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Parliament impasse: Shinde meets Sushma Swaraj

NEW DELHI: With the impasse in Parliament continuing, the government today reached out to the main Opposition with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde meeting BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, after which he hoped the matter could be resolved by Monday. 

“Yes, I have talked to her a little bit,” Shinde told reporters outside Parliament while referring to his meeting with the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. 

Asked by when the current impasse could be resolved, the Home Minister said, “Let’s see. I hope that by Monday the matter will be resolved...I am trying to settle it by tomorrow (also). Let’s see.” 

The meeting came against the backdrop of a deadlock between the government and the BJP over the CAG report on coal block allocation, with the main Opposition being adamant on its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation. 

Due to the deadlock, Parliament has failed to function for the last three days. 

Earlier in the day, Shinde maintained that the government is ready for discussion. 

He said, “So far their (BJP) stand is that they want to stall the House. But the government is prepared to discuss at length...unless the House starts, how can you discuss?” 

Shinde said the Prime Minister himself has publicly said that he was prepared to discuss the CAG report on coal block allocation on the floor of the House. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the government had invited the BJP for talks but they did not agree. 

“Do you think the answer to break the deadlock is to demand the resignation (of the Prime Minister)? They are not moving forward. Today we had invited them for talks. But they are probably not willing to talk. Perhaps they will be ready to talk on Monday,” he told reporters outside Parliament. 

Meanwhile, amid the continuing standoff between the government and Opposition, key UPA ally Trinamool Congress on Thurday suggested that an all-party meeting should be called to defuse the crisis, saying the Opposition needs to be taken taken into confidence over the issue. 

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said the Opposition has a “prerogative” to raise issues but indicated that it was for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to decide whether or not to accept the demand for his resignation. 

Banerjee is slated to meet the Prime Minister on Thursday. — PTI

Mumbai police chief Patnaik transferred

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik, who was facing flak over the August 11 Azad Maidan violence in the city, has been transferred, Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil said on Thursday.

Patnaik has been promoted as Director-General and posted as Managing Director of Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC), Patil told PTI.

Senior IPS officer Satyapal Singh has been appointed as the new Mumbai commissioner of police, the minister said.

Patnaik was under fire for the handling of the August 11 violence at Azad Maidan in Mumbai during a rally organised by city-based Raza Academy and other outfits to protest incidents in Assam and Myanmar.

Several policemen were injured in the melee. — PTI

Assam MLA held for Kokrajhar riots

Guwahati: The Assam Police on Thursday arrested an Assam MLA in connection with the recent ethnic clashes in the state, reports said.

Pradeep Brahma, a Bodoland People’s Front MLA from Kokrajhar West, was taken into custody for rioting and arson.  Brahma was held after seven cases were registered against him in Fakiragram and Dotama police stations in Kokrajhar district, Inspector General of Police LR Bishnoi said.

BPF, led by its chief Hagrama Mihilary, is in power in the Bodoland Territorial Council that runs the four Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts. The party is also a partner in the state's Congress-led government.

Also today, indefinite curfew was re-imposed in Kokrajhar – the epicentre of the violence between Bodo tribals and illegal Bangladeshi migrants – following fresh violence in Dhubri district Wednesday night in which one person was injured and two people went missing.

Bowlers strike for India, take team to U-19 World Cup final

Townsville (Australia): I ndia relied on spinners Baba Aparajith and Harmeet Singh to pull off a thrilling 9-run victory over New Zealand and cruise into the final of the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in Australia on Thursday.

Defending a modest total of 209, Indian bowlers maintained their consistency throughout as they restricted New Zealand to 200 for nine in their 50 overs to set up a title clash against Australia on Sunday.

Needing 18 off last over, medium pacer Sandeep Sharma kept his cool as he gave away only nine runs as India made it to summit clash quite comfortably in the end at the Tony Ireland stadium.

Young Tamil Nadu lad Aparajith got his second successive man-of-the-match award for his all-round show as he scored 44 before taking the important wicket of Robert O'Donell.

This is India U-19 team's fourth appearance in the final of the tournament having won the 2000 and 2008 editions while they were runners-up in 2006.

A target of 210 was never a tall-order for the Black Caps colts but all-rounder Aparajith (1/29) and the young sardar from Mumbai Harmeet (2/30) stifled the set New Zealand pair of Cam Fletcher (53) and O'Donell (29) in the middle overs to set it up for the Indians.

The duo gave away only 59 runs in the 20 overs between them and also shared three wickets. The highlight certainly were the Batting Powerplay overs where two of them gave away only 14 runs in the five overs.

While New Zealand lost the first four wickets for 63 runs, Carter-O'Donell duo put on 56 runs for the fifth wicket without much fuss. It looked as if New Zealand were cruising along towards victory before Harmeet-Aparajith applied brakes on scoring. Back to-back maidens in the 34th and 35th overs suddenly increased the pressure on the Kiwis.

As the pressure mounted, O'Donell closed the face of his bat to an off-break from Aparajith to offer a simple return catch as India made decisive inroads.

Brief scores: New Zealand, chasing a target of 210, made 200 for nine in 50 overs after Cam Fletcher top scored with 53.

For India, Sandeep Sharma, Ravikant Singh and Harmeet Singh picked up two wickets each.

Earlier, India's middle-order frittered away the good start provided by the top half as the team posted a disappointing 209 for nine after being put into bat in the semifinal against New Zealand.

Opener Prashant Chopra was the top-scorer for the Indians with a patient 104-ball 52, followed by number three batsman Baba Aparajith who added 44 runs to the total.

Skipper Unmukt Chand also did his bit with 31 runs off 44 deliveries but the rest of the line-up let the team down against a disciplined bowling effort by the New Zealand team.

For the Kiwis, left-arm spinner Ben Horne was the top wicket-taker, picking up three for 23 in six overs, while medium pacer Matthew Quinn managed a couple of scalps.

It was a decent start to the proceedings for the Indians as Unmukt and Prashant put on 51 runs for the first wicket before the former made his way back after becoming medium pacer Connor Neynens' only victim of the match.

Unmukt's knock included five hits to the fence. Next man in, Aparajith took hardly any time to settle down and rotated the strike with ease. Aparajith and Prashant combined to add 81 runs before the latter departed, caught one-handed by Kiwi skipper Will Young at mid on off Ed Nuttall's bowling. Prashant struck five boundaries and a six during his innings. Aparajith departed a couple of overs later, his 61-ball innings ended by Indian-origin spinner Ish Sodhi.

The rest of the Indian line-up failed to make notable contributions as the team were restricted to a disappointing total. — PTI