Rajnath accords 'special welcome' to Narendra Modi at BJP conclave

NEW DELHI: The three-day conclave of BJP kicked off on Friday with the spotlight on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, projected by some as the party's prime ministerial face, amid voices in the party that his popularity has grown significantly to make a mark on the national polity.

The conclave, convened mainly to ratify the presidentship of Rajnath Singh who took over in January, will see the party deliberate on its road map in the run up to the next general elections besides discussing the political and economic issues confronting the country.

BJP will chalk out a strategy to project itself as an alternative in the next general elections at the meeting of its national council starting on Saturday.

In the national executive meeting on Friday, the rising stock of Modi was visible as party leaders, including Rajnath Singh, gave him a special welcome and noted that the European Union is recognising his achievements.

Modi was lauded by Singh for achieving the unprecedented feat of winning three consecutive assembly elections in Gujarat, with Singh saying no other BJP chief minister has such a record.

"The party president accorded a special welcome to Narendra Modi. He has created a new record among the BJP chief ministers by being the first to be re-elected for the third consecutive term with a very convincing majority. All the national executive members also welcomed him," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told a press conference.

Singh appreciated Modi's performance again in his speech when he criticised UPA government's "failure" to revive the economy.

"There's a growing interest in Modi as the PM candidate. This is due to a groundswell building up among the people...I think Modi has made a huge mark on Indian polity," Jaitley told a news channel.

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Manik Sarkar, son of tailor, to be Tripura chief minister again

AGARTALA: Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, set to assume office for a fourth time after leading the Left to a huge electoral win, is the son of a tailor who still washes his own clothes.

An unassuming man, the 64-year-old got down to work no soon than he was declared the winner from Dhanpur constituency. He met CPM leaders and activists at Sonamura, 60km from here.

On Thursday, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) bagged 49 of the 60 seats while its ally Communist Party of India won one seat. The Congress finished with only 10 seats.

It was the best result for the Left since 1978 when the legendary Nripen Chakraborty-led CPM swept 56 seats. This time, Sarkar helped the Left Front increase its 2008 tally by one seat.

Undoubtedly, the "poorest" chief minister in India, Sarkar, according to documents filed with the Election Commission, has Rs.10,800 in cash.

In line with CPM rules, Sarkar gives away his salary to the party, which pays him Rs 5,000 a month.

He is probably India's only chief minister who does not own a home, car or bank balance worth mentioning.

He does not even have a mobile phone and has never used the red beacon on his official car.

Sarkar's wife Panchali Bhattacharjee, 62, who retired as a government employee in 2010, has Rs 22,015 in cash and Rs.24,52,395 as savings. The couple has no children.

She said her husband still washed his clothes every morning.

"My wife's pension can sustain us. My expenses are a small pot of snuff and a cigarette a day," Sarkar said.

After the death of his mother in 2009, Sarkar inherited a small house worth Rs.200,000 in Agartala. He donated it to his younger sister.

Sarkar's father Amulya was a tailor and mother Anjali was an employee of the state health department.

Sarkar joined politics in 1967 and was elected secretary of the CPM's Tripura unit in 1993.

A bachelor of commerce from Calcutta University, Sarkar was first elected to the Tripura assembly in a 1980 bypoll and again in 1983.

He is the second in the northeast to be the chief minister for 15 years or more after Gegong Apang of the Congress who ruled Arunachal Pradesh for 24 years over two periods (1980-99 and 2003-07).

On Thursday, Sarkar defeated his Congress rival Shah Alam by 6,017 votes. In 2008, Sarkar's winning margin was 2,918.

"This is a verdict in favour of development, peace and stability besides good governance," Sarkar told reporters.

According to a CPI-M leader, Left Front leaders will meet here Friday and decide when to form a new government.

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18-month-old stuck in US for 7 months finally returns home

KOLKATA: Indrashis Saha, the 18-month old baby who spent seven months in custody of the US child protection agency in New Jersey returned to Kolkata on Wednesday.

Initially zapped by the reception after a 10-hour flight, he clung onto his grandmother's arms as if he had missed all that attention for months.

Indrashis' software engineer father Debasish Saha had gone there to work on a project in July last. The baby injured his head after falling from his bed on August 9 2012. The hospital authorities where he was treated refused to hand over the child suspecting that the injury was due to negligence and Indrashis was taken away by the child protection agency.

"It has been a long and anxious wait. My grandson must have gone through lots in the past seven months. We will make up whatever he has lost all these months," said maternal grandmother Pragati Basak who has been granted custody.

Indrashis boarded the Emirates flight from Newark with his uncle Bhaskar Kundu at 11 pm (IST) on Tuesday. The flight halted in Dubai two hours behind schedule due to technical reasons.

Kundu was suggested along with the paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother for custody. Representatives of US child protection agency visited the houses of each before granting custody to Basak.

"The battle was long but we finally won. Due to differences in cultural, social and family values, the West probably takes it as negligence whenever a problem arises with our children in their country. I am thankful to everyone who stood us by, specially the President of India and Congress leader Om Prakash Mishra," said grandfather Nirmal Chandra Saha.

Mishra too was at the airport on Wednesday to receive the baby. The retired school head master from Balurghat had approached Pranab Mukherjee in October.

Indrashis' mother Pamela is expected to return India soon though Debasish will come back after the completion of the project.

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Thomas’s remark can erode faith in judiciary, say jurists

NEW DELHI: More than 12 years after he presided over a 3-judge Supreme Court bench that unanimously upheld death penalty to Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts Murugan, Perarivalan and Santhan, Justice K T Thomas raised many eyebrows by advocating a review of capital punishment awarded to them.

Former Chief Justice of India V N Khare said it was not open for a retired judge to comment on his own judgment and said such statements of retired judges about their own judgment would tarnish the sanctity of judicial decisions.

Former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee was more categorical in his criticism. He said: "Such statements after retirement bring discredit to the judicial system. If the judgment was wrong, then the judge while on the bench ought to have initiated suo motu remedial process of review. He should have taken steps while being a judge and not comment on the correctness of his judgment after retirement."

Justice Thomas had said it was his "misfortune" to have presided the bench, also comprising Justices D P Wadhwa and S S M Quadri, and awarded death penalties to the three convicted for participating in the conspiracy to kill the former Prime Minster.

He had also said the judgment was "technically" not correct as the bench had not considered "the nature and character of the accused" as required prior to classifying a case under "rarest of rare" category to award capital punishment. He said three convicts have already undergone 22 years of incarceration which was more than a life sentence and hence execution of death penalty would be unconstitutional as it would amount to punishing them twice over.

On Tuesday TOI spoke to Justice Thomas again. He justified his statement and said: "If a serving judge can review his judgment, then a retired judge would stand on a higher footing to comment on his earlier judgment. If I am convinced that the earlier view was not correct, then as a retired judge I am in a better position to comment on it."

Former CJI Khare said it was easier to feel wiser after retirement. "When a judge decides a case, he focuses mainly on evidence and law. But, his ideology and knowledge gained from experience too play some part in arriving at a conclusion. Strictly speaking, a decision rendered at a certain point of time should never be questioned by the judge who had authored it" he said.

Prolonged incarceration, conduct of a condemned convict while in jail, his repentance and abhorrence to the ideology which had driven him to commit murders - are all grounds to be considered by the President in a mercy petition, Justice Khare said.

Justice Khare gave the example of the Supreme Court's 1976 judgment in A D M Jabalpur case upholding the draconian provisions of Emergency, including suspension of fundamental right to life by the government. "Take for example the Emergency judgment. It is easy for a judge to feel sorry about it. But, lakhs of people were thrown into jail. So, a judge will remain accountable to the judgment he had given. Change of mind in later years to term the judgment incorrect will not do," he said.

Sentiments of the former CJI had found mention in the Supreme Court's judgment in Rajiv assassination case. In overcoming the dilemma to award death penalty to Nalini, Justice Quadri in his judgment had said: "In dispensing justice a Judge is not only discharging a sovereign function but he is also doing a divine function. Even so, the most difficult task for a Judge is to choose the punishment of death in preference to life imprisonment for he is conscious of the fact that once the life of a person is taken away by a judicial order it cannot be restored by another judicial order of the highest authority in this world."

"Having taken upon himself the onerous responsibility of doing justice according to Constitution and the laws, the Judge must become independent of his conviction and ideology to maintain the balance of scales of Justice," Justice Quadri had said on May 11, 1999.

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CBI names former Air chief Shashi P Tyagi in Agusta kickbacks scandal

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday launched formal investigations into alleged bribes in the Rs 3,546-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, naming 11 people including former Air Chief Marshal Shashi P Tyagi, three of his cousins and a former top official of Italian firm Finmeccanica.

The preliminary inquiry registered by the CBI into the alleged payment of Rs 362 crore as kickbacks gives a fresh impetus to allegations about the deal being marred by bribes paid to Indians with the agency naming former Finmeccanica chairperson Giuseppe Orsi and its UK-based subsidiary AgustaWestland.

This is the second time that a military chief has been named in a case of relating to alleged manipulation of military contracts against favours received from middlemen — the first being in 1987 when CBI had raided former Navy chief Admiral S M Nanda in the HDW scandal.

Former navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar was named in CBI's FIR in 2006 into Barak missile purchase, but he was not investigated for receiving kickbacks.

Expressing confidence in the agency's ability to investigate the case, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha told TOI, "We have got reliable documents in the case from Italy to go ahead with the probe." Other senior CBI officials said there was prima facie evidence to show Tyagi took favours from AgustaWestland and the contract was compromised.

Tyagui's cousins Julie Tyagi, Docsa (Dr Rajiv) Tyagi and Sandeep Tyagi are also named and will be investigated for being conduits for the kickbacks. The PE also names advocate Gautam Khaitan, Aeromatrix CEO Praveen Bakshi, AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini, and three key middlemen —Guido Ralph Haschke, his partner Carlo Valentino Ferdinando Gerosa and Christian Michel.

The companies named by CBI are AgustaWestland, Finmeccanica, Aeromatrix and IDS Infotech.

The CBI investigations, particularly an interim report on allegations that money was received by Tyagi cousins and routed to bribe recipients and specifications were altered and trials tweaked to boost AgustaWestland prospects may influence the defence ministry's thinking on whether to cancel the contract.

CBI has already spoken to Spagnolini and now a formal Letter Rogatory (LR) would be dispatched to Italy for more information.

A CBI team, which returned from Italy on Sunday, has managed to get documents relating to the Italian firms that include mode of payments made by Indian Air Force (IAF) and investigations by Italian Police. Sources say they will look into bank accounts of named Indian suspects to trace the kickbacks.

According to Italian court documents, the total kickbacks was Rs 362 crore (51 million euro) in the 2010 purchase of 12 AW-101 helicopters for the use by President, Prime Minister and other VVIPs.

"It is alleged that in the procurement process of the helicopters, some middlemen have influenced the deal in favour of UK-based company. It is also alleged that Italy based company paid commission in terms of several millions of euro to the middlemen. The two middlemen from their share of commission allegedly paid huge sums of money to several Indian nationals through Tunisia and Mauritius route in the garb of engineering contracts with two India-based companies," said a CBI spokesperson.

All the suspects, including S P Tyagi, named by the CBI in its preliminary enquiry have earlier denied allegations of kickbacks in the deal. The accused are expected to be called in for questioning by CBI soon, and the agency would also formally seek all relevant documents from the ministry of defence and IAF. Sources said some other IAF officers, apart from Tyagi, who were directly or indirectly connected with the deal, would also be probed.

The story of the complex web of kickbacks and middlemen began to unravel in investigations in Italy that began sometime last year. Secret recordings in cars of the accused and taps of their telephone lines as well as documents seized from their homes and Finmeccanica offices revealed phony contracts and front companies created to pay 51 million euro as kickbacks in the VVIP helicopter deal with India.

According to Italian court documents and other investigations, tax havens of Tunisia, Mauritius, and possibly Dubai and Singapore, besides the UK, Italy and India were used for routing the huge kickbacks. Some of the payments to Tyagi family were delivered in cash.

The Italian agencies arrested Orsi, former Finmeccanica CEO, on February 15 on charges of paying bribes for the Indian deal.

In their report, Italian investigators' has alleged that Tyagi brothers — Julie, Docsa (doc sa'ab in Hindi) and Sandeep — who are cousins of S P Tyagi received payoffs which were further distributed among officials. The report also alleged Orsi paid bribes through middlemen Haschke, Gerosa and Michel. Some of the payments were routed to India through IDS Infotech, IDS Tunisia and IDS Mauritius. While Haschke and Gerosa handled 21 million euro, Michel handled 30 million euro. The suspicion is that Haschke and Gerosa were handling air force, while Michel was dealing with politicians and bureaucrats.

Italian prosecutors have alleged that Hashcke and Gerosa, through the Tyagi brothers and their cousin S P Tyagi managed to change the tender details, modifying the operational ceiling from 18,000 to 15,000 feet of altitude, thus allowing AgustaWestland helicopter to qualify. It is also alleged that S P Tyagi introduced a comparative flight trial with a non-functional engine, thus giving a huge advantage to AgustaWestland's helicopters, the only ones with three engines.

After the arrest of Orsi and Bruno in Italy, the Indian defence ministry ordered a probe. The ministry also placed the entire contract on hold, while serving a show cause on AgustaWestland for termination of the contract.

In the absence of any credible evidence from the ministry to proceed with investigation, a team of CBI officials, accompanied by a joint secretary from the MoD, went to Italy to procure information from there.

Meanwhile, MoD sources said that they were awaiting a formal interim report from the CBI, as well as the report by its joint secretary who was part of the probe team that visited Italy, before deciding the next course of action. The ministry will seek further clarifications from AgustaWestland after the company replied to the show-cause notice for cancellation of contract from the MoD.

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No permission for Ramdev's rally in Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA: The plan of Yoga teacher Ramdev to hold a rally in Solan district today received a setback after district administration refused to give permission for the February 27 meeting.

"We had changed the venue from Sadhupul to Solan and assured that the rally would be completely peaceful, but surprisingly, the MC Solan has declined to give permission for holding the rally at Thodo ground on February 27 as scheduled," Laxmi Dutt Sharma, state in-charge of Patanjali Yogpeeth said.

Even a private body which had committed to give its hall also backed out.

Sharma alleged that it was "obviously due the pressure from the state government that the hall owner backed out from his promise."

Solan MC turned down our request for Thodo ground and today Murari market management committee also said no to the trust after having agreed to facilitate the function at its hall and now we may have to hold the meeting at Sanatan Dharamsabha hall at Solan, he said.

He said it is astonishing that the government has turned so hostile towards us and inspite of the fact that as per the statement of chief secretary that there was no official ban on the entry of Ramdev, the administration was bent on creating conditions wherein no place would be available for holding the rally not even "indoor meeting", the in-charge said.

Meanwhile, chief minister Virbhadra Singh, before leaving for Delhi said, "Ramdev is welcome to Himachal Pradesh and government treats him as a respected yoga guru but now the land given to him has been taken over by the government after the cabinet cancelled the lease, Ramdev or his men would not be allowed to create any law and order situation.

Singh said that the government has given orders to the local administration to maintain law and order and not interfere with function of yoga guru.

On February 22, the Himachal authorities, in a swift but peaceful move, had taken over the land given to Ramdev's trust Patanjali Yogpeeth by the previous BJP regime, three days after the state government decided to cancel its lease.

BJP had yesterday said that the party will support any stir by the yoga teacher against the cancellation of the land lease.

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Polls: Meghalaya, Nagaland witness high voter turnout

DIMAPUR/SHILLONG: Despite a boycott call by a militant outfit, Meghalaya saw a high turnout of over 85 per cent voters in the assembly polls on Saturday. In Nagaland, the other northeastern state to go to the polls along with Meghalaya, more than 83 per cent of the electorate cast their votes.

Defying the 36-hour bandh called by the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) to keep people away from voting, a large number of voters turned up to cast their votes since morning. The HNLC, an underground outfit, has been fighting for a separate Garoland for a long time. "Polling was peaceful across the state," said Meghalaya CEO Prashant Kumar Naik. There were 345 candidates for the 60-member assembly. Compared to the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the turnout was low in Garo Hills. The BSF had sealed Meghalaya's borders with Bangladesh to ensure peaceful polling.

Incumbent chief minister Mukul Sangma (Congress) cast his vote in Ampatigiri constituency of the Garo Hills from where he is seeking reelection. Opposition leader and contender for the CM's post, Conrad Sangma, is fighting on a National People's Party ticket from Selsella constituency. He is the son of NPP founder and former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma.

Meghalaya, a matrilineal state, saw more women than men waiting to cast their votes at the state's 2,485 booths. In stark contrast, the number of women contestants was just 25. Last time, only one woman had been able to win the election.

In Nagaland, voting was by and large smooth even though reports of violence poured in from different areas. Polling in one constituency was deferred because of the death of a Congress candidate. There are 60 seats in the Nagaland assembly.

"Polling was by and large peaceful in the state," said Nagaland chief electoral officer (CEO) J Alam. Voters turned up at poll stations about an hour before voting began at 7 am. In Dimapur, the state's commercial hub, miscreants opened fire in the air to disrupt polling at the Nagarjan Higher Secondary School booth. A similar incident took place at the nearby Mao Colony, too. Security personnel intensified patrolling in the Nagarjan area.

At Singrijan, 14 vehicles were damaged during a clash between Congress and Naga People's Front (NPF) supporters. Two persons have sustained bullet injuries.

There were also reports of minor scuffles between political activists at some places.

Chief minister Neiphiu Rio (NPF), who is eyeing a third consecutive win, cast his vote at the Tuophema Base booth in Northern Angami II constituency. "NPF is confident of crossing the halfway mark on its own. We will form the next government in collaboration with the BJP and the JD(U)," he said. Speaking on similar lines, Tokheho Yepthomi, Congress's candidate from Dimapur-III constituency, said, "We will emerge as the single largest party and form the next government along with other parties."

Repolling has been ordered in atleast three Nagaland booths following reports of damage to EVMs.

Election Commission officials said the percentage of voting might go up in the two states as reports from many remote booths were yet to arrive.

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AgustaWestland says it had not paid bribe to bag helicopter deal

NEW DELHI: The defence ministry is keeping all its options open after AgustaWestland on Friday once again claimed, as was expected, that it had not paid bribes to bag the Rs 3,546-crore contract for 12 VVIP helicopters.

"We will seek further clarifications from the company in a detailed and pointed questionnaire. But our next step will be based on the reports of our joint secretary, who was sent to Italy last Monday to gather evidence, as well as the CBI,'' said a senior MoD official on Friday.

The MoD believes it will also require ``authenticated'' Italian court documents to build a strong case to go ahead with the cancellation of the contract inked with AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, in February 2010. ``Our documentation has to be robust if it leads to arbitration,'' he said.

Despite having inducted only three of the 12 AW-101 helicopters till now, with around 45% of the total contract value already paid, MoD had last week frozen all further payments to AgustaWestland. The company on February 15 was given a week to explain why its contract should not be cancelled and penal action initiated against it.

Replying to the show-cause notice issued by MoD's director-general of acquisitions Satish Balram Agnihotri, AgustaWestland on Friday denied having hired any middle-men or paying them 51 million euros to swing the 556 million euros deal, holding that its conduct has been fully compliant with the rules which regulate the contract signed with India.

The company has said the contract "was awarded to it following a comprehensive technical and flight evaluation of competing types performed by the IAF in accordance" with the Indian Defence Procurement Procedure. But in the preliminary 64-page report filed in the tribunal of Busto Arsiziocity, after arresting top executives of Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland, Italian investigators have held the 51 million euros bribe money was routed through alleged middle-men Guido Haschke, CarloGerosa and Christian Michel to India.

The report alleged the middlemen used the three Tyagi brothers - (Sanjeev) Julie Tyagi, Dosca Tyagi and Sandeep Tyagi - to reach Air Chief Marshal (retd) Shashi P Tyagi, a charge which the former IAF chief has strongly denied. As earlier reported, MoD will now decide its further course of action in the bribery scandal surrounding the VVIP helicopter contract after examining the ``evidence'' gathered by its joint secretary (air acquisitions) Arun Kumar Bal and the CBI's preliminary report. If the contract is cancelled, the MoD will also have to take a decision whether only AgustaWestland should be blacklisted or the entire Finmeccanica group.

The conglomerate, which is also into the power, energy and other sectors, is in the contention for Indian military contracts worth over $6 billion. Both the contract and integrity pact inked with AgustaWestland contain specific provisions by which ``strict action including the cancellation of contract, recovery of payment, blacklisting and penal action'' can be undertaken against the company.

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Yashwant Sinha to lead debate on chopper scam

HAZARIBAG: BJP MP Yashwant Sinha will be the main speaker in Parliament on the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper scam, which is top on the agenda of BJP and NDA.

Talking to the media here on Wednesday, Sinha said, "The decision was taken at L K Advani's residence on Tuesday. Although parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said the government was ready for a debate on the issue and also for taking it up in the joint parliament committee (JPC), the BJP will prefer the entire investigation to be done by the CBI under the supervision of the Supreme Court."

He added that what has created suspicion in the minds of the Opposition parties is the fact that someone accused in the scam paid kickback to a particular family. "Neither the UPA nor the prime minister mentioned the name of the family, which accepted the bribe for finalizing the deal," he said.

Sinha was critical of the UPA government for holding the NDA responsible for starting the deal with the Agusta Chopper company. He questioned, "If there was any truth in that, why didn't the UPA government strike off the deal. The UPA must stop putting the blame on NDA for every deal that was struck."

He regretted the decision of the defence ministry to buy aircraft, which eventually turned into a scam. He added that it was a matter of grave concern and demanded the careful handling of another aircrafts deal worth over Rs 90,000 crore. Sinha also criticized the government for its failure to contain inflation. which has already reached the level of 5.4%.

He was surprised at the government's decision to table the food bill, which will further escalate inflation.

"Although the government was having 70 million tones of foodgrain in its stock, it did not release it in the market to check food inflation, which has gone up to 12%, the highest ever," he said. He blamed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Union finance minister P Chidambaram for their failure to contain the inflation because of faulty economic policies.

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BJP will solve Indo-Naga problem if NDA comes to power: Rajnath Singh

DIMAPUR: The BJP reiterated that it would work towards solving the Indo-Naga problem if the BJP-led NDA government comes to power at the Centre. Talking to mediapersons at Dimapur Airport on Tuesday, national BJP president Rajnath Singh said that for decades Nagaland witnessed violence and turmoil and it was only after the AtalBihariVajpayee-led NDA government came to power at the Centre that positive steps were taken to restore peace and normalcy in the state.

Singh, who addressed election rallies for BJP candidates at Tizit and Aboi constituencies under Mon District, expressed confidence that the BJP-led NDA would form the next government at the Centre. "We will resolve the Naga political problem through mutual dialogue and in a unique way," he said.

Stating that the BJP was concerned about the people of the northeast, Singh said the NDA government had constituted the ministry for Development of North East Region (DoNer) keeping these long-term objectives in mind. "BJP has an emotional relation with the northeast and we assure the people of the region that when BJP comes to power, we will provide a special package for the development of the region as was done during the regime of Atalji," he said.

Claiming that the people of Nagaland have understood the need to have a non-Congress government, the BJP president said they are willing to let the NPF-led DAN government form the next government as well.

He said he was very happy to see the people's response at Aboi and Tizit constituencies. "I have full confidence that DAN will come to power again in Nagaland," he said.

Singh said that the party has implemented 50 per cent reservation for women in all BJP ruled states and once the DAN government comes to power in the state, he would ensure that women get empowerment with 33 per cent reservation.

When asked to comment about the Monday seizure of cash, arms and ammunition from the home minister of Nagaland, Imkong L Imchen, who is also a candidate of the BJP's ally, Singh said "whoever is charged and prima facie case established will not be given any charge in the next DAN government. BJP has never compromised on the issue of corruption and will never do so," Singh quipped.

Charging the UPA government of various scams, the BJP president said that it is now involved in the helicopter scam. "The entire nation is ashamed of the helicopter scandal, and the UPA government has been rocked by one scandal after another," Singh said. On the Prime Minister's proposal for a debate on the issue, he said "debate is not a solution to corruption."

He said during the NDA regime, prices of essential commodities were controlled and the GDP stood at 9.5 per cent. Singh slammed the UPA government saying inflation was on the rise while fiscal management was also affected. He claimed that the national GDP stands at 5.2 per cent at present. Singh said under the UPA government, the value of rupee as compared to dollar has been decreasing.

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Tamil Nadu parties slam 'brutal killing' of Prabhakaran's son; Lanka says video 'half-truth'

CHENNAI: Leaders of various political parties in Tamil Nadu strongly condemned the alleged cold-blooded killing of the 12-year-old son of slain LTTE chief V Prabhakaran, purportedly featured by UK-based Channel 4, and demanded action against the Sri Lankan government.

MDMK leader Vaiko demanded an international inquiry into the killing of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka and said the forthcoming UN Human Rights Council meeting at Geneva should take a decision on it.

The Sri Lankan army has dismissed as "lies, half-truths, rumours and numerous forms of speculation" the pictures featured in the Channel 4 documentary.

Vaiko wondered why conscience of the people was not stirred even after witnessing "brutal killings" of ethnic Tamils by the Sri Lankan army.

PMK founder Ramadoss described the killing of Balachandran Prabakharan as "total brutality" by the Lankan army. Though there were several evidences of war crimes, countries like India did not act against Sri Lanka and gave a "red-carpet welcome" to its President Mahinda Rajapakse, he said.

"After the present evidence (released by Channel 4), the Indian government should take political and economic steps against the Sri Lankan government," Ramadoss said.

CPM state unit leader G Ramakrishnan and CPI leader D Pandian condemned the killing, saying the Lankan government is not ready for a probe in such matters.

"The Indian government should strongly approach the Sri Lankan government on this matter," CPM said in a statement.

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Zakia told to challenge SIT closure report by April 15

AHMEDABAD: A Gujarat court on Monday ordered Zakia Jafri, wife of ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed during the 2002 post-Godhra riots, to challenge the special investigation team (SIT) closure report giving clean chit to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and others by April 15.

Metropolitan magistrate BJ Ganatra directed Zakia to file her protest petition in eight weeks, against the closure report filed by SIT on February 8, 2012, which probed her complaint against Modi and others for their alleged role in the riots.

Zakia, through her advocate SM Vora, verified before the court that she has been supplied with all the relevant material in connection with the SIT probe in her complaint against Modi and others.

On February 13, a week after the Supreme Court order, SIT had given the copies of three reports, including the preliminary report prepared by AK Malhotra, member SIT and two reports of Himanshu Shukla who was the investigating officer.

Meanwhile, Zakia, in a written reply, through her lawyer, to the application of SIT, has taken strong exception to the "hostile" and "adversarial" attitude of the SIT in the case before the court and blamed the agency for the "delay".

"We would like to state categorically that the delay of one whole year (since the filing of closure report) was entirely on account of SIT's adversarial and hostile attitude towards my client, the complainant and their refusal to give the complete documents," states her reply.

Following the metropolitan court's refusal to direct SIT to give her material, including Malhotra's report, Zakia challenged it before the Supreme Court which on February 7, 2012, which granted her prayer and ordered SIT to furnish her all relevant materials.

"We clarify that the petitioner (Jafri) is entitled to entire inquiry report placed in sealed envelope before this court on May 12, 2010," a Supreme Court bench comprising justices P Sathasivam, Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai had said.

Zakia, whose husband along with 68 others were killed by a mob on February 28, 2002, had filed complaint against Modi and 58 others in 2006.

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Lokpal, right to reject can eliminate graft: Anna Hazare

HYDERABAD: Declaring that he would mobilize six crore people over next one and a half years for his anti-graft campaign, Anna Hazare on Sunday said Jan Lokpal alone cannot root out corruption and called for comprehensive electoral reforms and empowering of village-level bodies.

Addressing a public meeting, he said his fight was for changing the entire system and called upon youths to join hands with him. The 75-year-old said Jan Lokpal can control 50 to 55 per cent corruption.

"What about the remaining corruption? That is why we are demanding right to reject a candidate (in the elections)," he said.

"If all five contesting candidates in an election are goondas, whom the people will choose? We are saying that you provide an option to the voters to reject them. If maximum number of voters reject the candidates, the election should be cancelled and these five should not be allowed to contest again," Anna Hazare said.

He felt this reform is a must to check corruption in elections and pointed out that a candidate is spending Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore in each election to bribe voters.

"They get power by using money, and money by using power. There is need to put an end to this vicious circle," he said.

He vowed to continue fight for Jan Lokpal and alleged that the government is not sincere in bringing the anti-graft legislation.

Hazare explained that the government initially turned down the demand to involve people's representatives in bringing the legislation. He also referred to the government's reluctance to bring middle and lower-level bureaucrats under Lokpal.

"For the next one-and-half years, I will visit all states to create awareness. I don't know if I will be able to awaken all 120 crore people but if I go around, I can mobilize six crore people who can force the government to change the system," he said.

Hazare claimed that the nation-wide campaign launched by Janatantra Morcha from Patna last month evoked good public response. He told the gathering that Morcha would be built from village level and that every person involved in it would be a leader.

He also clarified that nobody in the Morcha would be allowed to collect money.

Stating that he had been carrying on the fight for the last 30 years, the social activist said he had no fear of death. "I will feel honoured if I die while serving the society and the country," he added.

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Irish hospital's doctors failed to treat Savita Halappanavar, leaked death probe report says

LONDON: Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar died as a result of a litany of failures by hospital staff, a leaked draft of a probe report said, proving her family's claim that her death was avoidable.

The report by Ireland's health ministry revealed that doctors caring for the 31-year-old dentist seriously failed to investigate, recognize and treat the infection which led to her death.

Savita died at Galway University Hospital last October 28 after she was admitted to the hospital on October 21 with severe backpain. She was 17-weeks pregnant and was found to be miscarrying.

An autopsy found she had died of septicaemia. The leaked health service executive (HSE) report published by Independent newspaper "proves" her family's claim that her death was avoidable as she had asked for an abortion several times before she died.

Doctors had said their "hands were tied" due to Ireland's strict anti-abortion laws as they could still detect a foetal heartbeat.

According to the leaked document, extracts of which were reported by the Irish media, the infection which led to Savita's death was not diagnosed for three days and that staff should have considered performing an abortion even before the patient asked for it.

Other failures included tests showing possible blood infection not being followed up by staff and general lack of clarity as her condition grew progressively worse.

Her husband, Praveen Halappanvar said he was in no "condition to make any statement. The family is shocked about the report being leaked".

His solicitor, Gerard O'Donnell said it is essential that he is given an opportunity to ensure there were no inaccuracies in the report on his wife's death at Galway University Hospital last year and demanded a copy of the HSE report before it is finalized.

"Here he is listening to the report into his wife's death being bandied about on the public airwaves and he hadn't even had a chance to look at it ... It is very insensitive that this happened to say the least ... However, from what has been reported as being taken from extracts from the draft report, it looks like what Praveen has said will be borne out. If what have been published really are extracts, then they appear to be accurate," he said.

Irish minister for health, James Reilly, has offered to provide Praveen with the final report before it is published but O'Donnell said that would be too late.

The HSE inquiry into the Indian national's death was established in November 2012 under the chairmanship of Prof Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at St George's Hospital, University of London, who is expected to present its official findings by the end of this month.

The inquiry team at first included three staff members from the hospital in Galway but they were later removed and replaced following objections by Praveen.

The latest leaked draft report is dated December 27 and is the second major leak since a revelation last month that medical records confirmed Savita had requested a termination.

The full inquest into Savita's death is expected to begin on April 8 at Galway Courthouse but it may be delayed as requests for key documents from the HSE on behalf of Savita's husband have allegedly been ignored.

The case has re-ignited the debate around the Republic of Ireland's stringent anti-abortion laws and the country's Fine Gael-Labour coalition has said it would bring in legislation and regulation on the issue by the middle of this year.

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India returns Pakistan soldier's body

JAMMU/NEW DELHI: The Army on Friday returned the body of a Pakistani soldier, who was killed after he had intruded into Indian territory near Laam post along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir's Rajouri district a day earlier.

This comes a month after the beheading of an Indian soldier following a cross-LoC raid plunged relations between the two countries into their worst crisis since 2008. The beheading followed clashes elsewhere along the de facto border between the two countries and killings on both sides.

In New Delhi, a defence spokesman said the body was handed back along the same sector after Pakistan Director General Military Operations made an unscheduled call to his Indian counterpart requesting the body be returned.

He said two Indian jawans were wounded after the infiltrator fired on them after a patrol asked him to surrender. "In the ensuing encounter the infiltrator was killed and one AK-56 rifle along with some other warlike stores recovered. The body of the deceased was later handed over to the J&K Police...,'' he said.

Sources in Jammu identified the soldier as Mohammad Ikhlaq of Pakistan's army's 60 Punjab and said the Pakistani side maintained that he had inadvertently crossed over.

A police officer pleading anonymity said confusion prevailed over the situation till Friday morning when SDM Nowshera in Rajouri was asked to get the intruder's autopsy done.

Rajouri SP Mubassiar Lattifi said a team comprising 5 Sikh LI commander and Nowshera ASP handed over the body to the Pakistani side at Laam sector.

The spokesman added that Pakistan troops had violated the ceasefire along the LoC and resorted to heavy unprovoked automatic fire on Indian posts in Mendhar sector on Thursday.

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Pak troops violate ceasefire in J&K's Poonch sector

JAMMU: In a fresh ceasefire violation, Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts along the line of control (LoC) in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir late on Thursday, but there was no casualty on the Indian side.

Pakistani troopers resorted to small and medium weapon firing in Balnoi forward area along the LoC at 8.05pm, PRO defence SN Acharya said.

Indian troops guarding the borderline retaliated resulting in exchange of fire which continued till 10.50pm, he said.

There was no loss of life on the Indian side in the Pakistani firing, the defence PRO said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan military sources in Islamabad alleged Indian troops had resorted to "unprovoked firing" in the Tatta Pani-Handrot sector of the LoC, which had witnessed a string of clashes that triggered tension between the two neighbours last month.

They alleged that there was "unprovoked firing" by Indian forces in the Tatta Pani-Handrot sector of the LoC on Thursday evening. They said there was no report of casualty and the firing was "still in progress" without specifying the time.

A string of clashes along the 742-km LoC last month marked the worst violations of ceasefire that was put in place by India and Pakistan in late 2003. Two Indian soldiers were killed including Lance Naik Hemraj who was beheaded by Pakistani troopers in the Poonch sector.

India had strongly protested to Pakistan about the killing of the two jawans. The clashes had sparked a war of words before the Directors General of Military Operations of the two sides agreed on steps to de-escalate the situation.

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UK restores J&K travel advisory

NEW DELHI: Following the hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru and the subsequent curfew in parts of the J&K, the United Kingdom has reviewed its travel advisory asking its citizens to monitor the situation and be prepared to alter travel plans. The overall advice for British citizens has not been changed.

This review could reflect badly on what was considered an improved tourism scenario in J&K in the last one year. In fact, the UK was the third country following Japan and Germany to withdraw its advisory allowing its citizens to travel to cities of Jammu, Srinagar, on the Jammu-Srinagar highway and parts of Leh and Ladakh.

In its advisory, the UK foreign office said that there was a curfew parts of J&K imposed after the execution of Afzal Guru on February 9. "As part of the curfew there is a heavy police presence and additional checkpoints in towns across Kashmir, including Srinagar. Some internet services, mobile phone networks and television channels have been blocked by the authorities. British nationals planning to visit Kashmir in the near future should monitor the situation and this travel advice and be prepared to alter their travel plans accordingly," the advisory said.

Canada, the United States and Australia already have travel advisories discouraging travel to the state.

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No merger with anyone, Raj Thackeray responds to Uddhav's offer

MUMBAI: Ruling out merger with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray today said he had no intention of aligning with anybody.

Speaking at a rally in Maharashtra's Kolhapur town, Raj said, "There is no thought now of any alliance. Do talks of alliance happen through newspapers?"

He was making a veiled reference to Uddhav's "merger offer" made through an interview in Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana' last month.

In the interview, Uddhav Thackeray had said that he would welcome any offer of an alliance between his party and the MNS in the interests of the Marathi people.

Responding to a query on whether the cousins could come together, Uddhav had pointed out, "One cannot clap with a single hand. Tell me, can you?"

Asked what he would do if estranged cousin Raj approached him with a proposal for an alliance, Uddhav had said, "If someone is going to come wholeheartedly with Sena, I will welcome them."

Raj Thackeray split from the Shiv Sena in 2006 after his late uncle Bal Thackeray made it clear that his son Uddhav would succeed him as Sena chief. Last year, Raj had fuelled speculation about a patch-up, visiting his ailing uncle at Matoshree several times.

He also visited Uddhav in hospital when the latter underwent an angiography first, and then an angioplasty.

Raj also attacked migrants from other states, saying they indulge in crimes. "If they indulge in crimes here, teach them a lesson," he told MNS workers.

Raj praised the development work in Gujarat by Narendra Modi. "Why has Maharashtra not been able to emulate the development work in that state," he said.

Alleging that activists close to Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil were threatening MNS workers and their family members, Raj said that if this does not stop, "We will threaten your (Patil's) family members."

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Suspend, book cops who 'detained' Gilani: Katju

NEW DELHI: Slamming the police for "detaining" journalist Iftikhar Gilani on Sunday, Press Council of India chairman Markanday Katju on Monday asked Union home secretary to charge and suspend the cops if the allegations of "high-handedness" against them were correct.

In a letter to the home secretary RK Singh , Justice Katju also sought immediate institution of criminal proceedings against such officers under relevant provisions of IPC and grant of compensation and apology to Gilani for his alleged harassment.

He said the action against the cops should be initiated by the government within 48 hours.

The letter came after Gilani in an email to Katju complained that security agencies had illegally detained him on Sunday at the house of his father-in-law Syed Ali Geelani following the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and harassed him for many hours.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani is a Kashmiri separatist leader who heads the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference.

Katju used the opportunity to ask police personnel to not carry out such "illegal" orders of their superiors, "otherwise they will be charged for serious crimes, and if found guilty, severely punished".

On Gilani's charges of harassment, Katju said, "They reveal great high-handedness and outrageous behaviour by the Delhi policemen concerned in harassing and tormenting Mr Gilani and his family, including his small children. These were the undemocratic and abhorrent methods of the Gestapo during Nazi rule.

The PCI chairman said, "If these allegations are correct, the concerned police officers ... as well as those higher ups who were instrumental in ordering these shameful and odious acts are prime facie guilty of serious crimes."

Katju said the incident was a "clear violation" of the Supreme Court directions.

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Ten killed in Allahabad railway station stampede

ALLAHABAD: At least 10 persons were killed and scores of others injured on Sunday evening in a stampede at Allahabad railway station teeming with thousands of pilgrims returning after a holy dip at the Mahakumbh here.

According to divisional railway manager Harinder Rao, 10 people died and scores were injured in the mishap.

The stampede occurred at 7pm when Platforms No 5 and 6 were packed with thousands of passengers.

Eyewitnesses said the stamepede was triggered when the railing leading to the foot overbridge over platform number 6 collapsed when hundreds of passengers rushed to board a train. Three hours after the mishap bodies of 10 victims were lying on the platform.

They said there was a sudden surge of passengers ater an annoucement over the public address system about the arrival of a train. The platform number 6 was sealed by authorities.

There were reports of a lathicharge which compounded the tragedy.

Eyewitnesses claimed there was a lathicharge by police but Rao said the incident happened when passengers were being told to stand in a line to bring the movement of the crowd under control.

The injured have been rushed to various hospitals. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled loss of lives in the tragey and instructed Railway ministry to provide all possible assistance.

Singh also directed central government departments to extend all possible help to Uttar Pradesh government in relief operations.

Earlier in the day, two pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the Mahakumbh here as over three crore people converged for a holy dip on the occasion of " Mauni Amavasya", a day considered the most auspicious day during the 12-yearly congregation.

The stampede broke out in Sector 12 of the mela area this evening killing a woman hailing from Varanasi and a middle-aged man, who had come from West Bengal, sector magistrate Abhay Raj told PTI.

A few other persons received minor injuries in the stampede which occurred due to rush of devotees who were returning from the river banks, he said.

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