New Delhi, May 25
Ms Sonia Gandhi is set to be re-elected Congress President with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the party’s top brass cutting across generations backing her candidature for the top organisational post.

Led by Dr Manmohan Singh, the party leaders, including CWC members, Congress Chief Ministers, Union Ministers and PCC chiefs, filed a large number of nomination papers proposing Ms Gandhi’s name for the Presidentship of the party, making her re-election on May 28 a mere formality.

“Of course, she will be unanimously re-elected”, said the Prime Minister who was the first among the party stalwarts to file the her nomination papers after a meeting with Mrs Gandhi at 10, Jan Path. Several Union Ministers and party leaders expressed similar confidence.

This has been the first organisational election in Congress after Ms Gandhi led the Congress-led UPA to power at the Centre and later renounced the post of Prime Minister by nominating Dr Manmohan Singh to the post.

A highlight of the exercise today was that Congress’ Gennext leadership led by Rahul Gandhi, MP from Amethi and son of the Congress President, also filed a nomination proposing her name.

A total of 89 nominations were filed from different states and Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, who is the Chairman of AICC’s Central Election Authority, said till today nominations in favour of Mrs Gandhi alone had been received.

The last date for filing nominations is May 27 and scrutiny the next day. Mr Fernandes said if there was no other nomination besides Ms Gandhi, a formal announcement of her re-election would be made on May 28. — PTI

New Delhi, May 25
The UPA government could seek an extension of President’s rule in Bihar beyond six month’s time ending in September if the Election Commission (EC) is not able to fix a date for holding the Assembly election by then, Law Minister H.R. Bharadwaj today said.

“It is for the Election Commission to decide the date of election. If it is not able to decide it within the six-month period of President’s rule, then proclamation has to be further extended by another six months. But it has to be seen how the EC makes up its mind,” Mr Bharadwaj said at a press conference here.

Asked whether the government had any intention to extend President’s rule further fearing that the dissolution of the Assembly was done in a “hurried manner” and not giving any chance to NDA to form a popular government, the Law Minister said, “there is no question of the government having any such intention.”

He said since the dissolution issue would be debated in Parliament when it meets for Monsoon session in July, the government “will have the benefit of extending President’s rule further after discussion whether initiated by the government on its own or raised by the Opposition.”

Terming the NDA attack on the UPA over the Bihar issue as a “misinformation campaign”, Mr Bharadwaj said Governor Buta Singh and the Union Government had acted perfectly within the framework of the Constitution.

“The NDA neither had any majority, nor had staked claim to form the government. Whatever they are saying now, is only in the air and the Constitution does not function as per their wishes,” the Law Minister said.

Commenting on the attack by some NDA leaders on Mr Buta Singh in the context of his trial and conviction in the JMM MPs’ bribery case that saved the P.V. Narasimha Rao government in 1993, the Law Minister said these things had no “relevance” when he was acquitted by the higher court.

“You should not tarnish the image of any institution. Anybody can face a case. To attack a Governor so blatantly showed its (NDA’s) lack of faith in the institutions. His action has to be evaluated on constitutional parameters,” Mr Bharadwaj contended.

“If it wants to lay some rules for the appointment of Governors, let it be debated in Parliament. But we cannot oversight the fact that the previous government had appointed several persons with the RSS background as governors,” he pointed out.

Asked about certain doubts being raised on the appointment of Navin Chawla as the new Election Commissioner for his alleged proximity with 10 Janpath, Mr Bharadwaj said the integrity of civil servants should not be doubted. “They are responsible civil servants. Has not another Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami functioned as Home Secretary under former Home Minister L.K. Advani? But we have never raised any question on his appointment,” the Law Minister said, adding “the election commissioners have to function as per the Constitution and their integrity should not be doubted by anyone.”

New Delhi, May 25
With Assembly elections round the corner in Bihar, BJP President L.K. Advani today reposed faith in party General Secretary Arun Jaitley by appointing him as the election in charge of the state.

“The BJP President has appointed Mr Arun Jaitley as in charge (Prabhari) of the Bihar State Assembly election,” a BJP press note said here today.

Mr Jaitley would coordinate with the NDA ally JD(U) and supervise the party’s preparations for the elections.

The BJP leader, who was party’s election in charge of Bihar in the recent Assembly poll also, came in for appreciation from party leaders and workers.

Mr Jaitley is also in charge of the Assembly poll in Tamil Nadu, which is due next year.

New Delhi, May 25
In a yet another blow to former Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP National Vice-President Babulal Marandi, who had recently revolted against the appointment of Yadunath Pandey as the state BJP unit chief, the party high command has gifted the lone vacant Rajya Sabha seat in the state to Janata Dal (U).

Disregarding fresh bout of revolt in the party’s Jharkhand unit, which may have impact on the stability of the Arjun Munda-led NDA government in the state, the BJP leadership have agreed to the fielding of former Union Minister and JD(U) leader Digvijay Singh for the lone Rajya Sabha seat, which has fallen vacant following the resignation of the JMM leader Stephan Marandi. The election will be held on June 3.

According to party insiders, Mr Marandi, who was deeply hurt by the appointment of Yadunath Pandey as BJP’s Jharkhand unit chief without consulting him wanted his confidante and former Lok Sabha MP Som Marandi of the BJP to be nominated for the Rajya Sabha seat.

They feel that the decision to field Mr Digvijay Singh taken at the highest level after the JD(U) leaders mounted pressure is bound to create some “unrest” within the BJP.

“Mr Marandi, who is already annoyed with the BJP national general secretary in charge of Jharkhand Raj Nath Singh, will have another reason to revolt against him, first being appointment of Mr Yadunath Pandey as state unit president,” they said adding “this will not augur well for the party which is heading a coalition government in the state with very thin majority.”

New Delhi, May 25
Signalling a further thaw in the India-China relations, the two countries today agreed to step up interactions between their armies and improve the understanding between their armed forces.

The agreement came at a meeting between Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the visiting Chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Gen Liang, Guanglie, at South Block here this morning.

Later, General Guanlie said the Chinese armed forces attached importance to good relations between the two neighbours and the PLA supported the proposal for greater exchange of visits, joint exercises and other interactions between the personnel of the two armed forces.

General Guanlie, who is the first PLA chief to visit India after seven years, specially after New Delhi carried out nuclear tests in May 1998, had also held discussions with Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee — and Naval Chief — Admiral Arun Prakash, Army Chief, Gen J.J. Singh and Air Chief, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, yesterday. The PLA chief was also for the first time invited to send his officers to witness an Army exercise later this year.

General Guanlie discussed the possibility of holding a joint naval exercise, the second such interaction between the two navies. The navies broke the ice when they conducted their first ever search-and-rescue exercise off the Shanghai coast in late 2003.

India has also opened the doors of its military training institutions and establishments for General Liang and his 18-member delegation.

General Guanlie will visit the headquarters of the elite 50th (Independent) Para Brigade (Agra), Western Naval Command (Mumbai) and Southern Army Command (Pune) as well as the College of Military Engineering, the National Defence Academy and the United Services Institution (USI).

General Guanlie arrived here on Monday on a weeklong visit aimed at initiating the process of mutual consultations envisaged in a protocol signed during Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India last month.

New Delhi, May 25
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) last night reviewed the Siachen issue ahead of the two-day Defence Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan starting in Islamabad tomorrow.

“We have reviewed the Siachen issue,” Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told media persons after a more than two-hour CCS meeting.

When asked whether India was hopeful of some positive results at the talks, he merely said “let us see.”

The CCS met to the crucial issue last evening here ahead of the visit of eight-member Indian delegation, led by Defence Secretary Ajai Vikram Singh to Islamabad today to deliberate upon the Siachen issue under the Composite Dialogue Process.

The two-day talks on May 26 and 27, to be held at the Pakistan Defence Ministry’s headquarters in Islamabad, are the part of the second round of talks in the Composite Dialogue Process between the two countries aimed at normalisation of relations

The Siachen talks would be followed by another round of discussion on the Sir Creek issue between New Delhi and Islamabad.

The delegation’s visit will coincide with the presence of US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca, who begins her official visit to Pakistan today.

Pakistan Defence Secretary Tariq Waseem Ghazi will lead his country’s delegation at the talks, aimed at amicably resolving the issue of reduction of troops by the two countries at the highest battlefield in the world. Known as the ‘Roof-Top of the world’, the Siachen glacier sees both forces operate under very inhospitable conditions.

“The visit is part of the ongoing Composite Dialogue Process between Pakistan and India,’’ a Defence Ministry spokesman said here last afternoon.

Pakistani officials say that Islamabad wants the implementation of the Pakistani-Indian agreement of 1989 on Siachen, envisaging withdrawal of troops of both countries from “no-man’s” land to the pre-Simla Agreement positions.

However, India insists that the boundary must be delineated before any withdrawal takes place.

Pakistan and India signed the Simla Agreement on July 3, 1972, which called for putting an end to conflict and confrontation that marred their relations and to work for the promotion of a friendly and harmonious relationship and the establishment of durable peace in the subcontinent.

“We would like the implementation of the agreement signed between the two countries in 1989, following talks between their Defence Secretaries on the Siachen issue,’’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said, ahead of the two-day talks.

New Delhi, May 25
Former US President Bill Clinton arrived here this afternoon in his capacity as UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery to visit temporary shelters for tsunami-affected people.

Mr Clinton will stay in New Delhi for two days.

He will be the keynote speaker at a national conference on HIV/AIDS held by the Confederation of Indian Industry in collaboration with the IBT and NACO tomorrow.

The former US President will fly to Tamil Nadu capital Chennai from here on May 27. From Chennai he will go to Nagapattinam district where the Clinton Foundation has adopted a few villages for relief and rehabilitation work. — UNI

Kolkata, May 25
The CPM-led Left Front retained its political supremacy in rural Bengal by winning the largest number of municipal boards in which the elections were held last Sunday. The counting took place today.

Of the total 79 municipalities where the elections were held, the CPM and its allies won in 43, while Congress came in the second place, replacing Ms Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress by capturing 22 municipalities.

Interestingly, the Left Front won several boards in the industrial belts and other urban areas which had been under Ms Banerjee’s control.

The TMC, however, could keep its control at Contai (Midnapore) and six others municipalities in south Bengal, while Mr Subhas Ghising’s GNLF won all nine seats in the Mirik municipalities by defeating the CPM. In the by-election in one seat in the hills of Darjeeling also, the GNLF won by defeating the main rival, the CPM.

The CPM also won 122 of the total 204 panchayats where the elections were held simultaneously with the 79 municipalities. The Congress won in 37 and TMC in 17. The BJP could establish control in five panchayats boards, located in Indo-Bangladesh border districts and in Malda.

In the 2000 municipal elections, however, the CPM and other Left parties had won in 37 municipalities while the TMC and BJP alliance in 18 boards and the Congress in 17. In the later stage, however, the Congress, particularly, in Murshidabad and Malda districts and in some areas in North 24 Parganas, established their control in five municipalities by making local adjustment with the TMC and other like-minded parties.

Much before the elections results were officially declared, the CPM state secretary, Mr Anil Biswas, at a press conference, congratulated the people for once again bringing the Left parties back to power in rural Bengal and the industrial belts. He hoped, they would be also voted to power in Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Salt Lake municipal boards where the elections would be held on June 19.

But the TMC leader, Ms Mamata Banerjee, and the Congress working president, Mr Pradip Bhattacharyya, at two separate press conferences accused the CPM of rigging the elections with the help of the police and the state machinery. The BJP president, Mr Tathagata Roy felt since the elections were not free and fair, the results did not show the verdict of the people.

New Delhi, May 25
One of the richest states in the country, Punjab ranks among states in the number of habitations in rural areas that are without sustainable and stipulated drinking water supply.

With 906 non-covered (NC) habitations, Punjab is second to Rajasthan, where 2,785 habitations have the NC status out of the total 5,388 habitations in the country that still have people living without sustainable and stipulated drinking water supply.

The report on the coverage plan is based on comprehensive action plan (CAP)-1999, it says that while considerable success has been achieved in meeting the drinking water needs of the rural population and 95.34 per cent rural habitations are fully covered (FC) with stipulated level drinking water facilities, still 4.28 per cent habitations in the country remain partially-covered (PC) and 0.38 per cent not covered (NC).

A substantial percentage of this 0.38 per cent NC habitations in the country, is in Punjab. These habitations which are yet to be covered with the stipulated norms of coverage of 40 lpcd with a source within 1.6 km. Punjab also has as many as 1198, of the total 60,884 PC habitations in the country.

Discussions on drinking water supply in rural areas are the main agenda items of the conference of state secretaries on “Rural drinking water supply and total sanitation campaign programme” to be held in the Capital tomorrow.

As per the Tenth Plan, all habitations of CAP-1999 were to be covered by March 31,2004.

As per the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) guidelines, all state governments are expected to provide and release the matching share to implementing agencies within a period of 15 days of receipt of the central share for rural drinking and sanitation sectors.

Jaipur, May 25
A young trainee constable of Haryana, Vijendra Singh, arrested here on May 12 for his alleged involvement in an attempt of gang-rape of a girl along with his three accomplices had also been facing trial on charges of theft in the court of a Sessions Judge at Jaipur since 1993, disclosed the police sources yesterday.

Recently recruited, he is a trainee in the Madhuban Police Training Centre at Karnal in Haryana.

Vijendra Singh and the other three accused allegedly found guilty of a conspiracy to gang-rape a sales girl of a Jaipur-based mobile company are currently in judicial custody. Vijendra Singh had come to the Pink City to appear in the B.Ed. examination and stayed with his friend, Mahendra Choudhary, who is also a co-accused in the crime.

Further investigations by the police revealed that one Ajay Poonia, then student of Rajasthan University, had lodged an FIR against Vijendra Singh in the Gandhi Nagar Police Station. As per the contents of the FIR, Vijendra Singh had forcibly entered Poonia’s room in JC Boss Hostel of the university and escaped with the latter’s cellphone and a wrist watch. On the basis of the chargesheet then framed by police officials of the area, a trial is still pending against him in a Sessions Court. The concerning Haryana police authorities have been apprised of the offences committed by him.