Dehradun: With Sonia Gandhi putting her seal of approval on his name, Harish Rawat was elected today the Congress Legislature Party leader in Uttarakhand, paving the way for Haridwar MP's swearing in as new Chief Minister of the hill state.

After a marathon meeting of the Congress Legislature Party here, senior party leader Janardhan Dwivedi said Rawat's name had been approved by Gandhi who had been authorised to name the CLP leader by the legislators through a one-line resolution passed at the meeting.

It took some time to get the AICC chief's approval as she was on a tour to Karnataka, he told reporters here.

"Soniaji gave her approval for Rawat's name. He has been elected CLP leader and will be sworn in Chief Minister along with some Cabinet ministers later today," Dwivedi said to loud cheers from supporters of Rawat. — PTI 

Northeast students protest against Taniam's death

NEW DELHI: A group of students from the Northeast today staged a protest here against the death of an Arunachal Pradesh MLA's son after being allegedly beaten up by some shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar.

The 19-year-old student Nido Taniam, son of Congress MLA and Parliamentary Secretary in Health and Family Welfare Department Nido Pavitra, was allegedly beaten up by some shopkeepers following an altercation sparked by their taunts on his hairstyle.

"The police should take swift action in the case. We would not remain silent till the culprits are sent to jail," said Dhapo, a protestor.

Protestors in large numbers today gathered outside Lajpat Nagar police station and raised slogans against the police.

The police has registered a case of murder under Section 302 of IPC and is probing the matter. A magisterial inquiry has also been ordered.

"This is not the first time that a Northeast student has been targeted. We would continue our fight for our rights. We have come here to protest the brutal death of the Arunchal student. We want Delhi Police to take swift action in this case," said Sumokoji, a protestor.

The student's relatives alleged that he had an altercation with some shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar in South Delhi on Wednesday after they made fun of his hairstyle. The shopkeepers then allegedly thrashed him to death.

The police had reached the spot and brokered compromise, after which Tania returned to his Safdarjung home with his friends.

However, he did not wake up the next day. When his friends took him to AIIMS, he was declared brought dead.

The police said they are waiting for the viscera report while two shopkeepers identified as Farhan and Akram have been arrested.

The initial post-mortem has not revealed "much injury or aberration". His viscera samples have been preserved to zero in on the cause of death, the police said. — PTI

Khobragade enjoys no immunity, US state dept tells court

NEW YORK: Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade does not enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution on charges of visa fraud and making false statements, the US State Department has said in papers submitted before a court in New York.

The declaration, dated January 29, and signed by Attorney-Advisor in the Office of the Legal Advisor of the Department of State Stephen Kerr, was submitted in court on Friday by Manhattan’s federal prosecutor India-born Preet Bharara in support of his memorandum opposing 39-year-old Khobragade’s motion to dismiss the indictment against her.

It concludes that federal authorities were not wrong in arresting and detaining Khobragade on visa fraud charges on December 12, 2013, since she did not have full diplomatic immunity in her capacity as India’s Deputy Consul General.

“The Department of State concludes that Dr Khobragade did not enjoy immunity from arrest or detention at the time of her arrest in this case, and she does not presently enjoy immunity from prosecution for the crimes charged in the indictment,” the State Department declaration said.

The declaration is part of eight supporting documents that Bharara has submitted in court as proof that Khobragade is not immune from prosecution and that the indictment against her should not be dismissed.

Bharara’s motion is in response to a request made by Khobragade’s lawyer Daniel Arshack on January 14, that asked the court to dismiss the indictment and terminate any “open” arrest warrants or requests for her extradition.

Arshack argued that Khobragade was “cloaked” in diplomatic immunity and cannot face prosecution in the US.

Bharara said the State Department, “whose views must be given great weight”, has “unequivocally concluded” that Khobragade did not employ her domestic worker Sangeeta Richard in her capacity as Deputy Consul General and so does not enjoy immunity from prosecution for the “crimes” for which she was arrested in December.

The State Department also determined that her immunity in connection with her short-lived stint at the Indian mission to the UN from January 8 to January 9 before she was asked to leave the US “is no bar to prosecution”.

A 1999-batch IFS officer, Khobragade was arrested on visa fraud charges, strip-searched and held with criminals, triggering a row between the two sides with India retaliating by downgrading privileges of certain category of US diplomats among other steps.

She was indicted on visa fraud and making false statements by a US grand jury. She returned to India after she was asked to leave the US by the State Department.

“From the time of her departure from the US on January 9, through the present, Khobragade enjoys residual diplomatic immunity only for acts she performed in the exercise of her functions as a member of the mission from January 8 to January 9.

“The acts giving rise to the charges in the indictment were not performed in Khobragade’s exercise of her functions as a member of the mission both because they were performed well before her assignment to the Permanent Mission of India to the UN and because the hiring of Richard was not an official act,” Bharara said, quoting the declaration.

“The defendant currently enjoys no diplomatic status and at the time of her arrest the defendant’s position as a consular official gave her immunity from prosecution for official acts only.

“It did not extend to the crimes charged in the indictment, private acts taken in relation to the employment of a domestic worker and a visa application submitted to the US government in connection with that employment,” he said.

Bharara has alleged that the indictment charges offenses based on Khobragade’s private conduct and not her official conduct. “Her domestic worker was not an employee of the Consulate General of India and did not perform work related to consular functions,” he added.

He said Khobragade’s motion is an attempt to “concoct a theory of immunity” by using a UN accreditation that she had for a brief time during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister for the annual session of the General Assembly last year.

“That attempt fails both factually and legally and it gives her no added immunity from the charges here,” Bharara said, adding that her motion is based exclusively on the “unsupportable claim” that she “somehow obtained and retains” full diplomatic immunity from supposedly assuming a position as ‘Special advisor to the UN’ on August 26, 2013.

Khobragade’s assertion that the UN card gave her immunity is “both convoluted and baseless”, Bharara added.

He said that Khobragade’s claims that she had diplomatic immunity from August to December 2013 as a member of India’s delegation to the UN is “incorrect and is flatly rejected by the State Department”.

The State Department declaration notes that Khobragade was “not exercising any function” related to the UN at or immediately before or after the time of her arrest.

Neither did she travel from India to New York for business related to the UN, a condition that could have accorded her full diplomatic immunity.

The State Department further noted that the UN accreditation record submitted by Khobragade’s lawyer in court shows Khobragade’s date of arrival in the US as August 26, 2013, and her departure date as August 31, 2013.

“These dates are plainly wrong since she was present in the US both before and after that date,” it said.

Bharara said the State Department declaration also makes it clear that while Khobragade’s name appears on a list sent to the US Mission to UN as part of the Indian delegation for the main part of the regular session of the UNGA, the dates given for her appear as August 2013 to August 2016.

“Such a date range is incorrect and meaningless,” since the UNGA meeting was not going to extend past December 2013.

The State Department said her name does not appear on the consolidated list of UNGA delegation members produced by the UN since Khobragade was serving as the Deputy Consul General and not as a Special Advisor.

Further “no dual-accreditation request” for Khobragade was sent to the State Department.

Bharara said at the time of her arrest Khobragade was not exercising any function as member of the Indian UN delegation nor was she travelling to or from the place of a UNGA meeting.

While she is asserting that she was special advisor to the UN during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit, the visit concluded three months before her arrest.

“For a myriad of reasons, the defendant’s assertion that she had diplomatic immunity as a result of some accreditation she had as a member of India’s delegation to UNGA from August 26, 2013 through December 31, 2013 is wrong,” he said.

The government, however, has not objected to Khobragade’s request to exonerate her bail conditions.

“Although ordinarily a defendant is not entitled to litigate issues like bail without actually appearing before the court, because the defendant has left the country, the issue of bail is now moot for all practical purposes.

“If she appears before the court to face the charges at a later date — either following an arrest on the outstanding warrant or upon a decision by her to return to confront the charges — the court will set new bail conditions at that time,” Bharara said. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Slamming power distribution firms for announcing power cuts on the plea of lack of funds, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said the truth on their financial condition will come out in the CAG report on discoms.

"They (power companies) are saying that they don't have money, so where has their money gone. CAG is trying to find their money and the truth will come out in the CAG's report.

"After CAG's report, we would get to know whether they are really facing a financial crisis or not," Kejriwal told reporters here.

Asked if the Delhi government would take action against discoms, which have announced 8-10 hour power cut effective from today, he said, "Let the CAG report come out and then we would proceed as per its findings".

Kejriwal had yesterday accused BSES discoms of trying to "blackmail" the government by threatening power cuts upto 10 hours a day, and warned them of strict action, including possible cancellation of licenses.

The Chief Minister also said Tatas and Ambanis, who run three electricity distribution firms in Delhi, were not the only companies in the country and the government was willing to bring new players.

"There are no reasons for power cuts. I want to give them a warning that if they try to create panic in future, the government will take strict action against them," Kejriwal had said as Reliance Infra-backed BSES warned the government of 8-10 hours power cuts a day beginning today citing fund crunch.

Dismissing any valid reasons for such extreme steps, the Chief Minister said there were many question marks over the discoms account.

"They are not cooperating in CAG audit, which raises further suspicion. The government will not keep quite. The government will not hesitate in cancelling their licences," he had said.

Power tariff in the national Capital was yesterday hiked by up to 8 per cent by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The Kejriwal government had condemned the regulator's decision to increase the tariff which will come into effect from today. Before coming to power, AAP had promised that it will slash the rates of power for Delhiites but did so only in select slabs. — PTI

NEW DELHI: A day after Arvind Kejriwal put his name on a list of corrupt politicians, Union Minister Kapil Sibal today shot back, saying the Delhi Chief Minister should prove his allegations within two days or resign.

"I was surprised that a person who is holding the post of Chief Minister has levelled an allegation against me. His intentions appear to be malafide, otherwise he would not have levelled such baseless allegations.

"I am surprised that he dubbed me as corrupt. I give him two days to hand me the proof of my corruption, otherwise he should resign from his position," Sibal told reporters here.

The Law Minister said if Kejriwal is able to prove his allegations, then he would resign as a Union Minister and also quit politics.

"I have already warned him and I say it today also. No one has so far made allegations against me about my public life. There are no complaints against me. There are no FIRs.

If he is able to prove that I have been convicted by a court in a corruption case, I will not only resign as minister, but also quit active politics," he said.

Kejriwal on Friday drew a list of "corrupt" politicians against whom AAP has decided to field candidates.

The list included Rahul Gandhi, several UPA ministers, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati, Union ministers P. Chidambaram and Sushilkumar Shinde and former BJP president Nitin Gadkari.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is accused of propagating dynastic politics and BJP's Prime Ministerial canndidate Narendra Modi, whose name also figures in the list, faces the allegation of criminalisation of politics.

A few months ago, AAP had alleged that Sibal has a "conflict of interest" in the case involving Vodafone as his lawyer son Amit "continues to defend" Hutchison, which had a partnership with the British telecom major.

Amit had denied the allegations, saying the last time he had appeared for the company was in 2010 when Sibal was neither the Telecom Minister nor the Law Minister. PTI

Efforts on to forge ‘new block’ for LS polls: Nitish 

PATNA: Efforts to form a “new block” of parties opposed to the BJP and the Congress is all set to gain momentum with a meeting of leaders in Delhi on February 5, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday.

“Leaders of parties opposed to the Congress and the BJP will be meeting in Delhi on February 5 to discuss the issue of giving a shape to formation of a new block of like-minded parties in Parliament,” Kumar, who will participate in the meeting, told reporters after a function to launch the Food Security Law in Bihar.

He said the Left Front is taking initiative for the formation of this new “block” and JD(U) is extending support to it.

Kumar refused to identify the leaders who will be attending the meeting.

But, sources in the party said it would include “Janata Parivar” leaders such as Mulayam Singh Yadav, H.D. Deve Gowda, Naveen Patnaik, Sharad Yadav and Kumar besides leaders of the CPI and the CP(M).

Indicating the beginning of the process of formation of the new block, Kumar said many of the leaders have evinced interest in this new grouping.

Kumar categorically ruled out any chance of JD(U) returning to the NDA.

“Koi Sawal hi nahi utha hai (the question does not arise at all),” he said in reply to a question in this regard.

The Bihar CM also dismissed party chief Sharad Yadav making any statement against formation of this new block. A section of the media had quoted Sharad Yadav as saying on Friday that formation of a new block is just a gupbazzi (gossip).

“I had a talk with Sharad Yadav this morning and he denied saying anything of this kind... some mediapersons might have thrust words in his mouth,” Kumar said.

There are also reports of the CPI and the CP(M) fighting the coming Lok Sabha elections in Bihar in alliance with the JD(U). — PTI

Militant killed in Pulwama encounter

SRINAGAR: A militant was killed in an overnight gunbattle with security forces in Pulwama district of south Kashmir, the police said on Saturday.

“The body of the militant has been recovered along with an AK rifle and some ammunition,” a police spokesman said.

Security forces had on Friday cordoned off village Kangan in Pulwama, 35 km from Srinagar, following information about presence of militants in the village.

As the security forces were closing in on the target house, the militants opened firing, which was retaliated.

The exchange of fire stopped after an hour leading to fatal injuries to the militant.

The operation was halted for the night and the body of the slain ultra was recovered on Saturday morning.

The spokesman said the identity and group affiliation of the slain militant is being ascertained. — PTI

3 arrested in Delhi heist case

NEW DELHI:  Three persons were arrested for the daring broad day light heist in which around Rs 8 crore had been looted in Lajpat Nagar area here on Tuesday.

The arrested have been identified as Tinku, Praveen and Bhola. The trio was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police.

"Three persons have been arrested while further raids are being conducted to nab their five accomplices. Recovery is being made from different parts of the National Capital," a senior police officer said today.

Although the police has not disclosed the location of their arrest, police sources said the trio was arrested from South Delhi and other areas, adding that all accused are henchman.

Late last night, the police detained six persons, including close aides of Rajesh Kalra, and identified some of their other associates.

Tuesday's robbery, one of the biggest in the national Capital in terms of money involved, was carried out in a matter of minutes.

The police had said around five to six armed men intercepted a Honda City car near Lajpat Nagar Metro station and fled with the vehicle and Rs 7.69 crore in cash.

The incident took place at 9:00 am, when Rakesh Kumar a businessman and manager of Kalra and his partner Rahul Ahuja, were going to Karol Bagh along with three employees, identified as driver Subodh, Rajesh and Baijnath.

Kumar and the other were travelling in Kalra's car. Kumar had told the police that they collected cash from Kalkaji and Greater Kailash to deposit it in two separate bank accounts at Karol Bagh. — PTI

INDORE: Somdev Devvarman took just eight minutes to complete the unfinished business as he beat Ti Chen 6-7 (4) 7-6 (3) 1-6 6-2 9-7 in the second singles to put India 2-0 ahead in the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie in Indore on Saturday.

Beginning the day at tied 7-7 in the fifth set after bad light stopped play yesterday, Somdev played attacking tennis as he served well, hit the ball hard, found the lines and was able to pin Chen on the baseline to set up easily put away volleys.

This was exactly what Chen was doing to Somdev on Friday.

The change in tactics was rewarding for the Indian as he broke Chen in the 16th game, albeit after squandering two match points.

Finally, Somdev clinched the issue on his seventh match point when Chen hit one wide. Overall, the contest lasted four hours and 40 minutes over two days.

“It was unfortunate that I could not serve it out yesterday at 5-3 but I am glad I did it today,” Somdev said after the match.

On Friday, Yuki Bhambri had battled cramps to beat Tsung Hua Yang 6-2 6-4 6-7 (1) 6-3 in the opening singles rubber of this first round tie at Indore Tennis Club.

It was the third meeting between Somdev and Chen. The Indian had beaten Chen in an away Davis Cup tie in 2009 and then at the Asian Games the next year.

However, Chen showed that he has improved by leaps and bounds from that time as the two players produced high quality and scintillating tennis in this contest.

On Friday Somdev’s play was very defensive, just retrieving the balls.

Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni on Saturday face Hsien-Yin Peng and Hsin-Han Lee in the doubles rubber, aiming to seal the tie for India.

Indian legend Vijay Amritraj was today honoured with ITF Davis Cup Commitment Award after the completion of the Somdev-Chen match. — PTI

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama and top Republican leaders are signalling willingness to soften their stances on immigration legislation as they try to open the door for compromise before many in Congress face elections late this year.

Obama suggested in an interview aired on Friday that he may drop his insistence that any legislation include a special pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people already in the US illegally.

A day earlier, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders released immigration principles that would allow millions of adults who live in the country unlawfully to get legal status after paying back taxes and fines.

Immigration is Obama’s best hope for a big second-term legislative victory after his attempts to push through gun control laws failed last year in the divided Congress.

With November congressional elections approaching, many Republicans see the immigration measure as a chance to attract Hispanic voters who largely supported Obama and the Democrats in 2012.

Still, the negotiations are tense. The Republican leadership faces strong opposition from several conservatives who are suspicious of Obama’s agenda and fear that legislation will lead to citizenship for people who broke US immigration laws.

Obama repeated his preference for a solid route to citizenship. But the president said he would have to evaluate the implications of a process to allow people get legal status and then have the option to become citizens.

“If the speaker proposes something that says right away, folks aren’t being deported, families aren’t being separated, we’re able to attract top young students to provide the skills or start businesses here, and then there’s a regular process of citizenship, I’m not sure how wide the divide ends up being,” Obama said in a CNN interview that was recorded on Thursday.

The House principles released on Thursday say “there will be no special path to citizenship for individuals who broke our nation’s immigration laws”.

Still, it wouldn’t preclude millions from trying to obtain permanent legal residence, often known as a green card, through sponsorship by an employer or adult child. Those individuals could later seek citizenship.

While strong majorities of Hispanics continue to back a pathway to citizenship, a Pew Research Centre poll in December found that being able to live and work in the US legally without the threat of deportation was more important to Latinos, by 55 per cent to 35 per cent. — PTI

Melbourne: A 39-year-old Indian-origin woman, who had suffered more than 80 per cent burns apparently due to an acid attack, has died in a hospital in Australia.

Monika Chetty, 39, was found by the police at Hoxton Park in Sydney on January 3, after a resident reported hearing a woman crying for help. She died yesterday evening in Concord Hospital.

The Fijian-Indian woman had been roaming Sydney's western suburbs for weeks after being horribly disfigured in a mystery incident involving chemicals, ABC News reported.

Residents had seen Chetty begging for food in the days prior to her being taken to Liverpool Hospital. She initially rejected medical help and did not appear to be suffering pain.

She was later transferred to Concord Hospital's Burns Unit. When questioned by police, she said the burns were the result of an acid attack in Liverpool's Bigge Park.

Chetty reportedly has three children who live with her former husband.

Green Valley Detective Superintendent James Johnson has described the case as one of the "biggest mysteries" he has come across in a career spanning more than four decades.

"I'm perplexed," he said. "You have serious injuries and you're not wanting to get attention. I can't understand it." The police, assisted by homicide detectives, is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death and would prepare a report for the coroner. — PTI

CHANDIGARH: A thick blanket of fog in most parts of Punjab and Haryana today again disrupted normal life adversely affecting air, rail and road traffic.

However, the minimum temperature in the two states and their common capital Chandigarh hovered above normal, the MeT said.

According to a MeT official here, Chandigarh and most places in Punjab and Haryana remained engulfed under heavy fog this morning affecting visibility.

Flights from Chandigarh airport were either re-scheduled or cancelled for the second day today, while some trains criss-crossing the region were running hours behind schedule, sources said.

Director of the Chandigarh's MeT Department, Surender Paul, said the fog was likely to decrease over the next couple of days.

"The fog built up during the last couple of days has been due to fall in temperature coupled with moisture inflow because of approaching Western Disturbance over the region.

Visibility levels will improve as fog would decrease after couple of days," he said.

Meanwhile, Chandigarh recorded a low of 10.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.

In Punjab, Amritsar registered a low of 9.3 degrees Celsius, up four notches while Ludhiana's minimum settled at 10.7 degrees Celsius, four above normal. Patiala, too, recorded an above normal low of 10.4 degrees Celsius.

Karnal and Hisar in Haryana recorded two notches above normal minimums each at 10.2 degrees Celsius and 9.5 degrees Celsius.

The minimum at Ambala settled at 10.4 degrees Celsius, up three degrees.

However, Narnaul had a cold night at 5.5 degrees Celsius. — PTI