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I'm not obsessed with PM's job: Rahul Gandhi

VARANASI: Rahul Gandhi today said he was not "obsessed" with becoming the Prime Minister like many political leaders but remained committed to transform Uttar Pradesh where people have been "fooled" for the last 22 years by successive regimes.

At a rare press conference, a combative Rahul sharply criticised L. K. Advani on corruption in Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab or in the "coffin scam" in the Kargil war even as the BJP leader took out various yatras across the country.

Answering questions on corruption, the 41-year-old Gandhi scion said when he proposed that the Lokpal be given Constitutional status, the Opposition laughed at it. But this would happen, he said.

Asked about his sister Priyanka's comment yesterday that he was fit to be the Prime Minister, Rahul responded by saying that he was not "obsessed" with the post but was "obsessed with Uttar Pradesh" where he had been campaigning relentlessly during the Assembly polls.

He repeatedly maintained that whether the Congress gets two seats or 100 or 400 seats in the UP Assembly, he would remain committed to the transformation of UP which would take considerable time.

"All the political leaders in India, all the top ones, have an obsession with prime ministership. This is not Rahul Gandhi's obsession. I have another obsession.

"I want to correct the way we have been working in this state. I believe it is a monumental crime not to hear the voice of the people...I want to change the fate of the people of UP," Rahul, who spoke forcefully and was occasionally seen rolling up the sleeves of his white kurta, said.

To drive home his point, Rahul stood up during the press meet, saying, "Once the Congress stands (on its feet in the state), after that whatever happens in UP politics, the Congress will defend it." "You will find Rahul Gandhi in villages, jhuggi-jhopris and among farmers" for this task. He exuded confidence that Congress will get "solid" results in the Assembly elections. — PTI

Govt will help Yuvraj: Sports Minister

NEW DELHI: Sports Minister Ajay Maken has assured help for star cricket all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who is undergoing chemotherapy in the US for a malignant lung tumour.

Maken said he had directed officials in the Sports Ministry to check the nature of help that Yuvraj needed.

"Wish Yuvraj a speedy recovery! Asking officials to find the quantum and nature of help required. Government should & will help him," Maken tweeted.

Yuvraj, who was Man of the Tournament in the 2011 World Cup, left for the US last month and is undergoing chemotherapy at the Cancer Research Institute in Boston. The 30-year-old southpaw was diagnosed with malignant lung tumour in October, though his family had maintained that it was non-malignant.

Yuvraj's physiotherapist Jatin Chaudhary assured that the ailment is curable and the batsman would be fit to resume cricket in May.

"This tumour is rare and is cancerous but nothing to fear about because it is 100 per cent curable. The best part is that tumour has been detected at stage one," said Chaudhary.

Chaudhary said Yuvraj, who was earlier undergoing ayurvedic treatment, had to undergo chemotherapy immediately since the tumour is located just above his heart.

"Doctors had to decide whether to continue medication or go for chemotherapy but since parts of the tumour are just above the artery of his heart, there was a danger that while running it could burst. But it is 100 per cent curable," Chaudhary said.

Yuvraj is seeking inspiration from legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer to win the Tour de France a record seven times. — IANS

Iran issues ultimatum to India over gas field

TEHRAN: Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to an Indian consortium over the development of a gas field whose delay by India has been attributed to Western pressure, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Tension between Iran and the West rose last month when Washington and the European Union imposed the toughest sanctions yet on Iran in a bid to curb its nuclear programme.

"Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to India over its decision on participating in the development of Farzad-B gas field," Fars quoted an unnamed oil official as saying.

Falak's mother traced

NEW DELHI: The mother of the two-year-old battered baby has been traced and will undergo a DNA test to ascertain whether she is the biological mother of the child.
A senior police official said they traced the mother named Munni last night and she was being brought to Delhi. Munni had allegedly left her daughter, Falak, with one Laxmi in September last year.

Falak has been battling for life at the AIIMS hospital, where she was brought on January 18 with severe head injury, both her arms broken, bite marks all over her body and her cheeks branded with hot iron. The teenage girl, who brought her there claiming to be her mother, had cited a fall from the bed as the reason for the child's pathetic state. Falak has already undergone two life-saving surgeries till now.

UK snow chaos: Flights to India cancelled

LONDON: Some flights to Mumbai scheduled to depart from London's Heathrow airport on Sunday night were among half of scheduled 1,300 flights cancelled as authorities grappled with the fallout of snow and icy conditions across transport links in Britain.

Conditions of several arterial roads were described as "treacherous", as tempers ran high at Heathrow when hundreds of flights to destinations in Europe, the US, India and other countries were cancelled. Trains were also delayed, and cars abandoned on clogged motorways.

According to information from Heathrow, the following India-bound flights were cancelled last night: 9W117 to Mumbai, AC6004 to Mumbai, UA9822 to Mumbai, VS9117 to Mumbai, IT002 to Delhi. Other India-bound flights last night were described as "scheduled". Snow conditions also adversely affected flights from other airports in Britain.