Apr 22

TODAY'S PAPER
AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI, April 22, 2014

Togadias 'hate speech' video under EC
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CEC says matter under police investigation
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Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia created a controversy
when he was caught on camera exhorting supporters in Bhavnagar not to
allow Muslims buy property in Hindu localities, prompting the Election
Commission to seek a copy of the recording on Monday.
The Congress moved the Commission, while several other parties,
including the BJPs ally Akali Dal, condemned Mr. Togadias remarks.
The BJP distanced itself from him, stating that he was not a member of
the party.
The party also had to contend with a defiant Bihar leader Giriraj Singh,
who reiterated his statement that critics of the BJPs prime ministerial
candidate, Narendra Modi, should go to Pakistan.
Bhavnagar CollectorPravin Solanki said the police would take cognisance
of Mr. Togadias remarks, made on Saturday, and register a case.
Responding to a query, Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath said
the matter was under police investigation.
In footage aired by a TV channel, Mr. Togadia is heard saying: In many
places in India, there is a conspiracy by Muslims to first buy one house at
a high price and then buy Hindu houses at half the price. There are two
ways to stop this. One is to pressure the government to implement the
Disturbed Areas Act, which is operational in Ahmedabad and other
cities. The Act was brought in by the earlier Congress government. When
the Act is in operation, Muslims cannot buy property in Hindu-majority
areas. The other way is to encroach and put up a board of the Bajrang
Dal and leave the legal fight for later.
Mr. Togadia termed the media reports about his controversial remarks
false, mala fide and mischievous. He said legal notices had been issued
by his lawyer to media houses in Delhi and Gujarat.
RSS, the BJPs ideological mentor, denied that Mr. Togadia made the
hate speech.

Two killed in Bengal blast, incident under
EC scanner (Lead)
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EC TO LOOK INTO
WEST BENGAL BLAST
The Election Commission has taken cognisance of a blast in West
Bengals Birbhum district on Monday that killed two people.
Two people were killed when explosives kept inside their house
exploded. Prima facie it appeared they were trying to make bombs, said
Superintendent of
Police R.M. Khan.

AAP-FIR
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FIR AGAINST KEJRIWAL, KUMAR VISHWAS
An FIR was registered against Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal,
Kumar Vishwas and 10 others on Monday for allegedly violating the
model code of conduct and prohibitory orders
by holding roadside meetings without taking permission.

Byelections looming over State
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Close on the heels of the elections to the Lok Sabha, Karnataka will
witness a round of byelections to the Legislative Assembly given the fact
that several legislators have been fielded as candidates by both the
national parties the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, apart
from the Janata Dal (Secular).
Indications are that the byelections will be held in a few months in
compliance with Articles 101 and 190 of the Constitution and the
provisions of the Representation of People Act.
Further, the legislators who win the Lok Sabha elections have to also
decide whether they would prefer to continue in the Legislative Assembly
or opt for a Lok Sabha membership within a period of 14 days.
The scenario is similar to what happened in 2009 when, among others,
the then Leader of the Opposition M. Mallikarjun Kharge contested the
elections to the Lok Sabha.
At the present juncture, the candidates include the former Chief
Ministers B.S. Yeddyurappa and H.D. Kumaraswamy, and both of them,
should they win, are keen on going to the Lok Sabha.
While Mr. Yeddyurappa is contesting from the Shimoga Lok Sabha seat,
Mr. Kumaraswamy is contesting from Chickballapur.
Mr. Kumaraswamy told The Hindu that my continuation in the
Legislative Assembly or to opt for the Lok Sabha largely depends on the
results and the political situation in New Delhi after the results are
announced on May 16. The Janata Dal(S) is a regional party. If the
Janata Dal(S) has a role in national politics, I will definitely have to think
of that. It is still early days.
It should be noted that all the three political parties in the State, leave
alone the minor players, are short of candidates capable of registering a
victory, particularly in the Lok Sabha constituencies, more so since the
constituencies are vast comprising nearly seven or eight Assembly
segments.
The political situation in the country obviously warrants adequate
numbers in the Lok Sabha for a party to call the shots, although political
parties have entered into alliances, and a party like the Janata Dal(S)
believes that it will have a major role to play if an alternative front is
formed.
The other legislators who contested the Lok Sabha elections are A.
Manju (Arkalgud) of the Congress who has been fielded against the
former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in Hassan, Vinay Kulkarni
(Dharwad) of the Congress who has been fielded against Pralhad Joshi,
president of the State BJP, Prakash Hukkeri of the Congress and
Minister for Sugar who has been fielded against Ramesh Katti at
Chikkodi and S.S. Mallikarjun (Davangere North) of the Congress
contesting against G.M. Siddeshwar of the BJP.
From Council
The former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda and C.H.
Vijayashankar, who are members of the Legislative Council, are also in
the fray.
B. Sriramulu (Bellary Rural) of the BSR Congress resigned from the
Assembly and the party before joining the BJP to contest from Bellary.

BFC bringing in the big crowds
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The launch of Bengaluru FC (BFC) in July last year heralded a new
beginning for football in Bangalore, and its ascent to the I-League title is
the icing on the cake. The club, which defeated Dempo 4-2 at Margoa on
Monday to become the first club to win the league in its debut season,
can take credit for achieving tremendous success off the field as well.
Before BFCs arrival, a good day at the Bangalore Football Stadium
would see 2,000 spectators in the stands. In the 12 home matches played
this season, the numbers have tripled, and match tickets are hard to
come by. Large crowds wait for entry to the stadium a sight which
perplexes those who live in the neighbourhood. They have not seen a
public clamour for football in a while. A demographic breakdown reveals
one of the reasons for the increased numbers. A significant proportion of
the fans are those who are well-versed with the leagues in England or
Spain, but have little idea about affairs closer home. Parth Jindal, Chief
Executive Officer of BFC, agrees that the time was ripe for this market to
be tapped. However much we love an Arsenal or a Manchester United,
we have no real connection with these foreign clubs. The connection is
established through television; there is no concrete reason for us to
support them. This was one of the reasons why we formed BFC to give
the fans here a feeling that they are an integral part of a club, the 23-
year-old says. The response has been overwhelming European club-
inspired chants, barely any empty seats, a huge demand for match
passes, flag-waving, and most importantly, a sense of ownership with the
club.
Jindal Steel Works, the owners, also understood the need to make the
experience safe for women and children. In the past, a local football
match, where fights regularly broke out, did not present the ideal day out
for a family. To ensure this, private security has been employed, and any
deviant behaviour is quickly quashed.
As a fan, it is important for me to feel comfortable if I want to bring my
mother, sister and girlfriend to the stadium. We wanted to cater to all
sections of society, and I am glad to see a lot of women and children at
the stadium, says Mustafa Ghouse, BFCs Chief Operating Officer.
The teams success on the field, no doubt, has helped bring in the big
crowds as well. On Monday, BFC became the first south Indian club to
win the national championship. The tides are turning in more ways than
one.
Bengaluru FCs ascent to the I-League title is the icing on the
cake

This lady is better than Modi
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Jayalalithaa says Tamil Nadu is far ahead of Gujarat on
social indicators

Who is a better administrator? Is it Gujarats Modi or this Tamil Nadu
lady? asked Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa,
inviting, for the first time, a direct comparison between herself and the
BJPs Prime Ministerial candidate.
As the crowd replied Lady! in one voice, Ms. Jayalalithaa thundered
again, Tamil Nadus lady is better than Gujarats Modi in providing
better administration in all spheres of governance.
More inclusive
Winding up her over-a-month-long campaign for the Lok Sabha
elections in Chennai, Ms. Jayalalithaa went on to say that as far as
Human Development Indicators went, Tamil Nadu was way better.
Tamil Nadus growth story is much more inclusive, it is one in which the
poor have a role to play, she said, quoting statistics from Human
Development Index.
Dip in crimes
Among the indicators she summoned to emphasise her point were infant
mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, foodgrains production, industrial
growth, foreign direct investment and beneficiaries under the public
distribution system. In all these areas, Tamil Nadu was way ahead of
Gujarat, and as far as crimes against women went, Tamil Nadu recorded
a dip while Gujarat witnessed a 65 per cent increase, she added.
A change in government at the Centre was essential, she said, urging the
electorate to strengthen her hands so that the AIADMK would be a part
of the new government to safeguard the rights of Tamils.

Cold water, lemon juice only coolers in
Tihar
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With inmates almost double its capacity, the Tihar Central Jail here has
already started feeling the summer heat.
With high-profile inmates like Sahara chief Subrata Roy being lodged in
the jail along with about 13,500 others , the authorities are working
towards making their stay comfortable.
One fan is affixed inside each cell as no coolers are allowed. To keep the
prisoners cool, we give them lemon water and the supply of cold water is
increased during summers. As it is very hot outside, we lessen vocational
and sports activities during peak summers, said Tihar Jail spokesperson
Sunil Gupta.
Asked about high-profile inmates, Mr. Gupta said: No extra privilege is
given to any prisoner inside the jail. Just like other people, Mr. Roy will
also sleep under a fan and drink the same lemon water given to other
inmates.
Tihar Jail currently lodges 13,552 inmates -- almost twice the sanctioned
capacity of 6,250 -- making it difficult for most of them to cope with the
oppressive heat and humidity of the summer months.
While officials say that they take extra measures to keep the prisoners
comfortable, the rise in incidents of violence like fights and blade
slashing during the season indicates that tempers also rise with the
temperature.
We make extra efforts to keep the prisoners safe, but there is no denying
the fact that violent incidents go up in this season as the heat takes a toll
on the mind of these people who are already disturbed, admitted an
insider.
This year the situation can get worse as the jail population is at an all
time high. Tihar has never seen this kind of population explosion in the
past.
Asked about managing the extra inmates, Mr. Gupta said: We are
utilising the open space to accommodate extra inmates. Open space
comes handy during summers as the inmates can sleep there at night as
well, but we cannot do the same during winters.
Water problem also intensifies during summer and the Tihar Jail
authorities get additional water tankers from the Delhi Jal Board to meet
the supply. We have an in-house system for supplying water for
drinking and other needs, but in peak summer the demand shoots up
and we have to go for additional facilities, Mr. Gupta added.

Amarinders bid to absolve Tytler triggers
uproar
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The Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in Punjab has
launched State-wide protests against the former Chief Minister and
Congress candidate from Amritsar, Captain Amarinder Singh, for
denying the role of his party colleague Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-
Sikh riots.
Mr. Singh, in an interview to a television channel, said: I am not the
CBI, I am not the court. I am telling you what I saw and felt. I was in
Delhi and went to all the camps and everyone I met took all these names
I have told you, except Jagdish Tytler. When did Jagdish Tytlers name
come up? It came up when he was fighting Madanlal Khurana in Delhi
and that was months later.
The comment triggered uproar in Punjab and Delhi with SAD-BJP
workers staging protests outside Congress offices on Monday.
The Akalis have planned more protests in Amritsar, Ludhiana and other
parts of the State on Tuesday.
I have been saying this about Tytler for last 30 years but the Akalis and
the BJP are protesting now, he said.
Mr. Singhs main rival in Amritsar, Arun Jaitley of the BJP, wrote in his
blog, It is for the investigating and judicial process to find the truth ...

Supreme Court lifts Goa mining ban, but
caps annual output
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The Supreme Court on Monday lifted the ban on mining iron ore in Goa,
but put an annual cap of 20 million tonnes on excavation.
In its judgment, the Green Bench, comprising Justices A.K. Patnaik, S.S.
Nijjar and Ibrahim Kalifulla, said: The panel [an expert committee] had
suggested that for the time being, annual excavation of 20 million tonnes
of iron ore may be permitted in Goa with adequate monitoring of its
impact on different ecological and environmental parameters, which will
also help the expert committee in its future appraisal.
Justice Patnaik said: We find from the report of the expert committee
that Goa heavily depended on iron ore mining for revenue as well as
employment. The legislative policy behind the Mines and Minerals
Development Regulations Act made by Parliament is mineral
development through mining.
The Bench said a ban to protect the environment would seriously affect
the livelihood of nearly 1.5 lakh people in the State who were employed
in the industry. Many people had taken loans and bought lorries for
transportation of iron ore. The State governments policy was to
encourage mineral mining.
We cannot, therefore, prohibit mining altogether, but if mining has to
continue, the lessees who benefit the most from it must contribute 10 per
cent of their sale proceeds to the Goan Iron Ore Permanent Fund for
sustainable mining, the Bench said.
It directed the State Department of Mines and Geology and the State
Pollution Control Board to monitor mining, in consultation with other
statutory bodies.
The Bench asked the State government to frame a comprehensive
scheme, in consultation with the Central Empowered Committee, and
submit a report within six months.
The Bench rejected a plea to quash the Justice Shah Commission report
on the ground that no notice was given to the lessees. The commission
found large-scale irregularities in mining.
But the Bench said: We cannot also direct prosecution of the mining
lessees on the basis of the findings in the report of the Justice Shah
Commission, if they have not been given the opportunity of being heard
and to produce evidence in their defence.

Amarinders bid to absolve Tytler triggers
uproar
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The Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in Punjab has
launched State-wide protests against the former Chief Minister and
Congress candidate from Amritsar, Captain Amarinder Singh, for
denying the role of his party colleague Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-
Sikh riots.
Mr. Singh, in an interview to a television channel, said: I am not the
CBI, I am not the court. I am telling you what I saw and felt. I was in
Delhi and went to all the camps and everyone I met took all these names
I have told you, except Jagdish Tytler. When did Jagdish Tytlers name
come up? It came up when he was fighting Madanlal Khurana in Delhi
and that was months later.
The comment triggered uproar in Punjab and Delhi with SAD-BJP
workers staging protests outside Congress offices on Monday.
The Akalis have planned more protests in Amritsar, Ludhiana and other
parts of the State on Tuesday.
Clarifying his comment on Monday, Mr. Singh said his words were being
distorted by the Akalis as they were badly losing across Punjab and
Amritsar.
I have been saying this about Tytler for last 30 years but the Akalis and
the BJP are protesting now, he said.
Mr. Singhs main rival in Amritsar, Arun Jaitley of the BJP, wrote in his
blog, It is for the investigating and judicial process to find the truth ...

KCR making false promises
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Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at an election rally in Mahabubnagar on
Monday.-PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL
All-India Congress Committee vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday
cautioned people against voting for regional parties like the Telangana
Rashtra Samiti as such a choice would amount to limiting their
aspirations.
Mr. Rahul Gandhi wanted the people to look at issues with national
perspective without wasting your energy on smaller things.
Supporting smaller parties will mean confining your dreams and
aspirations. People should aspire for bigger things like creating brand
Telangana once the new State comes into existence on June 2, he said.
Mr. Rahul Gandhi was addressing an impressive gathering at a public
meeting as part of his election campaign in Telangana. Telangana
Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Ponnala Lakshmaiah,
working president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha
candidate S. Jaipal Reddy and Congress nominees from across the
district were present. Mr. Gandhi launched a broadside at the TRS
leadership for its hunger for power without any plans for the
development of the poorest of the poor. TRS president K. Chandrasekhar
Rao was, no doubt making several promises, but he was known to forget
his assurances. He quoted Mr. Raos promise of merging his party with
the Congress as also the one for making a Dalit the Chief Minister of
Telangana.
Mr. Rao forgot both. He will not fulfil the promises he is showering on
the people with an eye on coming to power, he said. The TRS had no
plans for development of all sections like the Congress which had
experience in running the State and the country besides the past track
record of ushering in several pro-poor schemes.
The TDP was opposed to Telangana while the BJP tried to create as
many hurdles as possible in the Rajya Sabha to stall passage of the Bill,
he said. He cautioned people against voting for the BJP as the party
would try to fuel communal tensions by driving a wedge between Hindus
and Muslims. The Congress was committed to developing all the districts
by extending a 10-year tax holiday for industry and also for setting up a
4,000 MW power project in Telangana, he said.

Murder case witness attacked in Delhi
court
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A witness in a murder case was attacked allegedly by the persons accused
in the case at the Karkardooma Court complex in East Delhi on Monday
afternoon.
According to the police, Tahir, who was attacked inside the court
complex, had come to depose in a one-year-old case where a man named
Ibrahim had been killed by six men.
Accused nabbed
All the accused were nabbed and sent to Tihar Jail and the case was
under trial.
In the afternoon today when everyone was coming out of the court room
after the hearing, the accused men somehow freed themselves from the
hold of policemen and attacked Tahir. All the six accused rained blows
and kicks on Tahir, but he managed to escape without serious injuries
with the help of the police personnel around. He then took shelter inside
one of the judges rooms to save himself, said a police officer.
A case was registered against the accused men at the Farsh Bazar police
station under sections of wrongful restraint, assault and intimidating a
witness, the officer added.
Earlier, on January 30 this year, a witness in an attempt to murder case
was fired at outside the Rohini district courts complex here. The witness,
Rohan, had gone to the court to depose in an attempt-to-murder case.
He was coming out of the court when he was fired upon by the assailant,
who was later identified as Kishan.
Though Kishan had fired at Rohan from close range, the bullet missed
the mark.
Kishan was nabbed from the spot by the police personnel present there.

Jet Airways to pull out of Vizag?
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Jet Airways withdrew its Vizag Chennai flight on Monday. The airline
was also said to be planning withdrawal of its flights to other
destinations from Vizag by May 31. The Jet Etihad deal seems to be
working against the interests of Vizag, which forayed into international
operations only a couple of years ago.
It may be recalled that the Dubai-based Etihad Airways acquired a stake
in Jet Airways for over Rs.2,000 crore in April 2013. The airline was said
to be keen on operating only on the trunk routes.
The airline is also downsizing its staff, and in Delhi alone, it reportedly
sacked 40 employees and more layoffs were expected in the coming days.
The airline is planning to withdraw its flights to Kolkota, Mumbai and
Bangalore . The airline was also said to have written to the Airports
Authority of India (AAI) announcing its decision to vacate the rooms
provided to it (Jet Airways) by June 20.
The airline management has sent letters to its employees giving them
options, including relocation or putting in their papers, according to
reliable sources. The contract workers, hired by an agency to handle the
luggage of the airlines passengers, were also told that their services
would not be required after May 31.

Bismillah Khans family declines to
propose Modis nomination
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Musicians kin say they want to stay neutral
The family of the late Bismillah Khan, shehnai maestro, has refused to be
a proposer of the nomination of the BJP prime ministerial candidate,
Narendra Modi, in the constituency, saying it wants to remain neutral.
There were reports that the grandson of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya,
Giridhar Malviya, was willing to be one of the four proposers.
Though the BJP remained tight-lipped about who the proposers were, a
party functionary said they would be drawn from a cross-section of
people in the city. We intend to ensure that all sections are
represented, the party functionary said. Among those who are being
speculated as possible proposers is a tea-vendor.
Last week, the BJP reportedly approached Bismillah Khans family to be
one of the proposers.
Excitement about the impending filing of nomination by Mr. Modi on
April 24 and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on April 23 is
building up. Both parties have lined up roadshows.
While for the BJP, it will be a show of strength, the AAP wants it to be a
modest affair. We are not going for a show; it is an election procedure.
Arvind will go to the temple first and then to file his nomination,
Manish Sisodia, AAP leader, told The Hindu.

Delhi gets its first woman Chief Justice
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Justice Gorla Rohini has become the first woman Chief Justice of the
Delhi High Court. Justice Rohini, who was administered the oath of
office and allegiance by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung at Raj Niwas
on Monday, is the first woman to grace the post since the Delhi High
Court was established in October 1966.
Justice Rohini, 58, replaced Justice N.V. Ramana who had vacated the
coveted post in February following his elevation as a judge of the
Supreme Court. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by senior
members of the judiciary, Delhi Chief Secretary and other senior officers
of the Delhi Government.
Speaking on a woman being sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the
Delhi High Court, Mr. Jung said: Her appointment symbolises womens
empowerment. We need many more role models like her who can inspire
young girls across the country to aspire for top positions in all walks of
life.

Modi to share dais with Naidu
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: In a bid to boost the electoral prospects of BJP and its alliance partner
Telugu Desam, partys prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will
make a whirlwind tour of the Telangana region on Tuesday to address
four public meetings, including Bharat Vijay rally in Hyderabad.
Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu would share the
platform with Mr. Modi at Mahabubnagar and at Lal Bahadur Stadium
here, where film star and Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan would join
them. Telangana BJP president G. Kishan Reddy said an Akali Dal
functionary was expected to attend it. Mr. Pawan Kalyan would address
the rally with Mr. Modi in Nizamabad.

Two more coal scam cases closed
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DEVESH K. PANDEY
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The CBI has filed closure reports in two more coal block allocation scam
cases even as the ED initiated a probe to identify assets derived out of the
gains made from alleged illegal allocations.
The CBI has given a clean-chit to Congress MP Vijay Darda, his firm JLD
Yavatmal Energy Limited and filed a closure report in the case due to
lack of prosecutable evidence.
Citing the same reason, the agency also closed the case against JAS
Infrastructure Capital Private Limited.
Meanwhile, the CBI on Monday questioned the former MoS for Coal,
Dasari Narayana Rao, in another allocation case.

Speeding bus runs over doctor, child in
Gurgaon
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A doctor and his five-year-old daughter were run over by a city bus in
Sector 47 here on Monday.
Dr. Pankaj Gupta and his daughter Nilisha were waiting for her school
bus near Rail Vihar Apartments around 7-30 a.m. when an over-
speeding bus hit them from behind.
Nilisha was a nursery student at a prominent public school in Sector 45.
Dr Gupta was working at Medanta Medicity Hospital in Sector 38.
While Dr. Gupta died on the spot, Nilisha was rushed to Medanta
Hospital where she was declared brought dead.
The bodies were handed over to the family after post-mortem.
The accident took place just outside the Sadar police station.
Bus driver arrested
The bus driver, Harish, has been arrested.
The police said the driver was not in an inebriated state, but was trying
to overtake a vehicle from the wrong side which led to the tragic incident.

Security beefed up in Odisha towns
following terror threat
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The reported visit of operatives of Indian Mujahideen (IM) to
Bhubaneswar and Puri prior to this years Ratha Yatra and next years
Nabakalebar festival has sent security agencies into a tizzy.
The events are expected to draw nearly 50 lakh devotees from all corners
of world.
No specific information
Although the State government on Monday said it had not received any
specific information about IMs plan to attack a large congregation of
devotees during the annual Rath Yatra, it confirmed that the Central
investigating agencies passed on the message that IM operatives had
visited the coastal town on different occasions.
Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra and Director-General of Police
Prakash Mishra met here on Monday to discuss the terror threat and
steps needed to strengthen security deployment in Puri town.
Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) took stock of the
situation and beefed up security.

SC lifts Goa mining ban, caps annual
output
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The Supreme Court on Monday lifted the ban on mining iron ore in Goa,
but put an annual cap of 20 million tonnes on excavation.
In its judgment, the Green Bench, comprising Justices A.K. Patnaik, S.S.
Nijjar and Ibrahim Kalifulla, said: The panel [an expert committee] had
suggested that for the time being, annual excavation of 20 million tonnes
of iron ore may be permitted in Goa with adequate monitoring of its
impact on different ecological and environmental parameters, which will
also help the expert committee in its future appraisal. The Bench said a
ban to protect the environment would seriously affect the livelihood of
nearly 1.5 lakh people in the State who were employed in the industry.
Many people had taken loans and bought lorries for transportation of
iron ore.

Congress to go it alone in 2016 too
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Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi indicated here on Monday that
his party would be happy to go it alone in the 2016 Assembly elections
also in the State, just as it has done for the Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a huge rally here in support of the Congress candidates, he
also said the Tamil Nadu model of development was better than the
Gujarat model.

Hundreds killed in S. Sudan massacre
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Rebel gunmen in South Sudan massacred hundreds of civilians in
ethnic killings when they captured the oil town of Bentiu last week, the
U.N. said on Monday. It is one of the worst reported atrocities in the
war-torn nation.

Poll sting
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IANS
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A TDP candidate was injured on Monday in an attack by honey bees in
Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh.
E. Dayakar Rao sustained stings during campaigning in Ramannagudem.
As he was standing on his special campaign vehicle, his supporters
disturbed a beehive while trying to clear some branches. Mr. Rao and
others were stung after which he rushed to the house of a party activist.
He could not campaign for the rest of the day.
IANS

Rifts widen in Maharashtras political
clans
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The Thackerays consider each other the main political
adversary and are in a perennial fight to prove who runs the
real Sena

As Raj Thackeray took the stage at a rally in Dombivali this election
season, he brought the battle for Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackerays
legacy to its lowest point.
When I visited Balasaheb during his last days, I saw he was served two
puny batata vadas. I told him not to eat this oily snack and began
sending him chicken soup, he told the crowd, accusing his cousin and
Shiv Sena chief, Uddhav Thackeray, of neglecting his father.
In the very first election after Bal Thackerays death, the feud between
his son Uddhav Thackeray and his nephew Raj, who formed a breakaway
outfit eight years ago, has escalated dramatically. Both politicians have
used public rallies to attack each other.
Uddhav accused Raj of being a traitor who stabbed Bal Thackeray in the
back by setting up the rival Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in
2006.
It is clear the two Senas consider each other as the main political
adversary. They draw from the same cadre and attract the same vote-
bank: Marathi-speaking sons of the soil. Raj Thackerays party is just a
more militant version, a throwback to what the Shiv Sena used to be
when Bal Thackeray was in charge. The battle now is to prove which the
real Sena is.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Raj Thackeray had dented the Shiv Sena-
BJPs vote, ensuring its defeat in nine of the States 48 constituencies.
This year, he strained its alliance with the BJP after a secret meeting
with former party president Nitin Gadkari. Now, deciding to back the
BJPs prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Raj Thackeray has
fielded candidates mainly against the Shiv Sena.
While the BJP is hedging its bets on which cousin to ally with in the
future, it is clear that any talk of drawing both Thackerays into a grand
alliance is futile. The two parties share the same ideology and cadre. By
getting into an alliance, they stand to lose their following to the other.
Its not just the Shiv Sena which is witnessing a generational churn. The
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is also struggling with its succession
plan. At 73, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has bowed out of electoral politics.
His main task in this high octane election is to keep his party nationally
relevant. With the party down to eight seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls,
Mr. Pawar has led a gruelling campaign this year.
Much like the Raj Thackeray story, Mr. Pawar had initially groomed his
nephew Maharashtras Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as his political
successor. The younger politician developed a hold on the party and
served in successive State Cabinets. However, in 2006, two years after
undergoing cancer surgery, Sharad Pawar brought his only daughter
Supriya Sule into politics. She is now the sitting MP from his pocket
borough Baramati.
Ms. Sules entry raised questions about who would become the NCP
chiefs political heir. Ajit Pawar started becoming impatient and in 2009,
edged out his uncles nominee Chhagan Bhujbal to wrest the post of
Deputy Chief Minister.
Both Ms. Sule and Mr Sharad Pawar dismiss reports of a divide in the
partys Gen Next. This is humbug and wrong propaganda, Mr. Pawar
told The Hindu . Ms. Sule too says she is happy to focus on national
politics and leave State politics to her cousin.
Handling his ambitious nephew who is known for his rough ways is
becoming a challenge for Mr Sharad Pawar. Mr. Ajit Pawars image has
also been tainted by the multi-crore irrigation scam which led to his
resignation as Deputy Chief Minister in 2012. His controversial
utterances including alleged threats to voters have left the party
defensive.
Mr Ajit Pawars rise has also seen the sidelining of the partys old guard
including Mr. Bhujbal, a former Shiv Sainik. He has been edged out of
State politics and is now contesting his first parliamentary election,
reportedly against his will.
Regional aspirants
The partys succession plans also have to accommodate powerful
regional satraps from the sugar belt of western Maharashtra, who await
their place in the sun. The NCP is full of young leaders who are powerful
in their regions. In fact, its surprising the NCP chief has managed to
keep the peace so far, says political scientist Suhas Palshikar.
Beyond the Lok Sabha polls, the Shiv Sena, the MNS and the NCP are
looking ahead to the Assembly elections in October. By then the dynastic
duels are only set to intensify.
For NCP chief Sharad Pawar, handling his ambitious nephew
who is known for his rough ways is becoming a challenge

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Congress candidate Satyanarayan Sharma (left) and BJPs Ramesh Bais.
Photos: PAVAN DAHAT

The fight is between 70- year-old Satyanarayan Sharma of
Congress and 67-year-old Ramesh Bais of BJP
Raising slogans of Sattu Bhayya zindabad, supporters of Congress
leader Satyanarayan Sharma, party candidate from Raipur, milled
around him and demanded that the 70-year-old clamber on board an
open jeep to campaign.
A visibly apprehensive Mr. Sharma relented, but had to be supported by
Vikas Upadhyay, the young District Congress Committee president.
A former minister, Mr. Sharma is not the only elderly contestant from
Raipur. He is pitted against the BJPs Ramesh Bais, who was born just
before India got independence.
Dont go by my age. Look at the way I connect with the younger
generation, said Mr. Sharma, pointing to the bikers following him on
his roadshow. Mr. Bais, six-time MP from Raipur, also said his age
would not be a factor against him in the elections.
The younger generation wants change this time and they would vote for
the BJP to bring in change, Mr. Bais told this reporter when asked if he
faced any problem in connecting with the youth.
In a constituency where the fight is between the BJP and the Congress,
the Congress candidate is campaigning on the plank of the inability of
the sitting MP, while the BJP nominee is distributing copies of a booklet
with details of his work.
Mr. Bais refuted the Congressallegations and claimed that his voters
were happy with the development work he had brought in and his
performance in the House.
Interestingly, the Congress changed its candidate thrice before settling
on Mr. Sharma, who is Raipur (rural) MLA.
Mr. Sharmas supporters allegedly went on the rampage and damaged
the party office in the city when he was initially denied ticket. However,
Mr. Sharma said, They were not my supporters. It was done by the BJP
people.
He faces the ire of some sections of his own party and uncomfortable
caste equations in the constituency.
If the former Chhattisgarh Chief Electoral Officer, Sushil Trivedi, is to be
believed, it was Congress mismanagement which turned the Raipur
seat into a BJP bastion.
Mr. Sharma is a powerful leader and has good mass connect, but
fielding a Brahmin candidate in a constituency where 50 per cent of
voters are OBCs is not viable, Mr. Trivedi told The Hindu .
The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Sandip Tiwari, while the Bahujan
Samaj Party candidate is Virendra Kumar Daharia. Raipur is among six
seats in Chhattisgarh going to the polls on April 24 .

No Muslims in BJP, AAP Gujarat list
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The lone candidate from the community is from Congress
AHMEDABAD: Though the Bharatiya Janata Party had some Muslim
faces at its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modis roadshow in
Vadodara early this month, the saffron party has not fielded a single
Muslim candidate for the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat.
We do not select candidates based on caste and religion. We look at the
work done by our workers and the winnability factor. Besides, L.K.
Advani is our representative from the minority [Sindhi] community.
Candidate selection is done after our local workers and leaders submit
names based on peoples contribution and work, BJP media cell
convenor Harshad Patel said.
The Aam Aadmi Party has no Muslim candidates either in its list of 23
candidates. We did not find any, though we have fielded two in the
Vidhan Sabha byelections, AAPs State spokesperson Harshal Nayak
said.
Lone candidate
The lone Muslim candidate for the Lok Sabha polls is Maksud Mirza of
the Congress, who will contest from Navsari.
According to the 2001 Census data, Muslims account for up to 9.5 per
cent of Gujarats population. Despite this, the State has had a long
history of total absence of the Muslim community in Parliament. The
Lok Sabha constituencies of Jamnagar, Bharuch earlier represented by
Ahmed Patel of the Congress, Navsari and Kachchh have a dominant
presence of Muslims. Three of these are with the BJP, Jamnagar being
with the Congress.
Social activist Hanif Lakdawala said the last Muslim MP from Gujarat
was Ahmed Patel, who was elected in 1984. Since then, there has been no
Muslim parliamentarian from Gujarat. The representation of Muslims
had decreased in the State Legislature as well. Earlier, we had about
eight to 10 MLAs, but the 2012 Assembly elections saw only five Muslim
MLAs, all from the Congress.
He said the Muslims in the BJP had no hold over their community and
were not able to win even corporation elections. Mr. Modis sadbhavana
fast three years ago was just a show.
The neighbourhood of Juhapura in Ahmedabad has a strong Muslim
population of four lakh. However, in a strategic move, this part was
divided in the delimitation exercise in 2006, thus splitting the Muslim
vote, Mr. Lakdawala said.
The last Muslim MP from Gujarat was Ahmed Patel, who was
elected in 1984, says a social activist

They walk the extra mile to fuel Lefts
campaign
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An old man, clad in a stained white shirt andveshti , struggles up the
stage to clasp the hand of Communist Party of India candidate G.
Palanichamy at a public meeting here. Before he leaves, he puts a crisp
hundred-rupee note in the candidates hand.
The image of the man, presumably a labourer, contributing what is
possibly his days wage to the campaign reflects a recurrent reality in
these parts. Even as DMK and AIADMK cadre seem upset with not
getting enough money to campaign for their party candidates, CPI
loyalists are walking the extra mile to make a fight out of it.
While candidates of the Dravidian parties give money for votes, here,
the poor give us anything between Rs. 10 to Rs. 1,000 to help our
campaign, says Veerasenan, CPIs Tiruvarur district secretary. At every
Left party campaign meeting, such contributions come from their
sympathisers, primarily the landless poor, labourers and Dalits who
throng the venue from across Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts.
Women wage labourers are the Lefts barefoot soldiers, competing with
other parties motorcades and cycle rallies. As the polling day nears,
these women brave the scorching sun and forgo their wages while
canvassing for votes. They come to public meetings on their own, taking
any mode of transport without asking the party to ferry them.
Vigil against cash
In the Communist strongholds such as Thiruthuraipoondi, Keezhvelur,
parts of Vedaranyam and Tiruvarur, people have started keeping vigil to
prevent the infusion of money by other parties. Says Ambikapathi, a
Vedaranyam-based journalist: Here, the candidates may not even risk
sending cash for the fear that villagers will not just seize the money, but
also tie up those carrying it and alert the police. The villagers kept such
midnight vigils even during the 2011 Assembly elections.

close vigil
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People watch an election campaign rally in Anantnag, South Kashmir, on Monday.
Polls to the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat will be held on April 24. PHOTO: NISSAR
AHMAD

Maharani faces protg in Patiala
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Preneet Kaur
One of the most respected politicians in Punjabs political landscape,
Preneet Kaur, the Maharani of the erstwhile princely state of Patiala
from which this Lok Sabha seat derives its name, is locked in a unique
electoral battle she faces a challenge from her protg, Deepinder
Singh Dhillon, who joined the Shiromani Akali Dal after being denied
ticket by the Congress in the 2012 Assembly elections, which he
contested as an independent.
While Ms. Kaur, who became Union Minister of State for External
Affairs in UPA-II, has won the seat three times in row since 1999, her
husband Captain Amarinder Singh, the former Chief Minister, and his
mother Mohinder Kaur, now fondly referred to as the Rajmata,
represented Patiala in 1980 and 1967 respectively. In the 14 general
elections here since 1957, the Congress won it nine times while the Akali
candidates, including their stalwart Gurcharan Singh Tohra, were
successful four times. In 1989, when Punjab was ravaged by terrorist
violence, secessionist leader Atinderpal Singh won from jail.
The present contest has become more interesting after Capt. Singh was
fielded from Amritsar to take on the BJPs Arun Jaitley, a move that
revived and unified the Congress. Factionalism in the Congress during
the 2012 Assembly polls had resulted in Akali Dal winning four of the
nine seats that form Patiala Lok Sabha constituency.
In her campaign to reach Parliament for the fourth time, Ms. Kaur
speaks of development during her husbands tenure as Chief Minister.
He brought in projects that would have ensured investment of one lakh
crore but the Akali government stalled the process, she says. Their
projects do not proceed beyond the foundation stone ceremony. The
procurement of wheat has not started as the government is faced with a
credit freeze, she says, alleging growing unemployment and drug
addiction among the youth ever since the Akali Dal-BJP alliance came to
power.
The AAP candidate, Dharamvira Gandhi, is a cardiologist and social
activist. He was arrested in 1975 when, as a student at the Government
Medical College in Amritsar, he protested against the Emergency.
Though he is confident of a causing a historic upset, Mr. Gandhi is
unhappy that party chief, Arvind Kejriwal skipped his constituency
during his road shows.
Akali Dals Mr. Dhillon has a sound presence in the Rajpura-Banur-Dera
Bassi belt, where he managed the affairs of the constituency for
Maharani Sahib till 2012. Also in the fray is Kamaldeep Kaur, sister of
Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is on death row in the Beant Singh
assassination case and whose scheduled execution led to major protests.
While she is expected to take away some Panthic votes, CPIs Nirmal
Singh Dhaliwal and BSPs Ram Singh Dhiman could prove spoilers for
the Congress campaign.
In all, there are 20 candidates in the fray in the constituency which has
15.7 lakh voters. Ajaypal Singh, a banker, says that while the Maharani
and her family were inaccessible, after the Akali Dal-BJP government
assumed charge the posh colony where he resides has broken roads and
erratic supply of water, which is often not potable. If as voters we do not
respond to the need of the hour, we shall not have the right to crib later,
he says.

CBI nabs officials kin in bribery case
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A trap was laid for the officials brother-in-law
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday trapped the brother-in-
law of a Delhi-based Indian Audit and Accounts Service Officer while
accepting a bribe of Rs. 5 lakh on behalf of the official.
According to the CBI, a complaint was received stating that A.
Paramasivam, an IAAS officer working as Director in the office of the
Director-General of Audit Central Expenditure, is demanding a bribe
of Rs. 35 lakh for regularising a nursing college run by the complainant.
On Monday, at a designated location, the complainant was to pay the
first instalment of Rs. 5 lakh to the officials brother-in-law, Sivaram
Thilagar.
Accordingly, a trap was laid by a CBI team and Dr. Thilagar was caught
red-handed while accepting the bribe. Dr. Thilagar, cited as second
accused in the case, was arrested in Chennai while Dr. Paramasivan was
being interrogated in Delhi.
Searches were conducted at the offices and residences of the accused in
Delhi, Noida, Kancheepuram and in some places near
Tirunelveli. During the searches Rs. 95 lakh in cash and several
documents were seized and investigations are on.

CBI nabs officials kin in bribery case
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A trap was laid for the officials brother-in-law
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday trapped the brother-in-
law of a Delhi-based Indian Audit and Accounts Service Officer while
accepting a bribe of Rs. 5 lakh on behalf of the official.
According to the CBI, a complaint was received stating that A.
Paramasivam, an IAAS officer working as Director in the office of the
Director-General of Audit Central Expenditure, is demanding a bribe
of Rs. 35 lakh for regularising a nursing college run by the complainant.
On Monday, at a designated location, the complainant was to pay the
first instalment of Rs. 5 lakh to the officials brother-in-law, Sivaram
Thilagar.
Accordingly, a trap was laid by a CBI team and Dr. Thilagar was caught
red-handed while accepting the bribe. Dr. Thilagar, cited as second
accused in the case, was arrested in Chennai while Dr. Paramasivan was
being interrogated in Delhi.
Searches were conducted at the offices and residences of the accused in
Delhi, Noida, Kancheepuram and in some places near
Tirunelveli. During the searches Rs. 95 lakh in cash and several
documents were seized and investigations are on.

GAIL calls off TN pipeline work
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The natural gas pipeline project undertaken by GAIL India has suffered a
setback with the company cancelling contracts given to some entities for
the execution of the work on various stretches in Tamil Nadu. The
company has been compelled to take the decision as the project has
failed to make headway in the face of surmounting problems.
Farmers organisations had opposed the laying of pipeline through
farmlands and the issue had been discussed at various levels by the
Tamil Nadu government. Later, the government maintained that the
pipelines be laid along the NH, which was not acceptable to GAIL. The
matter has since been referred to court and the case is pending before
Supreme Court.
GAIL had planned to lay pipelines from Kochi to Bangalore through
Palakkad and Coimbatore. Of the 900-km pipeline, about 300 km would
have to pass through Tamil Nadu and 100 km through Karnataka. The
land acquisition is being done under the Petroleum and Mineral
Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962.

Project fails to make headway
Farmers groups oppose laying
of the pipeline

Rainbow alliance will change T.N.
politics: Advani
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The rainbow alliance formed by the BJP in Tamil Nadu comprising the
parties led by Vijayakant, S. Ramadoss, Vaiko, A.C. Shanmugam, T.R.
Pachamuthu and Easwaran would change the politics in Tamil Nadu,
BJP leader L.K. Advani said here on Monday.
Canvassing for Pudhiya Needhi Katchi candidate A.C. Shanmugam, who
is contesting on the BJPs lotus symbol in Vellore, Mr. Advani said that
till now it was felt that an electoral contest in Tamil Nadu was always
between the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
But, this combination of parties, known as the rainbow front, has made
the earlier bipolar front less relevant.
The speciality of the rainbow alliance is that it encompasses all sections
of the people, and all castes are represented in the alliance.
The biggest change in politics in Tamil Nadu now is that the fight is not
just between the AIADMK and the DMK. This rainbow alliance led by the
BJP has made me confident that this will be the principal front in Tamil
Nadu, he said.
Batting for the BJPs prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, Mr.
Advani said Mr. Modi had performed exceedingly well in Gujarat. I have
no doubt that the BJP would be triumphant in Gujarat once again, he
said.
Pointing out that the first and foremost duty of any government would
be to ensure that poverty and illiteracy were removed, Mr. Advani said
that whenever Mr. Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat or Shivraj
Singh Chouhan became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, they
decided to see that there was no village without electricity, there was no
village without power for farmers, and there was no village without
schools for girls.
A remarkable change is going to come in June, when you will find that
the Congress led by Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh will be out of
the race, and a new government of the National Democratic Alliance will
be formed with Mr. Modi as Prime Minister, the BJP veteran said.

AIADMK caught in crony capitalism:
Sudhakar
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Just as the Congress and the BJP, the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has
been caught in the web of crony capitalism, CPI general secretary
Sudhakar Reddy said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference here, in the midst of his electioneering for
the party candidate, K. Balasubramanian, he said it was at the insistence
of the corporates that the AIADMK had left the Left parties out of its
alliance. The corporates might have thought that the growth of the Left
parties would create problems for them.
Earlier, the AIADMK hobnobbed with the Communist parties; but after
the election schedule was announced, it unilaterally announced its
candidates for all Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Though initially the leaders and cadre of the Left parties were neither
psychologically nor physically prepared for such a sudden development,
they recouped themselves within no time, and now, with renewed vigour,
they were campaigning in the 18 Lok Sabha seats where the CPI and the
CPI(M) had fielded candidates. Mr. Reddy hoped that a considerable
number of them would get elected.
He said that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had started criticising the BJP
belatedly, but it was not based on any political or ideological conviction.
He accused her of failing to resolve energy and water problems.
Criticising the DMK, Mr. Reddy said that much against the furore, it
fielded the former Union Ministers, A. Raja and Dayanidhi Maran, who
were facing corruption cases. But DMK leader M. Karunanidhi had been
asking the Congress to apologise to him (for having jailed Mr. Raja and
Kanimozhi). In fact, the Congress should apologise to the nation, and
not to Mr. Karunanidhi, for having given Cabinet berths to Mr. Raja and
Mr. Dayanidhi Maran.
AIADMK snapped ties with Left at insistence of corporates

Now, SPs Azmi suggests double voting
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Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi at a protest in Mumbai in 2013. Photo: PTI
In a controversial speech which seemed to suggest double voting,
Maharashtra chief of the Samajwadi Party Abu Azmi on Monday said: I
urge North Indian voters to vote for the SP candidate in Mumbai on
April 24 and then take the evening train to Uttar Pradesh and help the
party win there as well. He was addressing a rally in Saki Naka.
However, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, in damage
control mode, said, The BJP has fielded its presidential candidate from
Varanasi. One of the most important phases of U.P. elections is also on
April 24, the same day that Mumbai goes to vote. You cannot vote twice
but you can certainly go to Uttar Pradesh and help the party, he said.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar was earlier censured by the Election
Commission for urging a gathering in Mumbai to vote here and also in
Satara.
Mr. Yadav was in Mumbai to campaign for four of his party candidates:
Farhan Azmi (Mumbai North Central), Kamlesh Yadav (Mumbai North),
Abbas Ahmed (Mumbai South) and Handed Sayyed (Kalgan).
Taking potshots at the Congress and the BJP, Mr. Yadav said no
government could be formed without taking into account the 80 Lok
Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Off the radar, FinMin gets a key adviser
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Ila Patnaik
Even while the Bharatiya Janata Party has moved the Election
Commission to stop the appointment of the Lokpal and the next Army
Chief midway through the election, the Centre has made a key
appointment in the Finance Ministry.
Ila Patnaik, RBI Chair Professor at the National Institute of Public
Finance and Policy and columnist, has been appointed Principal
Economic Adviser, a post vacant since November 2013.
What is significant is that Dr. Patnaik has, in her columns, by-and-large
concurred with the policy stances of Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram
Rajan.
The most important factor that favours success this time is Governor
Raghuram Rajan, Dr. Patnaik wrote days after his appointment in a
column on an RBI proposal about interest rate futures.
More recently, in April, she wrote: His strategy of an aggressive attack
on inflation, despite the scepticism often voiced in the Indian monetary
policy debate about the effectiveness of monetary policy, was the right
strategy and is yielding results. Her views are in sharp contrast to the
BJPs stated position on Dr. Rajan. BJP treasurer Piyush Goyal recently
said in an interview to a business daily: I think Governor Rajan is only
aggravating problems and is making it worse by increasing interest rates

Days before being appointed Governor, Dr. Rajan, as head of a
government-appointed committee on evolving a composite development
index of States, ranked Gujarat 12th out of 28 and categorised it as less
developed. The report goes against the projection of Gujarat as a model
State by the BJPs prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.
Heavens would not have fallen if a post that had been vacant for six
months could have been left for the new Finance Minister to take a
decision on, said a top Ministry official, who chose to remain
anonymous. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented the
interim Budget in February without a Chief Economic Adviser or
Principal Economic Adviser.

Evidence lacking in Dabholkar case: police
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A candlelight vigil in memory of Narendra Dabholkar in Bangalore. File Photo: K.
Murali Kumar
Rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case has hit a dead end. The
Pune police on Monday submitted an affidavit in a local court stating
that they did not have enough evidence to charge-sheet two suspects
arrested in the case.
Manish Nagori (24) and Vilas Khandelwal (22), part of a gang, were
arrested on January 20 on charge of criminal conspiracy. The two were
granted bail on Monday. However, they are still in jail for other cases.
On August 20, 2013, anti-superstition activist and Maharashtras most
vocal rationalist, Dabholkar, (65), was shot dead by two youths on a
motorcycle on the Omkareshwar bridge near Punes Shanivar Peth area
while he was on a morning walk.
The same day, the duo was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism
Squad (ATS) in an arms case. The two were later handed over to the
Pune police in December last year in a different case. The police claimed
that a ballistic report had found that bullets in a pistol recovered from
the accused matched with those in Dabholkars body. The Pune police
believed that the accused had supplied arms to Dabholkars killers.
It was a suo motu decision to file an affidavit. This does not mean that
we have given a clean chit to the accused but at this stage we dont have
enough evidence to charge-sheet them, Assistant Commissioner of
Police Rajendra Bhamre, who is the investigating officer, told The
Hindu .

Article 370 has not helped J&K: Rajnath
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BJP chief want good relations with all neighbours including
Pakistan

Those opposing abrogation of Article 370 should spell out how it had
benefited Jammu and Kashmir, BJP president Rajnath Singh said and
favoured a debate on the constitutional provision that grants special
status to the State.
Our stand is that because of this [Article 370], Jammu and Kashmir has
not benefited at all. Had it benefited, had it helped in reduction of
poverty, then we would welcome it. But this has not happened, Mr.
Singh told PTI in an interview.
In its poll manifesto , the party has said: The BJP reiterates its stand on
the Article 370 and will discuss this with all stakeholders and remains
committed to the abrogation of this Article. If the NDA comes to power,
the BJP chief said, there would be quest for friendly ties with expectation
of reciprocity.
Pakistan is our neighbour. We will want to have good relations with it
and all other neighbours. We also expect Pakistan to have good relations
with India, he said.- PTI

Pawar asks Justice Patel to come clean on
relation with Shivlal Yadav
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Ravi Shastri should quit probe panel due to conflict of
interest

Sharad Pawar
The former BCCI chief, Sharad Pawar wants Justice J.N. Patel, who is
part of a three-man probe panel set up by the Board to investigate the
IPL corruption scandal, to come clean on his reported links with the
bodys interim president Shivlal Yadav.
I think Patel should definitely disclose if he is related to the BCCIs
interim president Shivlal Yadav. If not, then BCCI should clarify and
should not allow these type of discussions, Mr. Pawar told PTI in an
interview.
I dont know him [Patel] personally, but I think it is his duty to disclose
if this news [information] is correct. I know he was a very upright judge
when he was here. He had taken very tough responsibilities and had
performed very well. But the issue which I was not aware of somebody
rang me up from Andhra Pradesh this morning, saying the BCCIs
interim president Shivlal Yadav and Patel are close relatives brother-
in-law or something like that. I dont know. If the news is correct, then
the people will judge, Mr. Pawar said, adding: Generally, I have seen
many times [that] a judge, if there is some lawyer who is close to him is
there, will immediately recuse himself from the case. I am sure that
knowing fully well Justice Patels reputation, he will not allow this type
of a thing.
The Union Minister, who has served as the president of both the BCCI
and the International Cricket Council, also questioned the decision to
name the former India captain, Ravi Shastri, on the enquiry committee.
Ravi Shastri is a good player. In fact, when I was BCCI chief [2005-08],
we signed a contract with him and Sunil Gavaskar. So, he had a financial
contract with BCCI. Now, someone says how can a person who has got a
financial contract with BCCI, become part of an inquiry committee of
BCCI chief? he said, but added: I have no reservation about Shastris
integrity, his honesty. But definitely, anybody can raise the issue. And
that is why a sensible person will try to keep away from this [probe
panel].
Justice Patel the former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Mr.
Shastri, and ex-CBI director R.K. Raghavan were named to the panel by
the Board members at an emergency working committee meeting here
on Sunday. Their names would be submitted for approval of the
Supreme Court, which is hearing the case IPL scandal.
The next hearing scheduled for Tuesday. PTI

Notice to Goa on Tejpal bail petition
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The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Goa government
on a petition filed by Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal seeking bail in a case
relating to the alleged rape of his colleague.
A Bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and
N.V. Ramana issued a notice returnable in four weeks after hearing
senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for Mr. Tejpal. Mr. Salve pleaded
for interim bail to the petitioner stating that he would not leave the
limits of Goa during the pendency of the trial. The Bench, however, said
it would consider the plea only after hearing the response from the Goa
Police.
Mr. Tejpal, who was arrested on November 30, 2013, in his special leave
petition challenged the March 14 verdict of the Goa Bench of the Bombay
High Court refusing to release him on bail.

EC finds paid news in Raigarh
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The Election Commission identified six articles in local newspapers in
the Raigarh Lok Sabha constituency in Chhattisgarh as paid news, and
directed that the cost incurred in publishing them be added to the
election expenditure of the BJP and the Congress candidates.
The media certification and monitoring committee of the commission,
headed by District Collector Mukesh Bansal, directed that Rs. 16,932 be
added to the expenditure of the BJP State president and candidate,
Vishnudeo Sai, and Rs. 8,617 to that of Congress candidate Aarti Singh,
said Vijay Kedia, panel member. PTI

Mixed response to lifting Goa mining ban
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Some express concern at cap on annual production
There were mixed reactions to Mondays Supreme Court order lifting the
19-month-old mining ban in Goa and fixing a buffer zone of 1 km and a
20-million tonne cap on annual production.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar welcomed the order allowing miners
in Goa to resume operation. Reserving his detailed response until he
studied the order, Mr. Parrikar said, Prima facie it appears that the
contention of the Goa government that the mining operations should be
decided by the State government is upheld by the Supreme Court.
The Goa Mining Dependents Front (GMPF), an umbrella body
comprising barge owners, truck owners, mining machinery owners,
mining workers and other small businesses, said the order was certainly
a relief to stakeholders.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president John Fernandes said work
should start immediately to mitigate the problems faced by miners
families.
The Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association declined to comment saying
it would like to get the detailed order. Industry insiders said the
association was unhappy with the cap, buffer zone and No to dumps
removal.

In Mumbai, Modi urges youth to vote,
campaign for strong govt
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Proud with her selfie:The BJPs candidate for North West Mumbai Poonam Mahajan
snaps a photo of herself with the partys prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi
at a rally in Mumbai on Monday. Photo: Vivek Bendre
Making a direct appeal to young voters, the Bharatiya Janata Partys
prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, said here on Monday that
youngsters should not only vote but also come out to campaign for a
strong government in Delhi.
Dont just be voters, but be canvassers. Go to each house and lane, ask
them to vote for a strong government in Delhi. That is for your own
future, he appealed to youth in the 18-28 age group.
Addressing a rally in Bandra-Kurla Complex, the same venue where
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had spoken on Sunday, he said a
Congress government would put their future in the dark.
Claiming that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government provided over 6.5
crore jobs in six years, Mr. Modi said two successive United Progressive
Alliance governments could not produce even one crore jobs in the past
10 years.
Show me a single person who was given a job by the UPA, he said.
Rahul and poverty
Attacking Mr. Gandhi for his statement that poverty was only a state of
mind, Mr. Modi said that those born with a silver spoon in their mouth
would never understand poverty.
For Rahul bhaiya , poverty is a tourism destination. He goes to see the
poor and even finishes off their food. He speaks about poverty for fun,
he said.
We talk of development issues and they [the Congress] talk of
secularism. It just means that they have no answer to the questions I am
raising, he said.

SC to hear curative plea on Sec. 377
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The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday a curative petition filed by gay
activists and Naz Foundation seeking to cure defects in the judgment
upholding the validity of Section 377 IPC, which criminalises
homosexuality between two consenting adults.
In 2009, the Delhi High Court had held that Section 377 violated Articles
14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. The apex court on December 11, 2013,
set aside this ruling and upheld the validity of Section 377. On January
28, the apex court dismissed a batch of review petitions, challenging the
judgment.
On Monday, senior counsel Anand Grover made a mention before a
bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N.V.
Ramana that during the chamber hearing on Tuesday, the Bench should
also take into consideration the latest verdict in the transgender case
highlighting how transgenders were subjected to ill-treatment and
harassed under Section 377. The petitioners had already pleaded for a
hearing in the open court as generally curative petitions are heard in the
judges chamber.

Apex court to hear plea on Lokpal
selection
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The Supreme Court will hear on April 25 an application from Common Cause, a non-profit
organisation, seeking to restrain the Union government from going ahead with the Lokpal
selection process.
A Bench headed by Justice R.M. Lodha has already issued a notice to the Centre, returnable
on May 5, on the writ petition filed by Common Cause challenging the Lokpal selection
process and the rules governing selection of members.
On Monday, counsel Prashant Bhushan made a mention before a Bench of Chief Justice P.
Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N.V. Ramana about the filing of the present
application and sought early hearing. The Bench posted the matter for hearing on April 25.
Common Cause said there was a communication from the Prime Minister on April 11 to all
members of the selection committee to indicate their availability between April 24 and 28 so
that a meeting could be held to appoint the chairperson and members of the Lokpal. The
application said when the court issued the notice, Solicitor-General Mohan Parasaran made a
categorical statement that the government was not doing anything as far as the selection of
the Lokpal and its members was concerned.

Chinas visa policy casts a shadow on
youth exchange
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China said on Monday it was still in communication with India about arranging the visit of
a youth delegation to Beijing next month, which has been cast in doubt over the Chinese
governments continuing policy of issuing stapled visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Indian Youth Affairs Ministry has, according to recent reports in New Delhi, conveyed
its concern to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after the Chinese Embassy reportedly
asked the Ministry to not include youth from Arunachal Pradesh in the delegation.
The MEA now faces a sensitive decision in an election year of whether or not to take
forward the exchange. Indications are that the visit will happen only after the elections later
in the year.
With both the countries deciding to mark 2014 as a year of friendly exchanges, cancelling
the visit is likely to cast a cloud on diplomatic ties.
At the same time, sending a delegation without representation from Arunachal Pradesh will
be seen, as the Youth Affairs Minister reportedly suggested in a letter to the MEA, as
acquiescing to Chinas position. Chinas policy of issuing stapled visas has emerged as an
annual sticking point that has recently complicated youth and sports exchanges. These
incidents prompted the former Bhartiya Janta Party MP, Kiren Rijiju, to send a letter to Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, urging the government to allow travel on stapled visas. But
Indian officials feel that on the contrary, doing so would bolster Chinas position. China
claims around 90,000 sq. km in Arunachal Pradesh, while according to India, it is illegally
occupying 38,000 sq km in Aksai Chin in the western sector. China maintains that its stapled
visa policy for Arunachal Pradesh, in place since around 2010, is consistent with its policy
for all disputed areas.

Advanis website hacked
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The official website of veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani was hacked on
Monday allegedly by a Pakistani hacker who posted messages of free
Kashmir on the portal.
The hacker, who called himself Muhammad Bilal, wrote Pakistan
Zindabad messages on the site and called for an end to militarised
governance in Kashmir.
The hacking comes close on the heels of a claim by Kashmiri separatist
leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani that the BJPs prime ministerial candidate,
Narendra Modi, had sent two emissaries to him.
Muhammad Bilal, the hacker, began his message saying, Good Morning
Narendra Modi and went on to raise the Kashmir issue.
The message said freedom of Kashmir was the goal of those who hacked
the website lkadvani.in.
Mr. Advani, who was in Tamil Nadu campaigning for the party, was not
aware of the hacking. None of his associates accompanying him or
people at his residence knew of the development. PTI

Strike disrupts normal life in Kashmir
Valley
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Security personnel patrolling Srinagar streets on Monday. Normal life in the Valley
was disrupted following a strike call by hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali
Shah Geelani against detention of separatist leaders and youth campaigning for
boycott of the Lok Sabha elections. PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD
Normal life in Kashmir Valley was disrupted on Monday due to a strike
called by hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani
against detention of separatist leaders and youth campaigning for a
boycott of Lok Sabha elections.
Schools, colleges, shops and other business establishments remained
closed in most parts of the Valley while public transport remained off the
roads due to the strike call.
However, private vehicles could be seen plying on the roads in most
parts of Srinagar, the summer Capital of the State.
Officials said while life remained affected in other parts of the Valley
also, some shops were open in the interior areas of some districts and
towns.
Mr. Geelani has called for a strike to protest against the detention of
separatist leaders by the police while they were campaigning for poll
boycott in south Kashmir which is going to polls on April 24.
The Hurriyat hawk has asked people to observe civil curfew on polling
days Arpil 24 (south Kashmir), April 30 (central Kashmir) and May 7
(north Kashmir) in the Valley. - PTI

Prosecution completes arguments in
Asarams sexual assault case
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Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu being produced at Sessions Court in Jodhpur on
Monday. Photo: PTI
The prosecution on Monday completed its arguments in the case of
alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl by self-styled godman Asaram
Bapu.
Photographs verified
We completed our arguments on Monday... The defence will cross-
examine the girl on April 25, said public prosecutor R. L. Meena.
He said examination of the girl was completed on April 15, but on
Monday some photographs and video recordings pertaining to the case
were verified by her in the Jodhpur District and Sessions Court.
On April 11, the girl had turned emotional and had said in the court that
the person, whom she and her parents trusted, did such an immoral
behaviour with her. She had also recounted her statements given to the
police and magistrate.
The court, however, will continue with cross-examination of the first
prosecution witness Pushplata, ASI of the Kamla Market police station in
Delhi, where the victim had lodged the Zero FIR, and had got her
statements recorded.
So far five witnesses have appeared in the court, out of total 58 to be
examined, the list of which had been submitted to the court by the
prosecution.
Condition deteriorates
Meanwhile, the condition of Asaram deteriorated soon after he entered
the courtroom. He was taken back to the jail. After preliminary check-up
by jail doctors, Asaram was taken to the Ayurveda Hospital of the
Ayurveda University here.
Asaram is lodged in the Jodhpur Central Jail since September 2 last year
after he was booked for the sexual assault on the girl. - PTI

Meenas brother may play spoilsport in
Tonk
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The constituency goes to polls in the second phase of polling
in Rajasthan on April 24

Mohammad Azharuddin with Sachin Pilot in Sawai Madhopur district on Monday.
Photo: PTI
Before the entry of Jagmohan Meena, a former Rajasthan Administrative
Service officer better known as Kirori Lal Meenas younger brother, the
contest in the Tonk-Sawaimadhopur Parliamentary constituency looked
like an evenly balanced one.
The Tonk-Sawaimadhopur constituency is one of the five constituencies
that go to polls in the second phase of polling in Rajasthan on 24th April.
Former Indian cricket captain Mohd. Azharuddin of the Congress and
billionaire businessman Sukhbir Singh Jaunpurialast in news for
throwing a 250-crore wedding for his daughterof the BJP were both
outsiders hoping to cash in on their primordial identities.
After he was declared the party candidate, Mr. Azharuddin had even met
Mr. Kirori Meena at his residence in Jaipur to seek his support.
But then, the Congress inadvertently complicated matters for the
batsman-turned-politician.
According to the freshly floated and widely circulated poll legend here,
Jagmohan Meenawith the promise of a Congress ticketresigned from
his administrative job, only to be snubbed by the party later.
Angry, big brother Kirori Lal Meena, who heads the Rajasthan chapter of
the National People's Party, fielded Jagmohan as the NPP candidate
from Tonk-Sawaimadhopur.
Sachin Pilot had promised a Congress ticket to Mr. Jagmohan and had
him opt for voluntary retirement but the party went back on its promise.
Had he not resigned, Mr. Jagmohan would have been promoted to IAS
but now hes left hanging in the middle, like Trishanku , says an office-
bearer at the NPP party office in Dausa.
Our only purpose is to damage the Congress' prospects...before Mr.
Jagmohan had entered the fray, the Congress looked strong...but not
anymore, he said.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Mr. Pilot has refuted these
allegations.
I haven't even met him so there is no question of promising anything,
he told The Hindu last week.
The BJP seems incredibly confident of a victory here. Even if we dont
get a single Muslim vote, Jaunpuria ji will win by a margin of four lakh
votes and Mr. Azharuddin will have to forfeit his deposit, says Vishnu
Sharma, the party's Lok Sabha poll office in-charge in Tonk.
The BJP is not shying away from personal attacks on Mr. Azhar's
married life and has been routinely invoking the apparition of the match-
fixing scandal that had prematurely ended the cricketers career in the
late 1990s.
On its part, the Congress hopes Mr. Azhar's celebrity status will work for
him, as will his wife Sangeeta Bijlanis popularity among rural voters.
Ms. Bijlani has been campaigning for her husbandnot known to be a
good oratorassuring people shes on the lookout for a place to stay in
Tonk after the elections to allay their fears about Mr. Azhar being an
outsider.
We are hoping for Meenas, the Muslims and the Scheduled Castes to
vote for us, besides a portion of Gujjar votes after Mr. Pilots appeal to
the community. Unlike the Assembly polls, we are united this time, says
Congress leader Saud Saidi who had contested as an independent in the
Assembly polls against the Congress candidate and had called Mr. Azhar
for a roadshow in his support here.
Unlike the BJP which claims Narendra Modis name is sufficient to win it
for them, the Congress is hoping to rake up issues such as the
Vasundhara Raje-led BJP governments dilly-dallying on hiking the
Minimum Support Price for mustard and wheat and delays in
compensation to farmers for crop damage due to hailstorm.
Jaunpuria is only interested in this seat to take control of the sand trade
here for his real estate activities. Azhar bhai is here to work for the
people, alleges Congress leader Javed Iqbal.
However, persistent in-fighting within the local Congress workers and
the displeasure of the Muslim community over Congress decision to
ignore local leaders for Mr. Azhar, could ruin the party for the former
cricketer.
There are about 15-16 lakh voters in this constituency with about 2.5 lakh
Muslims and a similar number of Gujjars and Meenas. At about 3-3.5
lakh, there is a big chunk of SC voters that have traditionally supported
the Congress. With Meena votes expected to swing in Mr. Jagmohans
favour, the Congress is left banking on the Muslims and the Scheduled
Castes. Add to that another Meenaindependent candidate and social
worker Makkhan Lal Meena, whose flagship poll promise is marrying off
2,100 couples after the electionscutting into the Congress vote bank
and Tonk-Sawaimadhopur looks set for an interesting contest.

Kosi Kalan may vote for development
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Md. Abad at his residence in Kosi Kalan.
Shyam Sundar Kaushik (43), a Brahmin, sits outside an unnamed barber
shop waiting his turn to get a shave. Ahead of him is the Talab Shahi, a
fairly large and visibly polluted pond, that lends its name to his
neighbourhood which has Hindu and Muslim colonies standing side by
side.
Two years ago on June 1, it was here that violence reached its peak after
the Kosi Kalan town, located roughly 43 kilometres from Mathura,-
witnessed its first ever Hindu-Muslim clash. Houses and shops were
gutted, four were left dead and dozens were injured after a minor scuffle
led to nine hours of rioting. Curfew was imposed for three weeks.
Unofficial figures state that nearly 35,000 people here will cast their vote
on Thursday. Though the two-year-old riot incident does not seem to be
an election issue, it has forever changed the way the dominant
population of the Hindus that includes Banyas, Jats and Brahmins and
their Muslim neighbours perceive each other.
Politics has changed, nowadays, said Shyam Sundar, to an ever
increasing number of young men who had gathered outside the barber
shop to listen to his sermon. We want to appear to be a developed
country so nobody wants to take up the caste-religion issue anymore.
Instead it is about development, he said. His audience recall the
Bharatiya Janata Partys Lok Sabha candidate Hema Malinis visit over
the weekend asking the area residents to vote Modi and
development.
Two youngsters, inhabitants of the Brahminpuri area here, warned this
reporter against venturing into the dangerous Muslim Nikasa. It is not
safe. Enter at your own risk, said 25-year-old Krishna Upadhyay,
wearing a red teekha . There is a school close to the Nikasa and Hindu
girls were constantly eve-teased by Muslim boys. Now, that route has
been shut off and the girls have to walk along the highway to get home.
The Hindus in Talab Shahi swear their allegiance to Narendra Modi and
confidently concluded that Muslims will only vote for anyone who is
against Modi, in this case Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Jayant
Chaudhary.
The inhabitants of the Muslim Nikasa, meanwhile, seemed undecided on
which of the political parties to support.
Some even asked for suggestions while others said their vote will go to
the Samajwadi Party, the incumbent government in Uttar Pradesh that
was accused of responding slowly during the various riots the State has
witnessed.
Fifty-three-year-old Mohammad Abad who lives behind the unfinished
EWS colony, popularly known as Mayawati Houses, remembers a time
in Talab Shahi where Hindus and Muslims peacefully lived together. In
his spare time, Mohammad says he watches discourses of Dr. Shankar
Accharya on his cell phone and recollects some words on religious
harmony.
His wife Munni, witnessed the rioters burning houses very close to the
one-storey the couple currently inhabit. After that incident, the officer
log from the Nagar Pallika (municipal council), invited Hindus and
Muslims for a discussion and tried to pacify the situation by saying these
things end up happening between friends, said Mohammad. Then the
same people who were the instigators of the riot ended up being
nominated as the ones to file an incident report on it!
Back in Gangwan Mohalla, Chaudhary Daataram ponders over his choice
based on the nature of these elections. I am a Jat so ideally I should vote
for RLDs Jayant Chaudhary and not for Hema Malini since she is an
outsider and she will probably return to Mumbai even if she wins, he
said.
But Modis statements have been so reassuring on television, his son
Mahesh interrupts.
Of course, time will tell if he will see through the promises he has
made.

Mumbais homeless voice their demands
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Two homeless people from south Mumbai with their list of demands for those who
will be elected to power, at a press conference in Mumbai on Monday. Photo:
Vivek Bendre
Living on the fringes of the city in the most vulnerable conditions, a
section of the homeless gathered under the banner of Beghar Adhikaar
Abhiyan to demand their voices be carried to the corridors of power in
Parliament.
Not a single politician has come to us to have a dialogue or speak about
what they can do for us. Every one speaks about the slums and the poor
but nobody speaks about us who live without a roof over our head, said
Tulsi Thakur, who ekes out a living by selling toys at Girgaum
Chowpatty.
About 10,000 of the homeless in Mumbai are registered voters. I am
voting for the first time as it was very difficult for me to get an election
card. I dont want to waste my vote but what option do I have? I am
considering the NOTA option, Ms. Thakur added.
While the Census data 2011 on the matter is still to be declared, the
Mumbai municipality had counted 35,408 people as being homeless on
their enumeration drive in February 2011. But, an independent census
conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences last year had pegged
the number of street children alone to 37,059.
There are more than 3 lakh homeless citizens in Mumbai and nobody is
interested in them. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK has included the issue of
homeless shelters in their manifesto but this is not the case with any
political party in Mumbai. Ironically, this is the only city where there are
at least three generations of people living on the streets, said Brijesh
Arya, President of the Beghar Adhikaar Abhiyan.
The homeless have a clear set of demands for those who will be elected to
power: the primary one being the setting up of homeless shelters as
mandated by the Supreme Court. We need basic physical necessities
like water, housing, sanitation and education. Our involvement should
be considered in city-level policy making process, said Madhu Kharwa.

Words, words, too many words
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The Oxford English Dictionary may disappear from bookshelves as
future editions may be too big to print, its publishers fear.
Only an online format would be practicable and affordable as the third
edition is expected to be twice the size of the current version, according
to its publishers.
The publishers say the third edition of the famous dictionary, estimated
to fill 40 volumes, is running at least 20 years behind schedule, The
Telegraph reported.
The mammoth masterpiece is facing delays because information
overload from the Internet is slowing compilers, Michael Proffitt, the
OEDs first new chief editor for 20 years, said. Mr. Proffitts team of 70
philologists, including lexicographers, etymologists and pronunciation
experts, has been working on the latest version, known as OED3, for the
past 20 years.
The next edition will not be completed until 2034, and likely only to be
offered in an online form because of its gargantuan size, Mr. Proffitt
told Country Life magazine.
Work on the new version, currently numbering 800,000 words, has been
going on since 1994, the report said. PTI
Future editions of Oxford English Dictionary may be too big
for print

Queen Elizabeth turns 88
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Queen Elizabeth IIs 88th birthday was marked across the UK with
traditional gun salutes today.
A 41-gun royal salute and 62-gun salute rang across central London on
the big day, which coincides with Easter Monday this year.
In Scotland, gunners from the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fired two
21-gun royal salutes at Edinburgh and Stirling Castles.
The monarch herself was spending a private birthday at her second
home in Windsor Castle, near London.
The Queen was born on April 21, 1926, and her birthday is also
celebrated officially each year in June at the Trooping the Colour service
which this year falls on June 14.
A portrait of the Queen by renowned British photographer David Bailey
was released yesterday in honour of her birthday.
The photograph of the monarch, smiling, was taken at Buckingham
Palace in March and commissioned on behalf of the UK governments
GREAT Britain campaign.
The Queen is wearing pearls and a dress by Angela Kelly, who has served
as personal assistant and senior dresser to her since 2002. PTI

John Travolta to get special honour at
IIFA
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Hollywood star John Travolta will receive a special honour at the
upcoming International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards to be held
in the US. Mr. Travolta will attend the 15th IIFA awards, which will be
held from April 23 to 26 in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Mr. Travolta, 60, will receive the Most Popular All Time International
Star in India at the awards ceremony. An iconic name in Hollywood, Mr.
Travolta has seen staggering success as an actor, singer and dancer. He
has starred in several blockbusters films: Saturday Night Fever , Pulp
Fiction , Grease , Swordfish , Face Off , Broken Arrow and Ladder 49.
He has been nominated for the Academy Award twice and nominated for
seven Golden Globes. He went on to win two Golden Globes including
one for his performance in the critically acclaimed film Get Shorty .
Mr. Travolta will grace the awards, a release stated. PTI

Jiah Khan death case: court orders police
to take action
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Directs Mumbai police chief to listen to mothers grievances

Actor Jiah Khan was found dead at her residence last yearFile Photo
The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Mumbai Police
Commissioner to take appropriate action after hearing the grievances of
the mother of deceased actor Jiah Khans mother, Rabia Khan.
Ms. Rabia had alleged that her daughter was killed and also claimed that
the Mumbai Police failed to conduct proper investigation in the alleged
suicide case.
Meanwhile, the police on Monday informed the court that Sooraj
Pancholi, the prime suspect in the case, had sent seven SMSes to Jiah on
the day she allegedly committed suicide, and that she did not respond to
any of them.
We have still not received the BlackBerry messages as the cell phone is
still with the forensic lab. It has not yet sent the data, the government
pleader said. She said that one laptop, two iPads and two phones
belonging to the victim and the accused were sent for forensic
examination.
The pleader then suggested that Ms. Rabia Khan should meet the Police
Commissioner with a detailed list of grievances which the current
Investigating Officer had failed to address. Mahesh Jethmalani, who
represented Ms. Rabia Khan, agreed with the proposal. The court then
passed an order to that effect.
Let them have an audience with the Commissioner of Police, let them
give him a written representation. He will look into the grievances then,
and take appropriate action, the division bench of Justices Naresh Patil
and Anuja Prabhudesai said.
Mr. Jethmalani told the court during the arguments that the police had
failed to take into consideration vital evidence like the SMSes and BBM
messages, histopathology report and videography report of the post-
mortem.
We are now of the opinion that this is a case of murder. We have got two
detailed reports by experts. The police have not yet shared the
videography report and the histopathology report. They should be
directed to do so, he pleaded. The court observed that the Police
Commissioner will take appropriate decision on sharing of reports.
The matter will be heard next on May 8.
The actor was found dead at her Juhu residence on June 3 last year.

Gujarat CM makes it up with Sena
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If the Shiv Sena felt let down by the BJPs prime ministerial candidate,
Narendra Modi, during his previous election meeting here, he made
amends for it on Monday.
In his speech last time, Mr. Modi did not even mention the late Bal
Thackeray, but this time, in the presence of Sena president Uddhav
Thackeray, Mr. Modi made it a point to start his speech by mentioning
the late Sena leader and praising his contribution.
Taking a jibe at Congress president Sonia Gandhis meeting with Shahi
Imam, Mr. Thackeray asked whether the Imam would now decide the
next Prime Minister. Infiltrators from Bangladesh too voted, and the new
government would kick them out of the country.

Cleric backs Modis refusal to wear
skullcap
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Maulana Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of the influential
Muslim body Jamiat Ulema Hind, on Monday defended BJPs prime
ministerial candidate Narendra Modis refusal to wear a skullcap.
Its okay for Mr. Modi not to accept the cap as I would not sport a tilak,
the cleric told The Hindu .
At the same time, he said a section of population in the country believes
Mr. Modi is responsible for the post-Godhra in Gujarat, which the BJP
leader should try to negate by ensuring justice for the victims.
Politics of symbolism
The Maulana termed the practice of politicians wearing skull cap
politics of symbolism with which many pseudo-secularist parties had
fooled the Muslims of this country. Instead of showing off, if the
politicians are really concerned about the Muslims, they should look into
the socio-economic problems being faced by the minority community,
he said.
Mr. Modi, who had refused to wear a skull cap offered to him at a public
meeting a few years ago, recently sought to justify his stand by saying
that he didnt believe in the politics of appeasement.

Modis hands also not clean, says Congress
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The party says he is a potential accused in Prajapati
murder case
Hours after Narendra Modi promised to cleanse the political system and
Parliament of criminal elements, the Congress accused the BJPs prime
ministerial candidate of being a potential accused in the Tulsiram
Prajapati murder case.
Trashing Mr. Modis pitch against criminalisation, Union Law Minister
Kapil Sibal on Monday pointed out that the BJP prime ministerial
candidates close associate Amit Shah, accused in a triple murder case,
was leading the BJP campaign in Uttar Pradesh. Not just that, of all the
parties, the BJP had fielded the most number of candidates with criminal
antecedents.
Mr. Modi talks about freeing Parliament from criminals, and an accused
in a triple murder is leading his partys poll campaign, Mr. Sibal said,
stressing, One wonders about the fate of our country and the moral
bankruptcy of Modi and the BJP. Referring to VHP leader Praveen
Togadia, Mr. Sibal said, He always spreads venom. He belongs to that
category which dont believe in the unity and integrity of India.

JD(S) will welcome any regional party
leader becoming PM
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Rejecting the Bharatiya Janata Partys claims of a Modi wave, Janata
Dal (Secular) national president H.D. Deve Gowda reiterated here on
Monday that his party would welcome the prospect of any regional party
leader becoming the Prime Minister.
As in the earlier instances, his suggestions included All India Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa and Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi.
Calling for the rejection of the Congress and the BJP, he also said leaders
of non-Congress, non-BJP parties such as Mulayam Singh Yadav of the
Samajwadi Party and Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) were ideal
candidates for the post.
Mr. Gowda has been stressing this point throughout his campaign, by
arguing that electing the Bharatiya Janata Party to power and thereby
enabling Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to become the Prime
Minister would be too dangerous for the nation.
Campaigning for party candidate from Krishnagiri N.S.M. Gowda here
on Monday, he said it would be unwise to have Mr. Modi as Prime
Minister because he supported the corporate sector and the Gujarat riots
of 2002 led to countries not granting permission for his visits.
There was no wave in favour of Mr. Modi. People did not want to give
him a chance to become Prime Minister even as large corporates were
working hard to get him to that post.
As for incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr. Gowda alleged
that he was being remote-controlled. Therefore, in such a scenario, it
would be appropriate if a leader of a regional party or a non-Congress
and non-BJP party was made the Prime Minister.
Mr. Gowda said he did not want to react to Karnataka Chief Minister
Siddaramaiahs remarks that the Cauvery issue was mishandled by Ms.
Jayalalithaa in her earlier regime and by Mr. Gowda when he was Prime
Minister. Assailing the BJPs poll plank of development, he said it was
not as if Gujarat was the only developed State. Tamil Nadu too was a
developed State.
Mr. Gowda also claimed that during his tenure as Prime Minister,
projects such as the Golden Quadrilateral road connectivity from
Kashmir to Kanyakumari were passed in Parliament and many benefits
were provided to Kashmir.

Deve Gowda calls for rejection of Congress and BJ P
People do not want to give Modi a chance to become Prime Minister

In a first, khap panchayat allows inter-
caste marriages
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Amending an age-old norm, a khap phanchayat here has allowed inter-
caste marriages.
The historic decision was taken by a five-member committee of the
Satrol khap panchayat in Narnid village of the district here on Sunday.
The panchayat also allowed marriages within 42 villages under its
jurisdiction, which, till now, was banned. The khap, however, continued
to ban inter-caste marriages in the same and bordering villages and
same-gotra marriages.
Haryana is notorious for honour killing of young men and women who
dare to marry outside their caste.
Terming the move as courageous, head of the Satrol khap panchayat
Subedar Indra Singh told PTI, The decision was taken in the wake of the
declining male-female sex ratio in the State and the changing social
fabric.
The decision has been taken in order to improve the sex ratio in the
State. The current norms in marriage were some 600-700 years old and
now, times have changed, said Mr. Singh, emphasising that the changes
in society could not be ignored.
Nowadays, interaction between men and women has increased and it is
not possible to keep them away from each other. Love affairs are very
common, he said.
Sarvajat-Sarvakhap panchayat national spokesperson Sube Singh
Samaen said it was a historic decision and efforts would be made to
implement it in other panchayats also.

Anupam Kher, Rakesh Sharma disagree
over Final Solution
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Rakesh Sharma

Anupam Kher
Documentary filmmaker Rakesh Sharma and veteran actor Anupam Kher are locked in a
fight on social media over the formers Gujarat riots documentary Final Solution.
Mr. Sharma alleged that as former Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairperson,
Kher banned his documentary by not giving it a clearance during the BJP-led NDA regime.
He claims the documentary was finally cleared only when the Congress-led UPA coalition
came in power.
Final Solution was cleared on October 7, 2004, when the UPA was in power, not as
Anupam Kher claims during the BJP regime!, Rakesh tweeted.
It was cleared by a panel headed by Shyam Benegal, with 3-4 members. Anupam banned it
through a charade earlier, he added.
Mr. Kher, who was the chairperson of the board from 16 October 2003 to 13 October 2004,
has denied Sharmas allegations insisting the movie was passed under his tenure and that Mr.
Sharma had even thanked him for that.
Have been reading Rakesh Sharmas response to my interviews to news channels about his
documentary film Final Solution . He is lying. He says I, as a chairman of Censor Board,
didnt pass his documentary. UPA did. Easiest thing is to do is find out the proof from CB,
Kher wrote.
I as a Chairman saw his documentary and passed it without any cuts. Censor board has the
proof. In fact Rakesh Sharma thanked me for passing his documentary. I feel sorry for him.
Calling me a liar without any proof is a cowardly act, he added. PTI
Sharma alleged that
as former CBFC chairperson,
Kher banned the documentary by not giving it a clearance during the NDA regime

Pedestrians, two-wheeler riders most
vulnerable on Gurgaon roads
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As many as 1,403 people have lost their lives in over a thousand road
accidents in Gurgaon over the past three years. They includes 552
pedestrians, 462 motorcyclists and 81 cyclists.
An analysis of road accidents by the Gurgaon police over the past few
years has revealed that most accidents were caused due to over-
speeding, drunken driving and lack of infrastructure such as subways
or foot over-bridges.
Some of the most common accident spots on National Highway 8, which
accounts for 457 fatal accidents over the past three years, have been
identified as Narsinghpur Village, Bilaspur Chowk, Rajiv Chowk,
Khandsa bus stop, Hero Honda Chowk, Kherki Dhaula toll plaza, Raj
Nagar Mor, Sarhaul toll plaza and Manesar Ghati.
Similarly, 97 fatal accidents were reported on Sohna-Alwar Road; 26 on
Sohna-Ballabgarh Road; 58 on Gurgaon-Rewari Road and 62 on Tauru-
Kulana Road. On Faridabad Road, five fatal accidents were reported on
Silver Oak Chowk, three each near Qutab Plaza and Bandhwari Mor.
As per the Gurgaon police, 439 people lost their lives in road accidents in
2011, 477 in 2012 and 487 in 2013. The maximum number of 585 fatal
accidents was caused by heavy motor vehicles, 347 by light motor
vehicles, 47 by auto-rickshaws, 47 by two-wheelers and 316 by
unidentified vehicles. Though the Gurgaon police have written to
agencies responsible for these roads seeking a road safety audit and
constitution of an expert agency to reduce the number of accidents,
little seems to have been done. Despite several reminders and meetings,
most accident-prone spots on these roads continue to remain death traps
for pedestrians and motorists.

1,403 people killed in accidents in Gurgaon over the past three years
Most accidents due to over-speeding, drunken driving, lack of subways or foot over-
bridges

Police van rams tea stall
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Three persons, including a differently-abled man, were hurt when a
speeding police patrol van rammed a tea stall in the RDC area of the
district on Monday, the police said. Instead of taking them to a hospital,
all five police personnel in the van allegedly fled from the spot.
The van was patrolling near the RDC area around 2 p.m. when the driver
lost control and hit a differently-abled man sitting in a wheelchair and
then rammed a roadside tea stall, police sources added. Locals called up
the police, who rushed the injured to a nearby hospital.
The victims have been identified as Ramprakash Tiwari, a differently-
abled person and resident of Meerut Road; and Ratan Lal, tea stall
owner and resident of Subash Nagar. The third person is yet to be
identified. PTI

FIRs against RLD, AAP candidates
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A complaint has been registered against Mathura Lok Sabha candidates of both the RLD and
the AAP here for the violation of model code of conduct, officials said. An FIR has been filed
against RLD nominee Jayant Chaudhary and a separate complaint has been registered against
AAP candidate Anuj Garg and its celebrity campaigner Col. Devendra Singh, they said.
RLD candidate Mr. Jayant Chaudhary on Friday not only addressed an election meeting in
Pusp Vatika falling under Sadar police station but also offered the audience food without
prior permission of the district election officer, ADM Dhirendra Sachan, in-charge of the
model code of conduct, said.
An FIR has been filed against him in this connection, he said.
Similarly, AAP candidate Mr. Garg called a press conference in a hotel on Saturday with
the symbol and name plate of the candidate without taking prior permission.
And, when the video recording team went to the hotel , Mr. Garg and his party
celebrity Col. Devendra Singh did not allow videography, officials said. -PTI
We are qualified to ask for donations from
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The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has invited criticism from the
two mainstream parties for asking for donations from the public during
its election campaign.
Replying to the BJP and Congress criticism, senior State CPI(M) leader
Kuldeep Tanwar said no institution, organisation or political party could
function without resources. But if this money came from the common
people, the party would be answerable only to them and no one else.
Since the CPI(M) was always raising peoples issues, it was qualified to
ask for financial help from them.
It was only the left parties that had raised their voice on all important
issues, Mr. Tanwar said. The BJP and the Congress had organised
perfunctory protests on major peoples issues and always supported big
industrialists and the corporate sector.
The CPI(M) has brought out a leaflet to clarify its stand on seeking
donations.
It has explained that the party was being run on the money collected as
levy from its party members, salaries earned by its elected
representatives and the donations given by the working classes and the
common man on the streets.

Harvesting season worries grip leaders in
Punjab
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As the election fever builds up in Punjab for the April 30 Lok Sabha
polls, so is the concern among politicians about the polling date coming
right in the middle of the peak wheat-crop harvesting season.
The period between April 14 and May 15 is when the maximum wheat
arrival happens in a State known as the food basket of the country. The
government procurement agencies do the maximum procurement of the
wheat crop generally between April 25 and May 10.
The centre and the Election Commission have not been fair to Punjab.
The April 30 election date comes during the peak of the harvesting
season, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has been telling gatherings
in Punjabs rural areas, while urging farmers and their families to vote on
April 30.
I think that this is a deliberate ploy. If the elections in neighbouring
Haryana could be held on April 10, why are Punjab elections scheduled
for April 30. I see no justification in this. Make sure that you cast your
vote on April 30, a visibly upset Mr. Badal tells people.
All 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab go to the polls on April 30. The 19.5
million eligible voters will decide the fate of 253 candidates in the field.
I dont think that much thought was given by the authorities while
recommending the election date for Punjab. Farmers and their family
members are busy in harvesting the crop, arranging to take it to the grain
market. Even at the grain market, it can take three days or more for the
procurement process to be completed. Many farmers will not be in their
villages on election day, Jaswant Singh, a farmer at Sahnewal near
Ludhiana, told IANS.
Even Punjabs election department is keeping its fingers crossed on the
voter turnout for the April 30 polling date. We admit that the polling
date comes in peak harvesting season. We are urging people that they
must cast their vote, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V.K. Singh
said.
-IANS

In Bundelkhand, dacoits still call the shots
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In Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, power still flows from the
barrel of the gun, wherebelieve it or notdacoits play a key role in
deciding who will win the five Parliamentary seats from the region.
The gang of Sudesh Patel, more popularly known as Balkhariya, has been
whipping up terror to demand votes. More than a dozen kidnappings
and threats have materialised across villages to compel the residents to
support a particular party.
In one such village, Navuka (Banda district), 60 of the 300 families have
fled after letters were pasted on the walls of homes and menacing phone
calls began to come at odd hours.
Lala Ram, the village pradhan who is among those who have fled, alleged
he was asked to donate Rs.5 lakh for the campaign of a candidate. The
police do not help us. Patrolling is for namesake only, he said.
Amar Singh, officer in charge of the Kalinjar police station (under which
the village falls), however, dismisses the charges. The area is completely
under our control. Sometimes, people make up such stories only to be in
the news.
The influence of dacoits in the political affairs of the region started in
1978 when Shiv Kumar Patel alias Dadua gained ascendancy in the
dacoit hierarchy. When Dadua was killed in 2007, the mantle was taken
by Thokia, who was felled a year later. Balkhariya, who came next, now
tops the State polices list of most wanted criminals and carries an award
of Rs.5 lakh.
In the Assembly elections of 2007, the slogan Mohar lagegi haathi par,
goli lagegi chaati pe, naak milegi ghaati mein (The stamp will be on
the elephant, the bullet in the chest, and the nose in the ravine)
resonated through the region making clear which party the dacoits were
supporting.
This year, Congress candidate Vivek Kumar Singh alleged: The dacoits
are terrorising people to support the Samajwadi Party. It is impossible
for us to campaign.
Raja Yadav, founder of the Anand Dham Samiti, an organisation that has
been working on water issues in the region for the last decade, says that
unlike the dacoits of yore who picked up guns to protest the injustices of
the feudal order or avenge personal wrongs, banditry is now a means of
gaining influence.
Young men join the gangs because it ensures a handsome monthly
salary. Dacoits support political parties in exchange for money and also
get a cut in the development funds meant for the region, he said.R.B.
Singh, assistant professor of social work at the B.R. Ambedkar Institute
of Social Sciences, explained why Bundelkhand is a rich breeding ground
for dacoits. A lack of entrepreneurial spirit, the love of an easy life, a
feudalistic social order and the acceptance of corruption have
contributed to taking to crime a viable option, he said.
The lack of livelihood options is compounded by the fact that the
Bundelkhand region, comprising seven districts of Uttar Pradesh and six
of Madhya Pradesh, has been under the spell of a persistent drought
since 2004-05.
Low levels of education, the absence of industry and an agrarian crisis
have resulted in the region doing poorly on socio-economic indicators.
The unique geographical situationbarren tracks, a maze of ravines,
forests that fall on both sides of the bordershave made it a haven for
dacoits who, according to some historical accounts, trace their origins to
the Rajput kings who ruled the region but were forced into hiding by
Muslim invaders. The region goes to the polls April 30. -IANS

Economic policy, livelihood issues are
priority, says CPI(M)
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CPI(M) State secretary G. Ramakrishnan addressing a presspersons in Thanjavur
on Monday. PHOTO: B. VELANKANNI RAJ
Economic policy, communalism, corruption, and livelihood issues are
the four major issues in this Lok Sabha election, said G. Ramakrishnan,
State Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist), here on Monday.
He told presspersons that with respect to economic policy, there was no
difference between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Economic policies followed by the BJP-led coalition government at the
Centre from 1999 to 2004 were the same as those followed by United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments from 2004-2014.
Foreign Direct Investment in retail sector was proposed by Atal Behari
Vajpayee Government in 2002. Rise in the price of natural gas was not
contained only to benefit private companies such as Reliance Industries
Ltd. During the National Democratic Alliance government and also
during UPA Government, thousands of farmers committed suicide.
Recommendations of the Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Committee were not
implemented.
We need not talk about communalism and corruption. The BJP has
always been communal and 2G spectrum speaks about corruption in
UPA regime, he said.
BJP poll manifesto talks about opportunities for all and not about social
justice. Basis of social justice was that there was no equal opportunities
for all. He called for implementing Ranganath Mishra committee and
Sachar committee reports for the welfare of Muslims.
He said that there was no level-playing field in this election and private
TV channels, paid news, and misuse of womens self-help groups made
the competition uneven.
He called for electoral reforms and implementation of proportionate
system of elections.

JD (S) will welcome Jayalalithaa as PM
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R. ARIVANANTHAM
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If Jayalalithaa becomes Prime Minister, the Janata Dal (Secular) will
welcome it, said the former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (S) leader
H.D. Deve Gowda, here on Monday.
Addressing an election meeting in support of the Krishnagiri Janata Dal
(S) candidate N.S.M. Gowda, at Ram Nagar in Hosur, he said that people
should reject the Congress. When even an ordinary citizen of the country
could travel abroad, the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the BJPs Prime
Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was unable to travel abroad after
the 2002 Godhra carnage, he said.
He also alleged that big corporates were working hard to make Narendra
Modi as Prime Minister and they were also supported by the media from
Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

Prospects of exclusive rail zone in doubt
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Move to carve out sections of Thiruvananthapuram division
The move to hand over 130 route km from Melapalayam near Tirunelveli
in Tamil Nadu to Nemom in the State capital to the Madurai rail division
may hit the prospects of an exclusive railway zone for the State.
The move comes close to an unsuccessful bid to carve out some railway
sections in Tamil Nadu and Kerala under the Madurai and
Thiruvananthapuram rail divisions to create a new division based in
Tirunelveli.
The Kanyakumari District Railway Division Reorganisation Committee
and the Kanyakumari District Railway Users Association have been
demanding transfer of the Kanyakumari region to the Madurai division
citing neglect of the Nagercoil and Kanyakumari stations by
Thiruvananthapuram divisional authorities.
Long-distance trains
The decision of Railways to extend long-distance mail and express trains
to Nagercoil citing lack of terminal facilities in Thiruvananthapuram
Central and Kochuveli is seen as part of the move.
As many as 10 long-distance mail and express trains operating to the
State capital had been extended to Nagercoil and Kanyakumari.
Railway sources said the move was to hand over the stretch from
Melapalayam to Nemom to the Madurai division initially and later to
carve out another railway division based in Tirunelveli including these
sections if the political climate was favourable after the elections.
When the Thiruvananthapuram division was formed on October 2, 1979,
the Kanyakumari- Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil-Tirunelveli
sections were transferred to the new division.
Sources said these broad gauge sections had been retained with the
Thiruvananthapuram division despite an assurance to the local people
that they would be handed back to the Madurai division.
Of the 794 route km under the Thiruvananthapuram division, 734 km is
in Kerala. The jurisdiction of the division is from Melapalayam to
Kanyakumari, from Kanyakumari to Vallathol Nagar, and one km of the
Kollam- Shencottah stretch.
The route km in the Palakkad division has come down from 1,757 km to
578.4 km with the creation of the Salem division.
Impact on growth
Rail development will be affected as the States claim for an exclusive
zone will not materialise once the route km in the two divisions comes
down further.
Once the zone is sanctioned, authorities can directly approach the
Railway Board for new trains, rail lines, passenger amenities, and other
development works.
A proposal is also under consideration to carve out some more sections
from the Palakkad division to create a new division based in Mangalore
under the Hubli-based South Western Railway zone.
This will result in the loss of minimum kilometres needed for retaining
the division and the winding up of the Palakkad division, it has been
pointed out.
When contacted by The Hindu , a top official of the Southern Railway in
Chennai denied the move to carve out sections of the
Thiruvananthapuram rail division.
Railways had adopted the same stance when sections from Palakkad
were identified for creating the Salem division.

Earnings of division touch Rs. 1,252.67
crore
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The Thiruvananthapuram railway division has been able to achieve total
earnings of Rs.1,252.67 crore during the financial year that ended on
March 31, Divisional Railway Manager, Sunil Bajpai has said.
Speaking at the 59th Railway Week celebrations organised at the
divisional headquarters here on Monday, Mr. Bajpai said of the Rs.
1,252.67 crore, passenger earnings was Rs. 815.69 crore, which is 16.60
per cent higher than the previous year.
As part of improving facilities for the travelling public, escalators have
been commissioned in some major stations.
Work is going on for installing escalators and lifts in some railway
stations in the division. The Divisional Railway Manager said all Mail,
Express and passenger trains running in the night were being escorted
by RPF personnel. Ladies coaches in the trains are being attended by the
RPF personnel on duty at wayside railway stations. Combing operations
are being carried out by involving RPF, GRP, Commercial, Bomb and
Dog Squads, he added.
Since 1853, the railways have grown into a vast network of 7,500 stations
and 300 yards spread over 64,600 route kms, carrying 2.3 crore people
daily and transporting over 1 billion tonne of freight annually, he added.
Later, the Divisional Railway Manager distributed the Railway Week
Awards .

Custodial death: court directive to CBI
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The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) special court judge R. Reghu
on Monday ordered the agency to clarify in writing why it did not arraign
as accused an officer suspected of fudging station house records to
destroy crucial documentary evidence in the case relating to the arrest
and subsequent death in custody of Udayakumar in the Fort police
station here on September 27, 2005.
The court also asked the CBI to identify the two senior police officials
the policemen accused of torturing Udayakumar to death had contacted
on their mobile phones in the wake of the crime. It set April 30 as the
deadline for the CBI to file its clarification report.
The autopsy report said Udayakumar had died of crush injuries inflicted
on the thigh using a blunt instrument, probably an iron rod.
The CBI had charged three police constables with murder, custodial
torture and illegal detention in the case.

Financial scam accused Sabarinath
surrenders
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In law's hands:Sabarinath at the magistrate court in Thiruvananthapuram on
Monday.
At noon on Monday, a tall lanky man dressed in a Hindu pilgrims attire
surrendered before a magistrate court here, ending a three-year wild
goose chase for one of Keralas most wanted economic offenders.
Sabarinath, accused of duping hundreds of citizens into investing their
life savings, an estimated Rs 50 crore, in his paper companies (Total 4
U and I Nest), had appeared before the law, apparently on his own, for
the first time since jumping bail and disappearing from public view in
2011.
The police case against him was that he had promised his investors
unusually high dividends in a minimal gestation period for their deposits
and used the proceeds to fund a luxurious lifestyle.
He told the magistrate that he was on a pilgrimage to holy places in
North India and feared for his life.
He prayed that he be accommodated at the Central Prison and not the
district jail reserved for undertrials. The court remanded him to judicial
custody.
Sabarinaths disappearance had caused quite a public uproar and fuelled
several conspiracy theories, including tacit official connivance. His
investors cried foul and accused the law enforcement of doing little to
arrest him.
A year after Sabarinath vanished, policemen who regularly worked as
summons servers for the court were baffled when they were unable to
find two guarantors who had stood as bail sureties for an accused in a
currency counterfeiting case registered in 1998.
They unravelled the mystery when they found that the two guarantors
regularly stood as guarantors for criminal case accused by using multiple
identities, fake election cards with fictitious names and addresses and
forged revenue documents for a considerably high fee.
Among their clients were Sabarinath who had used the fake documents
and fictitious guarantors provided by the racketeers to secure bail in at
least nine cases registered against him.

KSRTC driver, police officer come to
blows
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An additional sub inspector on traffic duty and the driver of a KSRTC
bus came to fisticuffs on the road at noon on Monday at the Taluk Office
junction in the city over the issue of traffic rule violation. Both have been
injured and are hospitalised.
The driver attached to the Kollam KSRTC depot, Ajit Kumar, 38, alleged
that the police officer Balan whacked him on the nose with the wireless
set. The driver, who started to bleed, was admitted to the Kollam District
Hospital.
Balan alleged that the driver assaulted him and he was admitted to a
private hospital. The Kollam East police registered two separate cases
based on the complaints from Ajit Kumar and Balan.
Jumping signal
The incident had its origin at the High School junction. The driver
allegedly ignored the manual stop signal by the police officer for
pedestrians to cross the road.
This led to a heated argument between the two. Though the police officer
asked the driver to stop the bus by the roadside, the driver again ignored
it and proceeded.
The police officer then passed the message to his colleagues on duty at
the Taluk Office junction where the bus was detained.
When passengers who had taken tickets up to Chinnakada protested, the
bus was allowed to proceed. In the interim, Balan followed and stopped
the bus.
Trading charges
Ajit Kumar alleged that he was pulled out of the bus and assaulted by
Balan. But Balan alleged that when he stopped the bus, Ajit Kumar
assaulted him. The development led to KSRTC staff issuing notice to the
Assistant Transport Officer for a strike.
This led to District Collector Pranab Jyothinath holding emergency talks
with the KSRTC union leaders and defused the situation by assuring
strong action against the person who erred.
The driver allegedly ignored the manual stop signal by the
police officer

All accused pronounced guilty for doctors
death
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The 10-year-long wait for justice for slain doctor Sushil Pal was finally
delivered on Monday when Howrah District Court pronounced all 12
accused in the case as guilty.
The quantum of punishment will be announced on Tuesday.
Pal was murdered in July, 2004 in a nursing home in Howrah after he
allegedly refused to terminate the pregnancy of Piyali Das, a doctor by
profession. Dr. Das was allegedly in the fifth month of her pregnancy.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, permits abortion till
the 20{+t}{+h}week of pregnancy. Abortion conducted after that period
is considered illegal.
A total of 13 persons were accused in the case. While seven of the
accused have been lodged in prisons, five were out on bail. Another
accused who was out on bail had reportedly committed suicide. The five
persons out on bail, including Dr. Das, have been taken into police
custody.
Talking to a Bengali news channel, wife of the slain doctor Kanika Pal
said the courts decision was like a peaceful balm on an old wound.
The courts decision has instilled respect for the Indian judiciary in both
of my daughters. My husband had no enemies. He was a famous
gynaecologist in Jalpaiguri, where he was practising, before shifting to
Kolkata for the sake of our daughters education, Ms. Pal said.
The quantum of punishment will be announced today

UT status major poll issue in Yanam
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K.N. MURALI SANKAR
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As the poll scene hots up in this small town, granting Statehood to the
Union Enclave and retaining its current status are the two contrary
assurances being given to voters of the Pondicherry Lok Sabha segment
that is going to polls on April 24.
The segment, comprising Pondicherry, Karaikal (Tamil Nadu), Mahe
(Kerala) and Yanam (abutting East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh),
has over 9 lakh voters. As many as 34,032 voters, who belong to Yanam,
strongly want a status-quo on the existing Union Territory (UT) status of
Pondicherry.
All India NR Congress, which is in rule, has announced that it would
achieve Statehood for Pondicherry after the formation of the new
government at the Centre. The Congress, however, vehemently opposed
the proposal and promised voters it would protect the UT status. It also
launched a campaign stating that if Statehood was given to Pondicherry,
Mahe would be merged with Kerala and Yanam with Andhra Pradesh.
This campaign opened doors for a wide debate, as people of this town are
not ready to give up the facilities being provided to them. We have to
pay additional taxes once Yanam is merged with East Godavari district.
As we are seeing the plight of the residents of Neelapalli village everyday,
how can we accept the Statehood proposal? asks K.S. Seshu Babu of
Yanam.
Devadanam Raju, who wrote Yanam Charitra (the history of Yanam),
says: The Puducherry Legislative Assembly has turned down the
proposal 11 times in the past. The fresh proposal is due to the differences
between the Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor.

Contrary assurances by political parties spark debate
Yanam voters want a status-quo on the UT status of Pondicherry

Kiev violating Geneva accord: Russia
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VLADIMIR RADYUHIN
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Vows to thwart attempts to unleash civil conflict in
Ukraines southeast

Security personnel stand guard during American Vice-President Joe Bidens visit to
Kiev on Monday. Photo: AFP
Russia has accused Ukrainian authorities of flagrantly violating the
Geneva peace accord and vowed to thwart attempts to unleash civil
conflict in Ukraines Russian-speaking southeast.
Those who seized power in Kiev are taking steps that flagrantly violate
the Geneva agreement, said Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The authorities are doing nothing, not even lifting a finger, to address
the root causes behind this deep internal crisis in Ukraine.
Mr. Lavrov denounced as unacceptable Kievs claims that the Geneva
call for all irregulars to disarm and vacate seized building did not apply
to armed neo-Nazi militants of the Right Sector, who still occupy
government offices in Kiev.
Referring to the outrageous attack by extremists on unarmed
protesters near Sloviansk on Sunday, in which six people were killed, Mr.
Lavrov said that the authorities in Kiev cannot and maybe do not want
to control the extremists.
On Sunday, police pulled out the bodies of two pro-Russian protesters
from a river in Sloviansk.
The citys peoples mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, said the men had
been tortured and stabbed to death by members of the Right Sector, who
hours earlier had attacked a militia road block outside Sloviansk.
The protesters have refused to disarm till Kiev pulls back troops and
paramilitary radicals from Ukraines southeast and agrees to a
referendum on the regions greater autonomy from the central
government.
Mr. Lavrovs broadside came as U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden arrived in
Kiev in a high-profile gesture of support for Ukraines pro-Western
government.
We are extremely concerned that instead of recognising their
responsibility for what is happening [in eastern Ukraine], the Kiev
authorities and their patrons, those who have brought them to power
above all the U.S. and Western European countries, are going out of the
way to blame Russia, Mr. Lavrov said.
In a tight spot
The Russian Foreign Minister hinted that Russia may have to react to
appeals for help from pro-Russian protesters in Ukraines southeast.
Conceding that these appeals put us in a tight spot, Mr. Lavrov
nevertheless stated that Russia would not let Ukraine slip into civil war.
Those who are deliberately pushing for a civil war, apparently in an
attempt to start a big, serious bloody conflict, are pursuing a criminal
policy. We will not only condemn this policy but will also thwart it.
Ukraines ousted President Viktor Yanukovych has called for immediate
removal of the Ukrainian military from eastern Ukraine and immediate
launch of peaceful dialogue with the eastern leaders.

Tantamount to murder
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The captain and crew of a South Korean ferry that capsized last week
with hundreds of children on board acted in a way tantamount to
murder, President Park Guen-Hye said on Monday, as four more crew
members were arrested.
Ms. Parks denunciation, in which she vowed to hold all those
responsible for the disaster criminally accountable, followed the
release of a transcript showing the panic and indecision that paralysed
decision-making on the bridge as the 6,825-tonne Sewol listed and
capsized on Wednesday morning.
64 confirmed dead
The confirmed death toll stood at 64 but was expected to rise
dramatically with 238 people still unaccounted for.
The actions of the captain and some crew members were utterly
incomprehensible, unacceptable and tantamount to murder, Ms. Park
said in a meeting with senior aides.
Not only my heart, but the hearts of all South Koreans have been broken
and filled with shock and anger, said Ms. Park, who was heckled on
Thursday when she met relatives of the hundreds of passengers still
missing most of them schoolchildren.
The families have criticised the official response to the disaster, saying
the initial rescue effort was inadequate and mismanaged.
Captain deserted passengers
The President said it was increasingly clear that Captain Lee Joon-Seok
had unnecessarily delayed the evacuation of passengers as the ferry
started sinking, and then deserted them by escaping with most of his
crew members.
This is utterly unimaginable, legally and ethically, she said.
Mr. Lee was arrested on Saturday along with a helmsman and the ships
relatively inexperienced third officer, who was in charge of the bridge
when the ship first ran into trouble.
Three more officers and an engineer were detained by police on Monday
and could, prosecutors said, face similar charges of criminal negligence
and deserting passengers.
Total confusion
A transcript released of the final radio communications between the
Sewol and marine traffic control suggested total confusion as the vessel
listed sharply to one side. In the end, the evacuation order was only
given around 40 minutes after the ship ran into trouble, by which time it
was listing so heavily that escape was almost impossible.
Realistic hopes of finding survivors have disappeared, but families of the
missing are still opposed to the use of heavy cranes to lift the ship before
divers have searched every section.
It took divers more than two days to access the ferry and the first bodies
from the vessel were only recovered on Sunday. AFP

Uncertainty over expeditions
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Relatives of a Mount Everest avalanche victim grieve during a cremation ceremony
in Kathmandu on Monday. PHOTO: AFP
The government on Monday appealed to the Sherpas to reconsider their
proposal to boycott Mount Everest expeditions this year, following the
death of 13 of their men in an avalanche last week. A statement from the
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation promised to look into
their demands, including according high priority to make the expeditions
more safe, reliable and attractive in the coming days.
Boycott warning
Ang Tshering Sherpa of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said
Sherpa guides were considering a climbing boycott to press their
demands. The guides who perished had left their base camp early on
Friday morning to fix ropes for other climbers in Camp 1 when the
avalanche hit them.
Twelve bodies were recovered later during search and rescue operation
and another one the following day. Three of the Sherpas are still missing
and search for them has been stopped due to extreme weather. The three
are presumed dead.
Insurance demand
The Sherpas want the minimum insurance payment for those killed on
Everest to be doubled to 20 lakh rupees, and a portion of the climbing
revenue to be reserved for a relief fund.
The government has announced an emergency aid of 40,000 rupees
(INR 25,5000) for the families of the deceased climbers, but the Sherpas
said that was not enough.
A boycott could disrupt the plans of climbers waiting at the Everest base
camp in Solukhumbu district in the eastern part of the country. There
are about 400 foreign climbers from 39 expedition teams on the
mountain.

Ethnic massacre in South Sudan
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Rebel gunmen in South Sudan massacred hundreds of civilians
because of their ethnicity when they captured a key oil town last week,
the U.N. said on Monday. It was one of the worst reported atrocities in
the war-torn nation.
In the main mosque alone, more than 200 civilians were reportedly
killed and over 400 wounded, the U.N. mission in the country said.
Civilians including children were also massacred at a church, hospital
and an abandoned U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) compound, it
said.
Fighters took to the radio to urge men to rape women from the
opposition ethnic group and said rival groups should be forced out of the
town. South Sudans army has been fighting rebels loyal to sacked Vice-
President Riek Machar, who launched a renewed offensive this month
targeting key oil fields. The conflict has taken on an ethnic dimension,
pitting President Salva Kiirs Dinka tribe against militia forces from Mr.
Machars Nuer people.
Hate messages
U.N. human rights investigators said that after rebels wrested Bentiu
from government forces in heavy battles last Tuesday, the gunmen spent
two days hunting down those they believed opposed them.
Both South Sudanese and Sudanese some from the war-torn Darfur
region were killed, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan
(UNMISS) said in a statement.
Some rebels took to the local radio to broadcast hate messages declaring
that certain ethnic groups should not stay in Bentiu, and even calling on
men from one community to commit vengeful sexual violence against
women from another community, the statement added. AFP

3-judge panel formed to probe attack on
Mir
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MEENA MENON
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The Pakistan Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution
condemning the attack on senior journalist Hamid Mir in Karachi while
journalists briefly boycotted the session to register their protest.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Pakistan approved the names of three
Supreme Court judges for the judicial commission to probe the attack on
Mr. Mir Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Ejaz Afzal and Iqbal
Hameedur Rahman.
Allegations against the ISI, made by Amir Mir, the brother of Mr. Hamid
Mir have drawn sharp reactions. The Inter Services Public Relations had
on Saturday said the allegations were baseless. This was reiterated on
Sunday by its director general Asim Bajwa, who said legal action was
being considered against those who made them. Meanwhile, the Jang
Group, of which Geo TV is a part, issued a statement clarifying that it
had not put the blame on any institution.

Malaysian police to probe flight snag
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A Malaysia Airlines plane with 166 people aboard was forced to make an
emergency return landing here on Monday.
Flight MH192, bound for Bangalore, turned back shortly after it was
discovered that a tyre had burst on take-off, the airline said.
Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the incident would be
probed for, among other concerns, the likelihood of sabotage.
The plane carrying 159 passengers and seven crew members circled for
around four hours to burn up fuel and minimise risk of fire when
landing. Some passengers cried while others prayed as the plane circled
off the Malaysian coast. The plane landed safely at 1756 GMT and took
off again around 12 hours later.
I just want to forget what happened, said Tejaswi, a housewife. Tambe,
a teenager, said it had been a tense time aboard the aircraft: The crew
and the pilot really held their nerve. We were all pretty scared but the
pilot assured us that everything would be alright.
The airline is still reeling from the loss and presumed crash of MH370,
which disappeared on March 8 en route to Beijing. The airline said it was
the sight of tyre debris on the runway that prompted the authorities to
bring the Boeing 737-800 back.
They have landed safely thank God, tweeted Malaysian Transport
Minister Hishammuddin Hussein after the plane landed in Kuala
Lumpur. Until the disappearance of MH370, Malaysia Airlines had
enjoyed a good safety record, as did the Boeing 777 aircraft used for
MH370. AFP
Tyre burst during take-off forced MH192 to make emergency
landing

Cameron sowing sectarianism
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David Cameron
British Prime Minister David Cameron was accused on Monday of
sowing sectarianism and division after stressing in an Easter message
that Britain was still a Christian country.
The criticism came in an open letter signed by 55 public figures,
including writers Philip Pullman and Terry Pratchett and the Nobel
Prize-winning scientists John Sulston and Harold Kroto.
Mr. Cameron, a member of the established Church of England, has been
increasingly vocal about his beliefs recently, and in an article published
last week urged Christians to be more evangelical about their faith.
Commentators suggest he is trying to build bridges with the Church,
which opposed government plans to introduce gay marriage.
The open letter disputes Mr. Camerons claim that Britain is still a
Christian country. This, the letter said, fostered alienation and division
in our society. According to the letter, highlighting the social
contribution of Christians, one of the themes in the remarks Mr.
Cameron made to an Easter reception, needlessly fuels enervating
sectarian debates.
The 2011 census found 59.3 per cent of people in England and Wales said
they were Christian, down from 71.7 per cent 10 years earlier. The
number of those reporting no religion was 25.1 per cent, up from 14.8
per cent in 2001.
AFP

Birmingham schools to be investigated
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PARVATHI MENON
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Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted a watchdog organisation that
conducts school inspections in the United Kingdom will look into
allegations that there is a plot to Islamicise secular state schools.
The head-teachers and governors of seven schools in Birmingham are
likely to lose their jobs in this shake-out.
Community tensions and fears in the area have been stoked by
Education Secretary Michael Goves announcement of a second
investigation into extremist infiltration in these schools. Peter Clarke, a
former counter-terrorism head at the Metropolitan police, will conduct
the probe.
The allegations of a hard-line Islamic takeover of a group of 18 schools
in Birmingham, which has a large ethnic minority population, were first
made in the media, notably in The Daily Telegraph and then picked up
in other media outlets and the political sphere.
A mysterious anonymous document called Operation Trojan Horse,
allegedly written by the Islamicist plotters, has been the basis of most of
these allegations. The dossier refers to a head-teacher called Noshaba
Hussain, whom the management reportedly replaced with a
sympathetic teacher in Springfield School.
The school, however, later confirmed that Ms. Hussain left the school 20
years ago.
Their claims were that school inspectors who visited the schools had
found evidence that the schools governing bodies were pressuring head
teachers to segregate students by gender and marginalise non-Muslim
students.
Ofsted chief will probe alleged Islamicisation bid

Probe into Malaysian flight snag
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Malaysian police are probing if there was any sabotage behind the
emergency landing of a Bangalore-bound flight carrying 166 people on
board and the government has sought a report within two days. The
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH192 turned back early on Monday following
a tyre burst and faulty landing gear.
Investigations would be carried out to see if there were elements of
sabotage on the plane, Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said
while responding to Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin
Husseins call for the police to conduct an investigation.
Mr. Hishamuddin asked police to submit their report by Wednesday.
The Boeing 737-800 carrying 159 passengers and seven crew members
was en route to Bangalore from here when it made the emergency
landing. PTI

A flight in plane wheel well
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A 16-year-old boy was lucky to be alive on Monday after surviving a flight
from California to Hawaii in the wheel well of an airplane, U.S. media
reported.
The young stowaway endured freezing temperatures and a lack of oxygen
aboard the five-and-a-half hour Hawaiian Airlines flight, which reached
an altitude of some 38,000 feet, an FBI official told theLos Angeles
Times.
How he survived, I dont know. Its a miracle, FBI spokesman Tom
Simon told the daily following the teens harrowing journey halfway
across the Pacific Ocean.
Security video from the Mineta International Airport in San Jose showed
the youth hopping a fence and making his way to Hawaiian Airlines
Flight 45, where he climbed, undetected, into the wheel well.
Unconscious throughout
With oxygen scarce and temperatures well below freezing, Mr. Simon
said the boy appears to have been unconscious for pretty much the
entire flight.
The aircraft landed on Sunday mid-morning at Mauis Kahului Airport,
and the boy, who did not regain consciousness for another hour, woke
up, and hopped down onto the tarmac.
Hawaiian Airlines personnel at that point noticed the youth on an airport
ramp and notified security, the newspaper wrote.
He has not been charged with a crime, the report said. AFP

Syria presidential poll on June 3
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Syria will hold presidential elections on June 3, despite a civil war that
has killed tens of thousands, it was announced on Monday. Shortly after
Parliament speaker Mohd. al-Lahham announced the poll date, mortar
fire hit near the Parliament building, killing two people.
Syrias first presidential election after constitutional amendments did
away with the referendum system will be held amid violence that has
claimed 150,000 lives since March, 2011. Syrians living outside the
country will vote on May 28 and candidates will be able to register to run
from Tuesday until May 1. AFP

Winner of half marathon dies
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A man in Argentinas second largest city, Cordoba, collapsed on Sunday
moments after having received a prize for winning a half marathon,
organisers said.
Ezequiel Ponce (27) had come out on top over 500 rivals to take the prize
in a 21-km race organised by a private company and Cordobas city hall.
We had three ambulances here. One was close by, but the doctors were
unable to revive him, said Jacinto Prado, a spokesman for the
marathon's organisers.
Doctors said Mr. Ponce expired due to sudden death syndrome,
according to the spokesperson. AFP

Somali lawmaker assassinated
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A Somali lawmaker, Isak Mohamed, was assassinated and another
wounded on Monday by a car bomb in Mogadishu.
Somalia has lost a committed parliamentarian who worked tirelessly to
serve the people of Somalia and help rebuild our country, Prime
Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement.
Mr. Mohamed was killed when a bomb stuck to a vehicle he was in
exploded in Mogadishus Hamarweyne district, near the port and close to
the heavily fortified government district.
His colleague and fellow MP Mohamed Abdi was wounded. Abdukadir
Mohamed Abdukadir, commissioner of the district said investigations
were on into the blast. Witnesses said the lawmakers were driving when
the explosion occurred.
AFP

Myanmar activist Win Tin dies
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Win Tin, one of the founders of Myanmars pro-democracy opposition
and the nations longest-serving political prisoner, died here on Monday
at the age of 84 after a long battle to bring freedom to a nation that
suffered under military rule.
The former journalist and veteran campaigner, whose commitment to
democracy remained unshaken over the nearly two decades he spent in
jail, had suffered worsening health in recent weeks.
He died in hospital, National League for Democracy party spokesman
Nyan Win said.
A funeral service will be held on Wednesday. AFP

Saudi Health Minister sacked
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Saudi Arabia dismissed its Health Minister on Monday just days after he
visited a hospital at the centre of growing concerns about the kingdoms
handling of the MERS virus. Abdullah al-Rabiah was named adviser to
King Abdullah and replaced by Labour Minister Adel Fakieh, said a royal
decree carried by the Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia has registered by
far the largest number of infections with Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome since the diseases discovery in September 2012. Of 243
confirmed cases across the planet, 231 have been in Saudi Arabia. AFP

For a fair and open system
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K. SUBRAMANIAN
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The election manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised
to accord high priority to judicial reforms to address the issue of
appointment of judges It also proposes to set up a National Judicial
Commission for the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The
Indian National Congress has promised that a Judicial Appointments
Bill it introduced in Parliament will be enacted after consultation and
consensus building over the mechanism proposed in the Bill.
The Constitution (One Hundred And Twentieth Amendment) Bill 2013
was passed by the Rajya Sabha on September 5, 2013. It seeks to replace
the collegium model of judicial appointments with a Judicial
Appointments Commission (JAC). For a Constitution amendment to
become law when it seeks to make any change in the Union Judiciary,
it has to undergo these three steps: the Bill has to be passed in each
House by a majority of total membership of that House and also by a
majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House
present and voting; the amendment also requires to be ratified by the
Legislature of not less than one half of the States by a resolution to that
effect; and assent by the President.
The Bill gives JAC the powers to appoint judges to the Supreme Court
and the High Court. The said Bill introduced a new Article 124-A to
constitute a JAC to make recommendations with respect to the
appointment of judges of the higher judiciary. The Constitution
Amendment Bill does not define who the members of the JAC are but
leaves this for Parliament to determine in an ordinary Statute. This
accompanying Bill, known as the JAC Bill 2013, provides that JAC will
comprise six members, i.e. the Chief Justice of India, two most senior
judges of the Supreme Court, the Law Minister and two eminent
persons. The two eminent persons are supposed to be appointed by a
collegium comprising the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition in
the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. However, before the
Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the BJP
staged a walkout since the demand for the Bill being referred to the
Standing Committee was not conceded. The Standing Committee Report
was only on the JAC Bill and not the Constitution Amendment Bill. The
report recommended that the structure, functions or the composition of
the JAC should be reflected in the Constitution itself and not in ordinary
legislation so that the composition of JAC cannot be altered without a
constitutional amendment. As the Bill stands today, the composition of
JAC is in the hands of Parliament. To change the composition of JAC, a
Parliamentary Statute is enough which is more flexible than an
amendment of the Constitution.
Mr. Ram Jethmalani, a member of the Standing Committee, also argued
that the composition of JAC by an ordinary legislation would give scope
for substitution with a Judicial Commission which will consist of only
the Law Minister. However, to implement this recommendation of the
Standing Committee on the JAC Bill, it may require an amendment to
the Constitution (One Hundred and Twentieth Amendment) Bill 2013.
For a representational judiciary
Thus, even though at the instance of the UPA government led by the
Congress Party, the Constitution (One Hundred and Twentieth
Amendment) Bill 2013 was passed by the Rajya Sabha, in order to
become law, the said amendment has to be passed by the 16th Lok Sabha
by a majority of the total membership of the House and also by a
majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Lok Sabha
present in voting. It also requires ratification by the legislature of not less
than one half of the States in India.
It is therefore a million dollar question as to whether the Constitution
(One Hundred and Twentieth Amendment) Bill 2013 would become law
after the 16th Lok Sabha is constituted subsequent to the general election
as the subject of appointing judges through a Judicial Commission
requires more consultation and consensus-building over the mechanism
proposed in the Bill.
The U.K. example
It is in this context and also in view of the recent decision of the
collegium of the Supreme Court withdrawing the 12 names
recommended for Judgeship at the Madras High Court based on
unprecedented opposition that the 16th Lok Sabha as well as the new
Union Government accord the highest priority to the proposal for the
setting up of a National Judicial Commission and decide whether the
composition of JAC be reflected in the Constitution itself. Suitable
measures to make the judiciary representative of the diversity of our
society with respect to gender, region, religion and caste may have to be
initiated. Public interest demands a quick decision in this regard. They
may also consider putting into practice, the procedure whereby members
of the Bar who are eligible for being appointed as a Judge of the High
Court apply for Judgeship through a Public Notification. Such a
practice is in vogue in the United Kingdom.
In the U.K., the candidates for Judicial Office in courts up to and
including High Court level, Tribunals in England and Wales are selected
by JAC. The JAC is an executive non-departmental public body
sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. Membership is drawn from the
judiciary, the legal profession, non-legally qualified judicial office-
holders and the public. (JAC does not select judges to the U.K. Supreme
Court. The U.K. Supreme Court was established on October 1, 2009 and
assumed the formal judicial functions of the House of Lords which were
removed by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. Judges of the Supreme
Court of U.K. are appointed by the Queen by the issue of Letters Patent
on the advice of the Prime Minister to whom a name is recommended by
a Special Selection Commission. The Prime Minister is required by the
Constitutional Reform Act, 2005 to recommend this name to the Queen
and not permitted to nominate anyone else.) The Selection by JAC for
High Courts, Tribunals is based on merit through fair and open
competition from among the widest range of eligible candidates possible.
The appointment process is not only clearer but more accountable. The
selection process starts when JAC receives a vacancy request from Her
Majestys Courts and Tribunals Service or the Ministry of Justice.
Thereafter, it advertises all selection exercises on its website and in the
email newsletter. JAC also tailors the application form for each selection
exercise and prepares an information pack and the applications are
submitted to JAC electronically. Thereafter, the process of shortlisting
commences. Candidates are required to identify referees they know
personally and professionally. Shortlisted candidates are invited for a
selection day for a panel interview, role play interview and presentation,
etc. (Role play usually simulates a court or tribunal environment.
Candidates are asked to take on the role of judge and respond to a
simulated situation.) The technique of situational questioning is also
adopted which involves questions concerning a hypothetical situation
based on challenging, real-life, job-related occurrences and asks the
candidate how they would handle the problem. JAC also carries out
consultation as part of each selection exercise as required by the
Constitutional Reform Act 2005. For High Court selection, the Lord
Chief Justice and one other person are consulted. Financial, criminal and
professional background checks are carried out. After this exercise, the
Commissioners make the final decision on which candidates to
recommend to the appropriate authority (Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief
Justice or Senior President of Tribunals) for appointment. Thus, the
process of appointment of judicial officers in the U.K. is clear, open, fair
and accountable.
However, in the present system of appointments to High Court Judges in
India, unless the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned or any other
senior judge of the High Court recommends the name of a particular
practising lawyer, there is no way to get included in the list of
prospective candidates.
This system is perceived to be discriminatory because it is inherently
impossible for the collegium judges to personally know everything about
all the eligible practising members of the Bar. Thus, the procedure of
selection by inviting applications through notifications which is followed
in the U.K. may well be adopted in India also so that transparency in the
appointment of High Court Judges is achieved, eliminating the charge of
discrimination.
(K. Subramanian is a senior advocate and former Advocate-General of
Tamil Nadu.)
The procedure of selection of High Court judges by inviting
applications through notifications which is followed in
the United Kingdom may well be adopted in India so that
transparency in the appointment is achieved, eliminating
the charge of discrimination

Tribals torn apart by religion
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Whether due to economic disparities or the stoking of
enmities by different religious groups, the chasm between
Sarna and Christian tribals has widened

fear of conversion:When the statue of tribal Mother Mary was unveiled dark-
skinned, draped in a red and white saree, and holding an infant Jesus in a sling
over 3,000 Sarna tribals marched to the site in Singpur, threatening to bring it
down. Photo: MANOB CHOWDHURY
Two months before polling began in Jharkhand, Ajay Tirkey began
dividing his day between campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party in
Ranchi and attending to his real estate business. Mr. Tirkey, who heads
the Central Sarna Committee(CSC), with lakhs of animistic Sarna tribals
as members in urban parts of Ranchi, Gumla and Hazaribagh, believes
that the BJPs Narendra Modi will get the community what it has been
demanding for decades: the distinction of being a minority religion with
all attendant benefits. We submitted a memorandum to Modi in
December to introduce a Sarna code in the census, and [the] BJPs State
leaders agreed, he says.
Mr. Tirkey tall, stout, dressed in white shirt and trousers and wearing
a golden watch on one wrist and a vermillion thread on the other
speaks softly and smiles often, even while narrating the violence that has
broken out following his organisations attempt to stop religious
conversions in the last decade. The office of his company, Deoshila
Development Private Limited, is sparsely furnished, with only a poster of
Hanuman for decoration. Mr. Tirkey owns the commercial complex we
are sitting in. This is a century-old fight. I have not let the Christians get
away with conversions since I became the head in 2000, he says. We
broke the walls of a church in Tape in Ormanjhi while it was being
constructed. There was a case of conversion of five families in Ghagrajala
village in Ranchi; we re-converted three. Then a few families in
Gaitalsud, Angada, of whom only one member escaped because he
worked somewhere else. He has not come back since; he fears us, he
recounts, beaming.
Mr. Tirkey, the BJPs mayoral candidate from Ranchi in 2013, describes
the re-conversion ceremonies as being similar to the ghar-
waapsi(homecoming) ceremonies conducted by BJP leader Dilip Singh
Judeo in Chhattisgarh, in the mid-2000s. Mr. Judeo used to wash the
feet of the converted person with holy water and declare the person
Hindu again. Sarnas, Mr. Tirkey says, besides washing feet, made the
converted person taste a drop of blood of a freshly sacrificed rooster and
sprinkled water on them. A member of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak
Sanghs Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) or Dharam Jagran usually
accompanied CSC members for this ceremony, he says. Sitting by Mr.
Tirkeys side, Manoj Kumar, a member of the BJPs Jharkhand Kisan
Morcha Pradesh Samiti, nods in agreement.
Conversion politics
In the last century, religious conversions in the Chotanagpur region have
led to tensions. The first missionaries to arrive were the German
Protestants in 1845, followed by the Catholics. The rift between Christian
and non-Christian tribals was visible in 1947-48. Concerned with the
growing influence of Christians, Sarna leaders formed a Sudhar Sabha,
notes academic Dr. Alex Ekka in an essay on the Jharkhand movement.
The former captain of the Indian hockey team, Jaipal Singh Munda, is
credited with getting equal rights including reservations for Christian
tribals, as a member of the Constituent Assembly. A few Sarna leaders
opposed this move then. Congress MP Kartik Oraon introduced a bill in
Parliament in 1968 to de-schedule Christian tribals, albeit
unsuccessfully.
The Jan Sangh and the RSS began making inroads in the Chotanagpur
region in the 1960s, initiating developmental activities in forest villages
to counter the growing reach of Christian missionaries. While the VKA
already has a strong presence in the Gumla and Latehar districts of West
Jharkhand, more recently it has focused on increasing its influence in
Sahebganj and Pakur along the States border with West Bengal, close to
Bangladesh. Both districts feature in a map of areas from Uttar Pradesh
to the north-east as Areas of high Muslim and Christian influence in a
publication by Sankat Mochan Ashram, New Delhi.
The church was trying to proselytize in Pakur but slowed down after we
increased our presence. We recently performed ghar-waapsi for 50
families there. Sarna groups are doing re-conversions themselves now;
we prefer it this way. We explain to them that 2000 years ago, we
worshipped trees. Sarnas are Hindu too, says Prakash Kamat, the
Bihar-Jharkhand zonal secretary of the VKA.
Tribals constitute 26.3 per cent of Jharkhands population. According to
the 2001 Census, of the States population of 3.29 crore, 68.5 per cent
are Hindus and 13.8 per cent are Muslims. Only four per cent follow
Christianity. Though Sarnas, who worship their ancestors and nature,
are not counted separately, they make up most of the Other category,
estimated at 11 to 13 per cent of the population. Sarna groups claim that
the actual numbers may be higher, given the absence of a separate
category for them. A common perception is that despite their small
numbers, Christian tribals have better access to higher education and
jobs. Whether due to economic disparities or the stoking of enmities by
different religious groups, the chasm between Sarna and Christian tribals
has widened.
A deep divide
The most stark instance of this was in 2013 when a spate of protests
erupted in Ranchi soon after the Cardinal Telesphore Toppo unveiled the
statue of a tribal Mary a dark-skinned Mother Mary wearing a white
and red saree and bangles, holding an infant Jesus in a sling, as is
common among tribal women. Sarna dharamguru Bandhan Tigga,
considered more moderate than Ajay Tirkeys group, gave the Church
three months to remove the statue, describing it as a conversion tactic.
In August, over 3,000 Sarna tribals marched to the site, a small Catholic
church in Singpur on Ranchis outskirts, threatening to bring it down.
The police imposed Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code in the area to
stop the protesters. Three days later, a FIR was registered against
members of Sarna groups after they threatened families in Ormanjhi, 50
km from Singpur, who had converted to Protestantism several years ago,
to re-convert to Sarna religion within a week, even breaking the gate of
the house of one of the families.
Sources close to the Cardinal claim he had not known that the statue was
that of a tribal Mary before he reached the parish for the inauguration,
but have chosen to stay silent, fearing that a step back now may only
weaken the churchs position. Before this, in 2008, the church was on
the back foot when Sarna groups questioned the Nemha Bible published
by a Lutheran church in the tribal language, Kuduk, which they said
contained portions offensive to animistic worship.
In Singpur, the residents still recount last years protests cautiously.
Thousands marched from Dhurva to the parish. While the march had
been called by Sarna groups, several Bajrang Dal members wearing
saffron bands marched with them. Even tribals from neighbouring
Odisha, Chhattisgarh districts reached here, recalled a member of the
community. It was done by evoking Sarnas pride, say Dharam Jagran
members.
anumeha.y@thehindu.co.in
A common perception among Sarnas is that Christian tribals
have better access to higher education and jobs

Ending the gender binary
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CHAPAL MEHRA
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The Supreme Courts ruling on transgenders is cause for
celebration, not just for sexual minorities but for all
minorities

BROAD DEFINITION:With the Supreme Courts verdict, gender has come to mean
individual choice and experience rather than what is socially acceptable. PHOTO:
meeta Ahlawat
In this election din, between empty slogans and personal slandering, has
come one of Indias proudest moments as a nation one that values
equality, justice and freedom of even its most marginalised. On April 15,
2014, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment granting Indias
transgender community the right to be recognised as a third gender
category. Additionally, it ruled that it was every human beings right to
choose ones own gender.
Challenging the dominant view
With this judgment, the Court has challenged the dominant view of
gender identity. In a society that has focused on a binary , this is
revolutionary. In this judgment, the court recognises that individual
experience of gender is one of the most fundamental aspects of self-
determination, dignity and freedom. Further the judgment relates the
right to freedom of expression to ones right to express ones self-
identified gender. Thus, the idea of gender is transformed from social
acceptability to individual choice and experience.
The judgment is significant in many other ways as well. By ending the
gender binary , the Court has opened the discussion on the rights of
marriage, adoption and inheritance for the transgender community. The
judgment also recognises the communitys position as a socially and
economically backward category, and directs the state for appropriate
affirmative action. More specifically, it directs the state to provide the
community access to health services and even separate toilets.
For Indias transgender community, it is their first encounter with
equality in a democratic framework. At the same time, this thoughtful,
inclusive judgment is significant for all Indians, especially minorities. It
comes at a time when Indias political parties are engaged in a vitriolic
confrontation over minorities and their rights. The Courts interpretation
of justice, equality, freedom and dignity and the role of the state
should remind our political class that the rights of Indian citizens,
irrespective of gender or sexual orientation, are safeguarded by the
Constitution. The judges quote Aristotle, Kant, Rawls and Amartya Sen
to create a broader narrative on justice something extremely relevant
to this election.
Despite the euphoria, the judgement is not without problems. A broad
sweep of identities neglects many identities. Also, the procedures for
implementation lie with the States and the Centre. Interestingly, it also
evades extensive comment on Section 377 which criminalises sex
between homosexuals, which the judges term as a colonial legacy. It
remains to be seen how this judgment will interact with the petition on
Section 377, to be considered soon. Rationally, it will be difficult to give
citizens the right to choose their gender but not the right to choose who
they love. The Courts decision on Section 377 will tell us whether the
highest court in the land can live with deeply contradictory ideas of
justice, freedom, and equality.
Yet, the process of change will now be irreversible. Just as law can
manufacture intolerance, it can also create gradual social acceptance.
Social attitudes may not transform overnight but Indian society only
needs to look at its own history of inclusiveness. The transgender
community was, until the advent of colonialism, a respected section of
society. The Hindu Right should note that transgenders are mentioned in
the Ramayana, and that it is Ram who gives them the power to bless
important occasions such as childbirth and marriage. Also, Shivas
Ardhanarishwar form is well-known and widely worshipped.
The role of the British
The tradition is not limited to Hinduism alone. Islamic, Jain and other
cultures have also included the transgender community and other sexual
minorities. The famous Sufi saint, Bulle Shah, dressed as a woman to
please his master and often danced with eunuchs. Yet all this changed
when India was colonised. The Indian Penal Code enacted by the British
recognised only two genders, creating a binary that never existed.
Over time, these constructs were absorbed in Indian society. The
community has since faced extreme forms of violence for not conforming
to socially dictated gender identities. This violence often happens within
families and communities, where transgenders face abuse,
discrimination, disinheritance and abandonment. This judgment will
hopefully begin to alter this in some measure.
Despite its many flaws and the incremental nature of this change, this is
a moment of celebration not just for Indias transgender community or
its sexual minorities but for all minorities. In a deeply fractured
democracy, the Court has safeguarded the right to individual choice and
freedom. It is reassuring for every Indian that despite our debasing
politics, justice, equality and individual liberty ideas that define India
will be safeguarded, and the right to choose our identity will go
beyond the binary .
(Chapal Mehra in an independent New Delhi-based writer.)
The transgender community was, until the advent of
colonialism, a respected section of society

CAG scan of the private sector
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The Supreme Courts ruling that the Comptroller and Auditor General of
India can audit private telecom firms that share their revenues with the
government is a landmark one. The ruling has, at one stroke, extended
the reach of the CAG from government and public sector companies to
any entity that may be using a public resource in its business and sharing
revenue with the government. The ostensible principle behind the ruling
is that when the Executive deals with natural resources, such as
spectrum, which belong to the people, Parliament should know how the
nations wealth has been dealt with. The quantum of revenue generated
from the resource has to be verified; whether the revenue has been
properly accounted for by the government and the private licensee also
needs to be ascertained. The principle behind the ruling is
unexceptionable and gains resonance in the context of scams in
spectrum and coal blocks allocations that were unearthed by the CAG.
Politicians are not beyond colluding with private firms to extract rent
from their control of public resources, and the latter have been happy to
play along. The origins of the case that has led to the Supreme Court
ruling lie in a dispute between a couple of telecom companies and the
government over accounting of revenues, which is crucial to determining
the licence fee payable to the government. The government suspected
that the companies were accounting for revenues in a manner that would
lower their fee liability.
The fact is that companies that use public resources have a responsibility
to bear, and if they play true and fair they have nothing to fear from an
audit, including one by the CAG. A CAG audit can be an irritant in the
conduct of daily business as records need to be produced and queries
answered, especially because this will be in addition to the statutory
audit under the Companies Act. If governments and the CAG ensure that
there is no harassment, there would be no cause to protest against the
audit itself, as industry associations are now doing. After all, the ruling is
a direct result of proven misdemeanour by some entities in recent times.
That said, the challenge for the CAG will be in deploying adequate
resources and talent in such audits when called upon by the government
or the regulators. These need to be completed and the reports submitted
in good time unlike traditional CAG audits of public sector entities that
are invariably delayed. The government and the regulators should resort
to CAG audits sparingly and only under exceptional circumstances where
they suspect serious wrongdoing by a player. Turning to CAG audits
routinely will only increase the regulatory burden and turn away private
investors.

The power of words
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Elections always throw up inventive rhetoric, catchy one-liners, barbs,
and taunts. These are amplified even more when social media rule the
roost among the young and trendy in particular. Nonetheless, it is
disheartening that in a country that otherwise takes pride in its rich
traditions, great love for poetry and elevating metaphors in almost every
regional language, in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election the
campaign styles of the two major political players at the national level
have largely smacked of clichd and stereotyped labels. A certain style of
leadership that has been projected well in advance since last year has
shaped the poll discourse as well. It may well have begun with the
seemingly innocuous puppy-under-the-wheel remark by the Bharatiya
Janata Partys prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, to convey
his expression of pain over the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. But as
he lent more lung power to a style of speech that was laced with
ostensibly tell-all words such as Shahzada (prince), in referring to
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Matashree in addressing
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Recounting Minister from Tamil
Nadu, alluding to P. Chidambaram, and coined terms like burqa [veil]
of secularism, liberal sections were only hoping that the political
Rubicon would not be crossed.
But the power of campaign rhetoric is such that it triggered a counter-
discourse virtually across the political spectrum. While the tea boy
allusion to Mr. Modi by some Congress leaders in a pejorative reference
to his humble beginnings in life boomeranged on the party leading the
UPA, the caustic and at times vitriolic references to Mr. Modi by some
Congress functionaries like Imran Masood in Uttar Pradesh made people
wonder whether the Congress too was falling for the aggressive, no-
holds-barred mode of speech. In this battle of wits, Rahul Gandhi
himself was forced to condemn the likes of Mr. Masood, while Mr.
Chidambaram sought to pay Mr. Modi back in his own coin, by asking
whether the latter could not be termed Encounter Minister. All these to
some extent go to show how much of the campaign style has been shaped
by images and themes more associated with an icon rather than flowing
from political programmes and policies. True, there has been quite a bit
of talk about the Gujarat development model going all-India, beef
exports being highly subsidised, poverty being a mental state, and so
on; these speech-acts only remind us of the Oxford linguistics
philosopher J.L. Austins great work, How to Do Things With Words . It
was everybodys expectation that the leaders would put words to better,
more positive use in this poll campaign.

Class warfare justified?
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Thomas Piketty has taken Americas liberal establishment by storm.
Piketty is a French economist who has written a lengthy (577 pages)
study, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, intended to provide a
powerful intellectual justification for attacking the superrich.
Surprisingly, Capital hit No. 16 on the New York Times best-seller list
for hardcover nonfiction books a considerable feat for an academic
treatise that, though clearly written, is no page-turner.
Agree or disagree with his views, Pikettys project represents a
prodigious research achievement. With other economists, he has
constructed statistics tracing the distribution of income and wealth for
many major countries back to the 1800s. The most obvious conclusion
from the data is common-sense: Even relatively egalitarian societies have
huge disparities in economic fortune.
Piketty presents Scandinavian countries in the 1970s and 1980s as
examples of low inequality. Still, the richest 10 per cent commanded
about 25 per cent of national income and the poorest 50 per cent got
only 30 per cent; the middle class the 40 per cent below the top 10
per cent received 45 per cent of income. These days, the distribution in
the United States is far more unequal. In 2010, the top 10 per cent
received about 50 per cent of national income, and the bottom 50 per
cent got 20 per cent; the middle 40 per cent got 30 per cent. European
nations are typically in between, with the top 10 per cent taking 35 per
cent of income.
What Piketty also shows is that in the last 30 years inequality has
exploded almost everywhere, especially in the United States and the
United Kingdom. This finding disproves the so-called Kuznets Curve. In
1954, American economist Simon Kuznets (1901-1985) argued that
income inequality would fall as societies modernised. Workers would
move from low-paid farm jobs to better-paid industrial jobs. Gaps would
narrow.
This seemed to have happened in the United States. From the 1920s to
the 1950s, the income share of the richest 10 per cent fell from around 50
per cent to about 35 per cent. But now its rebounded to the late 1920s
level. This stunning fact, published previously in academic journals,
helped make inequality a big political issue. (The U.S. figures were
jointly developed by Piketty and economist Emmanuel Saez of the
University of California, Berkeley.)
Theres no consensus as to why economic inequality has increased. Some
economists emphasise big rewards for workers with high skills
(investment bankers, doctors, lawyers, business managers) and special
talents (actors, athletes). Piketty argues that an American class of
supermanagers (top corporate officials) has arisen, whose pay is set
artificially high by friendly compensation committees composed of other
top corporate officers. The arrangement reeks of self-dealing, he says.
All income ultimately derives from either labour or capital. Labour
includes wages, salaries and fringe benefits; capital covers the returns
from stocks, bonds, real estate, businesses and other assets. Piketty fears
that capital will gain relentlessly at the expense of labour. Its simple
arithmetic, he argues. Historical returns on capital, after inflation, have
averaged 4 per cent to 5 per cent annually. Meanwhile, the world
economys total income slowed by small population and productivity
gains will grow only 1 per cent to 3 per cent annually, he believes. If
capital income grows faster than total income, its share must increase.
Worse, he says, capital income is more concentrated than labour income.
In the United States, the top 10 per cent own about 70 per cent of the
capital, mainly stocks, bonds and real estate. To prevent inherited
fortunes from dominating advanced societies, Piketty would raise the top
income tax rate to roughly 80 per cent on incomes above $500,000 or $1
million; he would also tax accumulated wealth.
Though Piketty is an economist, his book is essentially a work of political
science. He objects to extreme economic inequality because it offends
democracy: Too much power is conferred on too few. His economic
analysis sometimes seems skewed to fit his political agenda.
Take his tax increases. He doubts that they would hurt economic growth.
This seems questionable. Incentives must matter, at least slightly. Or
consider his predicted slowdown in the world economy. This seems
possible, but if it happens, capital owners would likely suffer lower
returns. As for the power of the superrich, they hardly control most
democracies. In the United States, where about 70 per cent of federal
spending goes to the poor and middle class, the richest 1 per cent pay
nearly a quarter of federal taxes. After-tax and post-government-transfer
incomes are less unequal than Pikettys pretax figures.
Still, the present concentration of income and wealth instinctively feels
excessive. It understandably stirs resentment. Wed be better off if the
rich were less so and other Americans were more so. But its doubtful
that political action to force this transformation would be similarly
beneficial. Class warfare is bruising; today, it would degrade the
confidence needed for a stronger recovery. 2014. The
Washington Post.
In the last 30 years inequality has exploded almost
everywhere, especially in the United States and the United
Kingdom

China offers college entrance exam in
Braille
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Chinese students will be able to sit for the college entrance exam in
Braille, the ministry of education has announced.
Human Rights Watch described this weeks directive as an important
breakthrough after years of campaigning by disability rights advocates in
China, where educational and employment discrimination are rife.
While a few blind students have studied at university, the vast majority
have been effectively barred from higher education because there was no
provision for them.
While all children are in theory entitled to the same education, parents
and campaigners say there is scant means for redress when institutions
refuse to enrol students with disabilities.
Making exams accessible to the blind would help to minimise
discrimination against and maximise respect for people with disabilities
in China, said Sophie Richardson, China director at the group.
Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2014

Cartoonscape
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Corrections and clarifications
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>>A front-page promo headline (April 20, 2014) read: Congress
CMs alley T.N. fears. The appropriate word is allay .
>>The report, Krishnagiri: where caste vies with Modi factor (April 19,
2014, some editions), said C.R. Narasimhan, grandson of C.
Rajagopalachari won the seat [Krishnagiri] in the first two elections. It
should have been son of C. Rajagopalachari.
>>A standalone picture of a double-decker flyover in Mumbai (Layers
of traffic, April 19, 2014) erroneously described it as
Indias first double-decker flyover.
>>The power of the Cross (Faith, April 18, 2014) said: For the wages
of sin is death (Romans 7:23 ). It should have been Romans 6:23 .
>>The opening paragraph of AB was a calming influence: Parthiv
(Sport, April 21, 2014) said Parthiv Patel praised A.B. de Villiers for
guiding Rajasthan Royals to a convincing victory. It should have
beenRoyal Challengers Bangalore .

TCS and Mitsubishi to merge Japanese IT
subsidiaries
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The deal values the combined entity at $300 million

N. Chandrasekaran
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), on Monday, announced that it signed
definitive agreements with Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) to merge its
subsidiary TCS Japan with MCs 100 per cent IT subsidiary IT Frontier
Corporation (ITF) and Nippon TCS Solution Centre to create a new
single entity.
While TCS will hold 51 per cent stake in the entity, Mitsubishi will hold
49 per cent. The entity will be operational from July, 2014.
Local presence
Addressing media, N.Chandrasekaran, CEO & MD, TCS, said, we have
been saying that Japan is a strategic market for TCS and have been
trying to strengthen it for some time. Now, TCS will now have the scale,
strong local presence, and full range of global capabilities to serve the
Japanese companies effectively and accelerate our growth there.
Japan is the worlds second largest IT services market. TCS Japans
revenues are around $100 million, and it set up a 60:40 partnership with
Mitsubishi for an onsite development centre two years ago. That was a
way of engaging and starting to work together and this is a well-thought
out strategic move.
The transaction values the combined entity at $300 million, and the total
revenue of the combined entity will be around $600 million.
Equity plus cash
The merger will be an equity-plus cash transaction wherein a subsidiary
of TCS will buy shares from MC for about $50 million to have a
controlling 51 per cent stake. TCS has the option to increase its stake to
66 per cent initially and further later. The entity will have 2,400
professionals from ITF and TCS and also business associates from ITF.
For TCS, the CEO said, it means our Japan operations go from $100
million to $600 million. Revenues will accrue from July this fiscal,
provided the deal closes and will be $300 million.
Client access
Currently, Mitsubishi contributes about half of ITFs total revenues of
about $500 million. Besides MC, we will get access to several clients in
the $5-50 million category, Mr. Chandrasekaran said, adding, that these
were in verticals such as manufacturing, high-tech, financial services and
retail. In Japan, we see huge opportunities for our global network
delivery model, infrastructure optimization, business process
outsourcing and digital.
On the BSE, TCS moved up 0.14 per cent to close trading at Rs. 2,220.5.

VST shifts tractor operations to Hosur
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The new facility is set up at a cost of Rs. 70 crore

B. C. S. Iyengar
VST Tillers Tractors is shifting its tractor manufacturing operations to
Hosur in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
The new plant, with an installed capacity of 36,000 tractors and set up at
a cost of Rs.70 crore, would be formally inaugurated on April 25 ,
Executive Director B. C. S. Iyengar said, giving details of the four-wheel
drive 22 HP tractor launched recently.
Mr. Iyengar, addressing press persons here on Monday, said the decision
to consolidate the tractor operations at Hosur was to primarily meet the
growing market demand for power tillers by creating space at the
Whitefield Road plant here.
Apart from better infrastructure at Hosur, another reason was Bangalore
becoming a luxury for industry, he said, adding that everything from
salaries was pegged to the IT sector. The plant of VST Tillers Tractors
was the only manufacturing unit on the Whitefield road with the
neighbourhood morphing into malls and IT complexes. This aspect had
not missed the attention of investors who wanted the company to shift
out of Bangalore and capitalise on the real estate value of the 19.5 acre
plant. On whether this was being considered, Mr. Iyengar replied in the
negative, but added the option could not be ruled out completely.
The company, whose product range includes a 18.5 HP four-wheel
tractor, has a plant in Mysore where key components such as crank shaft,
cylinder block and connecting rod are made.
VST Tillers Tractors, a part of the VST group, posted a turnover of
around Rs.600 crore in 2013-14, and is working on a 26-HP vehicle that
will be a product for small and marginal farmers. It sold 7,400 units last
fiscal, in a market whose size is estimated around 30,000 units,
including Chinese imports . The company, looking to sell 10,000-12,000
units this year, wants the government to provide enhanced subsidy, to
farmers, for made in India mini-tractors.

Nokia-MS deal to be completed this Friday
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U.S software giant Microsoft, on Monday, said that it expected its deal to
acquire Nokias phone unit, which has been delayed due to a number of
regulatory and tax issues, to close on Friday.
The announcement, however, has no mention of Nokias Chennai plant,
which has been blocked from being part of the deal after becoming the
focal point of two separate tax disputes.
The transaction will be completed this Friday, April 25, when well
officially welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business as part of the
Microsoft family. The completion of this acquisition follows several
months of planning and will mark a key step on the journey towards
integration, the company said in a statement.
Contract manufacturing
According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, the Chennai
plant, in all likelihood, will be operated as a contract manufacturer by
Nokia for a certain period of time.
There is almost no way it can transfer the plant, even if authorities allow
it. The number of approvals it would require would take up the days until
the transaction closes, said sources.
This is a controversial point for a majority of the plants workers, who
have claimed that taking up contract jobs would leave them with less job
security. On Monday, a number of the employees boycotted the
companys canteen services as a sign of protest against the insecurity of
their situation.
Services agreement
A Nokia spokesperson pointed out that the company continues to weigh
its options.
As there is still time before the closing of the deal, we cannot speculate
on possible outcomes at this point. With Chennai, it is worth
remembering that we have said we will consider a services agreement
with Microsoft should our Indian assets not be able to transfer at the
close of the global deal, the spokesperson said.
The Nokia India Employees Union said the management had not
informed them of this update, and that they would decide what to do in
the next few days.
No mention of the handset makers Chennai plant, which will
mostly
go down the contract manufacturing route

Toyota workers to resume duty today
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Thousands of workers on protest for over a month at the Toyota
Kirloskar Motor (TKM) plants near here are all set to return to work
unconditionally on Tuesday.
The decision to resume work, from the first shift of April 22, was taken at
a general body meeting of the TKM Employees Union here on Monday.
Their return augurs well for the two plants of Indian subsidiary of the
Japanese carmaker where only limited operation was being carried out
with the help of supervisory staff. The combined capacity of the two
plants is 3.10 lakh units, but the company refrained from quantifying the
drop in production.
Giving details of the meeting, general secretary of the Union R. Satish
said all the 4,200 employees, who were on protest against the good
conduct undertaking that the company insisted upon, would be
returning to work. The decision of the Union comes in the backdrop of
the State government, on Saturday, asking the management and the
workers to restore normality in operations immediately.
We are thankful to the government for prohibiting the lockout [declared
on March 16] and asking the company to allow us unconditionally, he
said. The TKM management had lifted the lockout a few days later but
asked for the undertaking from the employees. Thirty employees were
also placed under suspension pending enquiry. All these followed no
agreement on the wage revision.
On the demand for the suspension to be revoked, Mr. Satish said the
Union was confident that the 30 employees would come clean after the
enquiry. The government order was issued after conciliation talks before
the Labour Department officials failed last week.

U.S. court ruling to benefit Natco
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Hyderabad-based generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Natco Pharma
could benefit from US Supreme Courts quashing pharmaceutical major
Teva Pharmaceutical interim injunction to revive its patent on Copaxone
(Glatiramer Acetate), a generic multiple sclerosis drug.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by Teva to stay a lower-court
ruling in a patent case that sided with generic manufacturers of Tevas
multiple sclerosis drug.
The decision could help generic companies like Natco launch the drug in
U.S. The Supreme Court of U.S. has denied Tevas request for an
injunction relating to generic Copaxone, clearing legal hurdle for Mylan
and Natco to launch the same in that market,
Natco said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), adding that
this is the second time the chief justice had denied Tevas request for
such an injunction.
Copaxone registered sales of U $805 million in the U.S. in the December
quarter and the U.S. market for it is about $3 billion.
Natco has in place an agreement with U.S.-based Mylan to market the
generic version of Tevas Copaxone.
Tevas Copaxone patents, expiring in September 2015 were held invalid
by a US lower court in July 2013, making generic entry possible after
May 24 this year when remaining patents expire.
This would allow generic players to launch the product at risk in the
U.S. market.
At risk launch option is before the Supreme courts verdict which could
come in Tevas favour, Siddhant Khandekar, Chief Manager Research,
ICICI Securities told this correspondent.
The court will hear arguments and rule during its 2014-15 term, which
starts in October and runs through the following June.
Meanwhile, Natco said it would await `concurrence from its partner
Mylan as also other regulatory approvals in the US, including approval
from the US Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) before deciding on
the launch.
Shares surge
On the Bombay Stock Exchange, Natco Pharma stock surged 13 per cent
intra-day trade before reacting to close up 7.5 per cent at Rs. 769.35.

Vizag Port set to become a hub for
imported coal
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Vizag General Cargo Berth Pvt. Ltd. (VGCB) , a 74:26 joint venture between Sterlite
Industries (Vedanta) and Leighton Welspun Contractors Pvt. Ltd., is set to become a premier
coal handling terminal.
The berth was developed under BOT with an investment of Rs.680 crore and a capacity to
handle 10.7 million tonnes.
By adding VGCB terminal , the Visakhapatnam Port further strengthens the cargo
throughput. In the days to come, the port will be the hub for handling imported coal and shall
be the gateway in the east coast corridor, says VGCB CEO D. K. Manral in a
interview. Excerpts:
What is the extent of cargo being handled now from Visakhapatnam and what is the
projected shortage of coal?
The port is now handling POL, iron ore, container, coal and the other cargo of around 58.5
million tonnes which is fifth in cargo throughput in major port category. Indias coal demand
is 770 million tonnes for 2013-14 as against prospects of producing 606 million tonnes. The
country has imported around 163 million tonnes last fiscal.
Top suppliers are Indonesia, Australia and South Africa. Coal India estimated that Indias
coal shortage would hit 350 million tonnes in 2016-17.
How is the future with an increase in draft in the outer harbour?
The deep draft has enabled us to berth fully laden Cape size vessels.
The terminal is fully mechanised. We are unloading cargo using latest material handling
equipment. It will give the port a technological edge that will translate into faster turnaround
times and better handling of cargo and vessels.
What are the advantages of the facility and how much throughput it has handled so far?
With this, the port efficiency and productivity levels will help clients save on sea freight rates
and earn dispatch money as well. VGCB has already received over 175 commercial vessels
since the commissioning of the port and has crossed the five million tonne cargo mark till
date.

MRF gearing up to face emerging
competition
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Koshy Varghese
MRF has asserted that it is unperturbed by the upcoming competition in
the replacement tyre market and confident of protecting its share and
volumes in the segment.
Replacement market has been a key driver of MRFs profits. It is a
significant contributor to the top-line with a share of about 75 per cent.
We are not a serious player on the institutional side, and that is a
conscious decision MRF has taken. Our exposure to aftermarket has
always been substantial, Koshy Varghese, Executive Vice-President,
Marketing, MRF, said.
The company holds a strong position in commercial vehicle (CV) tyre
replacement market, a strong revenue area for tyre makers.
In CV tyre business, which accounts for about 50 per cent of companys
total revenues, MRF derives about 80 per cent of the revenues from the
aftermarket.
CV replacement category is expected to witness intense competition with
more radial tyre capacity coming on stream in the near-term as also due
to aggressive focus by players such as Michelin, which has set up one of
its largest factories near Chennai. However, MRF says it is not worried,
and is hopeful of staying strong in the category. This is like repeat of
what happened in car industry. Bridgestone and other brands came here
about 15 years ago. They are still not the largest in the after-market. It is
all about how you play out your strengths and our strengths in value-for-
money offering and network is fairly strong, Mr. Varghese said, adding,
of course, we need to be vigilant and keep the customer as the focus
rather than competition.
Icras Group Vice-President Subrata Ray is of the view that MRFs
market share may be under pressure in the medium-to-long-term. But in
the near-term, domestic brands such as MRF will continue to enjoy
healthy market share in the replacement market despite the influx of
larger MNCs.

Law on foreign stake cant apply
retrospectively: HDFC Bank
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Private sector HDFC Bank, on Monday, said parent HDFC, which is
majority-owned by FIIs, should not be considered as foreign because
changes in the law defining overseas stake in a firm cannot apply
retrospectively.
The remarks come in the backdrop of the RBI banning foreign investors
from picking up more shares in HDFC Bank.
Under the present laws, with HDFCs 22 per cent stake, foreign holding
in HDFC Bank exceeds the permissible limit of 74 per cent.
HDFC Bank, however, says HDFC held the stake in it before 2009 and
changes in law cannot apply retrospectively.
We have got legal opinion from one (former) Chief Justice and another
(former) Supreme Court judge, which fundamentally says that since
HDFCs holding was there in HDFC Bank prior to the law on deemed
foreign companies being passed, that they should be grandfathered,
HDFC Bank MD and CEO Aditya Puri said.
Normally, you do not have retrospective application of the law. So,
when that law came in, HDFC already had the holding. Now you have
changed the law, that will have to be for future, he added.
At the end December, 2009, FIIs held 59.37 per cent in HDFC.
The government had amended the foreign holding definition in 2009,
under which an entity with over 50 per cent overseas investment or
controlled by foreigners, is considered foreign-owned.
Parent HDFC is considered foreign as FIIs hold 74 per cent stake in it as
on December, 2013.
Existing norms
As per the existing norms, a bank is required to take FIPB approval for
increasing its foreign shareholding limit (FII and FDI) beyond 49 per
cent and up to 74 per cent, respectively. The investment till 49 per cent
can be done through the automatic route.
As the foreign holding limit in the bank was breached, the RBI had
directed that no further purchases of HDFC Bank shares would be
allowed through stock exchanges on behalf of overseas investors,
including NRIs, persons of Indian origin and holders of depository
receipts.
Apart from HDFCs 22.64 per cent, foreign institutional investors own
34.08 per cent in the bank, 0.03 per cent is with qualified foreign
investors, 0.33 per cent with NRIs and 16.97 per cent with overseas
depository receipt holders.
It can be noted that HDFC Bank has also approached the Foreign
Investment Promotion Board to raise its foreign holding limit to 67.55
per cent from the present 49 per cent. When asked if he is expecting a
favourable decision from the FIPB, Mr. Puri said: We are hoping so.
PTI

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Chia-Lin Chang, President, Global Sales and Chief Financial Officer, HTC, launching
Desire 210 in New Delhi on Monday. PHOTO: Kamal Narang
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC on Monday entered the under-
Rs.10,000 phone category with its Desire 210.
Today, the Desire 210 has been globally launched in India, which is one
of the key markets for us, HTC President for Global sales and CFO Chia-
Lin Chang told reporters here.
The Desire 210 will be available in the market from May onwards for
Rs.8,700. Besides, the company announced that its flagship device HTC
One M8 would start selling at Rs.49,900 in the Indian market from May
8.HTC Desire 816 priced at Rs.23,990 will also be made available around
the same time.
The companys current market share in India is estimated to be around
4-6 per cent, its Country Head Faisal Siddiqui said. With these new
launches, the company was targeting to up the share to 10 per cent in the
smartphone market, he added. However, he did not put a timeline as to
by when the company expects to reach the goal.
About the launch, he said, Sub-Rs.10,000 phone accounts for about 55-
60 per cent of the total market. With our new device we can now cater to
this segment. We recently launched the Desire 310 for Rs.11,700 which
has received great response. At this price point, the 4-inch HTC Desire
210 will compete with the likes of popular Nokia Lumia 520 and
Samsung Galaxy S Duos, besides various domestic manufacturers who
have various offerings in the segment.
Built on Androids Jelly Bean platform, the dual SIM smartphone Desire
210 has 5 megapixel main camera and a VGA camera on the front.

Tech Mahindra to acquire Big Data start-
up for $10 m
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IT services firm Tech Mahindra, on Monday, announced that it would
acquire a U.S-based analytics start-up for $10 million (Rs. 60 crore).
In an announcement to the stock exchanges, the company said that it
would acquire a 75 per cent stake in Fix Stream Networks Inc (FSNI),
subject to necessary regulatory approvals.
FSNI is going to develop emerging technology which will benefit Tech
Mahindras customer base, the company said.
In doing so, the company is rapidly expanding its scope in terms of
innovation, talent and time to market, according to analysts. Earlier this
year, Tech Mahindra also partnered with chip-design firm Texas
Instruments to set up a lab in Bangalore that will focus on developing
solutions based on the Internet of Things.
Fix Stream Networks, which looks to solve complex data centre and
cloud problems, was founded last year by Sameer Padhye and Abhinay
Padhye, who both earlier worked at networking major Cisco.
The company currently has offices both in the U.S and in Bangalore. The
shares of BSE-listed Tech Mahindra closed 0.17 per cent up on Monday
after the deal was announced.

Sensex, Nifty hit all-time high
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The BSE benchmark Sensex on Monday rose to its all-time high of
22795.58 but settled the day a few points lower at 22764.83 on hectic
buying in bluechip stocks L&T, ICICI Bank and SBI.
The 50-share Nifty of NSE breached the crucial 6800-mark to end the
day at it its all-time closing high of 6817.65, a rise of 38.25 points. It set a
fresh all-time high of 6825.45 intraday. But it immediately pared some
gains to settle the day at 22764.83, a gain of 135.99 points from its
previous close.
Rupee plunges
The rupee on Monday lost a hefty 30 paise to end the day at almost one-
month low of 60.59 against the dollar due to fresh demand for the U.S.
currency from importers. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the
rupee plunged to 60.61 before settling at 60.59. PTI

Hero MotoCorp inks JV for Bangladesh
entry
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Hero MotoCorp, on Monday, announced its entry into Bangladesh
through a joint venture with Bangladeshs Nitol Niloy. The joint venture,
in which Hero MotoCorp will hold 55 per cent stake and Nitol Niloy the
remaining 45 per cent, plans to set up a new manufacturing facility with
an annual capacity of 1.5 lakh units.
The diversified Nitol Niloy group has interests in various sectors and also
markets Tata Motors vehicles in Bangladesh.
The two companies plan to invest around $40 million in the next five
years in the new venture. This plant will be the first full-fledged
manufacturing facility for Hero MotoCorp outside India.
The commencement of our operations in Bangladesh is a significant
milestone in our strategic global expansion plans. In addition to our first
overseas joint venture, this is where our first manufacturing plant
outside India will come up, Hero MotoCorp Managing Director & CEO
Pawan Munjal said in a statement.
We are aiming to have around 20 per cent of market share here
(Bangladesh) in the first year of our operation, he added.
Commenting on the development, Nitol Niloy Group Chairman Abdul
Matlub Ahmad said the aim of the joint venture was to provide
technologically advanced, innovative and fuel-efficient two-wheelers for
customers in Bangladesh.
Explaining the investments into the joint venture, the company said
there would be a total equity injection of $12.6 million in a ratio of 55:45
over two years.
The new venture will have a capex of $23.2 million in the first year of its
operation.
The Hero range of two-wheelers are being made available in Bangladesh
through the initial 50 retail outlets, while more are being rapidly added
across the country.
Hero MotoCorp at present sells products across 18 countries, including
Peru, Guatemala, Turkey and Egypt. It has established assembly units in
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in East Africa through its distributors.
The 55:45 joint venture with Bangladeshs Nitol Niloy will
invest $40 m in the next five years

MSS ceiling fixed at Rs.50,000 cr
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The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the quantum of intervention
through the Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS) at Rs.50,000 crore to
manage liquidity. Under the MSS, the RBI, on the behalf of the
government, absorbs liquidity by issuing Treasury Bills and/or dated
securities. PTI

No non-compete clause in case of FDI in
pharma deals
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The Reserve Bank of India, on Monday, said the non-compete clause
would not be applicable in acquisition of existing pharma companies by
foreign entities or investors except in certain special cases.
India allows 100 per cent FDI in the pharma sector. Under a non-
compete clause, a party agrees not to enter into a similar trade in
competition against another party as part of a deal. The notification
follows revision of the extant FDI policy for the pharmaceutical sector by
the government in January. PTI

RBI ED takes VRS
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Reserve Bank of India Executive Director G. Gopalakrishna has
voluntarily retired from the service, and joined as director of the Centre
for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL). Mr.
Gopalakrishna took voluntarily retirement from the service with effect
from April 20 to take over charge as director of CAFRAL on April 21, the
RBI said in a statement. PTI

Sesa Sterlite rallies
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Shares of Sesa Sterlite, on Monday, surged nearly 5 per cent after the
Supreme Court allowed iron ore mining in Goa.
Sesa Sterlite stock ended 4.78 per cent higher at Rs.201.80 on the BSE.
During the day, the scrip rose by 7.45 per cent to Rs.206.95. PTI

Eveready gets stable outlook rating
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Eveready Industries India has been given a stable outlook rating by India
Ratings & Research following an improvement in its overall debt from
Rs.267.1 crore in 2012-13 to Rs.209.4 crore in 2013-14 with an increase
in its EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and
amortisation) margin. The ratings are, however, constrained by the slow
growing (FY13: 0.3 per cent year-on-year) dry cell industry which is
likely to remain stagnant. Also, the company plans to diversify its
revenue further through its lighting solutions division FY15 onwards.
Special Correspondent

Reliance Jio in pact with ATC India
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Reliance Jio Infocomm has signed a tower sharing agreement with ATC
India to utilise the latters telecom tower infrastructure to launch its
services. ATC has 11,000 towers spread across the country. Our
relationship with ATC will accelerate the rollout of these services across
India, Sanjay Mashruwala, Managing Director, Reliance Jio, said in a
statement. Special Correspondent.

Tata Power rights issue oversubscribed
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The rights issue of Tata Power Company has been oversubscribed by 1.96
times, the company said on Monday. The issue closed on April 15. Tata
Power had offered up to 33.22 crore equity shares of the face value of
Re.1 each at a price of Rs.60 per share to raise Rs.1,993.38 crore on a
rights basis to the existing shareholders. With the oversubscription, the
company collected Rs.3,916.41 crore on application, it said. Tata Power
shares closed at Rs.83.45 on Monday, down 0.30 per cent on the BSE.
Special Correspondent

Apr 22

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