New Delhi, March 13
The Election Commission (EC) today announced the holding of byelections to fill the four casual vacancies in the Lok Sabha and four in state legislative Assemblies on April 12.

According to an EC notification here today, the Lok Sabha elections will be held for four seats spread over two states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, while the legislative Assembly elections will also be held for four seats across Orissa, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

The Lok Sabha elections will be held for Betul in Madhya Pradesh and Azamgarh, Khalilabad and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, while the contests for the legislative Assembly seats will be held for Laxmipur (ST) in Orissa, Kharba in West Bengal and Bilgram and Colonelgang both in Uttar Pradesh. The commission has made adequate arrangement of security forces for holding peaceful elections.

The notification for all these elections will be issued on March 19 and the last date for filing of nominations is March 26.

The scrutiny of nominations will be held on March 27 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is March 29.

The counting of votes will be taken up on April 16 and the date for completion of the election process is April 18. The commission has decided to use electronic voting machines (EVM) in these byelections in all the polling stations. Adequate numbers of EVMs have been made available and all steps taken to ensure that the poll is conducted smoothly with the help of these machines.

The commission has decided that the voter’s identification shall be mandatory in these byelections at the time of polls. In order to ensure that no voter is deprived of his/her franchise, if his/her name figures in the electoral rolls, separate instructions will be issued to allow additional documents for the identification of voters at the time of polls in these byelections.

The model code of conduct will come into force from today i.e. March 13 in the districts in which the whole or any part of the parliamentary/ Assembly constituencies going for byelections are included. — UNI

Chennai, March 13
The US today did not rule out deportation of Indians, who entered America through illegal means with the help of 200 south Indian film personalities, after a fake visa racket involving them was busted here.

Sarath Kumar, president of South Indian Cine Artistes Association, said the entire visa scam had brought “shame” to the film industry in the region.

David T Hopper, US consul general for south India, did not rule out legal action against those staying in the US after entering the country through the “scheme” involving the film fraternity, including deportation.

The “scheme” of a person trying to fly to the US in the garb of a film personality’s associate, assistant or acquaintance was first detected in May 2007, Hopper said.

“The B1 (Business) visa issued to such persons has been revoked. We have also informed the US law enforcing officials and US immigration authorities about travelers, who had entered the country,” he said.

An official press release said the investigation by the consulate officials found that “many applicants were not involved with the film industry and that the money had gone to actors and directors to pay for their assistance in the schemes.” To a query, Hopper said such persons, who even part with sums up to Rs 5 lakh to the agents, who allegedly forge the documents, visited the US for a “variety of purposes.”

“I would rather speculate that they go there to study or work as temporary workers,” he said.

A small time actress and two others were arrested on Monday on charges of submitting fake documents to obtain a US visa. As a result, a lifetime ban was imposed by the US on the 200 south Indian film personalities, who allegedly took persons there claiming to be their acquaintances.

Mumbai-based Flora Shiny, her assistant Sri Latha and Venkat Reddy were arrested after the consulate officials found some of Sri Latha’s documents to be fake.

Declining to divulge any details or names of the 200 persons, citing US legal obligations, Hopper said the technological and manual capabilities to prevent such frauds had been enhanced at the consulate here.

“The case was detected, when the person posing as a Tamil cinema producer was accompanying a popular known actor to the US,” Hopper said. — PTI

New Delhi, March 13
Kashmir Singh, who was released after 35 years in Pakistani jails, today refused to disclose why he went to that country and what he was doing there.

“I will not say what I did there. The government sent me there. I did my work. I did not tell the Pakistanis what I did there and where I came from,” he told reporters after being felicitated by the All India Anti Terrorist Front (AITF) here.

Kashmir Singh’s remarks came following questioning on his reported claim that he was an Indian spy, a statement which he later denied. He rejected the idea that the government pressurise him to go back on his statement on spying. “There is no pressure.

In fact, I am demanding that the government should show a similar gesture to Pakistani prisoners so that they can be freed,” he said. Asked whether he plans to pen down a memoir on the time spent in Pakistan, he said he did not see himself as a hero.

“There are no such plans and I do not want to be a hero,” the former Punjab Police constable said. At the function, Kashmir Singh was presented a cheque for Rs 2 lakh by AITF chairman M.S. Bitta, who said even if the government ignored the services of Kashmir Singh, the people of the country would be behind him. — PTI

Bhopal, March 13
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa today withdrew her petition pending in the Supreme Court in a case related to the alleged evasion of income tax by her during the year 1996.

A Bench, comprising Justices S.H. Kapadia and B. Sudershan Reddy permitted her to withdraw her petition when her counsel submitted before the court that she wanted to pursue the case in the trial court.

The apex court, however, directed the Income Tax Tribunal, Chennai, to proceed with the case on merits, without being influenced by any observation made by this court during the hearing of the case.

According to allegations made by the Commissioner of Incomr Tax, Chennai, J. Jayalalithaa did not file her income tax return for several years despite having taxable income and therefore she was liable to be prosecuted for concealment of her income.

Jayalalithaa appealed in the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court judgement, which dismissed her petition for quashing of the proceedings launched by the Income Tax Department against her. — UNI

Lucknow, March 13
The union home ministry is yet to receive a request letter from the Uttar Pradesh government for a CBI probe into the derogatory CD matter,says union minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal. "The matter is very unfortunate and sensitive and would be considered very seriously", said Jaiswal here today.

Such CDs were usually produced in big cities and in this case it had nothing to do with the Congress, said Jaiswal while responding to chief minister Mayawati's allegation of the Congress along with the BJP and the Shiv Sena being responsible for spreading disharmony as the CD had been produced in Maharashtra, a Congress -ruled state.

Criticising the state government's tendency to put uncomfortable political decisions in the central government's court in the name of an "impartial CBI enquiry", Jaiswal said that there were certain specific criteria that needed to be fulfilled before the central agency decided to take over a probe. One of them was the matter being related to more than one state.

Eversince the Mayawati government assumed power in May, 2007, the chief minister has requested the Centre to order CBI enquiries into eight cases.

Lucknow, March 13
While the party constitution prescribes a general body meeting every three years, the UP Congress is finally holding its two-day general body meeting once again at Kanpur after a gap of 26 years.

The unexplainable long pause apart, there are a number of coincidences besides the venue. When the last general body meeting was last held in 1982, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was at the helm of affairs in the party at New Delhi and son Rajiv Gandhi was the general secretary in the AICC.

Now, Sonia Gandhi is the national Congress president, while Rahul, like his father, is the general secretary at the AICC.

Briefing the media, Kanpur MP and union minister for state Sriprakash Jaiswal announced that while AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi would be interacting with the party workers on March 30 and 31, Sonia Gandhi would address Congressmen on the concluding day and a public rally at the city’s historic Phool Bagh Maidan would follow.

After close to two decades in political wilderness, the Congress is now going to ponder on ways and means to revive the party during these two days. “We would discuss the economic and political situation in the state and discuss ways to make the party strong in UP,” said Jaiswal.

Explaining the party’s virtual waking up, UPCC president Rita Joshi said she had opened the rule book soon after assuming the office and discovered that the party constitution stipulated such a meeting every three years.

Kolkata, March 13
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today told the state Assembly that the police had resorted to firing during the Forward Bloc’s agitation at Dinhata on February 3 for protecting the lives of government employees and state property against violent attacks by angry demonstrators. Five Forward Bloc workers and a NVF personnel were killed and several others were injured in the incident.

He denied that the CRPF had fired at the protesters at all. On the contrary, the local policemen on duty, when attacked, had resorted to firing, he clarified.

Bhattacharjee said specific charges had been framed against 57 persons against whom necessary legal steps were being taken in connection with the incident.

Guwahati, March 13
Four persons were killed and several others were injured when the police opened fire a mob at Bengtol near India-Bhutan borer in Chiran district of Assam today.

Chirang DSP said that a mob ransacked and set fire to a camp-cum-office of the Youth Forum of Bodoland People’s Progressive Front (BPPF) at Bengtol. The police had to open fire after failing to control the mob that was threatening more damage. Three persons were killed on the spot and one person died on way to hospital due to the police firing.

The situation was stated to be tense in the entire Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) area of the state after the police firing. There has been simmering tension in the BTC area in view of on and off clashes between the members of the BPPF, a political party formed by the erstwhile militants from the now disbanded Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) and the supporters of the rival National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) which is now in truce with Government of India.

The BPPF is now in the seat of power in the BTC, an offspring of the Bodo Accord between the Government of India and the erstwhile BLT militants. In a separate incident, the army shot dead a hardcore ULFA militant at Tengakhat area in Dibrugarh district of Assam in an encounter today even as the ULFA issued a warning against an organisation of Hindi-Speaking youths in Assam.

The Army claimed that personnel from 11 Guard Regiment gunned down a ULFA sergeant major, Rupah Moran, alias Raju Moran, in an encounter that took place at Hatibondha Borbam villages under Tengkahat police station in Dibrugarh district at around 4.30 am today. The Army recovered a 9 mm pistol and one improvised explosive device (IED) from the slain militant. The militant was involved in extortion operation for the militant group.

Meanwhile, the banned ULFA today warned Bhojpuri Yuba Chatra Parishad in Assam with dire consequences for ‘resorting to harassing local people’ during a bandh called by the youth organisation in Tinsukai district of Upper Assam yesterday.

In another development the opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today flayed the ruling Congress for failing to secure the lives and property of common people in the state in view of continuing violence and regular bombing by the ULFA militants for the last four days.

Guwahati, March 13
Works on the East-West Corridor project of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in insurgency-hit north Cachar hill district of Assam came to a grinding halt today following the abduction of five persons, including three official of a construction company, by tribal militants.

The police informed that militants from Black Widow or Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel Garlosa) abducted five persons, including three officials of a construction company, Vallenca Engineering, engaged by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) near Haflong in north Cachar hill district of the state yesterday.

The police informed that the company officials were travelling in a vehicle to Haflong in north Cachar hills from from Lumding in central Assam, when militants abducted the entire team, including the driver of the vehicle and the personnel security officer (PSO) at the gun point.

The kidnapped company officials were identified as Umesh Chandra Sharma, project manager, Jugaprasad Deka, deputy project manager and Dhruvajyoti Chouhdury, manager.

This prompted the NHAI authority to halt its entire works in the project indefinitely. Even senior officials of the authority, including the chief general manager, rushed to the state to talk to senior state government officials here.

Work in the stretch of the East-West Corridor passing through the insurgency-hit hill district had been badly affected because of the threat from the Black Widow militants. The insurgency in the area has put a brake on the progress of the work that was now running far behind the schedule in the area.

The NHAI authority had earlier demanded augmented security cover for all personnel working in the East-West corridor project in North Cachar Hills. The Assam government has already taken a policy decision to raise a special Battalion of ex-service men to guard over the entire project site in the hill district.

The Army launched a search operation in the area to trace the abducted persons. An NHAI official informed that the worst was being feared about the fate of the abducted officials, as the abductors were yet to contact the authority.

New Delhi, March 13
Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has asked all states to look into the matter of farmers’ loans from private moneylenders, take action against unlicenced operators and ensure that licenced moneylenders do not exploit borrowers. Speaking at an interaction between Consortium of Indian Farmers’ Association and Parliament members with farming background, Pawar said he had written to Chief Ministers to run a campaign and gather information regarding all those farmers who had taken loans from private moneylenders.

He said states had also been asked to provide protection to those farmers who had taken money from unlicenced moneylenders and ensure there was no forced recovery or harassment. “There are two types of moneylenders - licenced and unlicenced…. States should also ensure that licenced moneylenders do not overcharge and exploit borrowers,” he said.

In a candid admission, the agriculture minister said had the Rs 60,000 crore-debt relief been spent for improving the irrigation facilities in the country, the situation would have been different. “But the decision (for loan waiver) was taken… A beginning to reduce the burden of farmers had to be made,” he said.

The objective of today’s meeting was to bring together MPs with farming background with farmers for a discussion on various issues concerning the farming community.

One of the suggestions by the farmers’ organisation towards the Union Budget 2008-09 was that the scheme had several limitations, including that it was not helpful to dry-land farmers of Rajasthan, Vidharbha and Bundelkhand. Another point raised was that the Budget had nothing in store for those who had been paying back their loans promptly.

“Four per cent interest incentive should be given to regular payee. Those who pay back their loans regularly feel they are not getting the benefit of the waiver. Besides, India has large number of tenant, migrant, nomadic and tribal farmers who are not covered under financial schemes of the government,” CIFA secretary-general P. Chengal Reddy said.

Meanwhile, Pawar said benefits of the loan waiver scheme would also include fishermen. “Fishermen who belong to the fishermen family are eligible, provided they have taken the loans before December 31, 2007,” he said.

It has been a demand of the CIFA as well as the poultry industry that the loan waiver scheme should be applicable to poultry farmers and fishermen. CIFA is also pressing for market reforms and asking the government to encourage commodity trading by removing restrictions and remove the commodity transaction tax imposed in the recent Budget.