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Congress eyeing tie-up with arch-rivals
Sunil Gatade
New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Amidst speculation about mid-term polls, the Congress appears to be examining the possibility of expanding the UPA experiment by taking even arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and BSP on board.
Uttar Pradesh PCC president Salman Khurshid insists that the approach to face future challenges is to take forward the spirit that brought the party to the centrestage via the coalition route.
Making a strong pitch for pre-poll alliances, Khurshid said that in the matter of tie-ups, the approach should be one of "planned parenthood instead of chance parenthood".
Suggesting that the doors of the alliance were open to parties of all hues barring the saffron brigade, he said in such an arrangement only the BJP will be in the "negative list".
In an interview to PTI, Khurshid sought to extend the olive branch to the Samajwadi Party, saying the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party "became allergic to us and we were never allergic to them".
Seeking to go the extra mile to woo the Mayawati-led BSP, he said that party can be a "very valued passenger" in the "big train that is going to travel fast with a powerful engine".
"They have to decide whether they want to board the train," he said, referring to Uttar Pradesh's ruling party, whose victory in polls in the key state is being regarded as a defining moment in Indian politics.
Khurshid's refrain is that there could be differences with these parties on specific issues, but not on basic ideology. There has been no fixed formula for an alliance but this could be evolved through a dialogue, he said. PTI
Ajay Katara files criminal complaint against wife, D P Yadav
Ghaziabad, Sept 16 (PTI) Expressing fear for his life, Ajay Katara, prime witness in the Nitish Katara murder case, has lodged a complaint against his estranged wife Madhu and D P Yadav, father of main accused in the case, Vikas Yadav, in Sahibabad police station here.
A criminal case has been registered on Katara's complaint and investigation is on, SSP Dipak Ratan told PTI.
In his complaint, Ajay Katara alleged that he feared a threat to his life from D P Yadav and his wife Madhu, the SSP said.
Earlier, he had lodged a complaint with the police accusing Yadav and two others, including his wife, of trying to poison him.
Meanwhile, strongly refuting the allegations against him, D P Yadav, a former Rajya Sabha MP, said that he had never met Ajay and, therefore, the question of threatening him did not arise. PTI
BJP moots powersharing formula with Sena post patch-up
Chandran Iyer
Mumbai, Sep 16 (PTI) After the patch-up last week between warring BJP and Shiv Sena, the two parties are likely to meet shortly to work out strategies to jointly contest the state assembly elections, to be held in 2009, including power sharing formula if voted to power.
The meeting, which is likely to take place in Mumbai after the Ganapati festival, will also discuss among other things like which party should get chief ministership in the event of the alliance getting majority in the elections, party sources told PTI.
The thinking in the BJP camp is that the party which gets more number of seats should get the chief ministerial berth for two-and-a-half years of the five year term and the other party may hold the post for the subsequent period.
But Shiv Sena is yet to respond to this proposal. However both, the BJP and the Shiv Sena, have agreed that they would sink their differences and jointly contest the elections as they feels it is the only way to recapture power in Maharashtra, sources said.
The Shiv Sena and BJP came to a virtual split after Shiv Sena decided to support UPA candidate Pratibha Patil instead of BJP-led NDA candidate Bhaironsingh Shekhawat on the plea that Patil was from Maharashtra and she should be supported to uphold Marathi pride.
Though BJP and Shiv Sena patched up after the Sena executive president Uddhav Thakeray met senior BJP leader L K Advani and BJP president Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, the BJP leaders in the state including Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari feel that the truce could be permanent only when Shiv Sena stops hobnobing with NCP and attacking BJP in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Samana. PTI
Left opposes opening up of armament industry to private sector
New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Already up in arms against the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Left parties are now turning against opening up of the country's armament industry to private players.
The continued intransigence of the Left parties has held up an official announcement on conferment of Rakshya Udyog Ratnas (RUR) status to 14 leading private sector companies even months after they were shortlisted, according to informed sources here.
Being labelled RURs would have made private sector companies eligible along with blue chip defence PSUs to receive technology transfer and part of expected defence off sets from foreign companies to stabilise their foray into the weapons sector.
The CPI-M led Centre of Indian Trade Unions is meeting today in Nasik to plan an all India agitation programme against UPA government's move to open the defence industry to private sector.
"The move would imperil the country's security," Tapan Sen, CPI-M MP and secretary of powerful CITU said. "We will never allow this," he said.
It is not the CITU alone, the other equally dominant unions in the state-owned armament factories like Congress' AITUC and BJP's HMS are also opposing the move.
They met Defence Minister A K Antony recently and submitted a memorandum to him expressing their total opposition to any privatisation of the armament sector.
"The grant of RURs and opening of defence sector is just a charade to open doors to foreign equity in India's vital defence sector," Sen told PTI before leaving for Nasik. PTI
SEBI open to hedge funds, but seeks FII rule book compliance
Mumbai, Sep 16 (PTI) Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India says hedge funds are welcome to invest in India, provided they comply with the existing regulations for foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
"Why should we be worried about hedge funds... We are not making any separate set of regulations for them... They have been investing in India through participatory notes. All we are telling them is if you want to come here, come through the front door," SEBI Chairman M Damodaran told PTI in an interview.
"Hedge funds started as a normal class of investors. Over time, they became large with large investors started putting their money in these funds," Damodaran said.
Hedge funds are generally speculative funds managing funds for private investors and also collect a part of the profit, beside a management fee from the investors.
Mostly prevalent in developed markets like the US, these funds are generally used by wealthy individuals and institutions, adopt aggressive investment strategies and are exempt from rules and regulations governing other mutual funds provided the number of investors is not more than 100.
"In FII regulations Act of 2004, hedge funds were not named as a separate class and no specific provisions were made for them... There were no separate regulations for them anywhere in the world," he said, replying to a query on whether hedge funds should be considered a different class.
"Now they want to come to India and we are telling them to go through the FII regulations and if they comply, we will consider your application on the case of merit," he added. PTI
Gulftainer plans USD 1 bn projects in India, Middle East
Dubai, Sept 16 (PTI) A UAE company has signed an agreement with India's Lanco Group to work on a range of port and transportation projects.
Gulftainer Company of UAE and Lanco were assessing ventures worth around USD one billion in the Middle East, India and the eastern Mediterranean, Peter Richards, Director of Gulftainer, said.
Both sides have reached an agreement to cooperate on a wide variety of port and transportation projects.
"We are delighted that we have reached an agreement that will allow Gulftainer's acknowledged container terminal and transport logistics expertise to be linked with a company of stature, reputation and resources", Richards said.
"We are already assessing specific projects in the Middle East, India and the Eastern Mediterranean worth close to USD one billion." Lanco Infratech Ltd (LITL), one of the fastest growing corporate entities in India, has more than two decades of experience operating in the core sectors of power generation, power trading, construction, infrastructure and property development, a company statement said. PTI
Centre moves SC for more directors on Morepen board
New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) The Supreme Court has sought a response from Morepen Laboratories, a bulk-drug manufacturer, on a petition filed by the Centre seeking to increase the number of government nominees on the company's board.
A bench headed by Justice C K Thakker continued its status quo order of July 16 on a petition filed by Morepen. Both the matters will come up for hearing on October 22.
Additional Solicitor General K P Pathak along with G Umapathy said the company was not allowing the two government directors to function and they were being kept out of board meetings. The company was flouting the Company Law Board's orders, which allowed the government to appoint two nominees as directors for three years to monitor the company's affairs.
Challenging a Himachal Pradesh High Court order which held that government directors should act like a watchdog to ensure the company functions properly, the government said its strength on the Morepen board should be greater to safeguard the interest of depositors, particularly the small depositors.
The petition, filed through the Company Affairs Ministry, alleged that Morepen raised deposits of Rs 156.19 crore from the public to fund its long-term capital requirements, but failed to repay the matured deposits from October 2002 onward.
After receiving a large number of complaints, the CLB framed a scheme for repayment of all the deposits in August 2003 but the company had not been adhering to the repayment scheme, the ministry stated, adding the total outstanding of fixed deposits in September was at Rs 156 crore.
There was a need for six directors for effective supervision of the company's affairs and safeguard the interests of the public. The company had even diverted over Rs 67 crore as investment in associate firms, it said. PTI
Honda recalls over 1.8 lakh Civic globally, may do so in India
New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Japanese auto giant Honda, which is recalling over 1.8 lakh units of its luxury sedan Civic globally, today said it was studying whether the model in India too had defective wheel-bearing seal before deciding on the same strategy here.
"We have recieved a notice for a global recall. As far as we are concerned in India, we are not sure if this would affect here. However, when we get more details we will be able to take a call on it," Honda Siel Car India Senior General Manager (Marketing) Jnaneswar Sen told PTI.
Honda had issued a recall notice of 1,82,756 Civics made between March 24, 2005 and February 8, 2007 because of a faulty wheel-bearing seal that may leak and cause malfunctioning of brake switch thereby preventing illumination of lights on braking.
Sen said the Civic model recalled in the US were left hand drives and the company was checking if similar problems could be found in the Indian right hand drive models.
"If we find there are issues, then we will be definitely contacting our customers," he added.
If the company does recall its Civic, it will be the second instance in three months. In July, HSCI had recalled 2,310 Accords manufactured between 2005 and 2006 as part of a global recall. PTI
New Zealand beat India by 10 runs
Johannesburg, Sep 16 (PTI) New Zealand beat India by 10 runs in their Super eight tie of the Twenty20 World Cup here today.
Chasing 191 to win, India could manage 180 for nine in their 20 overs. PTI
Indian bowlers restrict NZ to 190
Johannesburg, Sep 16 (PTI) Indian bowlers did a good job to restrict the firing New Zealand batsmen to 190 in their first Super Eight cricket match in the World Twenty20 Championships here today.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and paceman R P Singh picked crucial wickets to stop the fireworks by the Kiwis, who plundered as many as 90 runs in last seven overs.
Put in to bat, opener Brenden McCullum gave a solid start to his side by scoring 31-ball 45, with the help of nine fours but Harbhajan removed him in the 10th over which resulted in a mini-collapse of the New Zealand side.
After R Taylor (11) and Scott Styris (2) followed McCullum in quick succession, Craig McMillan and Jacob Oram stabilised the innings and propelled New Zealand to a respectable total.
Oram made most of a dropped a life in 16th over and went on to score 35 runs aided by three sixes and two boundaries.
He and McMillan troubled Yuvraj Singh in the 16th over by scoring 25 runs, including three sixes and a four, off the part-time spinner.
But Oram was caught in deep by R P Singh off S Sreesanth when he tried to hit a short-length ball in the 18th over but he had already done enough damage to the Indians.
McMillan was run out on 44, which included one hit to the fence and six towering sixes in the last over and was followed by Jeetan Patel, who was also run-out on the last ball. PTI
Anand draws with Kramnik to remain in joint lead
Our Chess Correspondent
Mexico, Sept 16 (PTI) Top seeded Viswanathan Anand survived a few anxious moments before settling for a draw with arch-rival and defending champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the third round of the World Chess championship here.
Anand inched himself up to 2 points from two games and continued to lead the tables along with Kramnik. The day witnessed Russian Alexander Morozevich warding off his previous round loss as he scalped another Russian- Peter Svidler in a keenly contested game.
The other games of the third round were drawn as Alexander Grischuk from Russia signed peace with Levon Aronian of Armenia while Hungarian Peter Leko reached the same result against Boris Gelfand of Israel.
With 11 rounds still to come in this 8-players double round robin event where each player meets the others twice, Morozevich, Gelfand, Grischuk and Leko share the third spot on 1.5 points each while Aronian and Svidler are now at the bottom of the tables with one point apiece.
For the second time in three days Anand faced the Petroff defense.
Earlier in the first round Gelfand had played the same opening against the Indian ace and had got an easy half point.
In the post game conference Kramnik said that he was 'well prepared' for this key match and indeed, as it happened, black had some practical chances.
Anand played the opening nonchalantly but was in trouble after the queens got traded as one of his far advanced pawn came under mortal danger. Kramnik pocketed the pawn and transposed to a rook and pawns endgame which needed precise defense from Anand. PTI
South Africa beats Bangladesh by seven wickets
Cape Town, Sep 16 (PTI) South Africa survived some anxious moments before beating Bangladesh by seven wickets to emerge Group A leaders in the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup here.
After bowling out the Asian giant-killers for 144, the South Africans were in a spot of bother towards the end before romping home with seven balls to spare.
South Africa will take on England in the Super Eights match of Group E today. The other two teams in the group are India and New Zealand.
The win was sweet revenge for the Proteas, who had been embarrassed by Bangladesh in the ODI World Cup in West Indies earlier this year.
South African skipper Graeme Smith and number three Albie Morkel made identical scores of 41, while debutant opener Jean-Paul Duminy also chipped in with 36 as the hosts reached the target in a tense chase.
The Proteas needed five of the last eight deliveries when Justin Kemp sealed the issue by hitting a six of Mashrafe Mortaza.
Bangladesh will be up against ODI world champions and Group B leaders Australia along with Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Group F in the Super Eights.
Smith and Duminy gave a solid start to the South African innings by adding 50 runs for the opening wicket before the latter departed, trapped leg before while attempting a slog-sweep of Abdur Razzak.
Morkel joined Smith for another steady partnership before the skipper edged a sweep off Shakib-al Hasan to stumper Mushfiqur Rahim. PTI
Kashmir fruit growers plead for industry status
A M Sofi
Srinagar, Sep 16 (PTI) Despite being one of the biggest
revenue earner, fruit business has yet to receive the status
of an industry in Jammu and Kashmir.
In Kashmir alone more than five lakh families are
directly associated with the Rs 12 billion business, however,
all the successive state government have failed to grant it an
industry status, complain fruit growers.
The growers whose livelihood is directly associated
with the fruit trade say that their business won't survive in
the coming decade if steps are not taken to give it much
needed support.
President of All Jammu and Kashmir Fruit and Vegetable
Growers Association, Ghulam Rasool Bhat fears the growers will
soon get deprived of livelihood if government failed to take
some concrete steps.
"Our first demand is to grant fruit business the status
of an industry so that we could be entitled to the benefits
that are given to any industry," he said.
Once the valley's biggest source of income, the apple
business is slowly declining both in infrastructure and
investment, the reasons are many, raging 'scab infection to
the fruit adulterated fungicide, government apathy and above
all the absence of cold storage faculty for preservation of
the fruit in the valley,' he said.
According to figures available 400,000 tones of apple is
ruined by the scab every year, other diseases like alternaria,
red-might and powdery mildew also spoil the crop, he said. PTI
Farmers suicides, Deshmukh survives another crisis
Vilas Tokale
Mumbai, Sep 16 (PTI)Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing satisfaction over Maharashtra government's effort to check farmer's suicides in Vidarbha had come as a relief for Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who was facing flak over the issue. The CM, however, landed himself in another controversy over his remarks regarding the Vidarbha farmers.
Deshmukh, however, seems to have pacified the central leadership on the issue.
Rivals of Deshmukh, who is three years into his second term at the helm of Maharashtra, have been gunning for him, saying the remarks had projected a negative image of the party and government among rural masses.
Conceding that party president Sonia Gandhi had told him that such remarks create a wrong impression and divert attention of people from several pro-farmer initiatives of the state and Central governments, Deshmukh, however, said he still enjoyed her confidence.
Remarks by Union Textile Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela, who also spoke at the function, evoked condemnation from opposition parties, who flayed him for terming Vidarbha farmers lazy.
Repeated clarifications were issued by the chief minister's office that Deshmukh's remarks were distorted by political rivals. Opposition Shiv Sena and BJP, however, crticised Deshmukh saying he was an anti-farmer.
To worsen the situation, Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, a known Deshmukh detractor, wrote a letter to Vaghela, which, Deshmukh's supporters said was a veiled criticism of the Chief Minister's farmers' policy. PTI
Sivamani all set to bring alive magic in US
Zafri Mudasser Nofil
New Delhi, Sept 14 (PTI) Star percussionist Anandan Sivamani is known to create music out of strange objects like spoons, brass boards and suitcases. And come September 23 and the artiste, billed by many as modern India's cultural ambassador, will recreate some of his magic in the US.
Sivamani, along with Remo Fernandes, Colonial Cousins, Louis Banks and Niladri will showcase India's rich diversity on the musical front at Incredible India @60 -- the September 23-26 festival in Manhattan organised to celebrate 60 years of the country's independence.
"I am looking forward to my performance in the US. It is a great platform to showcase India's music in the US," he says.
Life has been on a fast lane for Sivamani, who began drumming at the age of seven.
"When I am not touring I am busy with my albums and compositions," Sivamani, whose new album "Mahaleela" will be released in December, told PTI.
"'Mahaleela' is basically an instrumental album but it has vocal elements in it too," he says.
He is also working on his dream project - a gurukool.
"I want to name it as 'Siva of Rhythm' and it will including everything related to music, including yoga." Sivamani has played drums for music composers like A R Rahman and Ilayaraja and in films like "Rang De Basanti", "Taal", "Roja", "Dil Se", "Guru" and "Kabul Express".
However, he says its too early for him to venture into a solo score for Bollywood.PTI
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