New Delhi, August 27
A non-existent letter purportedly written by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar managed to create quite a flutter in political circles today, further straining ties between allies- the Congress and the NCP.

Throughout the day there were speculations on content and intent of the letter Sonia had “written” to Pawar, asking him to “take immediate measures to control spiralling sugar prices”. By the end of the day it turned out to be a letter that really wasn’t. AICC media department head Janardan Dwivedi stepped in to clarify that no such letter had been written by the Congress president to the NCP chief. NCP spokesman DP Tripathi too denied Pawar having received any such letter.

Hinting perhaps at views expressed by Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi yesterday, blaming Pawar for rising sugar prices, Dwivedi also had a word of advice for Congress leaders, asking them not to air their “personal views in public or through the media”.

“Whatever the party had to say on the drought situation and other related issues, it has said through the CWC resolution. Whatever the party would like to say in the future, it would say it officially. So far, where expressing personal views are concerned, it advises all Congressmen not to express their so called personal views in public or through the media,” Dwivedi said.

It all started with Chaturvedi openly attacking Pawar for his handling of the drought situation and the shortage of sugar in the country. Pawar coming under fire from the Congress quarters on these issues triggered speculation on whether it was a part of growing offensive against the NCP ahead of Assembly seat-sharing talks.

Addressing a gathering of farmers, Chaturvedi even accused Pawar of misrepresenting facts on availability of sugar. “If the stock of sugar was there and the mills were full of sugar stocks, then how did the shortage take place?" Chaturvedi said, prompting the NCP to demand disciplinary action against him.

While Pawar himself chose to remain silent, the NCP spokesman said disciplinary action should be initiated against Chaturvedi for maligning the UPA government, adding that such statements were not good for the two parties. He also categorically stated that no such letter had been written by the Congress president to the NCP chief.

Tripathi said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on many occasions hailed Pawar as one of the best Agriculture Ministers of the country whose tenure had witnessed substantial increase in the minimum support prices of paddy, wheat, sugarcane and other farm produce.

But as if Chaturvedi’s remarks were not enough, Maharashtra Congress leader KL Gidwani also claimed that the Agriculture Ministry was planning a policy change in sugar levy and its release mechanism that would result in artificial shortage and stoke further price rise. He said he had written to Sonia and the Prime Minister to ensure this did not happen. Sugar prices have risen steeply in recent months, and its impact is being felt on every household budget in the country.

Political observers however say exchange of words between the two parties was a pressure build-up tactic ahead of Assembly elections. In fact attacks on Pawar and suggestions by senior Congress leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh and Digvijay Singh for a merger between the NCP and the Congress have triggered speculation if they formed a part of the Congress offensive to pressurise the NCP. The party is aiming for a higher seat-share in Maharashtra alliance and there have been strong voices for going it alone in elections. Pawar seems vulnerable after the NCP’s dismal show in the Lok Sabha polls while the Congress registered an increase in its Lok Sabha tally.

Lucknow, August 27
The annual ritual to collect money during BSP president Mayawati’s birthday has been given up. From this year, party members would have to shell out Rs 40 as annual membership fee that would be collected through an intensive three-month campaign between January and March 31 every year. BSP president and Chief Minister Mayawati announced this after assuming the party leadership for the third consecutive term today at the conclusion of the two-day working committee and national convention of the party.

Chalking out the nationwide future course of action for the party, Mayawati said that soon demonstrations and protests against the skyrocketing price rise would be held at the state level.

Blaming the Congress-led UPA government’s “wrong” policies for prices of essential goods becoming beyond the reach of the common man, she said during the nationwide protests the people would be told how ‘Congress ka haath, punjipati ke saath’ (The Congress hand is with the capitalist). In her brief address after becoming the party president for the third term, Mayawati recalled the traumatic circumstances under which she first assumed the party’s reins on September 18, 2003, when the founder of the party, Kanshi Ram, had suffered a stroke.

Sharing her journey, she said after that the party has gained from strength to strength by assuming power in UP as on its own in 2007 and emerging as the third largest party in terms of vote share after the 2009 General Election. She also highlighted the party’s continued ascendance in UP by citing the recent win in three of the four bypolls.

She assured the gathered party members that following the footsteps of leaders like Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj, Narayana Guru, Baba Saheb Dr Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram, she would strive for an equitable society and fulfill the ideals of ‘Sarvjan Hitay, Sarvjan Sukhay’ set for the BSP movement till her last breath.

The two-day meeting was attended by BSP state presidents, all-India office-bearers, BSP MPs, MLAs and ministers.

Kolkata, August 27
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today alleged that the CPM had ganged up with anti-social elements in disrupting the running of the metros and other suburban railways to discredit her. She asked the passengers and the people to get themselves united and thwart their attempt of disrupting the normal train movements.

Mamata, now in New Delhi, told a private TV channel over phone that she had told the Prime Minister how the CPM after their debacle in the Lok Sabha elections had started attacking TMC and Congress workers and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was using the police for helping the cadres.

She alleged that yesterday’s incident of attack on the stationmaster at Serampore station and create vandalism by the cadres was pre-planned. She said she would not ask the RPF to tackle such situations since law and order was the state subject.

New Delhi, August 27
The SC today reserved its judgement on the contentious issue whether candidates belonging to reserved categories selected for union civil services on merit should be appointed against reserved posts or under the general quota.

The hearing before a five-judge Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justices SH Kapadia, RV Raveendran, P Sudershan Reddy and P Sathasivam, which ended after six days of marathon arguments, assumes significance as it would have bearing upon the procedure for allotment of posts adopted by UPSC as well as aggrieved candidates.

While referring the matter, the SC had said "an authoritative pronouncement was needed on the issue". Among the various contentious issues, the Bench was to decide whether reserved category candidates who are selected on merit and placed in list of general or unreserved category candidates could be considered as reserved category candidates at the time of service allocation. — PTI

Mumbai, August 27
Ahead of the Assembly polls in Maharashtra, the ruling Congress-NCP coalition has to contend with an old promise made by their leaders to Muslim organisations prior to the recent General Election: more ticket be given to members of the minority community.

Notably, delegates from Muslim bodies like the All India Ulema Association had called on senior Congress-NCP leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh, RR Patil and Ashok Chavan with this demand just days before the first phase of polling. However, with most candidates being finalised for the Lok Sabha elections, leaders of both outfits expressed their helplessness and promised to make amends by fielding more Muslim candidates in the Assembly polls.

Muslim organisations have now taken the promise to heart and even before Assembly elections have been formally notified, organisations like the Ulema association and the Jammat-e-Islami-e-Hind are demanding more seats from the Congress-NCP combine. “As Maharashtra’s population constitutes 13 per cent Muslims, community candidates must be fielded from at least 38 Assembly seats (of the total 288),” says Nazar Madhoo, the state president of Jamaat-e-Islami-e-Hind.

Representatives of other Muslim bodies, too, have approached Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, requesting them to field more Muslim candidates. "We would like the Congress and the NCP to field Muslim candidates from at least the seats where the community is present in large numbers," says Madhoo.

Though senior leaders of both Congress and the NCP have met with representatives of the Muslim community, they have not given them any assurances about fielding Muslim candidates from specific seats, say sources. The Congress and the NCP are known to field Muslim candidates only from those seats where members of the community are in an overwhelming majority. 

New Delhi, August 27
A demand for a whopping Rs 7,410 crore drought-relief package made by Punjab hasn’t gone down well with the Centre. Sources accepted that Punjab was totally justified in seeking a package for additional use of diesel that was used to operate pump sets in dry conditions and also power it diverted from revenue earning sector to the farm sector.

These two add up to Rs 2,024 crore. The breakdown is Rs 1,420 crore for diverting 3,500 million units of power to farm sector hence causing a loss of revenue to the state power board and another Rs 604 crore the farmers spent on buying an additional 17 crore litres of diesel to operate pump sets to maintain the crop. These two added to the input costs.

The rest of the demand seemed more like a “political compulsion” addressed to a constituency back home in Punjab, said a source while adding that some bonus over and above the MSP of Rs 950/980 per quintal, was expected on the paddy crop. This could be in the region of Rs 100 to Rs 150 for each quintal the central government procures. The Union Agriculture Ministry has already moved a file in this regard.

Guwahati, August 27
Joining the ongoing mass agitation, Manipur state unit of BJP has demanded imposition of President’s Rule in the state to restore peace. The state capital is on a boil following the killing of a youth and a pregnant woman in an alleged fake encounter by police on July 23 in the heart of the city.

A party source informed that state BJP unit has knocked at the doors of the Central party leadership to put pressure on the Centre to impose President’s Rule to restore normalcy in the state.

The mass agitation against fake encounter killings led by Apunba Lup, an umbrella organisation of at least 30 civil society groups, has also raised demand for resignation of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh over the issue.

A BJP parliamentary team, led by party’s national spokesman Prakash Javadekar, had visited Manipur earlier this month to take stock of the situation arising out of ‘encounter killing’ of 27-year-old youth Chungkham Sanjit and a pregnant woman, Th Rabina Devi.

“If a CM or a minister misleads the House and the people by giving wrong information, the convention is he should resign. Ibobi gave a false report of the incident (July 23 killings) to the House. So, we demand CM’s resignation. As he refuses to do so, we are demanding imposition of President’s Rule,” Manipur state BJP unit president H Borobabu Singh said.