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BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi instead accused his party's rivals like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party of trading "appeasement" for minority votes.
"Muslims require all-round development and not mere professional secularism. The BJP will give Muslims their equal rights," said a party statement here quoting Naqvi as telling election rallies in Uttar Pradesh.
His comments came as his party faced a fierce attack over its alleged anti-Muslim CD released to the media by its state unit leaders before the Uttar Pradesh elections.
The BJP has withdrawn the disc in the face of mounting allegations that the saffron party tried to stir religious passions to polarise voters in the state.
"The BJP is committed to guaranteeing economic, social and educational improvement and security of all sections including minorities. Muslims require all-round development and not professional secularism," the statement quoted Naqvi as saying.
He also accused the ruling Samajwadi Party of threatening state government officials and police during elections. PTI
Govt ready to bear expenses for Urdu education: PM
Afzalgarh (UP), Apr 15 (PTI) In a bid to attract Muslim votes back to the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today pledged to bear all the expenses for teaching Urdu under the new 15-point programme for the uplift of the minority community.
"We want Muslim children to get Urdu education as far as possible. Our government is ready to bear all expenditures in this regard," Singh told an election rally as he kicked off his campaign for the Congress in western Uttar Pradesh from this town in Bijnore district.
Noting that minorities account for a sizeable portion of the population in Uttar Pradesh, he said the backward condition of Muslims has come to light in the Sachchar Committee's report.
For the betterment of Muslims, the UPA government at the Centre has taken several steps and the 15-point programme is being implemented, he said.
This programme includes the opening of more schools, anganwadi centres and hospitals in backward areas, and the UPA government will also ensure that equal opportunities are provided to minorities, Singh said.
The government will also provide bank loans to Muslims, he said.
Rahul is your future, PM tells Uttar Pradesh
Deepti Saxena
Afzalgarh (UP), Apr 15 (PTI) In a significant move aimed at reviving the fortunes of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today projected young MP Rahul Gandhi as the state's new leader, saying he is its future.
"Rahul Gandhi is your future. He is sweating it out for you. Only one chance is needed to make this state a new Uttar Pradesh," Singh told an election rally, his first during the current assemly polls.
"Let's make a new Uttar Pradesh, just like (late prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi dreamt of making a new India 20 years ago," he said, seeking votes for the Congress ahead of the third phase of polls scheduled for April 18.
Noting that the state has undergone a sea change during the past 15 years, Singh lamented that non-Congress governments had only shed blood "in the name of temples and mosques", shattering the peace and tranquillity of Uttar Pradesh during the period.
"Youths did not get jobs and there was no peace and prosperity during these 15 years," he said.
Pointing out that unemployment was increasing in Uttar Pradesh, he took a dig at the ruling Samajwadi Party by saying its unemployment allowance was not the answer. "Youths don't need an unemployment allowance. They need jobs," he said.
The leaders of non-Congress governments were only hankering for power with their family members, he said. "They only ruled for themselves and their family members." This had resulted in poverty, unemployment, misery of farmers and a deteriorating law and order situation. The crime graph was shooting up and mafia dons and goondas were thriving, he said. PTI
Fate is in our hands: Kallis
Ashish Shukla
St George's (Grenada), Apr 15 (PTI) South Africa's vice-captain Jacques Kallis feels the "fate is in our hands" as far as his team's further progress in the 2007 World Cup is concerned.
"The fate is in our hands. We need three big performances and we are capable of doing it," said Kallis after his side crashed to a five-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand here on Saturday.
South Africa's fate is hanging in balance and they must win their final Group Eight match against England in Barbados on April 17 to qualify for the last four stage. If they do so, the next two games Kallis mentioned would be the semi-finals and final.
"The match against England in Barbados will virtually be a quarterfinal for us. We cannot afford to let it slip," remarked Kallis.
The reliable middle order batsman was emphatic that it was the conditions in the morning which played the decisive role in Saturday's outcome.
"Toss was critical. It did a lot for the first 20 overs and from then on it was a catch-up time for us.
"In fact we didn't do too badly with the bat on that sort of pitch. We probably could have made 20-25 runs more but it wasn't a big-total wicket," he said. PTI
South Africa has shot itself in the foot
Ashish Shukla
St George's (Grenada), Apr 15 (PTI) South Africa find their semi-final hopes hanging by the thread after the debilitating loss to New Zealand in a Group Eight match of the cricket World Cup here on Saturday.
Left with only one match in this round, the Proteas now must beat England in Barbados on Tuesday or face a premature exit from the 2007 World Cup.
South Africa now have six points from as many matches -- three wins and three losses -- and their run-rate is not great.
England can sneak up to the semi-finals for not only the win over the Proteas would give them much-needed two points, putting them on par with the Proteas, but their net run-rate too would be far prettier than South Africa.
To make matters worse for the South Africa, England would still be left with one more game in the competition, the one against West Indies on April 21. Wins in both games would put South Africa completely out of picture.
If the issue is not complicated enough, Bangladesh too could make a backdoor entry if they were to win their remaining two games against Ireland (April 15) and England (April 19). It would give them six points and a shot at the semi-finals.
At present, South Africa have a net run-rate of -0.21 while England has +0.08. Bangladesh has -1.43 net run-rate.
South Africa would look at the loss against Bangladesh as the day their campaign went off the rails though they haven't helped their cause by some one-dimensional cricket. PTI
Woolmer was poisoned and then strangled: reports
London/Kingston, Apr 15 (PTI) The long-awaited toxicology report in Bob Woolmer's murder case has indicated that the Pakistan cricket coach was poisoned before being strangled in his hotel room.
According to a source close to the Jamaican police, the investigators probing in Woolmer's mysterious death believe the South African was poisoned to incapacitate him before murdering him in his Jamaica Pegasus hotel room around one month ago, London daily 'The Sunday Times' reported.
But Mark Shields, the Deputy Police Commissioner leading the inquiry, refused to confirm poison was found and said the toxicology samples and postmortem report would be sent to Britain for further analysis.
"If he was manually strangled and asphyxiated, why didn't he put up a fight? I've always said there was a possibility he was incapacitated by something else. If I tell you they (the results) have come back and we are conducting further tests, I suggest you draw your own conclusions," he said at a press conference in Kingston yesterday.
Shields described the toxicology results as "encouraging" but said the probe could take a "long haul".
"There are three possibilities. One is that someone could give themselves up. Two, there could be a massive breakthrough or, three, we are here for the long haul.
"At the moment we are certainly in category three. We would love to move to one but I think that is unlikely at this stage," Shield said.
He quashed the speculation that it was the drug aconite, which causes asphyxia. PTI
Greenpeace accuses WB of hypocrisy in climate change debate
Washington, Apr 15 (PTI) Environment watchdog Greenpeace International has accused the World Bank of "hypocrisy" and challenged it to "to put their money where its mouth is" and stop funding projects that exacerbate climate change.
Greenpeace has argued that in spite of an acknowledgment from the World Bank's President, Paul Wolfowitz, that climate change is a serious issue, the bank continues to fund fossil fuel projects and fails to prevent forest destruction-- the very causes of the problem.
The World Bank's current spending on fossil fuels continues to dwarf its comparatively miniscule investments in sustainable renewable energy-- a mere USD 153 million in 2006.
In its recently published report, "Energy Revolution", Greenpeace has shown that with proper investment equivalent to current fossil fuel subsidies of around USD 300 billion a year-- renewable energy along with energy efficiency would deliver the 50 per cent reduction of global emissions by 2050 needed to avert the potentially apocalyptic scenarios presented by the inter-governmental panel on climate change last week.
Greenpeace also launched a new report "Carving up the Congo" on the logging sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this week.
The report calls for the Bank, the largest funder of the DRC Government, to urgently act to stop the expansion of the logging industry in the country, as logging is a key driver of deforestation, which causes climate change. PTI
HC issues notice to Centre, Indian, Airbus on PIL
New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Centre, Airbus Industrie and chairman of state-run carrier Indian on a PIL seeking scrapping of a procedure followed in emergency landing by an A-320 aircraft.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna issued the notices and sought a reply within four weeks.
The petition filed by P N Sharma, a pilot with Indian, alleged that the procedure published by European consortium Airbus, which is followed by pilots of A-320 during emergency landing immediately after take-off, was incorrect, unsafe and should be changed.
"Even today the A-320 bogie type aircraft flies in contravention to rules and regulation that is highly detrimental to flight safety. This matter is of concern as it could jeopardise the safety of the travelling public, crew and all occupants of the aircraft," the petitioner contended.
Sharma has also said his repeated applications to government authorities and Airbus went unheeded.
The petition said there was a "wilful attempt" to stymie the issue and adamantly continue with the incorrect procedure.
"The issue is not being given its due attention perhaps for the reason that except Indian Airlines the said aircraft is not operated by anyone else in the entire world," he said.
It was also contended that pilots were put to anxiety due to the erroneous and unwarranted procedure. PTI
IOC targets Rs 1,000 cr from non-fuel operations in 3-5 yrs
Mumbai, Apr 15 (PTI) Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) today said it is targeting a Rs 1,000-crore turnover from its non-fuel operations (LPG centres) in the next 3-5 years as compared to Rs 180 crore revenue it earned from this business in fiscal year 2007.
"When we scale up our LPG distribution centres, we are expecting a large turnover. It should be around Rs 1,000 crore in 3-5 years," IOC Director-Marketing G C Daga said here.
The company, which currently has close to 5,000 LPG distributors, recorded a turnover of Rs 180 crore in 2006-07, he said.
Apart from scaling up the existing tie-ups, the company has also entered into new alliances with retailers for supply of kitchenware, gas tubes, etc, at the LPG centres, he said. PTI
Rahul remarks prove India interfered in internal affairs: Pak
Islamabad, Apr 15 (PTI) Pakistan today said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks claiming the "division" of the country in 1971 as an achievement of his family proves allegations that India interfered in its internal affairs and tried to "destabilise" the nation.
Reacting to Gandhi's remarks made while campaiging for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said this proves allegations that "India interfered in Pakistan's affairs and tried to destabilise it".
"This is a clear admission of it," she told Geo TV, arguing that the Gandhi family heading the Congress party ruled India for long.
Asked whether Pakistan would take up the issue with India, she said, "This is not new. Everyone knows what happened in 1971." She also said that the difference between Pakistan's defence capability in 1971 and at present is like "earth and sky".
"No one should entertain such thoughts in the present day world as it could end up being risky and dangerous," she said.
During a public meeting in UP, Gandhi had said, "You know, when our (Gandhi) family commits to a task it also completes it. In the past too, members of the Gandhi family have achieved the goals they have initiated like the freedom of the country, dividing Pakistan into two and leading the nation to the 21st century." Bangladesh was created out of erstwhile East Pakistan after Pakistan's defeat in the 1971 war. PTI
Pak mulls use of women commandos against Islamists: report
Islamabad, April 15 (PTI) Pakistan government reportedly intends to deploy women commandos to launch a crackdown on a seminary housing militant girl students who have stepped up their campaign to impose Sharia law in the country backed by radical clerics.
"Pakistan government while holding negotiations with the radical clerics of the Lal Masjid that fixed a one month deadline for the government to impose Sharia law in the capital, prepared a contingency plan to launch a commando operation at the Jamia Hafsa madrassa located adjacent to the mosque," the Daily Times quoted US intelligence reports as saying.
The madrassa, according to Lal Masjid clerics housed about 3,000 girl students, majority of them hailing from poor families of North West Frontier Province, (NWFP) or destitute children.
Local media reports also said the government has deployed several hundred male commandos at the nearby vacant buildings. The government, however, ruled out a crackdown in the immediate future fearing the political fall out of massive casualties to burqa-clad girls, who too threatened to resist with weapons and suicide attacks.
The government, which negotiated with the clerics through the President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), Shujaat Hussain, had failed to persuade the Islamists to give up their Taliban-style campaign in the capital.
The Lal Masjid administration declined to set any timeframe for talks, saying that first the government must start rebuilding seven mosques here that were demolished in January. "I made it clear to them that first Shujaat should abide by his commitment and then we would discuss the matter," Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the cleric of Lal Masjid, was quoted by the daily as saying. PTI
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