Hyderabad, September 26
The ruling Congress swept the municipal poll in Andhra Pradesh, while its erstwhile ally, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, won two seats.

The Congress captured 74 municipalities out of 96, and wrested control of 9 corporations out of 10, for which the elections were held on September 24. The credit for this win goes to the Chief Minister, Mr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, and his policies, the chief, Mr K. Kesava Rao, said.

The main opposition, the Telugu Desam Party, continued to be in the dumps even 16 months after losing power in the last Assembly elections, as it could barely muster 10 municipalities.

Money and muscle power ruled the roost in this poll. The ruling party indulged in armtwisting of all sorts, alleged the TDP leader, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The TRS, which contested independently after falling out with the state Congress, ended up with just two towns

in its basket. The regional party failed to make any inroads in the urban areas, even as the Congress won a majority of municipalities in the Telangana region.

The TRS could not have any impact even in Karimnagar, the home constituency of the TRS chief and Union Minister, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

These elections do not reflect public opinion. It is not correct to say that the Telangan sentiment is fizzling out on the basis of these results, Mr A.Narendra, the TRS leader and Union Minister of State for Rural Development, remarked.

The BJP, the former TDP partner, also ran independently in these elections, but fell flat at the hustings.

About 10 municipalities have seen a hung result, where the Congress and TDP have won almost equal number of wards and divisions. Both the TRS and TDP announced that they would take the support of the Congress and BJP to wrest control in such municipalities.

New Delhi, September 26
The UPA government today fielded Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran to defend its voting against Iran in Vienna and there was no indication from the Prime Minister's Office that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intended to make a statement or call an all-party meeting on the issue.

The Foreign Secretary, who returned from New York last midnight, briefed the Prime Minister at length as External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh is still abroad.

At the party level also, Congress spokesman Anand Sharma defended the government move even as there were indications that former Prime Minister and NDA leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee could speak or write to the Prime Minister on the Iran nuclear issue and Indian voting in Vienna. Mr Sharma said it was a myth that India acted under US pressure and said its decision was taken on merit.

The Foreign Secretary rejected the charge that India acted under pressure from the US and said that it made the judgment on a vote on the EU-3 resolution after very careful consideration of all the issues involved. He also said the government did not believe that India voting against Iran constituted a shift in India’s policy and believes that much of New Delhi's effort was on behalf of Iran.

"We felt that the resolution as it was passed addressed the main preoccupations which India had. Those preoccupations were, first, that they should not be taken to the Security Council, and as you know this was something which was not something that the US originally wanted. They wanted that this matter should be taken to the Security Council immediately which we did not agree with. Secondly, we wanted that there should be more time allowed for consultations which was also something that the United States of America was not in favour of," Mr Saran maintained at a hurriedly convened press conference.

The Foreign Secretary made it very clear that India could not have abstained like some of the other Non-Aligned countries. "We made a major effort with the EU-3 countries to dilute some of the provisions of the draft and to make them concede on these two points which are very important for Iran’s interests. Since they did concede these two critical points we were making, I think in terms of diplomacy, having got them to agree to what we wanted, then to say that we will only abstain on the resolution would not have been a correct position for us to take," Mr Saran said.

The Foreign Secretary's argument was that India made a successful effort in persuading the EU-3 to concede on these two matters because if they had not, a confrontation seemed inevitable.

So, as a result of the great deal of efforts made by India and some other countries, the EU-3 finally decided in the draft resolution that was voted upon that (1) there would not be an immediate reference to the Security Council and (2) also allow time for this matter to be discussed further and only subsequently for the Board to take a decision depending upon what had been achieved in the meantime.

With respect to Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, India itself has no reservations and it was clearly spelt out in the explanation of vote by India's Permanent Representative to the IAEA. The Foreign Secretary flatly scotched doubts that India had any reservations about Iran’s pursuit of a peaceful nuclear energy programme consistent with global nonproliferation norms.

Also, India did not decide to vote in favour of the EU3 resolution because India was having some problems with Iran on other issues.

In New York, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh was in touch with the Foreign Ministers of the EU-3 — Britain, France and Germany — concerning the deliberations which were taking place at that time in Vienna. Mr Natwar Singh spoke several times to his Iranian counterpart as well who too was in New York.

India has all along been very supportive of the EU-3 because it has seen the EU-3 initiative vis-à-vis Iran as giving a way out for a possible compromise. India supported the decision which was arrived at between Iran and the EU-3 on the suspension of conversion activity at the Iranian nuclear facility at Isfahan. When this conversion activity, which was suspended, was resumed, it caused international concern.

India was concerned about two elements which appeared to be leading to a confrontation situation: (1) the insistence on the part of the EU-3 and some of the other western countries to immediately take this matter to the Security Council, and (2) the Non-Aligned countries' point of view that they should not act in haste and that they should allow time for further negotiations and consultations to take place, especially because a new Government had taken office in Teheran. EU3 resisted this as well initially.

Mumbai, September 26
Seldom has it happened that an actor’s life can be represented by a song from one of his own films, but for Dev Anand, who turned 82 today, the song “Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya” from the film “Hum Dono” has come to epitomise the principle of his exemplary life.

Unlike other stars, who cosy up with close relatives and friends at unknown destinations, the actor who has been in the film industry for six decades, was busy shooting for his latest film.

The occasional early morning tourist at the Gateway of India and many others in the area woke up to a beautiful morning surprised to see their favourite star busy shooting for his soon to be released film “Mr Prime Minister”.

The evergreen producer-director, who has produced blockbusters like “Guide” and “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” under his banner “Navketan”, was busy filming a rap song, which he has written and sung himself.

Thronged by fans, Anand never showed signs of tiredness during the shoot, which started in the morning and continued through the scorching afternoon heat.

The agile actor, however, did not disappoint his fans and accepted greetings from them with his charismatic smile. — PTI 

New Delhi, September 26
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today received messages of greetings on his 73rd birthday from President, Vice-President, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and a number of Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers and political leaders.

Dr Singh was greeted at his South Block office by the entire PMO staff. Later, representatives of all sections of the PMO staff presented him bouquets.

The Prime Minister said this was the date his parents had given for admitting him in school and he did not know about his actual birthday.

On this day last year, a cake was cut on board his aircraft while Dr Singh was flying from New York to Geneva en route home after attending the UN General Assembly session.

Among those who greeted Dr Singh were Governor of Himachal Pradesh V. S. Kokje, Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh J. Jayalalithaa and Vir Bhadra Singh, respectively, and DMK President M. Karunanidhi, Pondichery Lt-Governor M. M. Lakhera and Chief Minister N. Rangasamy also wished the Prime Minister. — PTI 

New Delhi, September 26
The BJP rallied behind its President L.K. Advani as senior leader Jaswant Singh today endorsed his statement in the Chennai National Executive that there was an impression about the sangh remote-controlling the party which needs to be corrected.

The support came a day after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee sent a veiled message to the RSS on the issue, saying that ideology should not be confined as was being attempted by “some friends”.

“I fully agree with Advaniji’s statement made at the party’s recent National Executive in Chennai,” Mr Jaswant Singh told reporters here in response to a question.

“He (Advani) has made the statement after giving a proper thought. There is no superficiality in it. He has said it with seriousness. It is a clear statement (of Advani) and there are no knots in it,” he said when asked to comment on the BJP President’s remarks which have generated immense controversy.

Mr Jaswant Singh said he was a “disciplined” BJP soldier and had never disagreed with the party President.

Mr Jaswant Singh is the first BJP leader to come out in open support of Mr Advani on the issue although Mr Vajpayee yesterday expressed his backing to the party President’s statement in a veiled manner, while other leaders like Ms Sushma Swaraj and Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu had parried questions when asked to specifically comment on Mr Advani’s remarks which was being projected as the party President had been isolated within the party.

On Mr Vajpayee’s remark that ideology should not be limited, Mr Jaswant Singh said, “Whatever he (Vajpayee) has said is welcome in every form.”

The former union minister said, “If ideas were kept locked, decaying would set in in the party. So there should be a continuous movement.”

Favouring flow of ideas, he said, however, that it should not mean indiscipline.

Praising Mr Vajpayee, he equated his personality with the Ramayana, the mythological story of Lord Rama. “It is like Ram Charit Manas. Every time you read it, you will get a different meaning,” he said.

He said it was not easy to comprehend Mr Vajpayee’s ideas as it took time to understand him.

No other BJP leader has so far come out in open support of Mr Advani on the RSS-BJP issue. Party spokesperson Sushma Swaraj recently distanced herself from the issue, saying that it was not important for everyone to endorse the party President’s view.

In an apparent disapproval of the RSS insistence on sticking to its core ideology in changing times, Mr Vajpayee said yesterday, “Our friends have made an attempt to limit the thought process. It is not necessary that all of us accept it (ideology) in the same form as others.”

New Delhi, September 26
The Union Agriculture Ministry is considering a proposal to revamp the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) on the lines of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in a bid to bridge the gap between technology generation and technology dissemination and to enable the farmers compete in the demand driven global economy under the new WTO regime.

Revamping of the research body also assumes great significance as the government has set four per cent farm sector growth target in the Tenth Plan period. For the country to sustain a GDP growth of 8 per cent, the farm sector should grow at this pace.

Sources in the ministry said the government was considering the proposals of various committees, which went into the issue and analysing different options, to benefit the farmers the most, as 60 per cent of farmers have no access to technology as revealed by the latest National Sample Survey Organisation report.

Indications that the ministry could adopt the CSIR model for revamping the agricultural research body with certain modifications, taking into account the particular needs of this sector.

However, there is resentment amongst scientists in the ICAR in adopting the CSIR model as this would mean fostering more public-private partnerships and getting rid of several senior posts in the council to trim its size.

They said the ICAR’s role is to coordinate agricultural research and promote rural development, while the CSIR promotes scientific and industrial research and development, often involving private-sector participation.

Officials in the ministry said the sector was witnessing a shift from a “supply driven” to a “demand driven” regime, involving stakeholders in prioritising research. There are compelling reasons for research to align its agenda to market demand and profitability. Farmers want varied research products to remain competitive, profitable, diversify production and move to higher-value products, they added.

The ICAR coordinates agricultural research, education and training across India. It acts as the central repository of information, communicates with equivalent agencies in other countries and helps to bring the applications of research findings to farmers.

However, ICAR scientists were of the view that for all practical purposes the organisation had become bureaucratic and centralised and needed to be restructured.

M. S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the National Farmers Commission, earlier this year had submitted a report to India’s Planning Commission on entire agricultural research sector in the country with special emphasis on the ICAR.

The report said bureaucracy was a problem and “the political and administrative tinkering with the staff selection process leads to the recruitment of subordinate scientists, rather than scintillating ones”.

New Delhi, September 26
The seat-sharing negotiations among the UPA allies for next month’s Bihar Assembly elections have been so smooth this time that the Congress even consulted the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on the selection of its candidates.

AICC general secretary and Bihar in charge Digivijay Singh officially maintains that the Congress chose its candidates independently. But Congress leaders privately admit that RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was consulted extensively while drawing up the lists. The purpose of this exercise, they explained, was to ensure that the alliance fielded the right candidate to enable the RJD to transfer its votes to the Congress nominee.

“While the winnability of the candidate has been the prime consideration, we also wanted to make sure that he or she is acceptable to the RJD,” said a senior AICC functionary, adding both sides have gone in for “real micro-management” this time.

The Congress also did not want a situation where an unhappy RJD would put up independent candidates against its nominees. Mr Diivijay Singh has repeatedly maintained that the key to this election is to put up a united fight with the UPA alliance putting up a single candidate on each seat.

This is in sharp contrast to the last election when there was a bitter falling out between the RJD and the Congress over seat-sharing and they eventually ended up fighting each other with disastrous consequences. Chastened by their past experience, the two sides have been unusually understanding with Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav agreeing to part with close to 50 seats for the Congress. The NCP has got eight and the CPM nine seats as part of its share.

The Central Election Committee of the Congress is learnt to have cleared about 40 names but the final announcement about the seat-sharing arrangement and the names of the candidates already finalised will be released jointly in Patna tomorrow, Mr Digvijay Singh said. The common minimum programme (CMP), which is being given final touches, will be released on Wednesday, he added. Besides giving a fair share of seats to the minorities, OBCs and other weaker sections, the Congress has dropped its earlier reservations about fielding musclemen in next month’s elections.

Chennai, September 26
When it comes to moral policing none can beat the political parties in Tamil Nadu which forced a film star Khushboo to tender an unconditional apology today for her candid interview to a magazine on sex.

In an interview to the Tamil edition of India Today, which conducted a survey titled “Sex and the Single Woman”, the actress had said there was nothing wrong with pre-marital sex as long as the girl protects herself from pregnancy and venereal diseases.

She also said: “Our society must free itself from expectations that brides should all be virgins.”

When the magazine hit the stands, some of the regional political parties known for moral policing and those opposed to the bold stand adopted by actresses in a male dominated Tamil film industry raised a hue and cry.

Devoid of any serious political issue the Tamil Nadu unit the BJP too joined in with its national secretary Mr L. Ganesan saying that Khusboo’s remarks have disturbed the entire Tamil community.

Khusboo, a heart throb of yesteryears who still stars in television serials and conducts a quiz show, realized that her career was at stake and flew back today from Singapore where she was holidaying with her family and tendered an unconditional apology.

She was virtually in tears when she issued a statement saying she would never even dream of sullying the image of the Tamil people.

Khushboo stated: “Even in films, I never undertook roles, which lowered the image of women. I have the greatest regard for Tamils, especially Tamil women. If my remarks have hurt anybody’s feelings, I tender an apology. I am one among you and will always remain with you.”

The chauvinist attitude of some in the Tamil film industry was exposed when producer K. Rajan said that he had hoped that after marrying a Tamil and settling down in Chennai, Khushboo, who was of north Indian origin, had turned into a traditional Tamil housewife.

He went on to say that after reading her “stupid” statements on sex he was convinced she had not changed into a “Tamil woman”.

Khushboo, who was born in Mumbai, is married to a Tamil film director and they have two children.

Her remarks have stirred the Hornest’s nest and even the UPA constituents like the PMK, the MDMK and some regional parties like the Dalit Panthers of India resorted to ugly protests.

Angry women volunteers of the Dalit Panthers of India, armed with broomsticks and chappals, gathered outside the South India Film Artistes’ Association premises demanding an unconditional apology from Khushboo for her remarks.

The PMK’s women’s wing went a step ahead to say that unless she apologised they would go on a state-wide agitation to “drive Khushboo away from Tamil Nadu to Mumbai”.

The remarks of Khushboo, who was the dream girl of the Tamil youth in the 1990s and worshipped as a goddess, is seen by protestors as being against Tamil ethos and culture.

Khushboo’s contribution to the Tamil film industry is forgotten for her bold remarks and her effigies were burnt today in many towns in Tamil Nadu while some protestors put it on donkeys and paraded in parts of the city.

Even a defamation suit has been filed today in a city metropolitan magistrate’s court under Section 499 and 500 of the IPC (Punishment for Defamation) against her.

However, what is significant is that the main political parties, the AIADMK, DMK and the Congress, are tight lipped on the issue.

New Delhi, September 26
The second round of the India-Pakistan technical level talks on the operationalisation of the Amritsar-Lahore and Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus services will take place here tomorrow and the day after.

The Indian delegation would be led by Mr Dilip Sinha, Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran), Ministry of External Affairs and the Pakistan delegation led by Mr Mohammad Abbas, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Communications.