Nominations end for first phase of Lok Sabha polls
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) Union Ministers Nitish Kumar, Ram Naik, Bhavanaben Chikhaliya and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda were among a large number of candidates who filed their nomination today as the process ended for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections to 141 seats on April 20 and began for the third phase scheduled for April 26.
Kumar, Railway Minister and senior Janata Dal (U) leader, filed his papers from two constituencies Barh and Nalanda in Bihar, ending speculation about his joining the fray in more than one constituency. Kumar filed his nomination for Nalanda, considered a safer seat than Barh, after his party chief George Fernandes shifted from there to Muzaffarpur.
Petroleum Minister Ram Naik jumped into the fray from Mumbai North, which he has represented five times, to take on Bollywood star Govinda who is making his electoral debut.
In Karnataka, former prime minister Deve Gowda filed his nomination papers for Kanakapura constituency in Bangalore rural, setting at rest speculation that he may switch to his home constituency Hassan. He is pitted against BJP's senior state leader Ramachandra Gowda and TV journalist Tejaswini Ramesh, contesting for Congress.
Union Minister of State for Tourism Bhavanaben Chikhaliya filed her papers from Junagadh, which she has represented four times since 1991, while Tushar Chaudhary, son of former PCC chief and Leader of the Opposition in state assembly, Amarsinh Chaudhary filed his nomination for Mandvi reserved seat.
Chief Minister S M Krishna filed his nomination for Chamarajpet assembly constituency, which along with 119 other seats in Karnataka goes to polls on April 20. PTI
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Centre challenges Andhra HC order on political surrogate ads
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) The Centre today challenged in the Supreme Court an Andhra Pradesh High Court order allowing TV channels to telecast political advertisements, including the surrogate ones, and sought stay on airing of such ads in television networks.
In the Special Leave Petition filed by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, it was stated that the High Court order staying a provision of the Rules under the Cable TV Network Regulation Act would be "disastrous" at the time of elections, in which money power plays a significant role.
The appeal, filed through standing counsel Rajiv Sharma, comes two days after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee held a meeting with the I&B Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee and other senior officials expressing concern over the rise in the insertion of "surrogate" political advertisements deriding leaders of parties.
The Ministry stated that the rules were enforced on the eve of the elections to eliminate the role of money power mostly misused to insert advertisements at high costs in the TV channels. "Poor candidates cannot afford to insert advertisements in the channels," it added. PTI
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SC upholds Karnataka Govt order on Togadia
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) The Supreme Court today upheld a February 2003 order of Karnataka Government banning entry of VHP leader Praveen Togadia into Dakshin Kannada district.
A bench comprising Justice D Raju and Arijit Pasayat said the Additional District Magistrate of the district had power to ban Togadia's entry into the district for participating in the 'Brihat Hindu Samaj Utsav' at Mangalore.
Togadia had appealed before the High Court challenging the ban order and the High Court in its February 13, 2000 order had set aside the ban order saying the ADM did not have power to issue such an order.
Setting aside the High Court order, Justice Pasayat, writing for the bench, said "we are unable to approve of the High Court order. ADM had jurisdiction to pass such an order.
An order of an Executive Magistrate cannot be challenged before the High Court in this manner". PTI
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Musharraf calls for forward movement on Kashmir by July-Aug
K J M Varma
Islamabad, March 31 (PTI) In yet another contentious statement, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said he would "not be a party" to the present Indo-Pak peace process if there was no forward movement especially on Kashmir by July-August this year.
"If peace process does not move forward, then I will not be a party to it," he said in an interactive meeting with a select group of journalists, officials and intellectuals here last night.
"If we do not move forward, I am not in the process. They know that. I told everyone absolutely unambiguously that if you think that I am here to sell Kashmir, you are talking to the wrong man," Musharraf said.
Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Ministers are slated to meet in July-August to hold talks on all bilateral issues including Jammu and Kashmir. In a recent statement, which was contested by India, the General had said that Kashmir was the central issue.
He said that the foreign ministers at their meeting needed to break the deadlock, otherwise the confidence building-measures (CBMs) initiated in the current detente would come to an end.
Replying to a question about India's response to Pakistan's peace overtures and its sincerity towards addressing the Kashmir issue, he said he has made it clear to the Indian leadership and the international community that for the peace process to be successful, the two countries must address the issue. PTI
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Police foil al-Qaeda plot in UK, eight arrested
London, Mar 31 (PTI) Police today claimed to have foiled a plot by al-Qaeda supporters to set off a massive lorry bomb, with the arrest of eight British citizens, majority of them of Pakistani origin yesterday.
British intelligence agents and anti-terrorist officers were questioning the eight persons after the discovery of ingredients for a half-ton fertilizer bomb in West London, police said.
The supplier of the chemicals has been traced but detectives are concerned at the lack of effective control on the sale of a chemical that is used to make military explosive, they said.
The same mixture has been used regularly by al-Qaeda groups since their 1998 lorry bomb attacks on two US embassies in East Africa and in the bombings of a residential compound in Saudi Arabia, where Western workers lived.
The bomb would have been five times the size of the devices used in the al-Qaeda attack on Bali, which claimed more than 200 lives.
Seven of the men arrested are 22 and under, including a 17-year-old student who was seized at an address in Slough.
The other man is 32 years old, police said.
Police believe that an al-Qaeda inspired operation was possibly behind the intended attack. They also believe that terrorists intended to kill hundreds of civilians with an attack on a "soft target" such as a shopping center.
700 officers yesterday raided 24 homes and business centres across London and the South East. PTI
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Granting of MNNA status to Pak could impact Indo-Pak ties
T V Parasuram
Washington, March 31 (PTI) A prominent US Congressman and founder of the India Caucus Frank Pallone has described the new Major non-NATO Ally status given to Pakistan as inconsistent with American policies in South East Asia and expressed fears it could seriously erode the newly improved economic and political ties between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Pallone warned that if the floodgates of military aid are reopened through the MNNA device, it would seriously impact on the promising efforts being made to normalise Indo-Pakistan relations on the initiative of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The concerns have been expressed by Pallone, the former co-chairman of the Indian Caucus, and thirty of his colleagues in a joint statement in the House of Representatives.
"...Pakistan has a history of abusing military and nuclear equipment, and yet we are allowing them to have access to depleted uranium ammunition, special privilege in bidding for certain US government contracts, radar systems, attack helicopters and airborne early warning systems," Pallone said.
"The Bush Administration must re-evaluate their policies towards Pakistan -- the new designation of MNNA is unfair, inappropriate and most importantly, dangerous given the volatile nature of the South Asia region." He said both countries (India and Pakistan) are on a slow, yet steady path for improved economic, defence and political relations but "unfortunately that balance has been damaged by the Bush administration's favourable treatment of Pakistan in naming it a 'major non-NATO ally.'" PTI
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New resolution for Indian Origin Physicians introduced in US
Washington, March 31 (PTI) A new resolution honouring the contributions made by American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), and its constituency of 38,000 physicians and 12,000 medical students and residents has been introduced in the US Congress.
It lauds the AAPI for its commitment "to improving access to quality, affordable healthcare and to enhancing awareness and action on issues affecting Indian American health," Congressman and founder of the India Caucus Frank Pallone, who sponsored the resolution, said at the annual gala banquet of the AAPI yesterday.
Others who were instrumental in sponsoring it were a bipartisan group of 26 legislators, including the co-chairs of the India Caucus, Representatives Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Joe Wilson (R-SC).
"I am pleased to introduce this legislation with my colleagues in honor of AAPI's great contributions to health care both here in the United States and abroad," he said.
The resolution recognises AAPI's national and international charitable work as well as the organization's "leadership role in gathering data on diseases that disproportionately affect Indian Americans, such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, and osteoporosis." "This resolution is truly an honour.... as an organisation, the AAPI understands and embraces the obligations that come with the important role that we play in our ethnic community, especially when it comes to the health of Indian Americans," Dr. Sharad Lakhanpal, President of the AAPI, said. PTI
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GDP rises 10.4 per cent during third quarter of current fiscal
New Delhi, March 31 (PTI) Aided by a turnaround of the agriculture sector, the country's GDP growth shot up to 10.4 per cent during the third quarter of the current financial year as against 8.4 per cent growth registered during the second quarter of 2003-04. PTI
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RBI to announce monetary and credit policy on May 18
Mumbai, Mar 31 (PTI) Reserve Bank of India will announce the annual monetary and credit policy statement for the year 2004-05 on May 18.
RBI governor Y V Reddy will unveil the policy at a meeting of chief executives of major scheduled commerical banks on May 18, the central bank said in a release here today.
Bankers said the policy statement since fiscal 1995-96 was always presented in April but has been postponed by nearly a month because of general elections, bankers said. PTI
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LIC to lend shares for stablising share prices of ICICI Bank
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) India's largest private sector ICICI Bank, which announced a mega public offer for Rs 3,500 crore, said today LIC would help it in its price stablisation efforts to protect small investors if scrips fall after the listing.
LIC, which has about 8.0 per cent stake in the bank, has agreed to lend its shares for a month if required for price stabilisation mechanism, ICICI Bank Chief Financial Officer N S Kannan told reporters.
The over Rs 25 billion dollar ICICI Bank also ruled out acquisitions in the domestic and global market. "We do not have any plans," ICICI Bank Executive Director Nachiket Mor said.
Highlighting that its capital adequacy ratio would rise to 16-17 per cent from the present 11.3 per cent, the bank also said it plans to focus more on the global markets as it had made its presence felt abroad with branches, subsidiaries and representative offices.
Addressing the media on the eve of its public offer, to commence from April 2-7, he said the bank has representative offices in the US, UAE and China, while it had subsidiaries in UK and Canada and a branch in Singapore.
The Rs 3,500 crore public offer includes a green-shoe option for Rs 450 crore. Under the greenshoe option, the bank has the option to allocate additional equity shares up to Rs 450 crore and operate a pricing mechanism after the listing.
About the capital adequacy ratio, Kannan said it would go up to 16-17 per cent and the networth to Rs 11,500 crore after the offer including the option. PTI
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US must reject economic isolationism: Bush
Washington, March 31 (PTI) Continuing with his denunciation of 'economic isolationism' -- an offshoot of the grand election-year debate over outsourcing -- US President George W Bush has said isolationist policies would harm the country's economy and take away jobs from American workers.
"America must reject the politics of economic isolationism. Isolationist policies would endanger Amrica's economic recovery, cost US workers jobs, lead to higher prices for American consumers and put US companies at a competitive disadvantage," Bush said, addressing entrepreneurs in Appleton, Wisconsin, yesterday.
"Exports are vital to America's economic strength, especially because 95 per cent of the potential customers for American products live outside the United States," he said.
Maintaining that Wisconsin's workers benefited from economic growth and job creation by participating in the worldwide economy, Bush said farms, factories and offices here are shipping high-quality goods and services across the world, including machinery, medical tools, cars and trucks, steel, food, and aircraft parts.
Wisconsin's exports were worth USD 11.5 billion last year and they grew more than four times faster the national average in the last four years.
Bush also pointed out that foreign-owned companies employ nearly 100,000 workers in Wisconsin, nearly half of them work in manufacturing companies including Fiskars Consumer Products, a Finnish company; Kikkoman Corporation, a Japanese company and Atlas Cold Storage Holdings in Appleton, a Canadian company. PTI
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India poised for historic victory against Pak in first cricket test
Multan, Mar 31 (PTI) India was tantalisingly close to its first-ever Test win in Pakistan which was forced to follow-on and left staring at defeat after Anil Kumble took seven wickets on the penultimate day of the Multan Test here today.
On a humiliating day for the home side, the Indians quickly knocked off the last four wickets of Pakistan's innings, enforced the follow-on and then left them on a pathetic 207 for nine in the second innings. The visitors are still ahead by 61 runs and need to take only the last Pakistani wicket on the final day to record a win after 52 years. PTI
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Injured Zaheer ruled out of ongoing first test
Multan, Mar 31 (PTI) Left-arm speedster Zaheer Khan will not take further part in the ongoing first cricket Test against Pakistan because of a muscle strain.
Team Manager Ratnakar Shetty said the bowler had strained his muscle in the right leg and would not be able to play in the match.
"A detailed report on his condition will be available later in the day. At the moment we are assessing his condition," he said.
After bowling just one over today in Pakistan's first innings on the fourth day, Zaheer left the ground and did not come back to bowl during the second innings. He returned figures of 23-6-76-1 in the first knock. PTI
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Ganguly ruled out of second Test
Multan, Mar 30 (PTI) Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has been ruled out of the second cricket Test against Pakistan and will return home after no showing no signs of improvement on his back injury.
Ganguly, who hurt his back during fielding in the final one-day international, will return on April 1 to consult a specialist doctor back home in Kolkata.
The second Test begins in Lahore on April 5.
The Indian team management has requested the services of one-day middle order batsman Mohammad Kaif in place of Ganguly.
"Physio Andrew Leipus has been working with Ganguly for the past few days but he has shown no sign of improvment," team manager and BCCI Joint Secretary Prof R S Shetty said here today.
"Therefore it has been decided that Ganguly will return home fo consult a specialist (doctor) in his hometown." But Shetty said Ganguly was not ruled out of the entire series and could play the third Test starting in Rawalpindi on April 13.
"Ganguly will be eligible to play in the third Test if he recovers completely." PTI
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Inzamam relying on lower order to save Test
M R Mishra
Multan, Mar 30 (PTI) Pakistan may have found themselves in a difficult position in the first cricket Test against India but captain Inzamam-ul Haq today said his lower order batsmen were quite capable of pulling the team to safety "if they play to their potential".
"We are in a difficult position but our batsmen fought hard. With such a big total posted by the opposition, we were always going to be under pressure," Inzamam told reporters after the third day's play which saw Pakistan still needing 112 runs with four wickets in hand to avoid the follow-on.
"But our lower order batsmen are quite capable and I am hopeful that we will be able to avoid the follow on," he said.
India scored a mammoth 675 for five declared in their first innings and Pakistan were on a shaky 364 for six at close on the third day.
The Pakistani captain, who struck a splendid 77, said his young batsmen showed a lot of commitment and played positive cricket and this had given him the assurance that his team could save the match.
"We played positive cricket and that's what we want to do. It was a good effort from the batsmen today. There is still a lot of cricket left in the game and we can save the match," he said. PTI
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