Hyderabad, September 15
The political vacuum in the wake of sudden death of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy is beginning to take its toll on the state administration.

Several ministers, who are rooting for anointing YSR’s son Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy as the next Chief Minister, have been skipping office work and keeping themselves away from review meetings being convened by Chief Minister K Rosaiah.

With Rosaiah being widely seen as a stop-gap arrangement, his cabinet colleagues are busy in their efforts to drum up support for Jagan, a 36-year-old MP from Kadapa.

The Secretariat, the seat of the state administration, wore a deserted look with a majority of the ministers preferring to stay away from work. However, it was business as usual for Rosaiah, the septuagenarian leader with a vast legislative and administrative experience, as he went about the office routine and held a series of review meetings with officials.

In what has now become a regular pattern, two ministers - P Subhaschandra Bose (Social Welfare) and Mukhesh Goud (Tribal Welfare) - failed to turn up for the review meetings pertaining to their departments today, causing embarrassment to the Chief Minister.

During the seven-day mourning period following the death of YSR in a helicopter crash on September 2, the absence of ministers from review meetings was sought to be justified on the ground that they had to attend condolence meetings in their respective constituencies.

Even after the mourning period ended, several ministers have been reluctant to attend to their duties, triggering allegations of administrative laxity and lack of direction.

The main opposition Telugu Desam Party and Lok Satta have alleged that the pressing public issues were being ignored as the ruling party leaders were involved in the succession battle.

“There is a complete breakdown of the administration as ministers are not serious about their work. There is confusion regarding who is in control of the government. As a result, people’s problems are going unattended,” the TDP MP M V Mysoora Reddy said.

“Clearly, there seems to be three factions in the Congress- the High Command, the pro-Jagan and anti-Jagan. This is a reflection of the culture of groupism in Congress,” the former TDP Minister K Sivaprasada Rao said.

With the high command dragging its feet on deciding the successor of YSR, the ministers are clearly a de-motivated lot.

All the 34 members in the cabinet have favoured installing Jagan as successor to his father’s political legacy.

The reports about “non-cooperation” of several ministers, who are eager to see Jagan as their boss, have come as a major embarrassment to the government.

Meanwhile, the chief strategist of "Jagan-for-CM" campaign and Rajya Sabha member K V P Ramachandra Rao today held a meeting with ministers at his residence and briefed them about his meeting with the party central leaders during his two rounds of visit to Delhi.

Guwahati, September 15
Responding to September 15 deadline set by the Union Home Ministry, cadres of proscribed tribal militant outfit, Dima Halam Daogah (J) or Black Widow have surrendered their weapons to set the stage for a peace process with the Government of India.

Inspector General of Police (Special Task Force), PP Singh informed The Tribune that total 374 cadres of Black Widow group had surrendered their weapons including some sophisticated weapons till Monday to set the stage for peace negotiation. Out of these 193 cadres surrendered arms on Monday while the rest did so on Sunday. The outfit had earlier given a list of 350 cadres. They have deposited weapons at the headquarter of Fifth Assam Police battalion at Sontila in the hill district.

The cadres are coming over ground under the leadership of a deputy commander in chief senior leader of the outfit Daniel Dimasa while commander in chief Niranjan Hojai who was believed to be in foreign soil is still being expected to join the peace process. Those who have handed over their weapons are now being kept under heavy security at a Red Cross hospital at Jatinga in the hill district. They will be shifted to designated camps once the government gives its nod for the peace process after verifying the weapons surrendered by the outfit.

The chairman of the outfit Jewel Garlosa and another senior leader Partha Warisa had been arrested by Assam Police from a Bangalore hideout on June 3 last serving a severe blow to the outfit which has been running amuck in North Cachar Hill district and adjoining areas in Assam since the year 2004 perpetrating rampant killings and extortions.

Once their chairman fell into the hands of the police, the outfit declared unilateral truce and appealed for peace negotiation with the Government of India. However, the Centre set the pre-condition that all cadres would have to surrender arms for a peace process to happen.

Rampaging Black Widow militants jeopardised works on East West Corridor project of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as well as a gauge conversion project of Indian Railways causing irreversible delay in implementation of these projects besides causing huge cost escalation.

According to Assam police Garlosa masterminded killing of about 200 persons. The police believes that Black Widow is in possession of a huge amount of money as well as the biggest armoury among all the militant groups in Assam.

Meanwhile, Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC), the main tribal regional party in hill areas has hailed the process of surrender of weapons by Black Widow cadres. ASDC general secretary Kalijoy Sengyung hoped that the Centre would capitalise on the opportunity to establish permanent peace in the troubled hill district to pave the way for development.

New Delhi, September 15
With several issues in Punjab on the boil, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his personal intervention to sort out the key matters.

Badal, who was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal asked the Prime Minister to stop the administrative change in the Union territory of Chandigarh and also stop lawless elements from repeating the seize to a gurdwara in Haryana. The Punjab leaders sought expedition of central component of the development plans for irrigation and power sector.

The Prime Minister was asked to clear the controversy with regards to the move of the Government of India to change the administrative structure of the Union Territory. Under this, the Punjab Governor being the Chief Administrator of the Capital city is to be replaced with the appointment of a Chief Commissioner from the UT cadre.

The Punjab leaders asked the PM to ensure that nothing was done on the administrative structure of the UT without taking Punjab into confidence as the City had been built as its capital in the early 1950’s.

There are solemn commitments made by the Government of India as well as Parliament on the transfer of the city to the parent state.

The Punjab delegation expressed "deep concern" and anxiety over the incident in which some elements attacked and laid siege to the holy precincts of the gurdwara run by the SGPC in Kurukshetra, Haryana. The Punjab leaders wanted the Haryana government to ensure that such acts of lawlessness and sacrilege were not permitted on the soil of that state.

The incident, they said, had hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community all over the world. Such incidents caused needless provocations that could vitiate social and religious harmony in the region and the country as a whole.

Giving details of the half-hour-long meeting, Chief Minister's Media Advisor Harcharan Bains said discussions revolved around several development projects. Among these, the works on irrigation projects as well clearance for coal linkages for the up-coming thermal plants featured prominently. The Prime Minister's response to these issues was "positive", Bains claimed.

The Punjab delegation urged the PM to advise the Ministry of Coal to immediately allot a dedicated coal block for the upcoming 2,640 MW Gidderbaha Thermal Power Project as a part of the state's endeavour to enhance its power generation capacity to meet ever increasing demand of electricity.

The Chief Minister also wanted the Government of India to expedite the approval of Rs 681.67-crore project to rehabilitate major surface water distribution canals, including Bist Doab canal, Sidhwan Branch Canal, Abhohar Branch Canal and Bathinda Branch Canal.

These canals have silted up as a result of poor maintenance and up-keep over the years.

New Delhi, September 15
Amid increasing activities of Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India today denied a media report that two Indian soldiers were injured in firing by Chinese soldiers in Sikkim recently.

“A media report about two ITBP jawans having been injured due to firing from across the LAC has come to notice. The report is factually incorrect,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in a statement.

Simultaneously, the ITBP also issued a statement, describing the report as factually incorrect. In a statement, it said “no such incident of firing has taken place in north Sikkim on the India-China border and no member of the ITBP has been injured.”

Recent incursions by Chinese troops into the Indian territory have caused concern in the defence establishment in India though the External Affairs Ministry has viewed these intrusions as routine incidents that occur due to differences in perception about the LAC.

Experts, however, believe that India should not take the situation on the border with China lightly. In fact, there have been suggestions that the Army should be allowed to patrol the entire LAC to check any border violations by Chinese troops.

China is also said to be cut up with India for ignoring its protest over the proposed visit of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh in November. New Delhi’s view that the Dalai Lama was free to go anywhere in this country has not gone down well with China since it claims that nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh belongs to it.

China has, meanwhile, taken exception to some of the reports appearing in the Indian media, saying these were far from accurate.

It appealed to the Indian media to play a constructive role in promoting mutual understanding. “The Chinese and Indian governments have reached a consensus on border issues -- that is the two sides will jointly strive to safeguard peace in the region before a final settlement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang was quoted as saying at a press briefing in Beijing.

New Delhi, September 15
The BJP has mocked the Congress and UPA government’s current austerity drive as “bizarre tokenism”, but discounted any possibility of the BJP leaders setting examples by leading austere lives in these difficult times.

However, BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy welcomed the move saying, “We do appreciate any endeavour to embrace cost-cutting measures across board” but described the exercise as “Just a hogwash to distract the nation’s attention from galloping food prices.”

Rudy also charged the government with “Attempting to trivialise the severity of drought and soaring food prices” and added that “thanks to the price situation”. “The nation has been placed under compulsive austerity as common man cannot afford the market. Soon, the common man would forget how sugar and “arhar” taste,” he said. — TNS 

New Delhi, September 15
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today declined to share any details about slain teenager Aarushi Talwar’s mobile phone that has been traced 16 months after she and her domestic help Hemraj were found brutally murdered in her Noida home. Her parents, however, hope it will help find the real killer.

“Investigation is in progress. Keeping in view the interest of a fair and impartial investigation and also directions of the Supreme Court, the CBI does not propose to share any details with the media at this stage,” said CBI spokesperson Harsh Bahal.

Aarushi’s black Nokia N72 phone, a crucial piece of evidence in the case, was recovered from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr town by the Delhi Police Crime Branch on Saturday.

“Aarushi’s cellphone was recovered by the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch and handed over to the CBI,” said Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.

Bulandshahr SP (City) JK Sahi said a woman who once worked as a domestic help for the Talwar family had passed it on to a resident of the Uttar Pradesh town.

According to sources, the woman gave the phone to her relative Ram Bhool, who was using it since then. The man has been arrested and brought to Delhi for questioning. Terming it as a ray of hope, Aarushi’s mother Nupur Talwar said: “We have been waiting and we have been praying every day that something comes soon from the CBI. I am continuing to pray and hope that her killers will be arrested soon.” “I think the mobile phone was an important piece of evidence in the case and it will help in nabbing the culprit,” said Aarushi’s father Rajesh Talwar.

Aarushi, 14, was found murdered in her Jalvayu Vihar apartment in Noida May 16, 2008. The family’s domestic help Hemraj, who was missing then and was suspected to have killed her, was found murdered a day later on the terrace of the house. The sensational case has remained unsolved.

All those who were picked up for interrogation in the weeks after the murder-Aarushi’s dentist-father Rajesh Talwar, his medical assistant Krishna and two other neighbourhood domestic helps Raj Kumar and Vijay Mandal-have been freed after a period of detention while the CBI continues to hunt for evidence. The CBI, which took over the case from Noida police last June, had failed to locate the mobiles of Aarushi and Hemraj and the weapon used to slit the two victims’ throats.

Earlier this month, the CBI formed a new team to probe the Aarushi murder following reports that the vaginal swabs of the teenaged victim may have been substituted. — IANS

New Delhi, September 15
'Tirupati laddoo' offered to devotees at the Lord Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh has been awarded geographical copyright that bars others from naming or marketing the sweetmeat preparation under the same name.

The Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams, a trust that administers the Venkateswara Temple in the Tirumala hills, had applied for Geographical Indication (GI) with the Chennai-based Geographical Indication Registry in March last year.

"The GI certificate for Tirupati Laddoo has been granted to the trust (TTD). The laddoo is now protected under law and nobody can copy it," G L Verma, Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks and GI, told PTI from Chennai.

Under GI, the right to marketing a product is tied to a definite geographical territory and the manufactured goods should be produced or processed or prepared in that territory.

Popular items that have been granted GI tag world over include Champagne and Tequilla, and the procedure helps in preventing others from surreptitiously exploiting a brand name that has evolved over a period of time.

The GI status provides legal protection and facilitates for action in case of infringement. GIs are covered as an element of Intellectual Property Rights.

P H Kurian, Controller-General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks, also confirmed granting of GI status to Tirupati Laddu.

TTD, however, couldn't be reached for comments.

Tirupati laddoo is the popular name for Sri Vari Laddu that is offered as 'prasadam' (sacred food) to the devotees after they worship Lord Venkateswara.

"The size and flavour are typical characteristics of Tirupati Laddoo. Tirupati Laddoos are not produced anywhere in the world and are very unique in terms of quality, reputation and other characteristics, which go into its making," TTD had claimed in its application.

Primarily there are two types of laddoos - small and big. A small laddoo weighs about 174 grams, whereas the big ones weigh between 700 and 720 grams.

In the past, GI tag has been awarded to a number of Indian products or goods, including Darjeeling Tea, Madhubani Paintings and Goa Feni. — PTI 

Patna, September 15
The abduction of a six-year-old school child from the state capital has kept the entire state administration on its toes for the past 36 hours.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is personally monitoring the line of investigation being pursued by the Patna police to trace the child -Shresth Sanjay, a class I student of Christ Church School.

The Chief Minister has been in constant touch with all senior police officers involved in this case. When the police failed to get any clue in this kidnapping, the Chief Minister ordered constitution of special teams comprising police officials from the crime branch as well as the intelligence branch to assist the Patna police trace the victim.

Since the kidnappers had not made any ransom call to the parents of the victim child, the police were probing other angles too. The victim’s father is a Zonal Manager of a Pharmaceutical company. Panic gripped the parents of all school-going children.

Mumbai, September 15
A Kingfisher Airlines flight IT103 between Mumbai and Bangalore had to return to Mumbai shortly after takeoff after its landing gear did not retract.

According to an airline official, the incident happened around 11 minutes into the flight. There were 96 passengers on board. All passengers were evacuated safely after the aircraft landed.

New Delhi, September 15
After its bitter experience in Andhra Pradesh, the Congress leadership does not want to take any chances in poll-bound Haryana.

It has decided not to give any fresh ticket to relatives of party leaders while making a conscious effort in involving all factions of the state unit in the selection of candidates for next month’s Assembly elections.

Congress sources said except for those who are already in politics, the party is unlikely to entertain any requests from Haryana leaders, who are pushing for a ticket for their sons, brothers or wives. It is learnt that the party has received at least 15 such requests for ticket for relatives, but the leadership is unlikely to take heed.

In another departure, the party leadership is revisiting its policy of giving total autonomy to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the distribution of the tickets. In an effort to provide balanced representation to the different factions of the Haryana Congress, the party, especially heard the views of four senior state leaders while drawing up the panel of names for the 90 Assembly seats.

State ministers Birender Singh and Kiran Chaudhary, Union Minister Selja and Rao Inderjeet, who are known to be Hooda-baiters, were called in for consultations with by the party’s screening committee headed by AICC general-secretary Mohsina Kidwai.

Hooda and Haryana Congress unit president Phoolchand Mullana also took part in the meeting that was attended by the other screening committee members- Prithviraj Chavan, BK Hariprasad and Anand Sharma.

“After Andhra Pradesh, we feel the need to have greater balance in the selection of candidates. It was, therefore, decided to hear the view of all state leaders,” said a senior AICC leader.

After hearing out everybody, panels of candidates for each seat have been drawn up and would now be taken up for further paring by the screening committee tomorrow. As the contours of the constituencies have changed post-delimitation, there is a question mark on whether all sitting MLAs would get an automatic renomination.

Besides, the party has been under pressure to accommodate the 11 independent legislators, who supported the Hooda government and others who crossed over from the opposition camp. Due consideration would also have to be given to AICC general-secretary Rahul Gandhi’s nominees from the Youth Congress even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi wants greater representation for women.

New Delhi, September 15
As Doordarshan (DD) turned 50 on Tuesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni lauded the national broadcaster for catering to remote areas neglected by private TV channels and invited eminent filmmakers like Shyam Benegal to enrich it with their creativity.

Speaking at a commemorative event marking 50 years of public television in the country, Soni underlined her ministry’s commitment to making DD “more vibrant and interesting while retaining its commitment for healthy entertainment suitable for family viewing”.

DD started broadcasting in the country on September 15, 1959, when UNESCO gave the Indian government $20,000 and 180 Philips TV sets. Soni sought suggestions from eminent filmmakers to rejuvenate the public broadcaster.

Soni, who was participating in a conference organised by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), a Delhi-based NGO, also exhorted young filmmakers to take up the challenge of making relevant programmes for the marginalised strata of society. — IANS

Jaipur, September 15
In view of the huge recovery of arms and explosives from the border district of Barmer, the state government has constituted a joint task force to investigate two cases of smuggling of arms and ammunition allegedly from Pakistan.

A joint time of the Rajasthan police and other intelligence agencies have started probe to find out whether the consignment recovered in the border district on September 8 and 13 had been smuggled from Pakistan. Sources also said the police was on a lookout for two more persons in connection with the seizure of explosives, while adding that the investigating agencies were hoping to get some vital leads only after their arrest and interrogation.

On the other hand, the police is yet to get any clue regarding the involvement of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI in the entire episode. Barmer SP Navjyoti Gogoi said, "We have been investigating on these lines as well, but so far we haven't got any proof which hints at ISI role in the smuggling case."

The police had recovered 14.7 kg of RDX, 8 pistols, magazines, cartridges, detonators and huge quantity of fuse wires in two separate raids conducted last week.

Chennai, September 15
Ten prisoners, including those convicted in the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blast and had completed ten years of RI, were released today to mark the conclusion of the birth centenary of DMK founder and former Chief Minister CN Annadurai, whose legacy rules the state for the last four decades.

The prisoners Mohammed Ibrahim, Abdul Rahim, Abdul Farooq, Abbas, Mohammed Rafeek, Abdul Rawub, Ashraff, Bakruddin Ali Ahmed and Shahul Hameed were charged under section 307 of the IPC, besides the Explosives and Arms Act. The prisoners had been sentenced for 13 years.