New Delhi, March 4
While backing Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s decision to hike fuel prices in his budgetary proposals, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today accorded top priority to the issue of food prices which, according to her, is a matter of pressing concern for the government.

Addressing members of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), Sonia appreciated the steps taken by the UPA government to rein in food inflation but admitted that rising prices of essential commodities had detracted from the ruling combine’s achievements.

The Congress president’s address did not made any direct reference to the opposition demand for a rollback on fuel prices but she sent out a clear message that she supported the Finance Minister on this key issue and understood his compulsions for raising prices of petroleum products. Mukherjee, who had briefed party MPs and allies on this issue yesterday, justified the hike, stating that it was inevitable and inescapable.

Praising Mukherjee for his handling of the budget, Sonia said, “We have many essential social obligations and to meet them it is necessary to raise resources. I congratulate the Finance Minister for a fine and delicate balancing act, which has been widely welcomed." She said the inputs given by the Finance Minister about the salient features of the budget to party MPs would help them in "countering the opposition propaganda".

Although the Congress leadership has gone along with Mukherjee’s view that a rollback was not possible, UPA allies like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK are pressing the Centre to reduce the duties proposed on petroleum products in the budget. The government has also to contend with a united opposition on this issue. The BJP has already decided to move a cut motion when the finance bill comes up for passage.

While lauding the government for the various steps it has taken for the aam admi, including the initiation of the Food Security Bill, the Congress president dwelt at length on the issue of food inflation. Underlining that checking food prices was the government’s top priority, she urged the states to ensure that the public distribution scheme functions properly and that de-hoarding measures are undertaken wherever necessary. With the ruling combine all set to push through the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha on International Women’s Day on March 8, Sonia made a special reference to it in her address, saying that she “personally attaches the highest importance” to this Bill.

The Congress president also cautioned party MPs not attending Parliament, indicating that the party would not hesitate to take truant members to task. “The time has come to take poor attendance on the part of members seriously,” she said, adding even listening to parliamentary proceedings is an education.

Hyderabad, March 4
The lives of two families may have changed forever in one ill-fated moment on the Wednesday morning, but perhaps nothing comes in way as far as big money and business is concerned.

Minutes after an aircraft of four-member Sagar Pawn Aerobatics Team aircraft crashed, killing both pilots, it was business as usual at the India Aviation 2010 at the Begumpet Airport as aviation majors talked of future projections, making big ticket announcements. Initially, there were speculations that some events of the air extravaganza may be postponed, even cancelled, but to everyone’s surprise all programmes took place as scheduled on the first day at the venue of the inauguration, where the Sagar Pawan Aerobatics Team had given the spectacular performance before one of their aircraft met the tragic end.

Even as horrified spectators saw the Kiran MK-II plunge to its end, industry leaders in chalets on the exhibition side continued with their business negotiations, wooing prospective clients with fine wine and snacks, as if nothing much had happened. And minutes after the tragic accident that left two of Navy’s ace aviators dead, private aircraft companies took to air to entice prospective customers with demonstration flights. All this while company executives entertained visitors and talked about future business in exhibition halls on the other side of the static exhibition.

Airline majors took the deliveries of their brand new aircrafts. IndiGo took the delivery of its 25th A320 aircraft at a ceremony was presided over by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. A new generation Airbus A320 aircraft joined the Air India fleet, becoming the 74th own aircraft of the 111 on order, to join Air India’s fleet

Many felt that at least the official dinner organised in the evening would be cancelled as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives while performing at the inaugural show of the mega aviation event, but for men and women in crisp business suits it were five-star drinks and dinner at the Taj Krishna.

A senior Civil Aviation Ministry official agreed that at least the official dinner could have cancelled but also added that it would have been a “tough decision”. But for those who like to keep business and sentiments apart, “the incident was unfortunate but such things happen”.

Meanwhile, the authorities have neither been able to explain why even one event was not cancelled as a mark of respect to the departed nor the fact why the air show was held so close to a residential area. After all, the accident had the potential of even a bigger tragedy. It certainly was a lucky escape for hundreds of Bowenpally residents here in Hyderabad on the Wednesday morning.

New Delhi, March 4
LK Advani may have been elevated to an ornamental and non-constitutional position by the Bharatiya Janata Party, but he continues to occupy the limelight and tower over constitutional office-bearers in the party.

This is the first Parliament Session since Sushma Swaraj was elevated to the constitutional position of Leader of Opposition of the Lok Sabha. Her colleague Arun Jaitely assumed office of the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House last year.

In normal course, the Parliament constitution recognises only the parliamentary party leader. So, for all effective purposes, Sushma and then Arun Jaitely have the constitutional responsibility. But for two consecutive weeks, both Swaraj and Jaitely sat as mute witnesses while Advani addressed the parliamentary party here again today. “This is a new precedent Advani is creating,” remarked an independent observer.

As long as Advani was Leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party, he led from the front and this is the practice in most other political parties, be it the Left or the SP, BSP, RJD or JD-U or even Shiv Sena or BJD. The BJP also followed the same tradition, first under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then later under Advani, who always addressed the parliamentary party.

The Congress has made the only exception ever since it persuaded Sonia Gandhi to lead it. She never became the leader of the parliamentary party. Upon getting elected to the Lok Sabha, the Congress appointed her as chairman of the parliamentary party and party leaders in the Houses are second to her.

But while Sonia Gandhi addresses the Congress parliamentary party, she rarely speaks in Parliament. Besides, the BJP has all along been poking fun and taking digs at the Congress for undermining the constitutional authority of the leader of parliamentary party. But Advani appears reluctant to assume the role of an elder statesman.

Yesterday, he turned the focus on himself by getting into a wordy duel with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and today, he took up almost all the time of the BJPP meeting telling his MPs about his exchanges with the Prime Minister.

New Delhi, March 4
The government plans to give “statutory cover” to the higher judiciary’s in-house mechanism under which judges declared their assets to respective Chief Justices, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told the Lok Sabha today.

At present, the government “has no role to play” in this in-house mechanism that came into place following a resolution adopted at the full court meeting of the Supreme Court on May 7, 1997.

Moily gave this information in a written reply without giving details of the government’s proposal. To another question, the minister said 12.41 lakh cases had been disposed of by fast-track courts in the last three years.

New Delhi, March 4
Even as he plots the return of his party to power in Punjab, former Chief Minister and Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh has penned a book “The Last Sunset: Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar” on the tallest Sikh king, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, which was released here this evening.

Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh released the book. Many politicians, including Cabinet minister MS Gill, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, former Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and ministers of state Shashi Tharoor and Sachin Pilot attended the function. Amarinder’s wife Preneet Kaur was, however, conspicuous by her absence while his friend Aroosa from Pakistan was present with some family members.

Talking about the book, he said he spent over five years researching the book, making trips across the country and abroad to browse Sikh literature and documents in British and Pakistani museums and archives.

“The book entails the comprehensive history of the Lahore durbar, the glorious reign of Ranjit Singh and his exemplary organisational skills that led to the formation of the formidable Sikh army and the fiercely fought Anglo-Sikh wars. Both the Anglo-Sikh wars of 1845 and 1848 have been covered in detail in the book,” Amarinder said.

When asked why he chose this topic in particular, Amarinder said: “A lot has been written about Ranjit Singh by numerous historians. Yet, they remain more of chorological details of the events that happened then. Ranjit Singh was an illiterate man who expanded his rule to an area much bigger than the present Pakistan, even before he turned 21. But for treachery from within his own durbar, he would have stalled the evil designs of the East Indian Company.”

“But the book divided in five parts takes a holistic look at the Lahore durbar, even before and after Ranjit Singh,” he added. The book would be released in Chandigarh and Lahore soon.

New Delhi, March 4
India today said that the visas being issued by Chinese embassy on loose sheets of paper were unacceptable and that the immigration authorities had been sensitised to the possibility of these being used to travel via Hong Kong.

Replying to questions in the Rajya Sabha External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, "We have taken a position that no stapled paper attached to Indian passport is acceptable to us as visa".

He said it had come to the notice of the government that some Indian nationals with a Chinese visa on a separate sheet of paper stapled to their passports are undertaking travel to China via Hong Kong.

Krishna said Indian nationals receive a 14-day visa on arrival at Hong Kong and apparently the Hong Kong immigration authorities accept stapled visas for onward travel to China.

"Such stapled visas are not considered valid for travel abroad by the government," he said, adding the Indian immigration authorities have been sensitised to this possibility."

China had started this practice of issuing visas to people hailing from Jammu and Kashmir on separate sheet of paper rather than passports about a year ago. This was apparently done to suggest that the state was disputed rather than integral Indian territory.