Mumbai, September 29
Barely two months after promising to celebrate his next birthday at ‘mantralaya’ as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has backtracked due to pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Speaking to reporters at a function to release the combine’s election manifesto, Thackeray chose to sidestep the issue. “I don’t have any personal ambitions. Compared to the hardships faced by the people due to the misrule of the Congress-NCP, the issue of who becomes the CM is very small,” he said.

After demanding that the saffron alliance should contest the Maharashtra Assembly elections with Thackeray as the chief ministerial candidate, the Shiv Sena has decided to bow down to the BJP demand. Interestingly, on the occasion of his birthday on July 27, Thackeray had told his

supporters to be prepared for next year's celebrations at the CM’s office. Thackeray’s statement drew the ire of the BJP which is against portraying any candidate for the top job.

Earlier this month, the BJP leader Gopinath Munde clarified that in case of the alliance emerging victorious the party with the higher number of legislators would get the CM post.

“The chronic shortage of power in Maharashtra, the government’s failure to protect Mumbai from terrorist attacks and rising prices would all be major election issues,” Munde said at the function to release the combine’s manifesto today at the Shiv Sena Bhavan.

The two parties have proposed a number of measures, including 15 per cent job and educational quotas for economically backward section and a separate ministry for welfare of nomadic tribes.

Among the economic sops proposed are soft loans to farmers at 4 per cent interest and monthly pension of Rs 500 pension for farm labourers. The two parties also said they would provide free education for girls till graduation and compulsory education till Class X for everyone. “Our aim is to provide a people-centric government,” Uddhav Thackeray told reporters. Referring to the round-the-clock call centre established by the Shiv Sena, Thackeray said a ‘Shiv Sampark Cell’

would be set up at ‘mantralaya’ where people can phone in with their problems. This would be headed by a minister so that there is a smooth co-ordination between the government and the public. The Shiv Sena, which is contesting most of the seats in the urban areas, has also come up with announcements to beef up infrastructure in the state’s major cities. According to the manifesto, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link would be extended till Nariman Point at the Southern end and till Versova in the North. The two parties also promised to link major cities in Maharashtra via expressways. The two parties also said they would make public the Pradhan committee report which looked into the November 26 terror attacks.

Other sops to woo the ‘Marathi manoos’ include 80 per cent compulsory reservation of skilled and unskilled jobs to locals.

Hyderabad, September 28
Shedding the initial tentativeness, the septuagenarian Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah has asserted his authority and said he was here to stay as long as the Congress high command wanted him.

Settling down in a position that he had never aspired for, the veteran leader is now unfazed by a shrill campaign being carried out by his party colleagues to anoint late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy’s son Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy as the Chief Minister to carry forward his father’s political legacy.

“I see nothing wrong in my colleagues wanting to see Jagan as Chief Minister. But, it is a matter that has to be decided by the high command,” Rosaiah said in an interview with The Tribune here.

With the party’s Central leadership snubbing the “Jagan-for-CM” campaigners and sending out clear signals that it prefers to continue the status quo, Rosaiah’s confidence is growing by the day. Asked how long he would continue in the position in the wake of aggressive campaign by Jagan loyalists, he said “The days of frequent change of chief ministers are over. The party leadership now gives opportunity for the incumbents to prove their capabilities.”

He disagreed with the tag “interim chief minister” and asserted “I am not a stop- gap chief minister. I have been appointed as full- fledged chief minister by the high command. In fact, there is no such thing as interim CM or caretaker CM in the Constitution. I am here to stay in this post as long as the high command wants me.”

Known for his simplicity, astute administrative skills and clean image, Rosaiah was the natural choice to take over the reins of the state after the sudden death of YSR in a helicopter crash.

Always seen as perennial second-in-command in the state Congress, he describes himself as “loyal Congress soldier” and leaves the decision on succession issue to the high command.

Himself a staunch YSR loyalist, Rosaiah asserted that he was not opposed to Jagan becoming the Chief Minister.

But, does the incessant “Jagan-for-CM” clamour not bother him?“It is true that quite a number of legislators and ministers are wishing to see Jagan as the CM and a successor to YSR’s political legacy. It does not mean that it is a problem for me. I am not against Jagan or anyone else.

“I am a soldier of Congress and during my 58 year long career I always took the central leadership’s views as Veda. Even now, as desired by the national leadership of our party, I took oath as CM and functioning to the best of my abilities in this position,” he said.A dyed-in-the-wool Congressman, Rosaiah hoped that the party high command would end the present uncertainty which was detrimental to the state’s development.

PTI adds: Andhra Pradesh CM K Rosaiah has written a letter to Sonia Gandhi expressing sincere regrets over the uncalled for incident wherein supporters of Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy tore down a banner containing picture of the Congress chief in Khammam.

“I may be permitted to bring to your notice with deep pain and grief an incident wherein some Congress workers resorted to undisciplined and unruly behaviour of tearing down a flex banner containing pictures of various leaders, including yourself, at Khammam district Congress office. In another incident in Rajahmundry, two buses were burnt by Congress workers. This is an emotional act of some disgruntled elements as a mark of protest,” Rosaiah said in the letter sent to Sonia today.

Bangalore, September 28
Over 4,000 government doctors in Karnataka will resign on Tuesday protesting a “meager” hike in salaries but treatment of patients will not be affected as they have given two weeks' time to authorities to accept their demand.

“We are resigning en masse on Tuesday. We will wait till October 14 for the government to either concede our demands for better pay or accept our resignation,” HN Ravindra, president of the Karnataka Government Medical Officers Association, said on Monday.

The association members are seeking a monthly pay of Rs 35,000 --- nearly double the present pay of Rs 18,500.

The government has offered a Rs 3,000 to Rs 8,000 hike. Rejecting the offer, Ravindra said it was “meager.”

“If the government does not accept our demand or our resignation, we will relieve ourselves on October 15,” he said. The association has rejected Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa’s appeal to accept the offered increase and not to go for any protest action.

Home Minister VS Acharya, a doctor, while conceding that the increase was not up to the expectation of the doctors, has said this was the best the government could offer in view of the economic slowdown and its impact on government’s financial position.

Ravindra said there was gross disparity in the pay scales of doctors and teaching faculty in medical colleges. “A lecturer gets Rs 44,000 per month whereas we get only Rs 18,500,” he added.

He said because of low pay for government doctors, over 2,000 posts of doctors are lying vacant in the state. — IANS

New Delhi, September 28
Former DRDO scientist K Santhanam’s claims of fizzling out of 1998 Pokhran II seems seems to have provided an unexpected relief to Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani

BJP is being circumspect over Santhanam rubbishing Pokhran II, recognised as a big feather in the cap of Atal Bihari led NDA government then. BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad made a very cautious and measured statement saying, "Some Indian nuclear scientists have demanded a review of the Pokharan tests of 1998. We condemn this outright. Giving full respect to these scientists, we would like to say, `please don't play with our strategic security and nuclear deterrence. We don't consider raising of this issue, 11 years after the tests, proper,” he said.

Advani though has avoided reacting. But insiders indicated it couldn’t have come at a better moment, beseiged as he is by the controversy over the Kandahar hijack embarrassment of 1999 from which he had sought to distance himself, at the cost of being isolated and singled out.

That is because insiders say Santhanam’s claims have raised a question mark over Vajpayee and his government’s credibility and his chosen team, including former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and even on former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who then led the DRDO, much as Brajesh Mishra, Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha’s claims on Kandahar episode damaged Advani’s credibility

Sources said the BJP itself is beset with a dilemma over the tests because at the moment it has put the present UPA government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a spot, with Santhanam demanding another round of tests, Singh can ill afford. Moreover, the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement was based on the assumption that India possessed nuclear weapons.

But while the BJP is faced with a dilemma, Advani is believed to be heaving a sigh of relief, since in this case no fingers are being raised at him.

Santhanam held a press conference last week at the IWPC to press his thesis. He was then accompanied by former Scientific Adviser to Indira Gandhi Ashok Parthasarthi, who naturally supported Santhanam’s contention. Immediately before this meet Parthasarthi met Advani to explain to him Santhanam’s arguments. Advani’s personal staff while admitting to the meeting did not disclose what transpired at this meeting.

Meanwhile an important Hindu religious leader Swami Vishveshwara Teerth of Pejawar mutt claimed today Advani’s inclination to distance himself from politics.

Swami Teerth whom Advani met, however, refused to elaborate on Advani’s time-table for this. He also explained that Advani did not intend to retire from politics.

Swami said that he told him that the guidance of a senior leader like him was needed in BJP and politics. So, he should not move away from it (politics), he said.

But the BJP dismissed the importance of Swami’s claims with its spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy saying, “We keep meeting sadhus and sants to consult them and seek their blessings and guidance. The views of Swamiji should not be seen in political light.” 

Jaipur, September 28
Encouraged by what is now called the Chittorgarh model, the state government is planning to set up 450 generic medicine stores so as to provide quality healthcare at affordable prices to the common man in the state.

Rajasthan Medical and Health Minister Aimaduddin Ahmed said the move would go a long way in bringing down the cost of healthcare in the state while maintaining the same level of facilities for the people. He said the generic medicines, which cost 70 per cent less than the branded medicines, are equally effective and hence would facilitate quality healthcare to all sections of society at affordable prices.

The government is also contemplating measures to ensure that the doctors at the government-run hospitals only prescribe generic medicines. The government had made such an effort earlier as well, but the model was only followed in Chittorgarh district.

The then Chittorgarh Collector Samit Sharma successfully implemented the model, under which medicines are sold at five to ten times less than their maximum retail price through 17 cooperative stores in the district. The model provided the people access to quality healthcare and even drew applause from the UNICEF and UNFPA.

Meanwhile, in another key decision, the state government has served a three-month termination notice to GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) that launched the 108 ambulance service in the state. Over the last few years, 108 had emerged as lifeline for the people in need for urgent medical care. The extent of impact it had made to the lives of the people could be gauged from the fact that there were 164 ambulances of EMRI, which used to handle over 600 cases across the state every day. The government move would also take away the livelihood from 1,100 people who were engaged in the service. Medical and Health Minister Ahmed accused the GVK-EMRI of discrepancies in audit report, adding that the state government has invited fresh tenders from interested parties to continue this service. He said they have made it clear to the GVK-EMRI that the emergency services should not suffer during the notice period. 

Guwahati, September 28
The BJP is engaging a battery of its star campaigners in Arunachal Pradesh which will go to the polls on October 13. The TV actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani has already hit the campaign trail in the hill state. She addressed a series of election meetings at Itanagar on her arrival on Sunday.

The BJP, which is fighting a tough election in the North-East state this time — especially in the absence of a prominent local leader and former MP Khiren Rijiju, who left the party to join Congress just before election was declared — is planning to bring at least three senior leaders to hit the campaign trail.

The BJP president Rajnath Singh will come for electioneering in Itanagar on October 2, while another party veteran Venkaiah Naidu is scheduled to hit the campaign trail in other parts of the state on October 3.

Bihari Babu Shatrughan Sinha will arrive in the state on September 30. He is slated to campaign for the party at Along and Pasighat areas. The BJP had won nine seats in the state in 2004 Assembly election, but all the party MLAs later shifted allegiance to the ruling Congress in a coup led by senior legislator Kripa Babu, thereby watering down all the hard work done by the saffron party to gain a foothold in the tribal state.

The party initially nominated 23 candidates for the forthcoming Assembly elections. But in a pre-poll set back, two of the nominees decided to contest as candidates of other political parties. This left the party with a total of 21 candidates in the fray. 

New Delhi, September 28
Actor and BJP MP from Patna Shatrughan Sinha has denied any political design in his praise of Rahul Gandhi. Sinha had lavished Rahul with praises for going to houses of the Dalits and eating with them. Speaking to The Tribune over phone Sinha said: “This is a part of etiquette and good manners. 

Even earlier I have praised Jyoti Basu, Lalu Prasad, Kanshi Ram and Sonia Gandhi for the good work they have done or are doing. Besides, I have not praised the Congress. They are not my enemies. They are only political adversaries.”

As for Rahul, Sinha insisted that he was making the right political moves. “On the occasion of Id and Dasehra, I am only extending my good wishes to this promising leader. He is doing the right things and his good work needs to be appreciated. I feel others too should learn from him.”

Party sources, however, indicated that Sinha had earlier also expressed his subtle disenchantment with the party before he secured BJP ticket from Patna Lok Sabha constituency. He had praised Sonia Gandhi then. Formally, BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said: “I have nothing to say.” But privately BJP sources said Sinha was pressurising the party to secure Rajya Sabha nominations for his wife Poonam Sinha.

Shatrughan denied this. “If have to secure nominations for my wife, why would I go and praise someone else? I would lobby for it in my party.” But sources indicate that there is some move to this effect saying: “If Poonam Mahajan can get the ticket, then why not Poonam Sinha? She is senior to her and is equally qualified to get the party nomination.”

New Delhi, September 28
The Rotary International has come on board with the government of India to disseminate the utility of zinc tablets and ORT along with promoting a culture of safe hygienic practices among the public.

Micro-nutrient deficiency among children is still prevalent in the country despite the implementation of the national zinc programme and oral dehydration therapy (ORT) under the National Rural Health Mission on the lines of the World Health Organisation. Under the programme, zinc tablets and oral rehydration packets are given for free to all children of age six months and above for treatment of diarrhoea.

The primary reason behind diarrhoea-related infant deaths is the lack of awareness among the public. To address this concern, here comes a private-public partnership that pledges to serve a twin objective through the awareness mode - eradicating polio by battling diarrhoea.

Though there is no scientific study to validate the correlation between diarrhoea and polio, experts worldwide and the WHO believe that polio vaccine efficacy is reduced after diarrhoea, and zinc tablets and ORT would definitely aid in building immunity in children.

The intervention is considered to be crucial, given the fact that diarrhoea is the second most common cause of death in children below five years of age in the country, with 88 per cent of deaths being attributable to poor levels of hygiene and sanitation, besides availability of drinking water. Nearly 5,00,000 children succumb to diarrhoea annually, and high-rate of non-polio enterovirus circulation results with interference of vaccine intake.

Associated with the National Polio Eradication Campaign since seven years, former president of Indian Paediatric Association Dr Naveen Thakkar, said: “Despite multiple doses of the vaccine, there have been several polio cases. The figure being 78 per cent this year, which is just 1 per cent less than that in last year, and diarrhoea enhances the risk of polio.”

Chairperson of India National PolioPlus Society Deepak Kapur stressed: “The demand has to be created firstly at the state quarters and then at the community level, especially in states like UP, Bihar, Orissa, where due to demographic conditions, there have been rampant malnutrition and worrying rate of enteric ailments. UP alone accounts for 97 fresh polio cases of the 136 reported in the country this year.” According to the apex health body, if polio is eradicated from India, where about 500 cases were seen each day earlier vis-à-vis 312 cases annually at present, the world can become polio-free. Currently, polio is an endemic in Pakistan, Nigeria and Afganisthan, besides India. 

New Delhi, September 28
Hanuman, the symbol of power, purity and faith in the Ramayana, has appeared in a new avatar-as the ‘sutradhar’ (narrator) of the epic mythological tale in an adventure activity and comic book for children, “Where's Hanuman”.

Conceived and written by California-based publisher and a devotee of Lord Krishna, Alister Taylor, the animation book which is the first of a series has been illustrated by Christopher Woods and Ben McClintic and published in India by Penguin-Books India.

It was launched on Saturday at the Reliance Timeout Store in Gurgaon in an action-packed activity evening for children and their parents. The activities centred on Hanuman, one of the most frequently invoked deities in the country, and his brave lores.

A live-sized mannequin of the monkey god kept the children glued to the programme.

The slim volume begins with an introduction of Hanuman in first person and a cast of all the characters, both man and animals, who accompanied him on his journey of life. It also has a list of six objects-a bow, mace, conch, discus, ring and lotus- which Hanuman lost along the way.

As a part of the adventure exercise, children were supposed to spot the objects and characters, all associated with Hanuman in some way or the other, from the double-spread illustrations of Ramayana in the book.

“It is a new concept. The idea is to make the book participatory and interactive in nature. The children have to identify Hanuman and his associates from the illustrated sequences from Ramayana. They are almost hidden in unlikely corners. It is a good way to keep the children engaged and promote the epic,” said Taylor. — IANS

Bhopal, September 28
In a break from tradition, an Indore-based organisation would burn the effigy of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, instead of demon-king Ravana. “The present day’s biggest enemy is terrorism and thus we have decided to burn the effigy of Kasab instead of Ravana,” said Nikhil Agrawal of Khatiwala Tank Dussehra Utsav Samiti. 

Kasab’s effigy is 100 feet tall and weighs around 4,000 kg. The effigy has been prepared by the artists of Malwa. “Since the government is unable to punish the terrorist, we could give a message regarding feelings of the citizens,” he added. “This is the only case in Madhya Pradesh when the effigy of a terrorist is being burnt on Dussehra. In Mumbai, Worli residents burn effigy of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden every year on the occasion of Dussehra,” Agrawal said. — IANS

Hyderabad, September 28
The modern-day Indians are a genetic mixture of two distinct ancient populations, a new research has revealed. All diverse groups seen in the present day India came from two major ancient populations that are genetically divergent — Ancestral North Indians (ANI) and the Ancestral South Indians (ASI).

While the ANI group is genetically close to Middle Easterners, Central Asians, and Europeans, the ASI are not related to any group outside India, the study 
has said.

Claimed to be the largest-ever genome-scale analysis of diverse Indian groups, the research was jointly conducted by scientists from Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, USA.

“The implication of this study is that India is not one population and we are a nation of multiple populations,” Lalji Singh, a research team member and former CCMB Director, told reporters here on Wednesday. The study paper was published online on Friday in the journal Nature.

The study also looked for genetic variations based on caste - upper and lower caste - from two the states of Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Contrary to popular perception by historians that the caste system seen today is an invention of colonialism, the study found scientific evidence to show that “many current distinctions among groups are ancient.”

“The caste system is not recent,” said Dr. Kumaraswamy Thangaraj of CCMB and leader of the study. “The social stratification existed right from early human divergence, some 50,000-60,000 years ago when initial settlement happened in India.”

There were 4,635 well-defined populations in India, including 532 tribes and 72 primitive tribes, he said.

Researchers studied the genomes of 132 Indians from 25 population groups that represented all six-language families across 15 states and included traditionally “upper” and “lower” castes and tribal groups.

Analysis of 500,000 genetic markers-random mutations that serve as milestones-using extensive statistical tools, shows that diversity within India is three-four times higher than that seen within Europe.

The research result indicates that many modern Indian groups are descended from a small number of “founding individuals”, whose descendants interbred among themselves to create genetically isolated populations.

“India is genetically not a single large population, but instead is best described as many smaller isolated populations,” Dr Lalji Singh said.

This insight has important medical implications for people of Indian origin, because groups that are descended from small founding populations often have a high incidence of inherited diseases.

“Caste and custom may be strong barriers between groups, perhaps even today. But the common shared ancestry and rampant ANI/ASI mixture may be the strong, invisible thread that binds all Indians,” Aravinda Chakravarti of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, wrote in a commentary for Nature.