New Delhi, April 7
It was an emotional meeting as family members of the prisoners of war, believed to be lodged in Pakistan since 1971, raised the issue of returning their loved ones with Pakistan former human rights minister Ansar Burney here this afternoon. Burney, who is on a visit to India, promised help and told the families that he would look into the matter.

Today, a four-member group met Burney and told him that 54 men were scheduled to be released or exchanged in the third phase of the prisoner exchange programme between India and Pakistan, but were not returned, they said. Burney is seen as instrumental in securing the release of Kashmir Singh, who was repatriated to India recently.

Clutching evidence in their hands were Damyanthi Tambay, wife of Flight Lieut V.V. Tambay, and a brother of Wing Commander Gill. They were carrying copies of the 1974 issue of the Time magazine that had photo of Major Ghosh on its cover. They were also carrying newspaper cuttings of Pakistani newspapers, references from books written by former spies.

The Pakistan government had repeatedly denied having the 54 men in custody, the relatives of PoWs told Burney.

The families had gone to Pakistan last year in an emotional trip to look for their loved ones in jails, but it yielded nothing. They had carried documents to prove that their dear ones were captured alive during the 1971 war but were never returned. The family members of the missing men had been working incessantly to trace and get them released for the past 35 years now. They had met every Prime Minister, every foreign minister to date but repeatedly failed to get their loved ones back.

Separately, Burney told the Tribune that Pakistan was also looking for its PoWs in India. He said he was for releasing all people who were not involved in any terrorist activity on the either side of the border. “I hold no sympathy for such people who indulge in acts of terror”. On Sarabjit Singh, he said, “I hope he is freed” and promised that he would go and meet the witness who changed his stance that ultimately led to the punishment for Sarabjit.

New Delhi, April 7
Separatist Kashmiri leaders led by Syed Ali Shah Gillani, chairman of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (G) appear to be in total disarray over the confusing signals from the new regime in Islamabad about Kashmir.

Geelani has gone on an offensive and has pointed an accusing finger at the new Pakistani ruling alliance of the PPP and PML (N) saying its leaders had negotiated with Washington before they decided to constitute an alliance to assume power. Kashmiri people should not have many expectations from them, Gillani said recently in an interview to Pakistani Urdu weekly, ‘Al Qalam’.

The hardcore Hurriyat leader said President Pervez Musharraf had given a major setback to Kashmiri movement and that the new government will continue with his Kashmir policy.

What has disturbed Gillani and some other Hurriyat leaders, who are not yet ready to come out in open, are the statements by leaders of the new alliance parties particularly that of the Asif Zardari and Habibur Rahman. They have been severely attacked by the separatist and jihadi groups.

Statements like: ‘the Kashmir controversy should be kept aside for future generation to tackle and in the meanwhile India and Pakistan should promote trade relations’, have added further fuel to the simmering fire.

Islamabad’s invitation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan at an early date has added to the miseries of the Hurriyat leaders. Statements by new the Pak premier Yousuf Raza Geelani and others that “sacrifices of Kashmiris will not go in vain” have failed to instill any confidence among this disillusioned lot.

Even leaders of Pakistani fundamentalist Islamic groups, like JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman, have said the use of force was not a viable option. In an interview to INP published in Urdu daily Jinnah on March 27, Fazlur Rahman said Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir has weakened due to the wrong Kashmir policies and urged the new government to formulate fresh policies.

A recently held conference at European Parliament in Brussels, “Kashmir Global Discourse-2008”, has called upon the new leadership in Pakistan and India to take the peace process forward and the trust deficit between the two countries be dispelled by further people-to-people contacts along with promotion of bi-lateral economic relations.

The conference is jointly organised by the All-Party Group for Kashmir in the European Parliament and ICHR Kashmir Centre-EU headed by Majid Tramboo.

Speaking at the conference, Ashok Bhan, a Kashmiri activist, called upon the “Global Discourse, to adopt an unanimous resolution to deprecate the means of violence and promote a people-centric approach. The global discourse is an annual event and President Musharraf himself attended the conference in 2006.

Agartala, April 7
Bird flu has spread to Tripura after a new outbreak of the deadly disease was confirmed in the Northeast state following which authorities ordered culling of 25,000 birds. Tests, after hundreds of birds died in the past two weeks, in Dhalai district bordering Bangladesh showed that the avian disease had killed them, official sources said here today.

A red alert was sounded by the state government to prohibit import of poultry from outside the state, which shares a 856-km-long porous border with Bangladesh. Personnel of the BSF and special surveillance teams are keeping a close watch in these border areas, the sources said.

Tripura was gripped by the flu scare after at least 3,000 birds, including poultry, died in three villages of Mohanpur, Malaya and Tilagang in Kamalpur sub-division in Dhalai district bordering Bangladesh, the sources said. Samples of the dead poultry were then sent to the high-security Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Bhopal, on Thursday. The samples tested positive according to preliminary reports received yesterday, the sources added.

An alarmed state administration has decided to cull 25,000 birds in eight gram panchayat areas which fall within five-km radius of the affected villages. The administration has also kept 200 teams ready for culling. — PTI

Mumbai, April 7
Amitabh Bachchan decided to silence his critics from Maharashtra who accused him of being loyal to Uttar Pradesh by proclaiming his love for the state - in Marathi. Bachchan spoke to a newly launched Marathi channel, IBN Lokmat, edited by veteran Shiv Sena baiter Nikhil Wagle.

“In the last 40 years, Maharashtra has given me a lot: my home, my wife and much more. I and my family are grateful to entire Maharashtra,” Bachchan said in Marathi. The actor said his late father, the acclaimed poet Harivanshrai Bachchan, had many friends from the field of literature who hailed from Maharashtra and many of his poems had been translated into Marathi. “It is our land, we were born here and we will die here,” Bachchan said.

The actor’s interview came hours after Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray backtracked on the attack launched on the actor by party mouthpiece Saamna over the weekend. Today, Bal Thackeray in an editorial lauded the actor and praised him to high heavens. Only on Sunday, Thackeray leaned on Saamna editor Sanjay Raut to disown the article on the grounds that only editorials published under the supremo’s byline amounted to the Shiv Sena’s official stand.

“Amitabh Bachchan is not just a star of one particular state, but the superstar of the whole country. Hence, it is not correct to drag him into regional disputes,” Thackeray wrote in the editorial today. The octogenarian leader further insisted that the Bachchans and the Thackerays were old family friends and the reported differences between them were a creation of the media.

“Amitabh Bachchan is our family friend. I have neither said anything against him nor written anything against him in the editorial,” Thackeray wrote.

The Shiv Sena leader then went onto attack Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of “harassing” Bachchan. “Mayawati is attacking Bachchan for cheap publicity. When the media doesn’t give her any coverage, she attacks Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan to gain mileage,” he wrote.

Samana had in an article published on Saturday praised Tamil actor Rajnikanth for his decision to back the Tamil Nadu government on its stand on the Hogenakkal issue against his home state Karnataka. The newspaper contended that Rajnikant had shown his loyalty to the state that made him a star by backing Tamil Nadu. It further stated that people who have made Mumbai their home, including people like Bachchan, need to show their loyalty to their adopted home.

New Delhi, April 7
In a show of solidarity for their brethren back home, nearly 300 Tibetans, including a member of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, had their heads shaved near Jantar Mantar here today.

It was a busy day for Mohd. Tehseem, a hair saloon owner from Majnu Ka Tila in North Delhi and his untiring team of 10 boys who shaved the heads of Tibetans supporting the cause of freedom. By late afternoon, they had lost count of the heads they had worked on but hoped to be paid the slashed price of Rs 17.28 per head.

Activist Baljit Malik also had his head shaved, a gesture he described as “my humble offering, my obeisance for the cause of Tibet’s autonomy and freedom.”

Holding their multi-coloured flags on what they called a Black Monday, seven members of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, Tibetan men, women, young adults and children, gathered in large numbers in front of the party office of the Janata Dal (United).

While some marched up and down late afternoon raising pro-freedom slogans, others patiently got their heads shaved. The demonstrators leading the march carried a slogan which clearly said, “No human rights, No Olympics.”

The demonstrators comprised young Tibetans who have got no news from their parents in Lhasa following the Chinese crackdown.

Tenzin, a 23-year-old Buddhist guide said he had no idea of the well-being of his family in Porkor in Lhasa. The tents pitched in front of the JD(U) party office had pictures of human rights violations committed during the Chinese crackdown on Tibetan demonstrators in Lhasa.

Yeshi Dolma, who is one of the 43 members of the Tibetan Parliament in exile said she had come from Dharamsala to monitor the Black Day events.

New Delhi, April 7
A day after the Left parties and the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) announced its plans to launch joint nationwide protests against price rise, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today to draw her attention to spiralling inflation which had pushed up the prices of food items.

Yechury is learnt to have handed over a copy of the resolution on the price rise issue, which was recently adopted by the CPM Congress in Coimbatore.

Yechruy is the second UPA supporter to have expressed his apprehensions on price rise to Sonia Gandhi.

Earlier, RJD chief and railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had also called on Sonia Gandhi and urged her to convene a meeting of all UPA partners to discuss this matter fearing that the ruling coalition and its allies would end up paying a heavy political price for unchecked inflation in the coming elections.

Like Yadav, the CPM leader too conveyed his party’s concern over the spiralling prices of essential commodities to Sonia Gandhi and urged her to lean on the government to take immediate steps to check the price rise.

The resolution adopted by the CPM Congress has slammed the UPA government for not succeeding in curbing the prices of food items and decided to launch a nationwide campaign after April 15 against runaway inflation, which, it said, had hit the working class and the middle class hard. The party also said it would talk to like-minded political parties and associate them in their agitation.

The CPM followed this up by teaming up with the UNPA in the campaign it had planned against the government on the price rise. Yechury and Samajwadi party leader Amar Singh yesterday addressed a joint press conference where they asked the UPA government to take immediate measures to control prices.

The Communists have been in regular touch with the UNPA and have often spoken in favour of building a third alternative with like-minded parties.

The UPA government is under increasing pressure from the Opposition and its own allies on the price rise with inflation touching a three-year high...

Pushed to the wall, the ruling coalition announced a series of duty cuts and was hoping that the series of measures taken by it would show results in the coming weeks. Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told mediapersons that it could take a couple of weeks before the prices started falling.

New Delhi, April 7
This should come as relief for Punjab and Haryana farmers, reeling under the onslaught of rains and hailstorms that is believed to have caused widespread damage to rabi crop in several parts of the region.

Latest weather report by the Met Department suggests that rain and thundershowers are likely at a few places over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the next 24 hours. This will be followed by mainly dry weather in the entire northwest thereafter.

“It will be generally dry in the northwest during the next one week. However, clouds are expected around April 11. There will also be a gradual rise in temperatures, which, at present are considerably below normal due to rains,” IMD director B.P. Yadav said.

For the government stressed under domestic inflation rate touching 7 per cent and need for building food grain security amid squeeze in global markets over the availability of essential food grains like wheat and rice, the current rabi crop is very important. In wholesale grain markets, fresh buying by stockists and millers helped wheat prices to surge by Rs 5 a quintal on Monday.

Procurement agency FCI remains hopeful of meeting targets for Punjab and Haryana as well as procurement target of 1.5 million tonnes for the PDS. The closing stock is around 5.5 million tonnes as against the buffer norm of 4 million tonnes. Last year, the government was able to procure only 1.1 million tonnes, forcing it to import 1.8 million tonnes to augment the buffer stock.

“Because of heavy rain arrivals might get delayed by seven to eight days. Small quantities may also suffer luster loss and they will have to be disposed of more quickly. But apart from this there is not expected to be much damage,” an FCI official told The Tribune, adding that the state governments were taking stock of the situation and estimated losses would be forwarded to the Centre for consideration.

Reports emerging from the region suggest that untimely rain last week has flattened wheat crop in some areas. While farmers will have to wait for their crop to dry up, flattened stalks also mean added monetary loss to farmers as they will now have to depend upon more expensive manual labour for harvesting.

A senior agriculture ministry official also said the government stood by it procurement estimates, adding that damage to the standing crop was “not expected to be much significant”.

“It is too early to predict how the procurement scenario will unfold at this point of time. The Centre is in touch with states. Procurement is the responsibility of the state machinery and the FCI and it is for them to take stock of the situation and tell what recourse needs to be taken. The government is taking all steps to ensure a smooth procurement and storage of grain”, he said.

The FCI and other state procurement agencies have already bought over 100,000 tonnes of wheat, mainly from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Nafed, too, has been procuring wheat in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh on behalf of the FCI.

“All arrangement have been made to ensure smooth procurement in the states of Punjab and Haryana. But the state governments should ensure that no wheat is sold in a clandestine way in the outer market as this will not just be detrimental to the state’s fiscal health but farmers as well,” the FCI official said.

Meanwhile, according to a report by the International Grains Council, the world’s wheat trade is predicted to increase by 7 million tonnes (mt) in 2008-09, with imports from India, Algeria and Iraq likely to be larger. The report also suggests that the global wheat output is estimated to go up by 6.95 per cent to 646 mt, mainly on account of increased plantings in the US, the European Union and Canada. The demand for wheat is also likely to grow faster this year. The total consumption will be aroud 630 mt, up 18 mt from the previous year. The total carry over stock of wheat will surge by 14.28 per cent to 128 mt.

Mumbai, April 7
The Indian Navy has invited applications for Short Service Commission (SSC) Officers for its executive branch in General Service and Hydro Cadre for the January 2009 course. Unmarried male Indian citizens, aged between 19-and-a-half years and 25 years are eligible to apply, according to naval sources.

Applicants should possess any of the following educational qualifications: A science graduate with Physics & Mathematics with minimum 55 per cent marks from a recognised university, M.Sc. with Physics or Mathematics with minimum 55 per cent marks, BE/B.Tech with minimum 55 per cent marks in aggregate in any discipline from a institution recognised by the AICTE, science graduates (Physics & Mathematics) from a recognised university holding NCC Naval Wing or applicants having Senior Division ‘C’ certificate, Graduate/Post Graduate in Operations Analysis and Operational Research/Quantitative methods with minimum 75 per cent marks from a recognised university, Graduate/Post Graduate in Mathematics, with Probability or Statistics with minimum 75 per cent marks from recognised university.

SSC is granted for a term of 10 years, extendable to 14 years, subject to service requirement and performance and willingness of the candidate. Candidates are inducted as officers in the rank of Sub Lieutenant and undergo Naval Orientation Course at the Naval Academy, Goa followed by professional training at various Naval Training Establishments/Units/Ships.

Full pay and allowances are admissible to officers whilst under training. They will be on probation for a period of two years, during which they are liable to be discharged if their performance is unsatisfactory. The last date for submission of application is April 15, 2008 and for complete details the applications may refer to the following website: www.nausena-bharti.nic.in.

Chandigarh, April 7
The Sixth Pay Commission (SPC) recommendations seem to have tarnished the brass on the lapel of generals. While the pay panel may have given them a significant jump in salaries, it has placed them in a pay bracket that is less than that of police officers listed below them in the Warrant of Precedence. This implies that police officers, who are lower in status than lieutenant generals in the eyes of the Ministry of Home Affairs, would be drawing more salary.

The SPC has recommended a pay scale of Rs 39,200 - 67,000 per month for Lt Gens and their equivalents in the Armed Forces with an additional grade pay of Rs 11,000, whereas directors-general of central police organisations (CPOs) have been placed in the grade of Rs 80,000 per month. Officers of the rank of Lt Gens and equivalent (other than vice-chiefs and army commanders) are placed at Article 24 of the Warrant of Precedence. Directors-General (DGs) of the CPOs come a step below at Article 25.

Another anomaly in the fixation of pay scale vis-à-vis status is that the recommended pay scale of DGs is equal to that of the Vice-Chief of Army Staff, General Officers Commanding-in-Chief of field commands and their equivalents in the other two services.

Vice-Chiefs of Staff, General Officers C-in-C and equivalents, figure at serial number 23 of the Warrant of Precedence and are equated with Secretaries to the Government of India and chief secretaries to state governments within their respective states. Outside their respective states, chief secretaries are placed lower than lieutenant generals in the warrant. Sources say that the SPC has based its recommendations on the assumption that according to “established relativity”, a deputy inspector general (DIG) of Police is equivalent to a Brigadier. Both wear similar badges of rank.

This assumption, according to a senior officer, is incorrect since the Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed that there is no established equivalence between armed forces officers and police officers.

The warrant of precedence issued by the President’s Secretariat that is currently in vogue only defines ranks from General and equivalent down till the rank of Major General and equivalent. In a letter dated August 14, 2007, the home ministry has maintained that the old Warrant of Precedence, established in 1937 is to be used to determine ranks below Major General. The old Warrant of Precedence lists a DIG between a Lieut Col and a Colonel.

This is the established relativity as confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, sources claimed. The Fifth Pay Commission had placed the starting pay of a DIG (Rs 16,400) below the starting pay of a Colonel (Rs 17,100 including rank pay).

An IPS officer reaches the rank of a DIG after 15 years of service while an Army officer reaches the rank of a Brig in 28 years. Moreover, 100 per cent of directly recruited IPS officers reach the rank of a DIG while less than 10 per cent defence officers reach the rank of Brigadier.

Kolkata, April 7
A British parliamentary delegation led by the Lord Swaraj Paul, a NRI settled in London, today met the Assembly Speaker, Hashim Abdul Halim and leaders of various parties at the Assembly House and discussed how a better democratic process for the functioning of governments be established in the two countries. They also exchanged views on issues of mutual interests.

The main opposition party, the Trimamool Congress, however, boycotted the meeting. Talking to media persons after meeting the Punjab-born Swaraj Paul of the APJ House, who now owns Britain’s Caparo Steel and several other IT industries in the US, said the meeting had nothing to do with politics.

He said he himself was present during the meeting of the Prime Ministers of the two countries recently in New Delhi and this visit to India was a follow-up to that meeting. He found that both the Prime Ministers were keen to develop better relations between the countries on various fronts.

The British team will visit some other states and meet MLAs and other political leaders before returning to London. The Lord Paul said since he started his business career in Kolkata, which was still close to his heart, he would be glad to see West Bengal advance in the economic and industrial fields along with other developed states in the country.

New Delhi, April 7
The Supreme Court on today stayed the death penalty awarded to Mushtaq Moosa and Asgar Yousuf, co-accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blast case by the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) court, till the announcement of a final judgement. On Friday, a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan stayed the death penalty of Zakir Hussain Noor Mohammed Shaikh.

Sheikh allegedly detonated a bomb in a Mahim fishermen’s colony in Mumbai, killing three people and injuring six.

In its previous hearing, the apex court had granted bail to those who had served half of their sentences in jail.

So far, over 100 people have been convicted by the TADA court for their role in the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai that claimed over 250 lives and injured close to 700.

New Delhi, April 7
Conceived by the Supreme Court of India, the historic exhibition on the trial of Bhagat Singh has been put off for some time due to non-receipt of related documents from Pakistan. The exhibition was earlier scheduled for late March or April. It has now been postponed till July, with the Supreme Court of India again writing to its counterpart in Pakistan to expedite the matter, as earlier requested.

The Supreme Court of India had, on January 30 this year, written to Raja Lahrasab Khan, registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, requesting him for the original objects, documents and artifacts related to Bhagat Singh, lying in Lahore High Court, Lahore Jail, Lahore Archives and Borstal Jail, Pakistan. A request was also made for provision of documents from the Anarkali police station and any other objects or papers related to the trial of Bhagat Singh. The police station in Lahore houses the original FIR registered on December 17, 1928, in the Saunders murder case.

The FIR and other documents in Pakistan are of immense significance to the exhibition, which will be the second in the series of such shows on pre-Independence trials, planned by the Supreme Court of India. The SC, as sought by its museum committee, has now sent a reminder to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, with a request to speed up the matter.

The exhibition is expected to roll once Pakistan sends the objects asked for. At home, meanwhile, the museum committee consisting of Justice Ashok Bhan, Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice Markandey Katjyu has approved the report submitted by a two-member research team for the project. Along with a researcher from the Supreme Court of Indian Museum, the team had an expert archivist from the National Archives of India.

The two have recommended collection of artifacts/objects related to Bhagat Singh from the Punjab and Haryana High Court Museum, Dwarka Das Library, Chandigarh, The Tribune, Chandigarh, Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Museum, Khatkarkalan, Delhi State Archives and The Punjab Police Academy Museum, Phillaur. The important documents related to Bhagat Singh are, however, in Pakistan, which is why the exhibition has been put on the hold until they arrive. These include the original FIR in Saunders murder case. Interestingly, the complainant in this FIR — traffic inspector W.J. Fearn — did not name any accused in his statement. In the last paragraph of the FIR, he simply stated: “I did not get much of a look at either man. The man was about five feet five inches, medium height average Hindu complexion…” This FIR was registered within a half an hour of the occurrence of crime.

Guwahati, April 7
The separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants hoisted its flag in many parts of rural Assam on the occasion of its 29th ‘raising day’ even as the Army averted a major disaster by recovering an improvised explosive device (IED) strapped to a bicycle and planted at the Namrup Railway Station in Dibrugarh district of eastern Assam in the wee hours today.

Army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia informed that the 44th field regiment of the Army apprehended three ULFA cadres -- Putul Gogoi, Nabajyoti Gogoi and Jatin Gogoi -- from the Borhat area of Tinsukia district last morning. Based on their confession, the Army recovered a bomb from a gunny bag kept in a bicycle from the Namrup railway station in the wee hours. The Army later neutralised the bomb in a safe place.

Security forces suspected that the bomb was planted to target Up Kamrup Express that was to reach the Namrup station in the the wee hours.

The proscribed insurgent group managed to hoist its green and white flag with a rising sun at several places in Golaghat, Sivsagar, Barpeta, Nagaon, Tinsukia, Nalbari, Bongaigaon and Chirang Udalguri and Tinsukia districts. The flags were hoisted mostly in educational institutions and public fields by unidentified people. In many places the police seized the ULFA flag on being informed by the local people.

It is after about a decade or so, the banned ULFA has resorted to hoisting its flag on its ‘raising day’. It was a practice by the outfit in early 1990s before launching of the Army operations in the state.

The fugitive chairman of the ULFA, Arabinda Rajkhowa, in his ‘raising day’ statement that was e-mailed to the media here, called upon all sections of the people, including students, farmers, labourers, intellectuals and politicos, to join forces with the outfit its “bid to restore the sovereignty of Assam and its indigenous people”.

The ULFA chairman demanded that all its leaders and cadres now lodged in different jails in India and outside should be treated as political prisoners and released soon. He demanded that the Government of India should provide information about 16 ULFA men, who had gone missing since December 2003 joint operation by the Royal Bhutan Army and the Indian Army to evict the ULFA base from the Bhutan soil. The ULFA leader called upon international human right organisations to mount pressure on the Government of India to provide information about the 16 missing ULFA men.

Hyderabad, April 7
Bowing to growing internal pressure on the Telangana issue, the Telugu Desam Party today constituted a five-member panel of senior party leaders to go into the demand for a separate state.

The regional party, headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu, has been steadfastly opposing the division of Andhra Pradesh. However, it is coming under increasing pressure from a section of party leaders from Telangana to take a favourable stand on the statehood demand or face drubbing in the next elections.

The prominent pro-Telangana leader and former home minister T.Devender Goud has been included in the committee which will tour the region, take the feedback from the cadre and the public and submit a report to the party.

The other members of the panel are TDP parliamentary party leader K. Yerran Naidu, former ministers Y.

Ramakrishnudu, N.Janardhan Reddy and K.Krishnamurthy.

Naidu convened a meeting of the Politburo, the party’s highest decision making body, where the decision to constitute the committee was taken.

The panel will also take stock of the changing political situation in view of the indications that Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi is planning to launch a political party, a development that has the potential to alter political equations in the state.

“There is no time limit for the panel to submit the report. The idea is to study the ground situation and give feedback to the party,” Naidu told reporters.So far, the official stand of TDP is that it will take “appropriate decision at appropriate time” on Telangana issue, a position widely seen as a tactic to buy time.

However, the rumblings in the party grew louder recently with Goud openly asking the leadership to take a clear stand on Telangana as the issue brooks no delay.

He was later joined by another former minister and Politburo member K.Srihari who warned that the party might incur public wrath in the next elections if it fails to support the statehood cause. Disapproving of party leaders airing their views publicly on such a sensitive issue, Naidu had counselled them to exercise restraint and promised to take appropriate decision at right time.

Like Chief Minister Y.S Rajasekhar Reddy, the opposition leader is also strongly opposed to the bifurcation of the state.

The constitution of a panel on Telangana comes in the backdrop of approaching byelections in Telangana region.

The byelections to four Lok Sabha and 16 Assembly seats were caused by the resignation of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MPs and MLAs in protest against delay in the formation of Telangana state.

Khalilabad, April 7
Chief Minister Mayawati today announced that the Ambedkar Memorial at Gomti Nagar in Lucknow would now be built at any cost.

During an election meeting, she expressed happiness over the Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan now agreeing to hear the UP government’s plea in the matter of construction of Ambedkar Park tomorrow.

She said her senior party colleague and legal adviser S.C. Mishra had been asked to focus on the case and leave the election campaigning to her. “He has been camping there for the last few days trying to get legal help for the government,” Mayawati added.

It may be recalled that the Allahabad High Court had restrained the Mayawati government to carry out extensive renovation and construction works at the existing Ambedkar Park and memorial in Lucknow.

The immediate provocation for the state government to go to the apex court was Friday’s decision of the high court directing the state government to maintain status quo on the construction activities being undertaken in preparation for the birth anniversary celebrations of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar on April 14.

After changing the use of 35 acres of land of the Bhim Rao Ambedkar Park, the state government had undertaken construction activities for setting up the Kanshi Ram Research Institute, Rama Bai Memorial in the area.

Ahmedabad, April 7
The Kutch police has left for Mumbai and Bangalore to deliver bailable warrants issued against Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and four others for filming ‘Chinkara’ in his movie ‘Lagaan’.

“The Kutch police will take help of police commissioners of Mumbai and Bangalore to deliver the warrants to Aamir and others,” forest department sources said.

A Bhuj court had issued bailable warrants against Aamir Khan, director of the movie Ashutosh Gowarikar, Aamir’s former wife Reena Dutta, executive director Srinivas Rao and photogrpher Ashok Mehta on March 27.

Chief Judicial Magistrate court had also directed all the five to remain present before it on April 15.

The complaint against Khan and others was filed in the court by deputy forest officer J V Vyas, as they had not responded to the notices sent by the forest department asking them to remain present for questioning, sources said.

“The court has issued bailable warrants of Rs 5,000 for each. But if they do not remain present on April 15, the court can issue non-bailable warrants,” they added.

One of the five persons, Ashok Mehta lives in Bangalore, while other four are from Mumbai and bailable warrants will be delivered to them by the police, sources further said. — PTI

New Delhi, April 7
In a counter-offensive on the BJP’s defence of its prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishan Advani’s Kandahar remarks, the Congress said today that it owed an explanation to the nation as to how the NDA government functioned without knowing the crucial developments in the country’s hour of crisis.

“This is a serious issue. God forbid, if the BJP-led NDA government comes back at the Centre, it is the way the government will be run,” mocked Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi. At a regular briefing, the Congress spokesperson was referring to BJP chief Rajanth Singh’s defending Advani’s statement on the Kandahar episode in his book - “My Country, My Life,” saying it was a forced situation wherein ethics could not be a parameter.

Rajnath said yesterday that the NDA government was forced to take the decision (to release terrorists) under pressure from Congressmen demonstrating before the Prime Minister’s office. Taking a dig at Rajnath’s “approval”, Singhvi said the BJP had “adopted all the errors, misrepresentations, wrongs and false statements given by Advani, which even NDA convener George Fernandes and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah have contradicted”. The Congress spokesperson said the nation had the right to know how the NDA government functioned at an critical hour when the home minister was not in the know of crucial developments. “Does it not amount to bad governance or non-governance?” To a specific query pertaining to the Congress over- kill”, Singhvi said the issue was paramount as it pertained to country’s security. “Besides this is an issue related to a person, who is being projected as the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate.” He said the BJP had neither denied, rejected nor clarified Advani’s comments on the Kandahar and other episodes, dubbed as “safaid jhooth aur fareb (plain untruth and fraud)”.

Asked how long the Congress planned to talk about Advani’s book, Singhvi said so long as Rajnath Singh continued to defend it. — UNI

Meerut, April 7
Exactly two years after a fire gutted a consumer electronics fair here claiming 64 lives, a court has ordered framing of charges next week against three accused who were the organisers of the event.

Holding them “prima facie guilty”, Additional District Sessions Judge N.A. Zaidi on Saturday directed the prosecution to frame charges on April 15 against Lakhan Tomar, Siddhartha Manohar and Asit Gupta. They were the organisers of the Brand India fair held at Victoria Park in Civil Lines area where the fire broke out on April 10, 2006.

The blaze engulfed a 100 sq m area gutting the three tents and the electronic goods on display barring the scaffolding, while the judicial inquiry concluded it was caused by a short circuit. Counsel of the accused Nepal Singh argued that there was “no evidence” against the three but the prosecution said the investigating officer in the case had indicted them. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Jaya Bachchan turns 60, no celebrations
MUMBAI: Jaya Bachchan turns 60 on Wednesday, but there will be no celebrations on the occasion. Amitabh and Jaya and their daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai have left for Miami, where Abhishek is shooting for Karan Johar’s “Dostana”. Jaya’s birthday on April 9 will be a very quiet affair restricted to her immediate family. — IANS

Idols worth Rs 10 cr seized
PRATAPGARH: The police on Monday seized three ‘ashtadhatu’ idols, estimated to worth Rs 10 crore in the international market, and arrested one person in Kohdore area here. A raid was conducted at a house in Kandharpur village and the idols of Lord Ram, Lakshman and Sita, weighing around 75 kg, were recovered, the police informed. The idols were robbed from a temple in the Antu area. — UNI

Severed head found floating in canal waters
PUNE: The missing severed head of a body kept in the Government Sassoon Hospital morgue has been recovered by the police from a canal on the outskirts of the city.The hospital administration had come in for severe criticism after the head of a 25-year-old rickshawpuller who died while undergoing treatment, was found missing after a post-mortem when his relatives went to take possession of the body on April 4. — PTI

Mild quake in Gujarat
NEW DELHI: A slight intensity quake, measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale, was felt in the Kachchh region of Gujarat on Monday afternoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said here. The tremor, which occurred at 2.31 pm, was epicentered at 23.5 degree North Latitude and 70.2 degree East Longitude, an IMD release said. However, no loss of life or damage to property was reported. — UNI

Rs 1 cr sandalwood seized
BAGHA (BIHAR): Sandalwood worth over Rs 1 crore being smuggled from Nepal was seized by Seema Suraksha Bal personnel on the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar's West Champaran district, a senior official said on Monday.Acting on a tip-off, SSB officials deployed on the border in view of the elections in Nepal next week intercepted a truck and seized huge qua ntity of sandalwood that was being smuggled to Andhra Pradesh, DIG (Champaran range) S K Jha said.Four persons were arrested, Jha said, adding that the truck was impounded. — PTI

Senior Naxal leader held
KARIMNAGAR: In a major setback to the Naxalites operating in Andhra Pradesh, a senior leader of the ultras has been arrested by the state police. Amar, in-charge secretary of the central committee of the CPI(ML) Janasakthi group of naxals, was arrested in Pune on Friday last, Karimnagar District Superintendent of Police Y Gangadhar told reporters. Amar, whose real name is Kura Devender, took part in the first-ever direct talks between the ultras and the state government in October, 2004. -— PTI

6 SIMI activists held
Bhopal: In continued crackdown against outlawed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), six of its activists were arrested on Monday by Madhya Pradesh police which announced reward on the head of two SIMI activists absconding from Jabalpur. While five SIMI activists were arrested from Guna on Monday morning and taken for interrogation, a suspected SIMI activist was held in Indore for allegedly indulging in illegal activities and aiding anti-national elements, a senior police officer said. With the arrest of six suspected SIMI activists, the total number of those held has gone upto 35. — PTI