhomie, unanimity, cuddling, political skirmishes, walkouts and slogan shouting. And still all business, including expulsion of Amarinder, was gone through with some of important visitors, including Preneet Kaur, MP, working president of the Punjab Congress Mohinder Singh Kaypee, former Cabinet ministers Sardool Singh, Jasjit Singh, Gurdev Singh Badal and Hari Singh Zira in the galleries. Even the officersâ€™ gallery was full for a change.

Dressed in his usual white shirt and pyjama with a light green turban, Capt Amarinder Singh arrived in the House shortly before the question hour had ended. Throughout the three-day session, he did not get a chance to speak or join discussions.

After the House had completed its scheduled legislative business, the speaker asked Harish Rai Dhanda to move his resolution. Leader of the Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and her colleague Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, however, wanted that discussion on havoc caused by floods in Punjab should be taken up first. But the speaker insisted on completing the listed agenda first. The moment Harish Rai Dhanda rose in his seat, Congressmen started shouting slogans against the Punjab government and moved to the well of the House. They even tried to break the security cordon of the speakerâ€™s podium.

Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Amarinder Singh, Brahm Mohindra and Kuldip Singh Bhattal, however, remained seated. Though Congress legislators kept on raising slogans, both Harish Rai Dhanda and Tikshan Sood went ahead with their resolutions. At one stage, some slogans were also raised against Congress leaders from the treasury benches.

Intriguingly, when the speaker put the resolution moved by parliamentary affairs minister Tikshan Sood for taking action against Amarinder to vote, Congress legislators were still in the House and they silently started walking out as the resolution was adopted by voice vote of the treasury benches. The Congress members neither announced boycott of the vote nor decision to stage a walkout to bring to an abrupt end to the proceedings of the last sitting.

In fact, Congress legislators wanted to nail the SAD-BJP government for its failure to provide adequate relief to flood victims. They were keen on discussion on the havoc wreaked by floods in the state last month.

The speaker had also agreed and announced that it would be taken up after the last item on the agenda was taken. A list of speakers from the Congress was also submitted to him.

The turn of events, however, scuttled the proposal. And once the decisions to expel Amarinder and adopt privilege resolution moved by Virsa Singh Valtoha were taken, the House adjourned sine die.

Earlier, in the amended agenda, motion regarding discussion on report of the House Committee by its chairman Harish Rai Dhanda was included as the last item. Once Dhanda had moved the resolution, parliamentary affairs minister rose to propose another resolution about action to be taken against those indicted by the report.

Vidhan Sabha rules do not permit any discussion on a House Committee report, as sufficient opportunity is believed to have been given to all parties during the sittings of the committee. As such only item of interest was action taken on the report.

The resolution of Tikshan said since the Vidhan Sabha did not have the provision for questioning and interrogation of guilty people to ascertain where they have kept or distributed the ill-gotten money, it recommended custodial interrogation of Amarinder, Jagjit Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma, while the fourth person indicted by the committee, Raghunath Sahai Puri, died some time ago.

The House also wanted the director, Vigilance Bureau, to register an FIR and give a preliminary report to the speaker within two months.

Amarinder to move HC today
Naveen S. Garewal

Chandigarh, Describing his expulsion as the â€œdarkest day in the history of democracy in Punjab,â€ former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said the action was nothing but an act of â€œpolitical vendettaâ€.

â€œEver since the SAD-BJP alliance formed government, repeated attempts have been made to send me to jail. They have had no success. In 13 cases the High Court and the Supreme Court has established political vendetta. They have now resorted to murder of democracy and used the Vidhan Sabha to expel meâ€.

Amarinder today appeared more composed and confident than he was on September 5 when the Special Committee tabled its report in the House. He said he would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court tomorrow against the â€œunconstitutional and illegal orderâ€.

â€œThe government has played with the sentiments of the people of Patiala who sent me to this august House by expelling me,â€ the former CM said.

Amarinder said this was for the first time in history that the Vidhan Sabha had pronounced an order â€œwithout hearing the accused or giving them an opportunity to defend themselvesâ€.

â€œThe government has violated the Constitution and principles of jurisprudenceâ€. The Badal clan, he said, had started a dangerous trend in politics using majority in the House to settle old scores.

Some Congress legislators were of the view that the party leadership had failed to provide a clear line of action at the meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) held earlier in the day to discuss the issue.

Tribune News Service

Zardari sworn in as new president of Pakistan

sargam — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:58:28 +0000

Saeed Shah in Islamabad

Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, was today sworn in as the president of Pakistan.

The ceremony completed the country’s transition to democracy and raised hopes that the political crisis would stabilise, enabling the new government to focus on tackling Islamist extremism.

Zardari, 53, took the oath in the vast presidential palace in Islamabad with portraits of Bhutto and her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s first elected leader, on each side.

It was symbolic that the only foreign leader present was Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, a country with which Pakistan has had hostile relations in recent years.

Karzai repeatedly accused the Pakistani state of helping Taliban insurgents seeking to oust his government and providing them with sanctuary in Pakistan’s wild tribal area.

Link to this audio
Jason Burke outlines the difficulties facing Asif Ali Zardari, the new Pakistani president He unexpectedly joined Zardari for a press conference after the swearing in ceremony at which the two leaders pledged to fight militants â€“ a major thawing in relations between the two countries.

“Pakistan and Afghanistan are like twins conjoined,” Karzai said. “They are inseparable, and that is why both are suffering from the same troubles, by the same evils.”

Earlier this year, the Afghan leader had been so angered by the safe haven provided to the Taliban in Pakistan’s tribal area that he threatened military action on Pakistani soil.

He also openly accused the Pakistani intelligence services of complicity in the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul in July. India and the US also alleged that Pakistan was backing extremists.

Zardari promised to work with region against militancy, saying: “We will look at the problems in the eyes and tell the world that we are bigger than the problems are.”

However, the new prime minister will find it hard to sell the US-led “war on terror” to his home audience.

Many Pakistanis appear to be against the use of force to combat extremists, believing that the problem would go away if the country distanced itself instead from “America’s war”.

Another major issue Zardari will have to confront is a severe economic slump and spiralling prices, which have pushed basic food commodities out of the reach of millions of ordinary people.

He will also have to work to consolidate a still fragile democratic rule in Pakistan and overcome what many see as his own reputation for corruption.

Raj Thackeray bans Bachchans, cops gag him

sargam — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:07:47 +0000

Mumbai: In a fresh round of attack on Amitabh Bachchan’s family, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has announced a â€œbanâ€ on films in Maharashtra which features the superstar and his family members.

The apparent affront was Jaya Bachchan’s remark which the MNS perceives to be insulting to Maharashtrians.

â€œWe are from Uttar Pradesh and we will speak in Hindiâ€”Maharashtrians will forgive us,â€ Jaya, also a Rajya Sabha MP, said at an event in Mumbai to launch her son Abhishekâ€™s movie Drona two days ago.

â€œAll Bachchan family movies and advertisements in Mumbai and Maharashtra are banned from today (Monday),â€ said Thackeray at a press conference.

â€œThis is an affront to the Marathi Manoos (Marathi-speaking people). All parties should unite and condemn what she said,â€ said Thackeray.

â€œJaya Bachchan has to apologise or else no film of any member of the Bachchan family will be allowed to release in Mumbai and Maharshtra.â€

The partyâ€™s diktat applies to films starring Bachchan, Jaya, son Abhishek and his daughter-in-law wife Aishwarya.

â€œJaya Bachchanâ€™s comment is a direct affront to Maharshtra. Unless she apologises, no film by the Bachchan family will be allowed. If you are from Uttar Pradesh, go and release your movies there.â€

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, a friend of the Bachchan family, criticised Thackerayâ€™s statement and said the country had a legal system and â€œjungle rajâ€ would not be permitted.

Immediately after Thackerayâ€™s statement, police banned from him making public appearances, giving speeches or press conferences.

MNS activists put up posters condemning Jaya comments and booked a train ticket to Allahabad for Jaya Bachhan asking her to leave Maharashtra. “She has no right to live in Maharashtra. She can take this ticket that we have booked for her and go back to Allahabad,” said Chintu Sheikh, MNS secretary in Maharashtra

Sanjay Raut, the editor of Saamna, the mouthpiece of Rajâ€™s rival Shiv Sena party, faulted Jayaâ€™s statement but didnâ€™t call for any ban. â€œIf you get fame and success in Maharashtra but still say you are from UP then your loyalty lies elsewhere,â€ said Raut.

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray is a friend of Amitabh and in April, at the height of MNSâ€™ anti-North Indian campaign, he had defended the actor. “Amitabh Bachchan is not just star of one particular state, but the superstar of the whole country. Hence, it is improper to drag him into needless controversy of regionalism,” Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said in an editorial in Saamna in April.

The MNS in February 2008 had accused Bachchan of not doing enough for Maharashtra and favouring his home state of Uttar Pradesh.

The party has targeted North Indians in Maharashtra, accusing them of disrespecting the stateâ€™s culture and putting a strain on its resources.

(With reporting by CNN-IBN Correspondent Rohit Chandravarkar)

Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick pleads guilty, resigns

sargam — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:29:42 +0000

By COREY WILLIAMS and ED WHITE, Associated Press Writers
Detroit: Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges Thursday in a sex scandal and will step down after months of defiantly holding onto his job leading the nation’s 11th-largest city. He was ordered jailed for four months and fined $1 million.

The plea deal brings to an end a seven-months-long ordeal that led to felony charges against Kilpatrick and plunged the city, region and state into political chaos.

“I lied under oath,” Kilpatrick said in court.

As part of the deal, the 38-year-old Democrat is to serve four months in jail and five years of probation. He also would pay the $1 million in restitution over the five-year probationary period.

During a separate hearing moments after Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner accepted the mayor’s plea, Kilpatrick offered a no contest plea in an assault case.

The judge also accepted that plea, which called for Kilpatrick to serve a four-month jail sentence that would run at the same time.

Kilpatrick had faced 10 felony counts in the two separate criminal cases.

Groner asked Kilpatrick if he understood he was giving up the right to be innocent until proven guilty.

“I gave that up a long time ago,” Kilpatrick replied.

Kilpatrick also read a statement in court and admitted his guilt, saying “I lied under oath … I did so with an intent to mislead the court and jury and to impede and obstruct the fair administration of justice.”

The married mayor and former top aide Christine Beatty were charged in March with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice. They’re accused of lying under oath about an affair and their roles in the firing of a deputy police chief.

Beatty did not plead guilty and next will appear in court on Sept. 11. Groner said a plea deal in Beatty’s case appeared likely.

The mayor will be sentenced on Oct. 28. He will report to jail that day, said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

“We did not give an inch and these conditions were basically to a letter of what we wanted all along,” she said.

The mayor has to announce his resignation immediately, and it will become effective within two weeks.

Worthy said she was glad that Kilpatrick resigned but that was never a “bargaining chip” for her. She said paying restitution and serving time in jail were far more important.

“You don’t just lose your job and walk away,” she said.

City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. will succeed Kilpatrick as mayor until a special election is held.

Until now, Kilpatrick had refused to resign even as the calls for him to step down grew louder and the controversy overshadowed all else at City Hall, tarnishing the national image of the much-maligned city even more.

Kilpatrick leaves a mixed legacy. He persuaded big business to invest in a city staggering from the auto industry’s woes and a decades-long exodus of people, but he failed to live up to a promising political future due to repeated scandal.

The son of a Detroit congresswoman, Kilpatrick was just 31 when he was elected in 2001, becoming the youngest mayor in city history.

His pro-Detroit rhetoric and diamond stud earring endeared Kilpatrick to many blacks, especially young voters who embraced the “Hip-Hop Mayor.”

But Kilpatrick’s first term was marked by political immaturity and fiscal irresponsibility. He racked up thousands of dollars in travel on his city-issued credit card and the city’s lease of a luxury Lincoln Navigator for his wife, Carlita.

Less than a year into the first term, rumors surfaced of a wild party involving strippers and members of Kilpatrick’s security team at the mayor’s mansion.

Former Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown filed a lawsuit in 2003, claiming he was fired for looking into the alleged party and investigating the actions of the mayor’s bodyguards.

During the 2007 trial, Kilpatrick and Beatty sat in the witness chair and denied having a romantic relationship in 2002 and 2003.

But a bombshell rocked Detroit in January: The Detroit Free Press published sexually explicit text messages recovered from Beatty’s city-issued pager that contradicted their courtroom denials.

He and Beatty were charged with perjury and other felonies.

More text messages released in April revealed the evolution of flirty and sexually explicit exchanges to professions of love and promises of marriage.

In May, the City Council asked Granholm to remove Kilpatrick from office, saying it was misled into approving a $8.4 million settlement with Brown and two other officers. Council members said they didn’t know about provisions to keep the text messages under wraps.

In July, a sheriff’s detective trying to serve a subpoena on a Kilpatrick friend said he was shoved by the mayor. Assault charges followed.

The next month, a judge ordered the mayor to jail for violating the terms of his bond by traveling to Canada. He was released the next day, but the incident prompted some politicians and community leaders who had remained silent on the scandal to call for his resignation.

22 years on, â€˜taxedâ€™ NRI fights for house possession

sargam — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:21:21 +0000

Bipin Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, The state runs rife with rosy stories of scores of NRIs who were accorded a warm welcome by the people and the â€˜sarkarâ€™ when after long stints abroad, they looked homewards for investment.

But things have not been as sweet and smooth for Gurdial Singh, an England-based NRI, who has been rushing from pillar to post to get his house vacated by the excise and taxation department, Punjab, for the past 22 years.

After the eviction notice by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the department allegedly occupied a portion of his house (705, Model Town) forcibly after vacating the other portion.

Narrating his woes, Gurdial Singh claimed that the house was rented out to the Punjab rehabilitation department which further sub-let a portion of the house to the excise and taxation department.

He claimed that since the rehabilitation authorities did not pay him the rent for a long time, he was forced to approach the court.

After a verdict from the court, the rehabilitation department shifted from the house but the excise and taxation department remained there.

Gurdial Singh claimed that to get possession of the portion, under the possession of the excise and taxation department, he had to fight another court case.

Considering the gravity of the case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the department to vacate the house by May 10, 2008.

Gurdial Singh alleged that on the directions of the high court, the excise and taxation department vacated a portion of the house but occupied the other portion after breaking open the locks and disposing the household goods.

To get the illegal possession removed, Gurdial Singh claimed that he had approached Punjab Chief Minister and deputy commissioner, excise and taxation commissioner, Jalandhar, A. Venuprasad, many times but faced disappointment each time.

When contacted, A Venuprasad said the high court directions had been adhered to. He said Kanwaljit Singh, joint director (investigations), excise and taxation, posted at Jalandhar, was aware of the actual position of the case.

Kanwaljit Singh, however, claimed that the man was staking false claims to the portion of the house under their possession.

â€œThe man does not possess even a single document showing his ownership on the portion of the house. If he provides us with the same, we will move out,â€ claimed Kanwaljit Singh.

Zardari moves into PMâ€™s house

sargam — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:35:26 +0000

Islamabad, Pakistanâ€™s presidential front-runner Asif Ali Zardari has moved into the heavily guarded Prime Minister’s house over security fears in the run-up to the presidential elections set for September six.

The PPP chief, husband of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is facing threats in the wake of the government banning the Taliban on Monday. With the five-month-old government intensifying military action against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants security agencies apprehend retaliatory strikes. â€œZardari has been advised to stay in a safe place and under the cover of official security,â€ said a member of the federal cabinet. â€” PTI

McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate

sargam — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:07:44 +0000

By MICHAEL COOPER and MITCHELL L. BLUMENTHAL
DAYTON, Ohio â€” In a surprise move, Senator John McCain announced here Friday that he had chosen Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate, shaking up the political world at a time when his campaign has been trying to attract women, especially disaffected supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

â€œIâ€™m very happy today to spend my birthday with you, and to make a historic announcement in Dayton,â€ said Mr. McCain, who turned 72 on Friday, explaining that he had been looking for the running mate who can â€œbest help me shake up Washington.â€

In choosing Ms. Palin â€” a 44-year-old social conservative and mother of five who has been governor for less than two years â€” the McCain campaign reached far outside the Washington Beltway in an election in which the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is running on a platform of change.

â€œSheâ€™s not from these parts, and sheâ€™s not from Washington, but when you get to know her, youâ€™re going to be as impressed as I am,â€ Mr. McCain said as he introduced Ms. Palin to a crowd estimated by his campaign to be 15,000 at the Ervin J. Nutter Center here.

Ms. Palin then took the stage with her husband, Todd, who owns a commercial fishing business, and four of their five children. She said her eldest child, a son, is in the Army, and he is heading to Iraq on Sept. 11.

She described herself as â€œjust your average hockey mom,â€ who joined the P.T.A., was elected to the City Council, then served as mayor and as governor, adding that she did not get into government to take the safe course.

â€œA ship in harbor is safe, but thatâ€™s not why the ship is built,â€ Ms. Palin said, adding that she would â€œchallenge the status quo to serve the common good.â€

Ms. Palin praised the achievement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who lost a long and bitter primary race against Senator Obama, saying that she had left â€œ18 million cracksâ€ in the highest glass ceiling in the land.

Then, making an explicit appeal to Ms. Clintonâ€™s disappointed supporters, she said, â€œIt turns out that the women in America arenâ€™t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling.â€

Ms. Palin, a former mayor of the small town of Wasilla, an Anchorage suburb, and one-time beauty pageant queen, first rose to prominence as a whistle-blower uncovering ethical misconduct in state government.

The selection amounted to a gamble that an infusion of new leadership â€” and the novelty of the Republican Partyâ€™s first female candidate for vice president â€” would more than compensate for the risk that Ms. Palin could undercut one of the McCain campaignâ€™s central arguments, its claim that Mr. Obama is too inexperienced to be president.

The choice of Ms. Palin stands in sharp contrast to the selection of the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, a veteran lawmaker and chairman of Foreign Relations Committee.

But Ms. Palin ran as a change agent when she was elected as governor of Alaska in 2006, and in a move that might have appealed to Mr. McCain, she took intense criticism from members of her own party for turning the spotlight on the failures of Alaska Republicans, some of whom had been beset by corruption scandals.

She was elected Alaskaâ€™s chief executive after fighting off a comeback bid by a former Democratic governor. Her victory came after she had helped uncover misconduct in the administration of Gov. Frank Murkowski, whom she later trounced in a Republican primary.

Ms. Palin opposes abortion rights, which could help pacify social conservatives in a party whose members were wary as rumors swirled that Mr. McCain might pick a running mate who did not.

But she differs with Mr. McCain on a controversial environmental issue that centers on her home state: she has been pushing for a new pipeline that would pump trillions of cubic feet of natural gas from the North Slope to the lower 48 states in the hope of delivering Alaska another economic boom. Mr. McCainâ€™s opposition to drilling â€” even after he changed positions and began advocating for off-shore oil drilling â€” has upset many Republicans.

For its part, the Obama campaign was dismissive of the selection.

â€œToday, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency,â€ Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said in a statement. â€œGovernor Palin shares John McCainâ€™s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bushâ€™s failed economic policies â€” thatâ€™s not the change we need, itâ€™s just more of the same.â€

The choice of Ms. Palin was a closely guarded secret, and she flew under the political radar for months as Mr. McCain searched for a running mate. Much of the public discussion in recent days had focused on Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and Mr. McCainâ€™s one-time rival for the Republican nomination; Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota; Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and Homeland Security secretary, and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrat-turned-independent who was former Vice President Al Goreâ€™s running mate in 2000. Social conservatives were relieved and highly pleased.

â€œTheyâ€™re beyond ecstatic,â€ said Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition. â€œThis is a home run. She is a reformer governor who is solidly pro-life and a person of deep Christian faith. And she is really one of the bright shining new stars in the Republican firmament.â€

Ms. Palin is known to conservatives for choosing not to have an abortion after learning that she was carrying a child with Down syndrome. â€œIt is almost impossible to exaggerate how important that is to the conservative faith community,â€ Mr. Reed said.

Whether her selection will improve Mr. McCainâ€™s appeal to women who had supported Mrs. Clinton is unclear. Both Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin oppose abortion rights, an important issue for some women. And a major theme of the Democratic convention that just concluded in Denver was both Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton urging supporters to unite behind Mr. Obama.

The choice of Ms. Palin was reminiscent of George H. W. Bushâ€™s selection of Dan Quayle, a young United States senator, as his running mate in 1988. The media and most in the Republican Party were caught unaware by the announcement of a figure relatively unknown outside Indiana.

Similarly, several of Mr. McCainâ€™s outside advisers reacted with bewilderment that Ms. Palin was the choice, and one said that it would undercut one of Mr. McCainâ€™s central criticisms of Senator Obama â€” that he is too inexperienced to be commander in chief.

â€œWhile itâ€™s a dramatic and interesting choice, it would make the argument heâ€™s making difficult to make,â€ said the adviser, who is close to the campaign.

The confirmation of Mr. McCainâ€™s selection of Ms. Palin came barely an hour before he was to introduce her to the nation here and at the end of a chaotic and at times comic morning of media reports that veered from possibility to possibility. The two men who been widely reported as recently as Thursday evening to be on Mr. McCainâ€™s short list â€” Mr. Romney and Governor Pawlenty â€” were eliminated by mid-morning Friday.

Attention then turned to reports that a chartered Gulfstream jet had arrived near Dayton from Anchorage late Thursday, suggesting that Ms. Palin was on it.

In Alaska, Carrie Hollier, a 27-year-old resident and supporter of Mr. Obama, said she would feel some wistfulness about not voting for the governor she admires.

â€œIt definitely makes it difficult, because you canâ€™t help but love Sarah Palin,â€ she said.

In November, Ms. Palin spoke at a redeployment ceremony for the company of her husband, Daniel Norman, an Army sniper who was awarded a Purple Heart for shrapnel he took from a roadside bomb in Iraq. The governor spoke so warmly to the assembled families, said Ms. Hollier, â€œthere wasnâ€™t one person who wasnâ€™t crying.â€

Under other circumstances, Ms. Hollier might consider voting for Ms. Palin. â€œShe never comes across as full on Republican,â€ she said. â€œBut Obama is the one who is going to bring everyone home.â€

Obama uses speech for high-tech outreach

sargam — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:47:35 +0000

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
Forgive some of the 84,000 people amassed at Invesco Field Thursday if their thumbs are a bit weary by the time Barack Obama takes the stage for a triumphant acceptance of his presidential nomination.

In the hours before he made his entrance, these supporters were being repeatedly asked to text messages to the campaign and to make phone calls from specially tailored call sheets as part of an unprecedented effort to mobilize voters and get nonvoters to register.

The speech itself may or may not become a seminal moment in the campaign. But this effort to combine telecommunications, microtargeting techniques and Obama’s known ability to draw a crowd could be remembered as a shrewd and groundbreaking calculation to expand Obama’s vote base.

Obama’s campaign has identified 55 million voting age Americans across the country who are not registered to vote. It has done this by comparing registration lists with lists of potential voters gleaned from consumer databases the same way credit card companies track people’s spending.

Campaign officials estimates more than two-thirds would vote for Obama.

Thursday, as the crowd settled in to their seats at Invesco Field, a towering projection screen at one end of the stadium flashed a giant interactive map of the United States.

“We’re going to do some work,” Obama’s Colorado director Ray Rivera announced, calling on the crowd to pull out their phones and send a message to the Obama text code. With some nimbly and others clumsily thumbing, the map lit up with the home states of the message senders.

The call to action inspired 62-year-old Connie Zuckschwerdt, a Michigan delegate from Corunna, to send her first text message. But it took the help of the Blackberry-wielding delegate next to her to get it done.

“That’s it. … Push send,” said Kathy McAttee, 41, a delegate from DeWitt, Mich. “You just sent your first text message. Yay!”

An hour later, Rivera announced 30,000 messages had been received by the campaign.

Harnessing voters wasn’t the only goal, however. Obama also used the massive rally and the attention it spawned to mount an Internet fundraising drive. Less than two hours before the speech, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe sent out an e-mail to supporters: “On this final day before Barack formally accepts the Democratic nomination, please celebrate the moment and lay the foundation for our victory in November by making a donation of $25 or more now,” he wrote.

Earlier, speaking to the gathering Invesco audience, he sounded a note of urgency.

“Every day, every hour is critical,” Plouffe said. “The stakes in this election are too big. We need all of you. We have to out-hustle, outwork, out-think them.”

With fast approaching voter registration deadlines in key battleground states, the campaign is furiously using its high-tech gadgetry and vast data bases to make sure potential Obama supporters are registered.

“We know we need to expand the electorate,” said Jenny Backus, an Obama spokeswoman at the convention.

The campaign initially planned to have the Invesco crowd use their cell phones to reach out to voters and nonvoters. But Backus said such an endeavor would have overwhelmed Denver cell systems. Instead, the campaign has set up about 130 telephones throughout the stadium. Attendees encircle the tables, section by section and take turns making calls.

At the same time, the Colorado Democratic Party was mounting its own drive, with stadium volunteers placing calls to Colorado voters who had been identified as undecided in the presidential contest.

A group of about two dozen volunteers worked over folding tables, hands pressed over their ears to try to hear the people they were calling over the din of the public address system and the crowd all around them.

At each table, the Obama supporters worked off a list of area residents, and read from a script encouraging people to watch Obama’s speech, visit his Web site or sign up for text messages.

“To tell you the truth you can’t hear much, you can’t really hear who you’re talking to,” said Anita Padilla, a telecommunications worker from Denver.

In about five minutes, Padilla made five calls, getting one positive response, two disconnected messages, a hang-up, and a “no.”

While the outreach to voters and nonvoters is by itself a useful tactic, the calls will generate useful lists of phone numbers, many of them identified by the specific issue of interest to the person on that end of the call.

“It’s a data gathering exercise as well,” Backus said.

A campaign spread sheet obtained by The Associated Press lists the number of eligible voters in each of the 50 states, highlighting the 18 states where Obama has been spending the most money. Different columns identify the number of non-registered eligible voters, distinguishing them by age and race.

For instance, the campaign knows that there are nearly 170,000 eligible voters in Missouri who are between the ages of 18 and 24 and are not registered to vote. Through data mining techniques, the campaign has identified many of those people and can make a direct appeal to them.

The campaign sought to replicate the stadium effort at 4,500 parties to watch Obama’s speech in various battleground states. Backus said volunteers would be making calls from the watch parties as well.

Devotees get saplings as parsad, Nanhi Chhaan kicks off at Golden Temple

sargam — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:59:57 +0000

Varinder Walia
Amritsar, Quoting verses from Gurbani: â€œPawan guru pani pita, mata dhart mahat (air is tutor, water the father and earth is mother), Harsimrat Kaur Badal, wife of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal today distributed neem and fruit saplings, sprinkled with water of the holy Sarovar, among newly wed couples and girls as â€œparsadâ€ at the Golden Temple here today.

The project, Nanhi Chhaan (small shade), is a joint venture of Punjabâ€™s leading corporate house Ranbaxy, the government and the SGPC and is aimed at protecting the girl child and the environment. Meanwhile, Bikram Singh Majithia, public relations minister, set to rest all speculations that the distribution of saplings was a political debut of his sister. He said being a social activist, Harsimrat wanted to spread the message to save environment and the girl child in each and every corner of the state.

As part of the initiative, SGPC president Avtar Singh announced that saplings would be planted in all Sikh shrines and both sides of the roads leading to gurdwaras. He said gurdwaras would be earmarked where saplings would be distributed among Sikh sangat as parsad.

Sukhbir said Sikhism emphasised on preserving ecological balance.

In a lighter vein, Majithia said he could not get married yet because of low ratio of women created by female foeticide.

SGPC president Avtar Singh said it was a matter of concern that the followers of Sikhism had been lackadaisical in understanding the message of the Gurus, who had taken great initiative to explain the man-nature relationship in the holy scriptures.

SGPC member Kiranjot Kaur said the Rehatnamas of the Sikh religion had already given a message to snap all relations with a person who indulged in the â€œkilling of daughterâ€.

The SGPC president said it was a matter of concern that Fatehgarh district, where Baba Banda Singh Bahadur had established first Sikh rule, had the lowest girl population in the state.

Addressing the gathering, Harpal Singh of the Impact Group stated the initiative would create awareness on the importance of environment protection.

Christian groups seek deployment of army in Kandhamal

sargam — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:54:26 +0000

New Delhi (PTI): A group of Christian organisations on Thursday asked UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to advice the government to send army units to Orissa to maintain law and order in the wake of attacks on the minority community in the state.

The organisations also demanded that a CBI enquiry should be ordered into the murder of VHP leader and the ensuing violence to trace the guilty besides providing immediate compensation to the victims of the violence.

“The Union Government must authorise the army to move its troops into affected blocks of Kandhamal district where the local police and RAF have miserably failed,” John Dayal, member of National Integration Council, said in his letter to Gandhi on behalf of Christian organisations.

The letter demanded that urgent compensation and relief and rehabilitation of victims should be made as a large number of people are still hiding in forests out of fear.

“Government must rebuild the houses (which were damaged in violence) and also rebuild every single church that has been destroyed,” Dayal said in the letter.

Dayal alleged that the BJD-BJP coalition government in Orissa “failed” in bringing a halt to the killing of Christians in the state.

Poet Ahmed Faraz dead

sargam — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:04:58 +0000

Islamabad, Legendary Urdu poet Ahmed Faraz, a passionate proponent of progress and democracy in Pakistan, has died after a prolonged illness at 77.

Faraz, who was suffering from a kidney disease and had returned to Pakistan from the US after falling seriously ill there last month, died in a private hospital here late last night. He is survived by wife and two sons.

Outspoken on political issues, Faraz went into self-imposed exile during the rule of military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq. He was also arrested during that period for reciting poems critical of military rule. He stayed for three years in the UK, Canada and Europe before returning to Pakistan.

Faraz, considered one of the best poets of Pakistan, was born in Nowshera on January 14, 1931. His real name was Syed Ahmed Shah.

The Pashto-speaking Faraz learned and studied Persian and Urdu at the Peshawar University, where he also taught later.

He also served as chairman of the Academy of Letters and headed the Islamabad-based National Book Foundation for several years.

The recipient of many national and international awards, he was inspired by Pakistan Peopleâ€™s Party founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In 2004, he was awarded the â€˜Hilal-e-Imtiazâ€™ in recognition of his literary achievements.

However, he criticised the government of the day and its policies and returned the award in 2006.

Maintaining a tradition established by his mentor, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Faraz wrote excellent poetry in exile. His famous work of resistance was â€œMahasaraâ€. He also wrote 13 books.

In the last decade of his life, Faraz often spoke out against the regime of former President Pervez Musharraf. He also backed the lawyersâ€™ movement for restoring the judges who were sacked during last yearâ€™s emergency.

Pakistanâ€™s National Assembly, lower house of Parliament, today offered special prayers for Faraz, whose funeral prayers were held at a graveyard here today.

A large number of people, including National Assembly deputy speaker Faisal Karim Kundi and top political leaders, attended the funeral.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed grief and shock at the death of Faraz. â€” PTI

Tata threatens to quit Singur

sargam — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:40:19 +0000

Subhrangshu Gupta
Kolkata, On the eve of Mamata Banerjeeâ€™s indefinite sit-in demonstrations in front of the Tata Motorsâ€™ plant at Singur, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata today threatened that they would move out from Singur if the project continued to be dogged by political opposition and violence.

â€œ…and if anybody is under the impression that because we have made this large investment of about Rs 1,500 crore… and because we have made this investment, we will not move, they are wrong. Because, we would go whatever the cost,â€ he told reporters here.

Tata made it clear that they would not remain in Bengal as â€œan unwanted residentâ€ and he also would not ask employees of Tata Motors and their families to stay at Singur and be beaten up and hurt by the agitators. He was in the city for attending the Tata Teaâ€™s annual general meeting.

Tata, it seems, does not want to get themselves â€œinvolvedâ€ in the Singur issue which has now turned into a political battle between the CPM and the Trinamool Congress.

Reacting to Tataâ€™s threat, the Trinamool Congress supremo, at a hurriedly called press conference at her Kalighat residence, said both Tata and the state government were now trying to blackmail the poor farmers fighting for the return of their farmlands acquired â€˜forciblyâ€™ for Tata Motors.

Incidentally, the CPM today organised a massive rally at Singur for countering the Trinamool Congressâ€™ agitation which industries minister Nirupam Sen and other CITU leaders addressed. The state government also deployed over 50,000 police force for maintaining peace at Singur so that there was no obstruction to the normal functioning at the Tata Motors during the agitation programme beginning August 24.

Leaders of different political parties and many social activists like Medha Patkar, Anuradha Talwar, writers Mahasetwa Devi and Arundhuti Roy and other eminent intellectuals would also be participating in the farmersâ€™ agitation.

Mamata alleged that â€œthe blackmailing tactics and the threat planâ€ were designed jointly by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen which Tata had just executed after their secret meeting held last night at a hotel where Tata was staying.