L A T E S T      N E W S

NCP unhappy, but will not walk out of UPA

MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday said it would remain a partner in the ruling UPA coalition but flagged displeasure over its views not being considered in the government and “lack of coordination” with the Congress both at the Centre and in Maharashtra where they share power. 

The Sharad Pawar-led party, which had decided to pull out of the UPA government in protest against the way the party was being treated by Congress, said the functioning of the government has not been according to their expectation. 

“We are in UPA and will continue to be a part of it in the future as an ally. Central government gets our support every time and will continue to get it in future,” senior NCP leader Praful Patel told reporters at the airport here on his arrival from Delhi with the NCP supremo. 

Patel said NCP was of the view that a progressive and secular government should stay but lamented that his party’s views were “not considered“. 

“The functioning of the government has not been according to our expectation. Our views are not considered,” he said after a meeting Pawar had with top party leaders of Maharashtra including his nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, state NCP chief Madhukar Pichad, Home Minister R.R. Patil and others. 

NCP, a stable ally of Congress for the last eight years, created a crisis of sorts for the government when Pawar, Minister for Agriculture, sent a communication to the Prime Minister expressing his decision to quit along with Patel, Minister for Heavy Industry. 

Patel said the situation in Maharashtra, where it is part of the Congress-led ruling alliance, was “no different“. 

“Unfortunately, the functioning has been without coordination. The situation is same in Maharashtra,” Patel said, adding party leaders from the state had told Pawar about this. 

“We want the mechanism of coordination to be put back in place so that important issues are discussed and decisions taken. With this we can provide a good government. Our leaders here say that due to the lack of coordination decision-making has been affected,” he said. 

Patel said, “In Maharashtra, NCP is equal partner in government and coordination needed to be strengthened to improve governance.” 

When asked to comment on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s statement last night that his equation with state NCP leaders was excellent, Patel said, “Individuals were not discussed. We want effective coordination.” 

While rejecting allegations of inadequate coordination between the two allies in Maharashtra, Chavan had on Friday said, “Coordination Committee meetings have taken place... If they are unhappy about specific decisions, they can discuss it with us.” 

The NCP in Maharashtra is said to be irked by Chavan’s decision to bring out a ‘white paper’ on irrigation projects. 

The irrigation department is headed by NCP’s Sunil Tatkare. 

There have been allegations that the irrigated area has grown by a measly 0.1 per cent over a decade despite pumping in a whopping Rs 50,000 crore. 

NCP’s PWD Minister Bhujbal is also facing allegations of corruption in construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi. 

A meeting of senior NCP leaders has been convened in Delhi on Monday where the party’s future course of action will be decided and communicated to the Congress, Patel said apparently referring to the decision to pull out of the UPA government. 

He said NCP has, however, already conveyed to the Congress leadership that it will remain part of the UPA. 

Rejecting suggestions that Pawar was miffed at not being accorded the No. 2 status in the UPA government, Patel said, “Even though we are a small party, UPA should take benefit of Pawar’s stature and seniority.” 

“The NCP wants the UPA government and the coalition government in Maharashtra to do well and complete their full term,” he said. — PTI

All are equal in Cabinet, says Antony

MUMBAI: Union Dfence Minister AK Antony on Saturday said all members of the Union Cabinet are equal, comments that come in the midst of a stand off between NCP and Congress on issues, including the Number 2 slot to Sharad Pawar. "There is no senior and junior Cabinet minister. All are equal," the Defence Minister said during an interaction with reporters on board the Navy's latest stealth warship INS Sahyadri, which he commissioned in Mumbai on Saturday.

However, the NCP maintains that issues with the Congress are not over the status for Pawar and that there are other matters.

"I have told you that it is a standard practice that in Defence Minister's functions, you don't say anything about politics," Antony said refusing to answer similar queries.

"This is a completely apolitical function," he said.

Asked about cases of corruption in defence procurement, Antony said, "Whenever any charges come, an enquiry is conducted. After an enquiry, if anything is substantiated, anything found out, we are taking strongest action."

"We are not sparing anybody. We know it very well. We will not tolerate any kind of corruption in the armed forces," the minister said.

Replying to a query on concerns raised by former Army Chief Gen VK Singh on the country's defence preparedness, Antony said, "That is an old story. In the last six months, I had four rounds of discussions with all senior officers of the Army. Now Army procurement is going on quite smoothly."

"Now, we are according topmost priority to modernisation of armed forces," Antony said.

On reported leaks of Army and Air Force documents, the minister said, "On getting the complaint, we referred it to CBI and ED. They are seriously enquiring the whole thing. That is how you got the material." — PTI

Jundal arrested in 26/11 case, sent to police custody till July 31

MUMBAI: Mumbai police on Saturday arrested Abu Jundal for his alleged complicity in the 26/11 terror attack case and produced him before a court which remanded him in police custody till July 31.

Jundal was brought to Mumbai from Delhi, where he was arrested earlier in another case. Jundal with his face covered was produced before chief metropolitan magistrate SS Shinde of Esplanade court, who allowed Mumbai police crime branch to take his custody.

The crime branch, probing the November 26, 2008 terror attack case, then produced Jundal before additional metropolitan magistrate PS Rathod, who remanded him to police custody.

Seeking Jundal's custody, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam argued that he was the prime conspirator in the Mumbai terror attack and the crime branch has voluminous evidence against him.

Jundal was present in the control room set up in Pakistan to monitor the terror attacks in Mumbai, Nikam said.

Jundal had given instructions to the terrorists from the control room where some of the key state officials from Pakistan were present, the lawyer claimed.

Jundal had played an important role in 26/11 terror attacks and had taught Hindi to Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist.

Nikam sought Jundal's custody saying the crime branch wanted to confront him with Kasab. He sought Jundal's custody for fourteen days, but the court remanded him till July 31.

Kasab has been convicted by the trial court for killing several people and injuring many others.

Kasab and nine others had come from Pakistan through the sea-route and opened fire indiscriminately killing 166 people in November 2008. — PTI 

Maruti's Manesar plant closed for third day, Rs 210-cr loss so far

MANESAR: Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant remained closed for the third day on Saturday after the violence on Wednesday in which one senior company official was killed, while police said most of the workers who instigated the incident have been identified.

"The plant will remain closed today," a company spokesperson said. The production loss has so far mounted to about Rs 210 crore. The plant rolls out about 1,600 units per day. In terms of value, the per day loss is about Rs 70 crore.

Meanwhile, the police said it has identified most of the workers who instigated the violence. "No further arrests have been made so far but we have identified majority of the workers who instigated other workers and committed the crime," DCP Gurgaon Maheshwar Dayal told PTI.

He said most of them are union leaders and executive members of the workers union who were having negotiations with management officials prior to the incident. Already 91 employees, who were arrested, have been remanded to 14 days judicial custody on Thursday by a local magistrate.

Yesterday, the company management had said it would not compromise on violence and was considering lockout of the plant as one of the options for now.

"Suzuki Motor Corp has asked us not to compromise on violence...we are cooperating with the police and district administration in the investigations... if this is found to be planned and orchestrated from outside, I can't accept this," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Managing Director Shinzo Nakanishi had said.

However, MSI Chief Operating Officer (Administration) S Y Siddiqui said while in the long term the company was committed to the smooth operations of the plant at Manesar, "in the short term we are considering various options, including a lockout". — PTI

Rahul Sharma left out of Indian team for first ODI against Lanka

NEW DELHI: Leg-spinner spinner Rahul Sharma, who tested positive for recreational drugs after being caught at a rave party, was on Saturday left out of the Indian team for the first one-dayer against Sri Lanka at Hambantota. 

Rahul, along with South African cricketer Wayne Parnell, was detained by police after being caught in a rave party in Mumbai during the Indian Premier League in May. 

The two were among 42 people who tested positive for drugs, the Mumbai Police said on Friday. 

With two specialised spinners R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha in the team, Rahul was not an automatic choice in the playing XI in any case. 

The BCCI will, however, take action against the young spinner only after studying the police report on the matter. 

"The police report will be studied before taking any action against Rahul Sharma," Senior BCCI official and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla on Saturday. 

"Only after studying the report we will proceed," he added. 

The BCCI officials have sought a detailed report from the Mumbai police authorities and will take a final call on whether to withdraw Rahul from the team at a later stage. 

Mumbai Police said Rahul and Parnell were among the 42 who tested positive for drugs. The two cricketers were among the 100-odd people who were detained on that day. 

"I don't know why everyone is in a mood to execute Rahul Sharma without even going into the details," Srinivasan had said on Friday night. 

"The BCCI will first procure each and every bit of relevant information and then study them before deciding on the course of action," he added. 

The Mumbai Police received reports of blood samples of 44 out of the 90 people, who had attended the sundown party at Oakwood Premier Hotel in Juhu. 

"Of the 44, two females tested negative, while the rest are positive," Deputy Police Commissioner Pratap Dighaokar had said. 

All those who tested positive would face arrest, another police official said, adding the procedure to arrest them would start soon. — PTI

Shoaib suggests PCB should not invite foreign teams to Pak

Lahore: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has ruffled feathers in the Pakistan Cricket Board and in government circles by suggesting that the PCB should avoid inviting foreign teams to the country because of the security situation here.

Former speedster, who regularly used to clash with the establishment during his playing days, told reporters in Rawalpindi that condition in Pakistan was not conducive for inviting foreign teams to play international cricket.

"Our citizens are not safe and there is a war going on in the country. Therefore, inviting a team in these conditions will be risky," he said.

"What if a visiting team is attacked again? So I would advice to the PCB not to invite foreign teams since the country is not in a position to stage any international event," he added.

Reacting to his statement, a board official said Shoaib needed to understand the sensitivities of some issues.

"Everyone knows what the ground realities are in Pakistan at the moment but some things don't need to be stated publicly. But since he is a retired player, he has the right to air his opinions, although those views might not help Pakistan cricket," the official said.

No Test-playing nation has visited Pakistan since militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009. And the PCB were being forced to organise its "home" series abroad at neutral venues with most of these being played in the United Arab Emirates in the last three years. PCB is set to host Australia for a series in August in the UAE yet again.