New Delhi, January 8
Unhappy with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s periodic statements on price rise, the Congress today ticked him off indirectly, saying that job of the government and ministers was not only to point out problems but also to find solutions.

“The job of a government and the ministers is not only to point out problems but also to find solutions and give relief to the common man,” party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in response to a question on whether the NCP chief was not encouraging hoarding and black marketeering by suggesting that sugar prices could rise further.

Pawar, who also heads Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, is under severe attack on issue of rising prices of essential commodities from the Opposition. However, there is also growing criticism within the grand old party over the way Pawar is handling his ministries. “He (Pawar) should be more careful,” a senior party leader said, adding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was seized of the matter and would be holding detailed discussions with ministries concerned and the Planning Commission on the issue.

While Dwivedi chose to speak in general terms, underlining that he was not talking of a particular minister but everyone in general, coming in response to the question on Pawar’s statement, has fueled speculations about the uneasy relationship that the two UPA allies- the Congress and the NCP-share.

Clearly price rise is an uneasy question for the Congress. With questions being raised at the party’s “aam aadmi” slogan, Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said it was a matter of concern that prices of essential commodities were increasing.

But the Opposition BJP has categorically said it was Pawar’s responsibility to control prices, even charging him with making statements aimed at further fuelling rise in prices of essential commodities and benefiting sugar barons, black marketeers and hoarders.

New Delhi, January 8
The Centre today informed the Supreme Court that the ban on pre-paid mobile services in Jammu and Kashmir would continue for security reasons and is in “national interest” as militants had been misusing the facility.

“We cannot revoke the ban. It is because of security reasons that the ban on pre-paid mobile services has been imposed,” Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told a Bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice BS Chauhan.

The government imposed the ban after several rounds of consultations with the Department of Telecommunications, security and intelligence agencies and the service providers. The service providers had failed to carry out a thorough verification before activating such connections, the Centre said in an 11-page affidavit filed in the court.

The mobile service providers had failed to follow the verification drill despite heavy financial penalties slapped on them in several cases, the government argued.

New Delhi, January 8
New Delhi is keenly looking forward to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s four-day visit to India from Sunday, during which the two countries will sign three accords on counter-terrorism and an MoU in the power sector.

With a friendly government at the helm of affairs in Dhaka, India is quite confident of continuing to receive Bangladesh’s cooperation in tackling Indian insurgent groups active in the North East.

Sources here said India desired a long-term, stable and close relationship with Bangladesh. “We also wish to resolve issues that have been pending for years during the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s visit,’’ they added.

The international maritime dispute between both countries is among the issues that may be taken up when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Sheikh Hasina on Monday. Both sides are discussing to set up an arbitrary tribunal to settle the issue amicably. Other important items on the agenda include sharing river waters and promotion of bilateral trade and connectivity. India has already announced a 500 million line of credit to promote infrastructure development in Bangladesh. A decision to facilitate a rail transit link from Bangladesh to Nepal is also an important initiative India has lined up to reflect growing bilateral ties.

The relations between both countries had suffered under the previous Khaleda Zia regime in Dhaka over a host of issues, including the alleged sheltering of insurgent leaders by Dhaka.

Accompanied by her senior ministers and a 30-member business delegation, Sheikh Hasina will arrive in India on Sunday night, her first trip to New Delhi after returning to power in the December 2008 elections. She will also visit Ajmer while she is skipping a visit to Kolkata, which was initially on her itinerary.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today said Dhaka had assured New Delhi that its territory would not be used by anti-India elements. 

New Delhi, January 8
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said today that the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir, remains vulnerable to militant attacks by forces from across the border. He, however, assured that there was no cause for panic. He complimented the J&K Police and the CRPF for yesterday’s successful operation against militants in Srinagar.

A statement of the minister was released by the ministry here today which said the J&K police was on alert in Srinagar following a specific intelligence input. A frisk and search operation was on when two militants opened fire and then fled into a nearby building.

The Home Minister termed it as “a brilliant operation, executed with great skill and patience”. The two militants were killed and 600 civilians were evacuated during the operations. It is noteworthy that the J&K police and the CRPF conducted the operations without calling upon the NSG or the special forces of the Army, the Home Minister said.

New Delhi, January 8
The Supreme Court today ordered a Patiala court to complete within six months the trial of former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, charged with murdering her daughter Harpreet Kaur in April 2000 for marrying a person against her wishes.

A Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and AK Patnaik passed the order after senior counsel Nidhesh Gupta said Jagir Kaur was making use of her influence for delaying the trial and being instrumental in key witnesses turning hostile. Gupta argued for the petitioner, Kanwaljit Singh, who had married Harpreet.

The counsel said most of the 80 witnesses examined so far were inconsequential for the case. Another 44 witnesses were yet to be examined despite the lapse of several years. Appearing for Jagir Kaur, senior counsel Jaspal Singh opposed any interference from the apex court as the trial was at the conclusion stage and all the material witnesses had been examined.

Hyderabad, January 8
A speculative story in a section of the media suggesting a conspiracy by the Reliance Group behind the helicopter crash that killed former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy triggered large-scale violence across the state.

Supporters of YSR went berserk late last night and attacked business establishments of Ambani Brothers, including Reliance Malls, petrol bunks and communication towers, causing extensive damage.

The trouble started when a local Telugu news channel played up a four-month-old story that had appeared in a Russian website, exiledonline.com, suggesting foul play in the September 2 helicopter crash.

The story, carried by the website on September 3, had referred to the huge gas reserves found by Reliance Industries Limited in the Krishna-Godavari Basin and the subsequent dispute with YSR over gas allocation to the state.

The story suggested that there could be a conspiracy behind YSR’s death as he had strongly advocated the right of AP for a fair share in the gas allocation. However, the timing chosen by the TV channel to air the story, more than four months after the tragedy, has raised many an eyebrow. The state is already reeling under crisis following frequent bouts of political unrest over Telangana statehood issue.

A section of the ruling Congress leaders and the opposition parties viewed it as part of a “well-planned conspiracy” to create unrest in the state and dislodge the Rosaiah government. The Telangana protagonists saw it as political game plan to divert public attention from the statehood movement.

Meanwhile, the police today booked a case against the channel, TV5, for airing a “baseless and malicious” report. Cases under the sections 153/3A (provocation with intent to cause riot) and 502 A (sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter) have been registered even as leaders across the political spectrum demanded regulatory mechanism to curb such tendencies in the media. Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy said 96 cases had been registered and 185 persons arrested in connection with the last night’s attacks on Reliance outlets. Prohibitory orders have been imposed across the state.

Meanwhile, Reliance issued a strongly worded denial and alleged that the media report was “dirty handiwork by our business rivals in cohoots with TV5”. “We condemn and reject the allegation with the contempt it deserves. The channel has thrown all journalistic norms to the wind to malign RIL’s reputation. We mourned and untimely and tragic death of YSR as much as anyone else. However, we cannot and will not let this criminal attempt by TV5 to besmirch our reputation. We will file a criminal complaint against the channel. We also demand that the Central and state governments initiate an immediate investigation into this despicable acts and bring the culprits to justice,” the company statement said.

Chief Minister K Rosaiah held a meeting with the Home Minister and the top police brass to take stock of the law and order situation. He called up Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and requested him to ask for the CBI to expedite the investigation into the chopper crash and submit report at the earliest to clear doubts in the minds of the people.

YSR’s son and Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy appealed to people not to resort to violence.

Bangalore, January 8
Software giant Infosys has put its employee Pallab Chakravarthy under suspension after it came to light that the software engineer and his wife were involved in torturing their minor maid.

“We are upset to be informed that an Infosys employee has been charged and remanded to judicial custody for child abuse. After being informed of the incident, Infosys immediately placed Pallab Chakravarthy under suspension. After the investigation, we will take appropriate action as per company rules. We would like to reiterate that compliance with laws and societal ethics is a very important part of the Infosys’ code of ethics”, the company said in a statement sent to this correspondent by e-mail this evening.

The minor girl was rescued by the police from the apartment of the Infosys employee on December 29. The girl was in a bad condition with injuries all over her back and cut marks on her lips. The police raided Pallab’s apartment following a tip-off from the Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA), an organisation involved in social work. APSA was told by locals that they used to hear screaming of a child from the apartment.

According to the police, Chakravarthy’s wife Sinchita, a housewife, used to beat up the girl regularly with a leather belt and other objects. On one occasion, Sinchita poured boiling oil on her back. Pallab used to hit her with a ‘bellan’ (rolling pin). The couple used to lock up the girl inside the apartment and never allowed her to go out. The girl was also not given proper food. The couple hails from Kolkata.

The girl was allowed to speak to her sister, in Bengal, only once and was threatened that if she said anything about how she was being treated, she would be beaten up. The girl was brought from Bengal as the couple knew the victim’s mother who was a maid in their hometown. The girl, who was brought to Bangalore to take care of the couple's 15-month-old daughter, was lured with a promise of a lavish life there.

The police has arrested Chakravarthy and Sinchita. The girl had been shifted to a private hospital in Indiranagar. 

Kolkata, January 8
While Jyoti Basu’s condition continued to be critical for the fourth day today, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda visited Jyoti Basu today to wish him speedy recovery.

A team of doctors from AIIMS, New Delhi, is likely to visit the city tomorrow for helping doctors at AMRI Hospital in Basu’s treatment. Assistance of AIIMS doctors had been sought on the advice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who visited Basu yesterday.

The medical bulletin released today says: Basu’s condition still remains critical. The medical board at AMRI Hospital is now in touch with AIIMS, New Delhi.

Accordingly, a similar medical board is constituted at AIIMS that will also monitor Basu through video conferencing with doctors at AMRI Hospital. Basu had a breathing problem last night, but it was resolved by applying an antibiotic. The ailing Basu consumed small liquids through the rice-tube and the doctors are constantly monitoring him.”

Deve Gowda told mediapersons that he found Basu stable now. “As I introduced myself, he tried to lift his hand that indicated that his brain was functioning;” he said.

He said he would never forget that it was Jyoti Basu who made him the country’s Prime Minister. — TNS

New Delhi, January 8
In the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s offering to mobilise expert doctors from other parts of the country to treat Jyoti Basu, doctors attending on the ailing Marxist leader today held a video conference with experts at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

“A video conference was conducted today between specialists of AIIMS and those treating Jyoti Basu in the AMRI Hospital in Salt Lake in Kolkata. It was focused on how better his health could be managed,” AIIMS Medical Superintendent Dr D K Sharma said.

A doctor who is part of the team of specialists from AIIMS and was involved in the video conferencing said: “The treatment being given by doctors on Basu is all right and well managed. We will continue to interact and help in any way that we can.” The 95-year-old former West Bengal Chief Minister was admitted in the AMRI Hospital on January 1 with complains of chest congestion. Doctors diagnosed he was suffering from pneumonia. He was immediately put on ventilator support due to acute respiratory problems on January 6.

PM Manmohan Singh, who had visited Basu at the hospital yesterday, had told doctors there Basu that he would arrange for any kind of medical help available in the country, if required. — PTI