Mumbai, September 22
Leaders across the political spectrum in Maharashtra are pushing for their children and assorted relatives to be granted ticket to contest next month's Assembly election, causing major upheavals across the board.

Be it the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Nationalist Congress Party, all of them are facing revolt by workers who say they were being edged out by the offspring of sitting MPs and MLAs. The troubled BJP is facing its biggest challenge in Maharashtra with workers staging large-scale rebellion against senior leader Gopinath Munde. A Member of Parliament from Beed, Munde, who is in charge of the party's campaign, has managed ticket for niece Poonam Rao from Ghatkopar West in Mumbai, daughter Pankaja from Parli in Beed district and elder brother's son-in-law Madhusudan Kendre from nearby Gangakhed. Still not satisfied, Munde is said to be pushing for nephew Dhananjay to be fielded from Renapur in Beed as well.

Munde's blatant promotion of his family at the cost of the BJP has resulted in a revolt by the party workers against his style of functioning. Three-time MLA from Guhagar Vinay Natu, whose family has been holding the seat since 1971, quit the party after Munde agreed to give away the seat to the Shiv Sena as part of a seat-sharing exercise.

In return, the Sena agreed to back Poonam Rao, daughter of the late Pramod Mahajan, from Ghatkopar West. “The party has disrespected my family, which has done much work here,” Natu said while quitting. He formed the Shridhar Sena and will contest as an Independent. Natu has the backing of the RSS and the entire BJP setup at Guhagar has joined the new outfit. Similarly, the BJP is facing a revolt from Pravin Chedda, corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation after he was denied a ticket from Ghatkopar West. Disgruntled elements in the BJP who are in conflict with the Shiv Sena in the seats allotted to the latter say, the regional ally is being accommodated to help Munde's family.

The party is now going slow in announcing the names of the remaining 33 of the 119 seats the BJP is contesting in alliance with the Shiv Sena. Sources say, the names may be announced at the last minute to prevent disappointed aspirants from entering the fray as Independent candidates.

The Congress is facing a similar predicament. None other than President Pratibha Patil has demanded that her son Rajendra Shekhawat be given the ticket from Amravati. The seat is held by Sunil Deshmukh, a minister in the Ashok Chavan government. Deshmukh has warned that he would contest as an Independent if he was not renominated.

According to sources, the party has gone slow in naming its candidates as the Congress high command takes a second look at kin of leaders seeking ticket. In all, some 10 leaders have sought tickets for several of their relatives. These include Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde who is seeking ticket for daughter Praniti and son-in-law Raj Shroff.

Former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh wants a ticket for son Amit. Narayan Rane who got son Nilesh elected as MP in the last Lok Sabha elections wants second son Nitesh as MLA in Maharashtra. MPCC chief Manikrao Thakre wants a ticket for son Rahul while other big shots Ranjit Deshmukh and Patangrao Kadam, too, are batting for their sons.

New Delhi, September 22
The Congress will contest 174 seats, while its alliance partner the NCP will field 114 candidates under a seat-sharing accord clinched by the two parties for next month’s Assembly polls in Maharashtra, capping a week of hard negotiations.

The two parties will also go to the electorate with a common manifesto and campaign jointly, Maharashtra Congress chief Manikrao Thakre and NCP leader Praful Patel told a media conference here announcing the seat-sharing understanding.

They said the two parties would talk to Republican Party of India and other secular forces to unite against “communal” forces in the October 13 electoral battle.

Thakre and Patel dismissed suggestions that President Pratibha Patil had put the two parties in a quandary as her son Rajendra Shekhawat is reportedly one of the aspirants for a Congress ticket in the state polls. “Don’t drag the President into this. The President has nothing to do with this,” the two leaders said.

The seat-sharing accord was clinched after senior Congress leader and Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had a four-hour meeting with Praful Patel and Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) met again this evening to finalise remaining seats on which differences were still said to be persisting between the two parties. The Congress had contested 164 seats and NCP 122 in the previous assembly polls in the state in 2004. — PTI 

Jaipur, September 22
Former BJP leader Jaswant Singh today questioned why did senior BJP leader LK Advani keep silent for a month on his expulsion from the party before saying that he had disfavoured the disciplinary action.

Asked to comment on Advani’s remark that he did not favour Jaswant’s ouster, Singh said, “It is to be examined in what context or reference he (Advani) had said this and that too after a month.”

To a question if Advani took U-turn or got softer towards him, Singh retorted “go and ask him”. Advani had said he did not favour Jaswant’s expulsion, contradicting BJP’s assertion that he was part of the decision. Singh, who was speaking to mediapersons at the residence of senior BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, ruled out his return to BJP or joining Congress.

“My path is different. There are rumours. I am not going either to Congress or returning to BJP. I do not find any reason to go back to the party that expelled me,” he said.

He, however, said he would not retire from politics. “I am very much in politics. I am not resigning from politics.”

Singh said it was “not necessary to align with a person or a party”. Criticising the party, Singh said political parties are “now entangled in castes and have become a monastery of castes.....BJP has also become a castes monastery”. Earlier addressing scores of Rajput caste members at Shekhawat’s house, Jaswant Singh said there “was a need for self, voice, self-respect, and self interest". Apparently hinting at Rajput caste’s unity, Singh said no society or caste could sustain without self-respect.

“We have given a thought to the fact that none is representing Rajput samaj - neither in BJP nor in Congress”, he said.

Recalling Shekhawat’s early days in politics, Jaswant Singh said, “No one like Shekhawat and his period of fifties is left in the Lok Sabha or state Assembly. What was the character then? What was the behaviour then?...It is altogether different now.”“There is a very delicate line between Swabhiman and Abhiman (self-respect and ego). Rajput samaj should understand it,” he said. — PTI

New Delhi, September 22
After “tweeting” his way into a major controversy with his party over his “cattle class” and “holy cows” remarks, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is believed to have warned him that there should be no further controversial statements from him and advised him to “respect comman man’s sentiments”.

Later in the day, he also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also reportedly asked the former UN diplomat to desist from controversial comments.

While it is not known what exactly transpired during these meetings as Tharoor himself chose to remain silent, sources say Sonia asked the former UN diplomat to refrain from speaking further on the Twitter issue.

Tharoor’s remarks on the social networking site created a major controversy within the party. The AICC reacted strongly and criticised the minister for using a term offensive to thousands of Indians who fly economy. Though Tharoor later clarified that he meant no offense, some of his party colleagues went to the extent of demanding his resignation.

Political observers say his meetings today assumes importance as his continuation in the ministry depends on Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and Tharoor was able to explain his side of the story to the party’s top leadership.

Reacting on events of the day, party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said that any well-wisher of the party, the government and Tharoor would advise him to desist from any comments or action even jokingly that would hurt the sentiments of the common man.

The party, he added, had nothing to “add or subtract” from what other party spokespersons had said on the issue. Tharoor’s comment on his Twitter last week dubbing travel in economy class as “cattle class” had evoked strong comments from the AICC.

Condemning his comments, AICC spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan had said, “The statement is not in sync with our political culture. His remarks are not acceptable given the sensitivity of all Indians,” adding that “certainly the party does not endorse it. It is absolutely insensitive. We find it unacceptable and totally insensitive”.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot even demanded his resignation while Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said, “The party would take appropriate action at appropriate time.” The Prime Minister, had, however, downplayed the controversy.

New Delhi, September 22
Chinese citizens who are working in various projects in India on business visas may not be allowed to stay on beyond September 30, the deadline for conversion of their visas to the employment category.

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan met home secretary GK Pillai China today to seek more time for its citizens to get their visas converted to enable them to continue working legally in India.

Without an extension in the deadline about 25,000 Chinese employees working in the steel, petroleum, telecommunications and power sectors will have to leave the country. Even if it is extended, India may not agree to give work visas to so many Chinese citizens in view of the rising jobless in the country. Moreover, most of them do not possess skills that are not available here, a source added.

Of the 25,000 Chinese workers in India only 3,000 have approached the government for converting their visa from business to employment, home ministry officials said after today’s meeting with the Chinese envoy.

After conducting a screening exercise the home ministry had identified close to 25,000 Chinese who had come to India on business visas but were staying on to work on various projects. Most of them were engaged in unskilled and semiskilled jobs that could have very well have done by residents.

India has conveyed to China that business visas to the latter’s citizens will now be restricted only to bona fide businessmen and those who want to stay on to work on various projects here will have to apply for employment visas.

The home ministry has said it will revert to those applying for conversion of visas within 45 days of the application being filed. It has also made it clear applicants with specialised skills would be crosschecked with the so-called ‘negative list’ that the country’s security agencies maintain. However, all applications involving semiskilled and unskilled jobs would be referred to the labour ministry for clearance.

New Delhi, September 22
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today disapproved of the planned fast by IIT professors and said it was not the right step. Directors of the prestigious institutes too joined him and asked them to "rethink".

"We do not expect our prospective Nobel laureates to go on fast. They should be hungry for knowledge," a combative Sibal told reporters in a snub to the professors for their rare protest action. Around 1,500 professors and other faculty members at 13 IITs yesterday threatened to go on fast on Thursday and gave an ultimatum to the government to resolve by October 1 the "anomalies" in pay structure.

"I do not think it is right for them to go on fast. They should rethink," Sibal said rejecting their demands that also related to some autonomy issues. "We always dream that the IITs should produce Nobel laureates." Directors of two IIT, Prof Sanjay Dhande(Kanpur) and Prof Gautam Baruah (Guwahati) termed as a "wrong step" the fast plan and appealed to the faculty members to do a rethink and resolve problems through talks.

Sibal said the IIT professors were getting a fair deal in a poor country like India which was facing drought.

About the federation demand that the contractual appointment should go, he said "no institute of quality in the world, including Harvard University, gives tenure straight away at entry level". "A tenure cannot be a matter of right".

Sibal said the recently announced pay structure was "just and legitimate".

As a way out, SS Moorthy, President IIT Delhi Faculty, suggested a three-member panel comprising an alumni, an Industrialist and an ex-IIT director be constituted to examine whether or not the demands were genuine. — PTI 

Guwahati, September 22
Some parts of Guwahati, the gateway to the north-eastern region, stand vulnerable if a mega earthquake strikes region because of the type of soil. These are the findings of a seismic microzonation study conducted under a project of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.

The study, which was conducted by the Geological Science Department of the North-East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST) of the CSIR on behalf of the DST, identified areas in Greater Guwahati where a mega earthquake might cause major impact because of the soil types.

Dr Ranju Duarah of the NEIST’s Geological Science Department said as per the seismic microzonation study of Greater Guwahati, structures which have been constructed on stretches of alluvial soil on the south bank of the Brahmaputra that flows by the city and those constructed by filling up water bodies and wetlands in the city stood vulnerable in case of occurrence of an earthquake of high magnitude.

He said: “Alluvial soil, unlike hard rocks, resists propagation of seismic waves generated during an earthquake that causes high ground amplification (more shaking of the earth) resulting in destruction of structures on the ground. Some areas like Bharalumukh, Mirza, Palasbari, Borjhar, Kalapahar, Japorigog, Boragaon, Basistha etc. in Greater Guwahati are therefore vulnerable because of presence of alluvial soil and the disaster management authorities should remain alert about the fact.”

He also pointed out that many parts of the city have developed on wetlands and water bodies that had been filled up over the years to facilitate construction of high-rise buildings in areas like Paltanbazar, parts of Guwahati-Shillong road, Bhangagarh, some parts of Dispur (Mohghuli beel). Structures on these areas too stand susceptible in case of a mega earthquake.

He, however, said since most of Greater Guwahati area has hard Precambrian (very old) rock of granitic origin which can withstand better withstand a mega earthquake as seismic waves can pass through such rock easily.

Meanwhile, people living in high-rise buildings in many parts of the city had jitters during the earthquake yesterday even as disaster management department is worried over lack of space and narrow lanes in many parts of the city having tall buildings juxtaposed to each other. The district administration has started verifying cracks that appeared in some building during yesterday’s quake.

New Delhi, September 22
It has been a roller coaster ride for Lakhbir Kaur ever since she lost her father and two brothers in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. When she was just 16, she shifted to Punjab and latter got married. Her misery didn’t seem to end there, Lakhbir’s husband was picked up thrice by the Punjab police as a suspect during the days of militancy.

“Torture was part of the arrests,” said her husband, who was present at a seminar “Women in Conflict Zones: Survivors and Peace Makers”, held here today . “Once she could not even recognise me,” he said.

Today at 41, Lakhbir is a mother of three. Narrating her experience, she said, “I want my daughters to learn English”.

Even though her father was a Congress supporter, his political affiliations could not save the family. In 1984, “We were all watching TV when my father went out looking for my two brothers. None of them came back after that,” said Lakhbir with tears in her eyes.

Many women like her from different parts of the country had gathered in the capital for the seminar.

Speaking about the changes in her life after the Mumbai attacks, Kavita Karkare, wife of slain Mumbai police Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, said, “After my husband’s death I had to quickly regain the strength for my children. My husband’s values gave me the strength.”

Thane, September 22
It is mostly the violent act that puts one behind bars but repentance can dilute it, and it seems true for the 852 inmates of the 11 prisons of Maharashtra who will appear for the “Gandhian thought” examination during the Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. These examinations will be conducted in the jails of Arthur Road in Mumbai, Thane, Ratnagiri, Osmanabad, Dhule, Jalgaon, Bhandara, Nagpur, Bhusawal, Chandrapur and Aurangabad, TKR Somaiya of the Bombay Sarvoday Mandal said.

Books written by Mahatma Gandhi and that on his thoughts are made available to the inmates free of charge, he said.

Along with books, CDs of films like ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, ‘Gandhi’, ‘Bapu Ne Kaha Tha' and ‘Do Ankhe Barah Hath’ are also being sent to teach the inmates Gandhian principles, Somaiya said.

“We shall conduct an examination of 80 marks in which the inmates will have to answer 80 objective type questions. Those who pass the exam will receive certificate and khadi clothes as a prize,” the Gandhian said.

On the whole the movement carried out by the Mandal to spread the message of Bapu and reform the prisoners has worked wonders and is having the desired effects,” he said.

The preacher of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi devoted his life for spreading the non-violence and proved that it is an effective weapon.

The movement carried out by the Mandal to spread the message of Bapu and reform the prisoners has worked wonders and is having the desired effects, Somaiya said.

Laxman Gole, a dreaded criminal, confessed his crimes before the judge after reading Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi in Thane jail, and now is an an active volunteer of the Mandal and visits various jails to inspire the prisoners to accept Gandhi’s teachings, he said.

The inmates serving imprisonment under various crimes expressed their desire to take the examination, Somaiya added. — PTI

Hyderabad, September 22
After temples and statues being built by admirers in memory of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, it is now the turn of the film industry to bring him alive on the silver screen.

A full-length Telugu feature film is being made on the life and times of the charismatic Congress leader who died in a helicopter crash on September 2.

Noted producer-director Puri Jagannath, who has a string of mega hits to his credit, is directing the film, titled “Rajasekhar Reddy”.

“I feel honoured to take up the project. YSR was a towering leader who enjoyed unbelievable popularity among masses. A large number of his admirers died of shock or committed suicide after hearing about his death,” Jagannath said.

Popular actor Rajasekhar, who along with his actress wife, Jeevitha, joined the Congress last year, will don the lead role in the movie. The actor said the film based on YSR’s life would be a real tribute to the leader who had dedicated his life to the service of the poor. The film will also be made in other Indian languages.

Meanwhile, a documentary film is also getting ready to highlight the political journey of YSR. Titled “YSR Maha Prasthanam”, the film touches upon the achievements of the former Chief Minister and the unique welfare schemes he had conceived and implemented. The shooting commenced at Chevella in Ranga Reddy district yesterday.

A constable from Guntur district Majnu Sheik Jan Basha will play the role of YSR in the documentary. “I feel honoured to play the role of a great leader like YSR. I will cherish this experience throughout my life,” Basha said.

Dehradun, September 22
Khobad Ghandy, 62-year-old member of the CPI (Maoist) Politburo and key ideologue who was arrested last night from Delhi, had studied at prestigious Doon School that has given the country one Prime Minister, half a dozen MPs and several bureaucrats and captains of industries.

It has been more than 45 years when Ghandy, following in the footsteps of his brother Farouk Ghandy, two years his senior, joined Doon School.

“He joined the school in 1958 and was member of No. 349 Hyderabad House. After he passed out in 1963, I do not recall that he even attended the silver jubilee celebrations of his batch in 1998,” said Sheel Vohra, former mathematics and cricket teacher of the school who was also secretary of the Doon School Old Boys Association.

Ghandy completed his graduation from St Xavier’s, Mumbai, and chartered accountancy from the UK.

In the old school boys records, Ghandy has mentioned his occupation as a freelance journalist and social activist.

He has registered himself as a resident of Santa Cruz, Mumbai.

It has been almost 46 years since Ghandy passed out from the school, but Vohra can still recall his face. He categorically states that it is difficult to predict what career choices students will take up, once they pass out from the school. “I can say with certainty that experiences as we enter into adulthood too shape our later-life decisions,” he added.

Patna, September 22
An ex-armyman suspected to be an operative of Pakistan’s ISI was arrested by the Special Task Force of Bihar police here on Monday night. The police recovered very sensitive military documents pertaining to deployment of troops and the upcoming Indian Ordnance Factory at Rajgir in Bihar’s Nalanda district from his possession.

Additional Director-General of Police (Headquarters) Neelmani said that Sudhakar was picked up from a house in the Kankarbagh area of the state capital on a tip off. Neelmani described his arrest to be a “big catch”.

Patna SSP Vinit Vinayak who interrogated the alleged ISI agent, told media persons that the man named Sudhanshu Sudhakar was a native of Dheng village in Sitamarhi district on the Indo-Nepal border. He was recruited in the Indian Army in 2002 for its EME centre at Secunderabad. But he was court marshaled on the charges of indiscipline and subsequently dismissed from service due to his suspicious activities in 2007.

Sudhakar told the police that he was on the pay-roll of an ISI module in Kathmandu named Rana for the past two years. He had met Rana thrice during this period and passed on classified information about the Indian Army like location of EME units and kind of missiles deployed on the western border. The police recovered five different SIM cards beside a Nepali number SIM card and mobile phone set from Sudhakar. 

New Delhi, September 22
India's position that disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist A Q Khan could not have acted individually stands vindicated with his admission that Islamabad was involved in the proliferation activities involving China, Iran, North Korea and Libya, experts say.

"In any case, it is very well known that A Q Khan and Pakistan had worked together in proliferation of nuclear technology. It was also known that China and Pakistan were working together. The letter by Khan is a confirmation of all these," former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra said.

Commenting on the disclosures by Khan, former Foreign Secretary Shashank said the letter, written by Khan to his Dutch wife Henny, vindicated India's assertion that Pakistan's nuclear proliferation could not have been an individual's activity.

“The network was running for a very long period of time and known to many governments that there had been efforts to hide these activities," the former Foreign Secretary said.

Khan, in the letter, had said the Pakistani government and the military had a hand in the country's nexus with the controversial nuke programmes of Iran, North Korea and Libya. The letter, details of which were published in the 'Sunday Times', was written by Khan to his wife after his arrest in 2003.

Former High Commissioner to Pakistan G Parthasarathi was of the view that Khan's disclosures confirm China's help to Pakistan in developing its nuclear arsenal.

“It is a nuclear scientist blowing the lid on the fact that before Pakistan developed its enrichment capacities, the designing that A Q Khan got were passed onto China and China developed it and these guys nearly reverse engineered what the Chinese gave them,” Parthasarathi said.

Mishra said the content of the letter also established the stand of the NDA government that China had helped Pakistan to develop nuclear weapons.

“Finally, the revelations confirmed what the NDA government had said at the time of Pokhran II. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had written a letter to the US, the UK, France and Russia in which he had said that China helped Pakistan to acquire nuclear arms. So India did not have any option but to conduct the tests," he said.

Former DRDO scientist K Santhanam said Khan was a national hero in Pakistan till he was found peddling nuclear technologies to other countries. "When the bubble bursts, (Pervez) Musharraf could not prevent taking action against A Q Khan who was earlier honoured with Pakistan's highest civilian award," Santhanam said. — PTI

Mumbai, September 22
A 25-year-old mother of two was allegedly gangraped before being burnt alive for having spurned a man who wanted to marry her, the police said today. The victim was raped by four men, including three brothers distantly related to her, at her Adarsh Gharkul building residence in Antop Hill locality of central Mumbai yesterday and then set ablaze. She succumbed to burn injuries at a city hospital early this morning during treatment.

The accused, identified as Rajesh Devendra (30), Kumar Devendra (28), Nitya Devendra (25) - all three are brothers - and their friend Shankar Mudaliyar (35) have been arrested.

Though the police said the exact motive behind the cruel act was being investigated, a relative alleged she was killed as the family had rejected Nitya Devendra’s proposal to marry her a few years ago.

“Nitya wanted to marry her, but we rejected the proposal for some reasons,” said Krishna Reddy, a relative of the deceased. The police said the victim was alone when the desperadoes forced their way into her house.

“According to the victim’s dying declaration, the four raped her one by one. When she told them that she would lodge a police complaint, they set her on fire after pouring kerosene,” said senior inspector DN Deokar of Antop Hill police station. — PTI 

Ludhiana, September 22
It is not every day that the expert panel on an interview board gets interviewed itself or asked questions. But a selection panel set up by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) for the recruitment of doctors had this unnerving experience last week.

A lady called for the interview took the panel by surprise by firing the first salvo. If the lady, a doctor attached to a hospital in Punjab, is to be believed, the question not only cost her the job but she was also told that she would never again be called by the PPSC.

“Get out,” the commission chairman apparently exploded. “We will ensure that you never get called,” he went on to add, claims the doctor.

Dr Rashi (name changed) evidently ruffled feathers when she demanded that the panel should first satisfy her and explain why she was not selected when the earlier round of interviews was held this year. She claimed to have topped every examination in the medical college but while she was ignored, some of her batch mates who had to appear in supplementaries at every exam managed to sail through.

The commission, which recruited 100 doctors for the state medical service in June, has again advertised for 212 posts of doctor and the fresh round of interviews started earlier this month.

Both the rounds got mired in a controversy with the PPSC declaring the selection criteria after the selections were finalised. This time, too, the commission’s action in setting aside 50 per cent marks for the personal interview has been criticised as a ploy to pick favourites. Academic record and work experience, complain doctors, are becoming secondary to the interview and subjective considerations.

The lady doctor told The Tribune that she was determined to raise the issue. She recalled asking the chairman, "Sir, I am here to question you on the selection criteria adopted by the commission during the last interviews as several selected candidates were "undeserving" and "incompetent". I would also like to know on what grounds was I declared "unfit" for the post."

The lady doctor claims her audacity was applauded by several officials at the commission itself. “They felt I had done the right thing by catching the bull by the horns,” she said.

She may not get another chance to work for the Punjab government, she admitted. But the authorities, she felt, should have done better than to make the interview a decisive factor in the selection and allow selection panels to ask irrelevant and even personal questions.