Anti-nuclear activist Udayakumar joins AAP with 500 supporters

IDINTHAKARAI (Tamil Nadu): Anti-nuclear activist SP Udayakumar with his around 500 supporters joined Aam Aadmi Party in Tamil Nadu on Friday ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

"We have formally joined the AAP today," Udayakumar here said. Udayakumar is the convener of "People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy".

The PMANE spearheads the more than two-year old protest against the Kundakulam Nuclear Power Plant in district Tirunelveli.

An announcement on the names of candidates contesting the polls from southern districts would be made public soon by AAP's top leadership, he told PTI.

Asked if he would continue to be associated with PMANE, Udayakumar, against whom several cases had been registered in connection with the anti-KNPP protests, said: "Of course yes ... I continue to be an anti-nuclear activist."

Besides Udayakumar, MP Jesurajan and Peter Milton were among the other prominent anti-nuclear activists who joined the party.

However, Pushparayan and Mugilan, two other PMANE leaders, did not join the party.

"They do not believe in party politics, they have right to their opinion and we did not force them either," Udayakumar said.

AAP leader Prashant Bhushan had met Udayakumar recently, triggering reports about the party roping in the activist.

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SC fiat to Centre on establishing national court of appeal

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today sought response from the Centre and the Ministry of Law on the issue of establishment of a National Court of Appeal with regional benches in major cities to finally decide cases arising from high courts.

The PIL petitioner submitted that distance of the apex court in national capital from other parts of the country coupled with high travel expense and cost of litigation were coming in way of citizens from far flung areas to approach the top court of the land which is otherwise also burdened with large scale pendency of cases.

"In this petition, issue of positive nature has been raised. We are issuing notices to respondents (Centre, Legislative Department and Justice Department) seeking for early consideration on representation (by petitioner) made on November 21, 2013," a bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said while seeking their reply within four weeks.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by Puducherry-based advocate V Vasantha Kumar seeking direction for the Centre and departments concerned to consider his November 21, 2013 representation for consideration and implementation of the suggestions made by the apex court in a 1986 judgement to establish a National Court of Appeal with regional benches in major cities.

He referred to the observation in the judgement of Bihar Legal Support Society Versus Chief Justice of India in which the suggestion was made for the National Court of Appeal.

He submitted that the geographical proximity and financial status of citizens in the society are vital factors for every citizen to have access to top court of the land and referred to media reports that of all the cases filed in the Supreme Court, the highest number are from high courts in the northern states -- 12 per cent from Delhi, 8.9 per cent from Punjab and Haryana, 7 per cent from Uttarakhand, 4.3 per cent from Himachal Pradesh, etc.

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Unesco lauds Indian poet's idea of earth anthem

KATHMANDU: Unesco has praised an Indian diplomat's idea of an earth anthem but does not seem ready to take up the proposal, citing lack of resources.

Abhay Kumar's suggestion for an official earth anthem, to be selected from entries received in a proposed global online competition, was recommended for Unesco's consideration in January by the permanent delegation of India to the Paris-based world body.

Unesco recognized that an earth anthem would contribute to bringing the world together, said Kumar, who is the first secretary (press) at the Indian embassy in Kathmandu.

"However, it does not seem to be ready to take up the challenge, due to budget constraints and lack of a well prepared plan," he said.

"Given the prevailing situation of the organisation with limited financial and human resources, we are not in a position to organise an online competition, as proposed by the Indian diplomat, to select an official anthem for the planet," said Unesco's assistant director general Eric Falt.

A composition by Kumar has lines in all UN official languages — Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Asked about a way forward, Kumar said he has offered to help Unesco in preparing a comprehensive conceptual plan and finding ways to implement it.

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Petrol prices hiked by 60 paise per litre, diesel by 50 paise

NEW DELHI: Petrol price was hiked by 60 paise a litre on Friday, the second increase this year, and diesel by 50 paise per litre, the 14th hike since January 2013.

The hikes, effective from midnight, are excluding local sales tax or VAT and actual increase will be higher and will vary from city to city.

Petrol price, which was last hiked by 91 paise on January 4, will cost Rs 73.16 a litre in Delhi from midnight tonight, up 73 paise from Rs 72.43 at present.

In Mumbai, the fuel will cost Rs 82.07 a litre as against Rs 81.31 at present.

The price of diesel in Delhi will be hiked by 57 paise, including tax, to Rs 55.48 per litre, while it will cost Rs 63.86 a litre in Mumbai as against Rs 63.23 at present.

Announcing the price hike, Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer, said petrol price has been hiked because international oil rates have risen and rupee depreciated against US dollar, making imports costlier.

The diesel price increase is in line with the January 2013 decision of the government to raise rates by up to 50 paise per month till such time that the entire losses on the fuel are wiped out, and prices made market determined.

IOC said even after the 14th price hike since January 2013, the oil companies are incurring Rs 8.37 per litre loss on sale of the fuel.

Since January 2013, diesel rates have risen by a cumulative Rs 8.33.

Besides diesel, oil firms are losing Rs 36.34 a litre on sale of kerosene through public distribution system (PDS) and Rs 605.50 on every 14.2kg domestic cooking gas (LPG).

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Supreme Court commutes death sentence of four to life imprisonment

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of four persons, who murdered nine people, to life imprisonment on the ground of their young age and deprived socio-economic background.

A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said the behaviour of the condemned prisoners inside the jail is very good and they are not beyond reformation.

"All the four accused were young in age at the time of commission of the offence i.e. 23-29 years. They belong to the economically, socially and educationally deprived section of the population. They were living in acute poverty. It is possible that, being young, they had a yearning for quick money and it is these circumstances that had led to the commission of the crimes in question," the bench said.

The prisoners — Santosh Manohar Chavan, Amit Ashok Shinde, Yogesh Madhukar Chavan and Mahesh Dhanaji Shinde — were awarded death sentence for killing 9 innocent and unsuspecting victims in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.

The crimes were committed over a period of nearly two months in three different incidents and the victims include two children.

"Balancing the two sets of circumstances i.e. one favouring commutation and the other favouring upholding the death penalty, we are of the view that in the present case the option of life sentence is not unquestionably foreclosed. Therefore, the sentence of death awarded to the accused should be commuted to life imprisonment," it said.

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Subrata Roy apologizes to SC, UP cops fail to locate him at Lucknow home

LUCKNOW: Armed with Supreme Court's non- bailable warrant, a team of Lucknow police on Thursday raided the house of Sahara chief Subrata Roy to arrest him but failed to find him there.

The Sahara chief, meanwhile, moved the apex court again for relief from arrest and offered unconditional apology for his non-appearance on Wednesday.

High drama marked the police action as a team of Gomti Nagar police station reached 'Sahara City' housing his residence at about 4.30pm to execute the warrant and conducted searches inside the residence.

Entry into and exit from the premises, which is spread in over 270 acres, was barred but the police exercise did not yield fruit.

"The team is there to execute the non-bailable warrant issued by Supreme Court", Circle officer, Gomti Nagar, VS Mishra told PTI.

SHO Gomti Nagar Ajit Singh Chauhan said that Roy was not present inside the Sahara Shahar premises.

"We have searched the premises. Roy was not found there", he told reporters after coming out of the residence.

Another official said they met her mother and doctors but Roy was not there. Roy's lawyers had told the court on Wednesday he was on the bed side of his ailing mother and holding her hands.

Asked whether the police searched Sahara hospital, Chauhan said that Roy was also not present there.

Additional superintendent of police, Trans Gomti, Habibul Hasan told PTI that police would do whatever it could to execute the NBW issued by the Supreme Court and produce Roy before the court on March 4, the deadline set by it.

Asked about Roy's ailing mother, Hasan said that she was there at home.

Roy's lawyer had on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that he was with his ailing mother so he could not appear before it.

Meanwhile, in the fresh plea filed on Thursday, Subrata Roy sought cancellation of non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him and undertook to appear before it on March 4.

Roy also sought recall of the apex court's Wednesday's order in which non-bailable warrant was issued against him and police was ordered to arrest and produce him before it on March 4.

A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar had rejected Roy's plea to exempt him from personal appearance on the ground of ill-health of his 92-year-old mother.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, who had appeared for Roy, had produced a medical certificate from Sahara Hospital, Lucknow, on the condition of Roy's mother and recommended that he be allowed on "humane as well as medical grounds" to be with his mother at this stage.

The bench had said since it had on February 25 declined to grant exemption, it did not find reason to accede to the renewal of the request made on Wednesday.

The three directors of Sahara group, who were also summoned along with Roy, had appeared in the court on Wednesday.

The court had on February 20 come down heavily on the Sahara group for not refunding Rs 20,000 crore of investors money despite its order and summoned Roy, Ravi Shankar Dubey, Ashok Roy Choudhary and Vandana Bhargava, directors of its firms Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd (SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHIC) to be personally present before it on Wednesday.

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I was firm on resignation, consulted only my wife, outgoing Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi says

NEW DELHI: A day after resigning as Navy chief, Admiral DK Joshi on Thursday wrote to his colleagues, saying he was "firm" on taking responsibility for the mishaps that have taken place.

"I consulted only myself and my wife before taking the decision to resign. After the submarine accident, I was firm that I should take the responsibility for it," he said in his internal message to senior officers of the Navy.

Taking "moral responsibility", Joshi submitted his resignation on Wednesday, hours after fire and smoke on submarine INS Sindhuratna in which two officers died and seven sailors were taken seriously ill.

In his resignation letter, Joshi said though the government continued to repose faith is his capabilities, it was becoming untenable for him to continue as the head of the maritime force in terms of accountability.

His resignation was promptly accepted by defence minister AK Antony and Vice-Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral R K Dhowan was asked to take over as the acting chief till regular chief is appointed.

Joshi, who became the first chief of the Navy to resign over accidents, had about 15 months more left in service.

After the Navy was hit by the 10th mishap on involving its warships in the last seven months, a concerned Defence Ministry had sought a detailed report from the force.

Joshi served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments during his 41-year career including the captainship of guided missile corvette INS Kuthar, guided missile destroyer INS Ranvir and the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

In senior ranks, Joshi served as Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resource Development), in Warship Production and Acquisition as the Assistant Controller of the Aircraft Carrier Programme (ACCP), and thereafter in the Operations Branch both as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Information Warfare and Operations) and as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.

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I was firm on resignation, consulted only myself and my wife, outgoing Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi says

NEW DELHI: A day after resigning as Navy chief, Admiral DK Joshi on Thursday wrote to his colleagues, saying he was "firm" on taking responsibility for the mishaps that have taken place.

"I consulted only myself and my wife before taking the decision to resign. After the submarine accident, I was firm that I should take the responsibility for it," he said in his internal message to senior officers of the Navy.

Taking "moral responsibility", Joshi submitted his resignation on Wednesday, hours after fire and smoke on submarine INS Sindhuratna in which two officers died and seven sailors were taken seriously ill.

In his resignation letter, Joshi said though the government continued to repose faith is his capabilities, it was becoming untenable for him to continue as the head of the maritime force in terms of accountability.

His resignation was promptly accepted by defence minister AK Antony and Vice-Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral R K Dhowan was asked to take over as the acting chief till regular chief is appointed.

Joshi, who became the first chief of the Navy to resign over accidents, had about 15 months more left in service.

After the Navy was hit by the 10th mishap on involving its warships in the last seven months, a concerned Defence Ministry had sought a detailed report from the force.

Joshi served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments during his 41-year career including the captainship of guided missile corvette INS Kuthar, guided missile destroyer INS Ranvir and the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

In senior ranks, Joshi served as Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resource Development), in Warship Production and Acquisition as the Assistant Controller of the Aircraft Carrier Programme (ACCP), and thereafter in the Operations Branch both as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Information Warfare and Operations) and as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.

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Admissions to IIMs under cloud as writ alleges irregularities in CAT 2013

CHENNAI: Alleging large-scale irregularities in the manner in which the prestigious Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission to 13 Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) is conducted, a writ petition by eight IIM aspirants has sought a stay on the entire admission process this year.

Justice R Subbiah, before whom the petition jointly filed by eight aspirants, all hailing from Chennai, came up for admission on Thursday, directed the Union human resources development ministry and the CAT Centre 2013 at IIM-Indore to reserve one seat each to all petitioners who had moved the court.

CAT is the first step for joining any of the 14 IIMs in the country, and some other top management institutions too use the scores for their admissions. After a 20-day exercise at 40 centres that began on October 16 last year, the CAT results were published on January 14.

The petitioner-candidates assailed the examination format and said: "The computerized format of CAT 2013 was conducted over a period of 20 days and the obvious consequence of it is varying standards of difficulty in presented to candidates. The level of difficulty was different for each slot of each day of the testing period. The method of 'equating', 'scaling' and 'normalization' used by the authorities in the process of scoring in CAT 2013 to normalize the scores of the petitioners is lawful and erroneous."

The process of equating and scaling, which is otherwise known as normalization of scores, has caused grave irregularities in the scores obtained by students, it said, adding: "It has been proved that candidates who have not attempted even a single question have been awarded a percentile of 55.46 and this, in turn, implies that more than 50% of the 1.7 lakh candidates who underwent CAT scored zero or even less."

The entire registration process, setting up test centres, compilation of questions, evaluation of answers and calculation and publication of results have all been outsourced to a Gurgaon-based company, Prometric Testing Private Limited.

Describing the January 14 results as shocking because it was erratic and illogical, the petitioner-students said the normalized score of several thousand candidates was not in consonance with the number of questions attempted by the candidates.

Citing the case of one Gautam Puri, a faculty of Career Launcher India Limited who undertakes test every year, the petition said he did not attempt any question in either of the sections of the paper in CAT 2013. He, however, had scored an overall score of 165 out of 450 marks and an overall percentile of 55.46 which is highly improbable and disputable.

Alleging lack of transparency in the evaluation procedure, they wanted the court to stay the process of admission to the 13 Indian Institutes of Managements as well as other institutions which utilize CAT 2013 scores in their admissions.

They also wanted the court direct the authorities to reserve a seat each for the eight students who moved the HC. As a final relief, they wanted the court to quash the entire CAT 2013 held between October 16, 2013 and November 1, 2013.

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Subrata Roy apologizes to SC, UP cops fail to locate him at Sahara City in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: Armed with Supreme Court's non- bailable warrant, a team of Lucknow police on Thursday raided the house of Sahara chief Subrata Roy to arrest him but failed to find him there.

The Sahara chief, meanwhile, moved the apex court again for relief from arrest and offered unconditional apology for his non-appearance on Wednesday.

High drama marked the police action as a team of Gomti Nagar police station reached 'Sahara City' housing his residence at about 4.30pm to execute the warrant and conducted searches inside the residence.

Entry into and exit from the premises, which is spread in over 270 acres, was barred but the police exercise did not yield fruit.

"The team is there to execute the non-bailable warrant issued by Supreme Court", Circle officer, Gomti Nagar, VS Mishra told PTI.

SHO Gomti Nagar Ajit Singh Chauhan said that Roy was not present inside the Sahara Shahar premises.

"We have searched the premises. Roy was not found there", he told reporters after coming out of the residence.

Another official said they met her mother and doctors but Roy was not there. Roy's lawyers had told the court on Wednesday he was on the bed side of his ailing mother and holding her hands.

Asked whether the police searched Sahara hospital, Chauhan said that Roy was also not present there.

Additional superintendent of police, Trans Gomti, Habibul Hasan told PTI that police would do whatever it could to execute the NBW issued by the Supreme Court and produce Roy before the court on March 4, the deadline set by it.

Asked about Roy's ailing mother, Hasan said that she was there at home.

Roy's lawyer had on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that he was with his ailing mother so he could not appear before it.

Meanwhile, in the fresh plea filed on Thursday, Subrata Roy sought cancellation of non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him and undertook to appear before it on March 4.

Roy also sought recall of the apex court's Wednesday's order in which non-bailable warrant was issued against him and police was ordered to arrest and produce him before it on March 4.

A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar had rejected Roy's plea to exempt him from personal appearance on the ground of ill-health of his 92-year-old mother.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, who had appeared for Roy, had produced a medical certificate from Sahara Hospital, Lucknow, on the condition of Roy's mother and recommended that he be allowed on "humane as well as medical grounds" to be with his mother at this stage.

The bench had said since it had on February 25 declined to grant exemption, it did not find reason to accede to the renewal of the request made on Wednesday.

The three directors of Sahara group, who were also summoned along with Roy, had appeared in the court on Wednesday.

The court had on February 20 come down heavily on the Sahara group for not refunding Rs 20,000 crore of investors money despite its order and summoned Roy, Ravi Shankar Dubey, Ashok Roy Choudhary and Vandana Bhargava, directors of its firms Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd (SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHIC) to be personally present before it on Wednesday.

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Submarine accident: 2 personnel 'missing', 7 hurt

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Navy was hit by yet another accident on Wednesday as smoke engulfed Russian-made submarine INS Sindhuratna off the Mumbai coast, causing serious illness to seven sailors while two officers were "missing".

The seven sailors had to be airlifted to a hospital after they inhaled smoke.

An upset defence ministry sought a detailed report from the Navy on the accident, which is the 10th involving an Indian Navy warship and the third submarine mishap in the last seven month after the sinking of INS Sindhurakshak in August in which all 18 personnel on board were killed.

"Indian naval submarine Sindhuratna was at sea off Mumbai for routine training and workup (inspection). While at sea in the early hours of today, smoke was reported in the sailors' accommodation, in compartment number three, by the submarine," the Navy said in a press release.

Western Command's commodore commanding submarine (COMCOS) SR Kapoor was on board the vessel carrying out an inspection before it was to be cleared for operational duties, Navy officials said.

"We immediately activated our emergency firefighting exercise and seven personnel who had inhaled smoke were airlifted to a hospital. Two officials are unaccounted for. They might have been left in the cabin or at some other place as various cabins and compartments are isolated as part of the emergency measures," the officers said.

The injured have been admitted to the naval hospital INS Ashwini after they were airlifted by Sea King multirole helicopters in multiple sorties.

As many as 70-odd officers and men were on board at the time of the mishap but no weapon systems were fitted on it.

The submarine, which did not suffer much damage, was underwater when the mishap occurred and was later brought to the surface.

Sindhuratna had recently undergone a refit in Mumbai and was handed over to Navy in December. It was to undergo two exercises, one at harbour and another at sea, before it was to be given operational clearance.

It was at "Task 2 (exercise at sea)" when the mishap occurred.

The release said all other crew of the submarine are on board and safe. "Submarine is also safe and this does not have any weapons on board. The submarine will return to harbour shortly," it said adding that an inquiry has been ordered to establish the cause of the incident.

Reflecting the gravity of the incident, defence minister AK Antony briefed President Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the supreme commander of armed forces, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the accident.

Around a month ago, INS Sindhughosh had a close shave when it entered the Mumbai harbour during a low-tide phase and was about to run aground.

INS Sindhurakshak sank in the Mumbai harbour last year, killing all 18 personnel on board. Antony has sought a detailed report from the Navy on the issue.

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Indian Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi resigns over warship accidents

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi on Wednesday resigned after two officers were feared killed and seven sailors injured when a fire erupted on board a submarine, INS Sindhuratna, around 40 nautical miles off Mumbai.

"Taking moral responsibility for the accidents and incidents which have taken place during the past few months, the Navy chief has resigned. The government has accepted the resignation of Admiral Joshi with immediate effect. Navy vice-chief Vice Admiral RK Dhowan will be discharging the duties of officiating Navy chief, pending the appointment of a regular chief," said a defence ministry statement.

In the accident, the Navy said the two officers, a lieutenant Commander and a lieutenant, both from the electrical branch, were "still to be accounted for", while the seven sailors were airlifted by Sea King helicopters to INS
Ashwini hospital at Colaba.

Also read: Two personnel 'missing', seven hurt in submarine fire

"The sailors fell unconscious on inhaling the heavy smoke engulfing the submarine's third compartment. They are now stable," said an officer. An upset defence ministry sought a detailed report from the Navy since this is the second major accident in the country's ageing submarine fleet in the last six months, which has further dented India's underwater combat arm.

INS Sindhurakshak, a Russian Kilo-class submarine like INS Sindhuratna, had sunk at the Mumbai naval dockyard, killing three officers and 15 sailors, after a series of internal explosions in its fully-loaded weapons compartment on August 14. INS Sindhuratna, incidentally, was berthed next to INS Sindhurakshak at that time and sustained minor damage to its hull.

The accident on Wednesday took place when INS Sindhuratna had just begun its "sea workup phase" after undergoing a refit at the Mumbai dockyard from May to December last year. As part of the procedures, the Western Naval Command's commodore commanding submarines SR Kapoor and his inspection team were on board to test both the crew and the submarine before clearing it for operational deployment.

In all, there were 94 personnel on board.

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Telangana: TRS lukewarm on merger with Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress and TRS on Wednesday gave divergent versions on the issue of merger even after their leaders have held a series of meetings since Parliament gave its nod for creation of Telangana last week.

Congress claimed that TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao has given has expressed readiness to merge but the regional party of Andhra Pradesh said no such assurance has been given.

"As far as merger of TRS with Congress is concerned, we are very happy that KCR has met Congress president ( Sonia Gandhi) and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and he has indicated merger of TRS with Congress party," AICC in charge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh told reporters here.

The details will be worked out," he added. However, a top leader of TRS had a different take on it. "Our leadership has never indicated that TRS will merge with Congress. We had met the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh), Congress President and vice-president to thank them for their efforts for passage of Telangana Bill," said the TRS leader on condition of anonymity.

Nothing beyond that transpired in the meetings, he added. "A merger is unlikely between the two parties since 90 per cent of TRS leaders are against it," the TRS leader said.

He added that instead of merger, an alliance between TRS and Congress is a possibility, which may take shape only after the Election Code of Conduct comes into force.

According to him, a majority among the top leadership were against the merger, though they were in favour of an alliance for the forthcoming elections.

The TRS leader said Chandrasekhar Rao is unhappy over the delay in announcing the appointment date for the new state.

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India-Pak cross border truck drivers divided over 24x7 trade

ATTARI: Both Indian and Pakistani cross border truck drivers are divided over the proposed 24x7 trade across India-Pakistan border at Attari (India) and Wagah (Pakistan).

While Pakistani drivers are not hesitant to travel into India at night but Indian truck drivers are skeptical over their security in Pakistan and have urged Indian government to either continue day time trade only with Pakistan or ensure their security while traveling in Pakistan.

"No no no, we can't go to Pakistan at night without security, see what had happened recently in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)," said an Indian truck driver Gursahib Singh while talking to TOI on Wednesday.

On January 17, Kashmir police had arrested a Pakistan driver Mohammad Shafi for smuggling 144 packets of brown sugar worth Rs 100 crore in Kashmir. A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Prevention) Act was registered against the driver but was opposed by the Pakistani government. Following the incident, Pakistan had detained 27 Indian truck drivers at PoK.

He said since drivers travel alone to Pakistan, so they have to take care of their security on their own. "We have to keep an eye on the trucks but going alone to Pakistan at night would be dangerous. He said while questioning, "What if someone places some contraband in our truck and the police arrests us, who will save us?" Adding that during day time at least they could see clearly any movement around their truck.

Notably India and Pakistan had recently agreed for 24x7 trade from across Attari and Wagah land border and the Land Ports Authority of India had initiated a process for acquiring land for expansion of India's first integrated check post (ICP) at Attari for the purpose.

Another Indian truck driver Balwinder Singh said that ever since he had heard of 24x7 trade across Attari border, he was worried about his job. "I will go only if my government assures my security," he said adding that for few thousand rupees he wouldn't risk his life.

Like Gursahib, he also apprehended of any deliberate mischief on Pak side. "Who is there to look after our truck at night and anything is possible there, Pak had recently detained Indian drivers for no fault of theirs, why should we be subjected to risk without security," he said.

On the other hand, Pakistani driver Mubshar Abaz said, "I am happy with the 24x7 trade, we will get more work which means more income." He added that there was no security risk to them in India. Echoing with him another Pak driver Bashrat Ali said- "We have been praying for 24 hours trade, we are poor people and need more work." He added that they would also get rid of long queues for clearance of the trucks.

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TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao arrives in Hyderabad to a hero's welcome

HYDERABAD: TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao arrived here from Delhi Wednesday to a hero's welcome by thousands of his supporters celebrating formation of separate Telangana state.

After landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamsabad on city outskirts after 4 p.m., Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader left for the old airport at Begumpet in a helicopter.

KCR, as he is popular among his supporters, left in a massive victory procession to Telangana martyrs' memorial Gun Park near assembly.

Amid beating of drums, playing of songs and slogans, thousands of people including women holding Bathukamma or flower stacks and party activists clad in traditional Telangana attire welcomed KCR, who flashed victory sign as he emerged from Begumpet Airport.

Standing on a specially designed vehicle and flanked by senior party leaders, KCR greeted the supporters with folded hands.

Camels, horses and cultural artists from different parts of Telangana formed part of the arrangements at Begumpet to welcome KCR.

TRS painted the city pink, the colour of its flag. Huge cut-outs of KCR, hoardings, party flags, banners and other graffiti adorned the traffic intersections and the road from Begumpet Airport to Gun Park.

The procession brought the busy areas in the city to a halt as police imposed traffic restrictions on roads joining the seven-km long procession route.

Thousands of TRS workers from Hyderabad and nine other districts of Telangana turned out to welcome KCR, who returned after nearly a month-long stay in Delhi to mobilize support for Telangana bill.

The bill for formation of separate Telangana state was passed by both houses of parliament last week.

Before leaving for Delhi last month, KCR had said he was leaving from Andhra Pradesh but would return in Telangana state.

KCR had floated TRS in 2001 to revive the movement for separate statehood to Telangana. He went on indefinite fast in 2009, forcing the central government to announce that the process for formation of Telangana state would be initiated. The protests in Seemandhra forced the centre decided to hold consultations with all stakeholders.

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Kejriwal likely to undertake roadshow in Uttar Pradesh in March

NEW DELHI: After launching Aam Aadmi Party's national campaign from Haryana on Sunday, Arvind Kejriwal may undertake roadshow in Uttar Pradesh from next month.

The party wants to organise roadshow at a big level, similar to the rally it had recently organised in Rohtak.

The roadshow may start from Delhi or the border of Noida and Ghaziabad, on March 1 and end in Kanpur on March 2. However, the details are yet to be finalised by the party.

Sources said that the party was contemplating the move with an aim of garnering public support in Uttar Pradesh, where it has high electoral hope.

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Government proposing to raise workdays under MNREGA to 150 days

NEW DELHI: With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the government is planning to raise the workdays under its ambitious rural employment guarantee programme MNREGA from 100 to 150 days per year.

A proposal in this regard will be considered by the Union Cabinet on Friday, sources said here today.

The populist measure is clearly aimed at wooing the rural voters which comprises about 60 per cent of the country's population.

Under the MNREGA programme, one member of each rural family is entitled to 100 days of work per year with remuneration of Rs 100 plus amount linked to Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The flagship programme has generated 23,040 lakh persondays of work in 2012-13.

Initially, the remuneration was Rs 100 and it was linked to inflation about two years back after demands that it should be enhanced keeping in view the price rise.

The MNREGA programme was unveiled just before the last Lok Sabha elections, which benefitted Congress electorally.

In the recent years, there have been demands that payments under MNGREGA should be at par with the wages paid under the Minimum Wages Act, which vary from state to state.

The government had made it clear that this could not be done as it would require amendments to the MNREGA Act. However, it linked the remunerations to inflation.

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CBI may quiz Ram Vilas Paswan; his party LJP mulls parting ways with UPA

NEW DELHI: CBI may question former Union steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan in connection with alleged illegalities in the Bokaro steel plant recruitment process in which relatives of some high-profile personalities are under the scanner of the agency.

Paswan, who is negotiating seating arrangements in Bihar for the coming general election, has come under the lens following recovery of some documents which, agency sources claimed, indicate that his staff may have been actively involved in extending favours to some candidates.

"Such actions cannot be taken at the level of lower rung staff without the approval of the minister concerned. We may question him (Paswan) in this connection. A final decision when the questioning would take place may be taken as the probe progresses," a senior CBI official said.

The sources said documents submitted by some successful candidates have Paswan's seals, his official address 12, Janpath and supporting letters from his staff recommending their names for the position in the Bokaro steel plant.

Paswan was Union minister for chemicals, fertilizers and steel during the UPA government between May 2004 and May 2009 and these allegedly fraudulent appointments were made during his tenure.

In January, CBI had registered two separate cases related to alleged irregularities in the appointments in the middle and junior management level in the public sector undertaking in 2008 in which a former executive director of the plant and other former senior officers have also been named as accused.

They said the agency has named junior managers SM Razi, Rajkumar Jatia and Yogesh Chandra Patnaik. They are relatives of a former governor, a former central minister, who is now a Rajya Sabha candidate, and a former high court judge respectively as accused in the FIRs.

It is alleged that these candidates were among those favoured in the appointment process.

LJP hints it has no problem in allying with Modi

Upset with the delay in firming up seat-sharing arrangement with Congress and RJD, LJP on Tuesday dropped enough hints of moving away from them while making it clear that it has no hesitation in working with Narendra Modi despite the taint of 2002 riots.

Chirag Paswan, son of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, said the party's Parliamentary Board will meet soon to decide the future strategy but refused to clearly spell out whether the party would be having an alliance with BJP.

Sources said Chirag, who heads LJP's parliamentary board, and his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras are in talks with BJP for a possible alliance.

BJP MP Shahnawaj Hussain had called on LJP chief a few days back while senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad had visited Paswan on January 14 on the day of Makar Sankranti.

Chirag said there is "distress" in LJP over the way the seat-sharing issue has been dragging with Congress and RJD.

Asked about Modi and whether LJP would have no problem with him in view of cases against him in connection with 2002 riots, he said, "If the court has given its verdict and they say he (Modi) is clean, then I do not think it is an issue to talk about now."

Sources in LJP said a decision on the alliance will be finalized in a day or two.

In the wake of such moves seen as bargaining tactics by Paswan, Prasad appealed to him not to join hands with "communal forces" and remain with him to "save the nation".

LJP sources said that the party, which was a part of NDA before parting way after the 2002 Gujarat riots, is unhappy over the dilly dallying by Congress and RJD over seat-sharing and is considering other options.

At the same time, the sources said, the alliance with Congress and RJD stands as of now.

Though a number of leaders in LJP are favouring an alliance with BJP, sources close to Paswan said that the leader has not yet taken the final call on dumping UPA.

His anger is more with RJD, whose leaders are not ready to accommodate LJP's demand for at least nine seats.

LJP also fears that RJD could field dummy candidates in some seats spared for it as was done last time.

BJP president Rajnath Singh, however, was evasive on the issue, saying he was "not aware of what kind of talks" are taking place with LJP.

Asked if there would be any decision soon, he said, "if some announcement has to be made, you will be told."

BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said a number of parties are reaching out to BJP as it is surging and Congress is losing. "But unless something concrete happens, we will not like to share anything," he said.

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Narendra Modi most targeted politician of independent India: Rajnath Singh

NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi is the most targeted politician in independent India, BJP President Rajnath Singh contended today as he slammed criticism against the Gujarat chief minister over the 2002 riots.

Singh said Modi could not be accused of directing killings during the 2002 riots and allegations in this regard would have caused him immense "mental trauma".

Releasing a book on Modi here, he said that "in independent India if there is one politician most targeted, his name is Narendra Modi. All kinds of allegations have been levelled against him."

Referring to some of the charges levelled against Modi, he said, "It was alleged that he (Modi) said fire as many bullets for 24 hours, kill as many as you can ... I have been a CM and can say with confidence that no CM ever wants that an anarchy-like situation develop on his watch."

Singh has served as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. "How much mental trauma and pressure he would have faced, you can imagine," he said at the function which was attended by foreign diplomats among others.

While seeking to defend Modi on the issue of riots, the BJP chief said thousands of riots have happened in India and mentioned communal violence that occurred in Gujarat before 2002 and Assam during the rule of Congress.

Showering praise on the Gujarat chief minister, he said that when he announced Modi's name as the party's prime ministerial candidate, he was merely making an announcement of a consensus already reached within the party.

Modi had shown "excellence in organisation, administration and socio-economic measures and such a man cannot be an ordinary talent," he said.

"His critics say all the development is no wonder for somebody ruling a relatively small state for the last 10-12 years. I ask them what happened to West Bengal where the Left ruled for close to 35 years. What about Bihar where Lalu ruled for 15 years," he said.

Singh said UPA government had declared Gujarat as the best state in the implementation of its 20-point programme and a Congress research team from the US, which he noted had denied him a visa, has also praised his performance.

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Govt reviews operational readiness along China, Pakistan borders

NEW DELHI: Defence minister AK Antony on Tuesday reviewed the operational military readiness on the western and eastern fronts, with the infrastructure build-up along the 3,488km line of actual control with China progressing at a snail's pace.

The meeting was attended national security advisor Shivshankar Menon, the three service chiefs — General Bikram Singh, Admiral DK Joshi and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha — and defence secretary RK Mathur.

Sources said the "periodic security meeting", held a day after the 6th annual defence dialogue with China, reviewed the construction of road, rail and air links along the "northern borders". It came in the backdrop of the parliamentary standing committee on defence slamming the government for lagging far behind China in all areas of border connectivity.

From "nil achievement" on the 14 strategic railway lines to the completion of only 18 of the 73 all-weather roads identified for construction along the LAC, the committee had held, "It's shocking to note only one road out of the 27 ITBP roads is complete, and as many as 11 roads are behind schedule and not even detailed project reports have been finalized."

Rubbishing MoD claims that infrastructure development was being implemented in consonance with threat perceptions, the report said, "The committee is baffled to learn that an issue so serious as providing border connectivity through rail in the northeast region and other strategic places is taking the rounds of bureaucratic tables."

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Ananth Kumar slaps legal notice to Kejriwal

BANGALORE: Slapping a legal notice on Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for including him in the list of "most corrupt", BJP leader Ananth Kumar on Saturday asked him to withdraw the charge or apologize within three days.

Kumar is the second BJP leader to issue legal notice to the AAP leader after former party president Nitin Gadkari.

The notice served through Kumar's lawyer has asked Kejriwal to withdraw his statements within three days, failing which legal action will taken against him.

"I will initiate appropriate civil proceedings against Kejriwal for compensation and appropriate criminal proceedings against him for libel and slander," he told reporters at crowd sourcing programme conducted by BJP here.

Kumar said he has given three days to Kejriwal to withdraw his allegations and apologize for the "immense loss, harm and injury caused to him due to the slanderous attack on him."

Kejriwal yesterday had called Kumar as "corrupt" and included his name in the list of "Most Corrupt" and said his party would field candidates against him.

He said the allegations levelled by Kejriwal are "motivated, baseless and malicious and their publication is clearly defamatory" and he had failed to provide any shred of evidence to support his allegations.

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Target Sonia and her advisers, middleman in VVIP chopper deal told AgustaWestland

NEW DELHI: One of the three alleged middlemen in the VVIP helicopter kickbacks scandal had reportedly advised top AgustaWestland officials to "target" UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and people close to her in order to bag the 556 million Euro contract.

During the ongoing corruption trial in an Italian court, the prosecutors have now presented a note written in March 2008 by middleman Christian Michel to Peter Hulett, the then India head of AgustaWestland, the UK-based subsidiary of Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica.

Michel, as per the note reproduced in an Italian newspaper, told Hulett that the British high commissioner in India "should target Mrs Gandhi and her closest advisers" to clinch the contract for the 12 AW-101 helicopters.

"As Mrs Gandhi is the driving force behind the VIP, she will not fly any more in the Mi-8 (the Russian-origin helicopters the President, PM and other VVIPs currently use)," says the note. It identifies her "key advisers" as "Manmohan Singh, Ahmed Patel, Pranab Mukherjee, M Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes, M K Narayanan and Vinay Singh".

There is no evidence till now that this proposed plan of action was actually executed, nor can Italian media reports be independently verified. But the Indian defence ministry on January 1 did scrap the VVIP helicopter contract, inked with AgustaWestland in February 2010, on the ground of violation of the pre-contract integrity pact and use of unfair practices in the deal.

MoD had earlier frozen all further payments to AgustaWestland despite having inducted only three of the 12 AW-101 helicopters, with around 45% of the total contract value already been paid.

Michel's note is among the incriminating documents seized from the office of Switzerland-based middleman Guido Ralph Haschke, who is now facing trial in the Italian court along with former top executives of Finmeccanica.

As per Italian prosecutors, Haschke, his partner Carlos Gerosa and Michel were allegedly paid kickbacks totalling 51 million Euros to swing the deal. The Italian prosecutors also confronted Haschke with a photograph of Sonia Gandhi and Ahmed Patel in court but the accused said he could only recognise Gandhi in the picture.

Another document in the possession of Italian prosecutors is a "draft budget" dictated in 2008 by Michel, known for his connections and access to politicians in India, which has veiled references to proposed kickbacks to Indian politicians, bureaucrats and IAF officers, as reported earlier.

Under the heading "POL" (politicians) in this document, 3 million Euros have been earmarked for a person identified as "AP", while 15/16 million Euros have been shown against "FAM" (family). The document also lists what seem like key posts in the defence ministry by references like "DS", "JS AIR", "AFA", "DG Acquisitions" as well as "CVC (chief vigilance commissioner)" and "auditor general" under the head "BUR" (bureaucrats), with 8.5 million Euros being budgeted for them.

In the case registered by CBI here in March, former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal (retd) S P Tyagi is the only government functionary among the 15 accused named. Haschke has allegedly said there was a plan to give 7% commission to three cousins of the former IAF chief, Dosca, Julie and Sandeep Tyagi, who also figure among the accused in the CBI case.

"Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa managed to send 5.6 million Euros through Mohali-based IDS Infotech and Chandigarh-based Aeromatrix Info Solutions Private Ltd to India and kept the remaining amount of about 24.30 million Euros received from AgustaWestland with themselves in the account of IDS Tunisia," says the CBI FIR.

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EC releases draft guidelines on poll manifestos

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has released draft guidelines on poll manifestos, giving the green signal to promises of welfare measures but requiring the political parties to explain their rationale and proposed funding mechanism.

The norms also make it imperative for the political parties to keep the manifesto promises in line with the ideals and principles enshrined in the Constitution and follow the other provisions of model code of conduct in "letter and spirit".

The draft guidelines were circulated to all recognized national and state political parties on Friday, and their comments sought by February 7. An all-party meeting convened by EC on February 4 is also expected to deliberate the norms. Once the parties' views are in, the guidelines will be finalised and incorporated in the model code of conduct. Thus, they will apply to all future polls, starting with the upcoming general election.

Though the EC had drawn up the manifesto guidelines in August 2013 itself, as reported then by TOI, it has finalized and released the draft only now, just ahead of announcement of the general election. It be recalled that EC had convened an all-party meeting on August 12, 2013, to discuss the July 2013 apex court order directing the Commission to frame guidelines to regulate contents of manifestos, particularly poll promises, with a view to restricting "poll freebies". Most political parties opposed a blanket ban on poll promises with financial implications, stating it was their right and duty towards voters to make such promises in manifestos.

While the Commission appreciated the parties' view, it said it could not ignore the undesirable impact of some "freebies" on the level playing field. An EC functionary told TOI that "a poll promise with financial implications that seeks to rehabilitate the disadvantaged sections is a freebie in line with Directive Principles of State Policy and cannot be objected to". "However, political parties should avoid making those promises which are likely to vitiate the purity of the election process or exert undue influence on the voters in exercising their franchise," EC clarified in its draft norms.

The proposed guidelines on party manifestos, thus, seek to ensure that while welfare measures aimed at the deserving are not held back, the non-deserving should not be included as beneficiaries just for the sake of votes.

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AAP bats for a separate Telengana state

NEW DELHI: Batting for a seperate Telangana state, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday said it was in favour of formation of smaller states.

"We, in principle, stand in favour of Telangana. We are in favour of smaller states," senior party leader Yogendra Yadav told reporters.

He, however, added that when a decision over Telangana is taken rights of people of Seemandhra must be taken into consideration and the unique character of Hyderabad must also be respected.

"But in order to form Telangana the unique order of Hyderbabad must be recognised.

"The legal and constitutional rights of Seemandhra must be respected and issues like river-water sharing should be worked out with satisfaction," Yadav added.

The AAP party is yet to make inroads in both the Telangana and Seemandhra regions of the state.

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Applications invited for Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva award and National award for child welfare

BANGALORE: Applications have been invited from eligible candidates for conferring Rajiv Gandhi Manav seva award and National award for child welfare .

The last date for submission of applications for these two awards is March 15,2014.

The Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva award , instituted by the Union government and comprising Rs one lakh in cash and a citation for each individual , will be given to three individuals who have made outstanding contribution towards service of children for over ten years, in relation to child development, child protection and child welfare.

The award will be presented on the birth day of late Rajiv Gandhi(August 20), the former Prime Minister of India.

The national award for child welfare will be given to three individuals and five institutions who have worked for welfare of chidlren. The award carries Rs three lakhs and a citation to each institution and Rs one lakh and citation to each individual.

A committee constituted by the Karnataka government will select and recommend names to the Union government for conferring these awards. Prescribed applications can be obtained from the office of Deputy Director, Department of Women & Child Welfare Development in the respective districts.

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