Ahmedabad, July 2
The BJP today invited Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to campaign in Bihar, a move that is sure to be a red rag to the JD(U) and may revive a bitter clash between the two coalition partners ahead of Assembly elections.

“Modiji, please come to Bihar. You may campaign and hold the BJP flag high,” BJP general secretary and in charge of Bihar, Ananth Kumar told a meeting of the party’s Gujarat Executive here.

He said the BJP president has sent him as he was in charge of the party in Bihar. “I feel from the bottom of my heart that it may be Bangalore, Benaras or Ballia- Bharat or Bihar. We invite him to come to campaign. He is our leader,” he said to a thunderous applause from the party leaders.

Modi and other senior leaders, including Arun Jaitley, were seated on the dais.

JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari reacted sharply to Kumar's statement saying why the BJP was being “adamant” on calling Modi for campaign.

“The BJP wants to rule the whole of India. The days of one-party rule is gone. Coalition is the present order. Why is the BJP adamant. Why is it creating a scene in Bihar,” he said.

Only last month, Nitish Kumar snubbed the BJP by cancelling a dinner for its top leadership in Patna when they were there for a meeting of the National Executive after a couple of advertisements were published in local dailies showing Modi and Nitish Kumar holding their hands together.

Nitish Kumar also returned Rs. 5 crore being the unspent money of the aid given by the Gujarat Government in 2008 to Bihar at the time of Kosi floods.

The joint campaign by Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi was also called off in the wake of the spat but later it was decided to be resumed. — PTI

New Delhi, July 2
The Congress today alleged that there were severe irregularities in electoral rolls in BJP-ruled Gujarat, accusing Chief Minister Narendra Modi of “manipulating” the voter list in the state.

“In every assembly segment, 8,000 to 15,000 voters are fake. The irregularity is so extensive that this could decide the victory and defeat in the elections," party spokesman Manish Tewari said flanked by party leaders from Gujarat who lodged their complaint with the Election Commissioner. He alleged that Modi and the state BJP were responsible for the “large-scale irregularities”.

Earlier, a Congress delegation, comprising AICC general secretary B K Hariprasad, state Leader of the Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil, AICC secretary P Sudhakar Reddy, state unit chief Siddharth Patel and Tewari met Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla and lodged a complaint on the issue.
He claimed that 30 lakh voters had been illegally registered in the state. “In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the vote difference between the BJP and the Congress was 5.49 lakh in all 26 Lok Sabha constituencies,” he said, indicating that the alleged irregularities could have affected the outcome.

Patel claimed that in the 2007 assembly elections, the margin of victory was less than 7,000 in 61 assembly segments while the “irregularities” were to the tune of 8,000 to 15,000 voters in each of the constituency. “The question is whether the results of the assembly elections in 2007 and Lok Sabha elections of 2009 were free and fair,” he said.

Jaipur, July 2
Eight months after the devastating fire at an IOC fuel depot here killed 11 people, the police today arrested nine senior company officials, including its general manager for the state on charges of criminal negligence.

IOC GM for Rajasthan Gautam Bose and eight other officers were arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 304-II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), Inspector General (Jaipur Zone) B L Soni said.

Section 304-II of IPC carries a maximum prison term of 10 years.

Those arrested in connection with the October 29 fire caused by leakage of petrol during transfer from storage tank included chief of operations at IOC's Jaipur depot Rajesh Sayal.

Eleven persons were killed and 45 injured in the fire.

The IOC officials were called by the police for questioning in connection with the incident but were later arrested. The arrested officials are likely to apply for bail in a local court tomorrow.

Soni said all officers were arrested at the Sanganer Sadar police station after being quizzed by the police in the case registered by a private firm Genus Company, Soni said.

Additional Superintendent of Police Yogesh Goyal, who is investigating the case, said Bose, who is currently posted in Mumbai, was called for interrogation along with eight other officials.

The others arrested are Shashank Shekhar, manager operation, K S Kanojia, senior terminal manager, Arun Poddar, manager terminal, Kapil Goyal, deputy manager terminal, Ashok Gupta, operation officer, Kailash Nath Agarwal, chargeman, and S S Gupta, DGM pipeline, who is presently posted in Ghaziabad, he said.

Lal in his report to the Central Government had stated that IOC personnel at the Jaipur depot did not observe "normal safety procedure." He said the gross negligence during transfer of fuel from storage tank resulted in a 10-12 metre fountain of petrol spreading vapours over a 250-metre radius for 75 minutes before a spark caused by the start of two-wheeler or kitchen within the radius triggered the fire that engulfed the entire depot. — PTI

New Delhi, July 2
There is an intense tussle on in the BJP over taking back Uma Bharti.Sources close to party president Nitin Gadkari said here today: “The process is on, no final decision has been taken.”

Going by the manner in which the party has taken back some former party leaders and prominent activists like Jaswant Singh, Ram Jethmalani and J.K. Jain in the recent past, the day of Uma rejoining, perhaps with the same fanfare, is not far,” commented a party insider.

However, he also conceded that lobbying was on both for and against her reentry. Uma all but folded the Bharatiya Lok Janashakti (BJS), the party she had founded after quitting the BJP a little before the 2009 general elections announced her support for L.K. Advani as prime minister and campaigned for him in parts of UP.

Since then, sections close to Advani are trying to soften the BJP towards Uma, for, in their assessment, her return will invigorate the BJP. But there are others like Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who succeeded Uma as the state Chief Minister, and senior RSS leader in charge of the BJP Suresh Soni, who have strongly opposed the move, arguing that she will make a spectacle of herself once again, embarrassing the party yet again. Uma has left the party twice and if she returns now this will be her second home-coming.

Last month, Advani invited Uma to fly along with him in his special plane to Raipur to attend the last rites of the father of Chhatisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, fuelling fresh speculations about the possibility of Uma rejoining.

Within days Jaswant Singh, who had been offered a joy ride in his plane a few days earlier for Shekhawat’s funeral, rejoined, leading party insiders to conclude that Uma may be next in the queue of entrants. But party sources dismissed reports that Advani had any big role in Jaswant’s rehabilitation and instead pointed out that Gadkari initiated the process by going over to meet Jaswant soon after he assumed charge as party president. Gadkari has been speaking to Uma too, but has refused to share the details here today.

But he dismissed reports of any differences in the BJP on this issue saying, “The BJP is a big party and there are all shades of opinions.”

As for the reports of KN Govindacharya, former organising secretary of the BJP, party sources said, “He has not shown any interest yet.” 

New Delhi, July 2
“Inhuman” - this is how many here have described the remarks made by Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan about the CRPF men dying in Maoist attacks in the state’s Bastar region.

“Being the top cop of the state, how could he utter such inhuman words for fellow men in khaki facing Maoist bullets,” wondered a senior Delhi Police officer. “The DGP should remember that the CRPF men are getting killed while fighting for Chhattisgarh,” he said.

Similar sharp reactions were coming from various quarters, including security experts and civil society activists. One of them said, “It is in bad taste.”

On Thursday, while talking to the media in Raipur, Ranjan said, “If the CRPF is frequently getting caught in ambush, can we do anything? Can we teach them how to go about it?”

Ranjan’s remarks came after a high-level meeting in Raipur, which was organised to review the situation following a gruesome Maoist attack in Narayanpur district of the Bastar region three days ago. Twentyseven security personnel, including 25 from the CRPF, were killed in the attack.

In view of successive Maoist attacks on CRPF men this year, Ranjan has come under tremendous pressure from New Delhi and also from some top leaders of the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh. After a deadly Maoist attack in Dantewada on April 6, the DGP in a fit of anger had said: “I am serving my state with honour. The day someone has any doubt about my functioning, I will leave.”

“Instead of being sympathetic,” a top officer of Intelligence Bureau (where Ranjan served for long) said, “the DGP is rubbing salt in the wounds of the CRPF men.”

The Union Home Ministry has been informed by the state police authorities that a preliminary inquiry into the Narayanpur incident indicated that the road opening party had failed to stick to “standard operating procedures” - as was the case in earlier attacks. The CRPF men used the same route for their movement and were moving together in a big group.

Because of CRPF men getting hit again and again, sources said, relations between the central police organisation and the Chhattisgarh police’s top brass had soured.

CRPF DG Vikram Shrivastava, sources said, had told the Union Home Ministry and the Chhattisgarh Police that he would prefer his battalions to be used only for executing special operations, instead of doing routine activities.

Police personnel undergo training to combat the Naxal menace at a camp in Latehar, Jharkhand, on Friday. — PTI

New Delhi, July 2
The CRPF jawans fighting Naxals are faced with shortage of food and water while operating on the ground, according to a top official of the specialised anti-Naxal unit of the force.

In an article in the CRPF’s in-house magazine “CRPF Samachar”, Inspector General (Special Action Force) Ashutosh Shukla said the challenges being faced by the troops on the ground include “long distance walking, adverse terrain condition - high humidity, hot climate, lack of availability of basic food articles, lack of water, deep jungles, absence of roads or tracks”. Other challenges identified by him include Naxal sympathisers, threat to contractors, government servants and development funds being grabbed by the Maoists and difficulties in operating through inter-state borders.

The CRPF, which is the main paramilitary force fighting the Naxals, have received some serious setbacks in the recent past. On Tuesday, 27 CRPF personnel were killed in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh by the Naxals. On April 6, the CRPF lost 75 personnel in a Naxal attack.

“The iron ore mines and easy availability of explosives and detonators in plenty for industrial use in the area have also contributed in favour of the Naxal cadres who are able to carry out the IED blasts against security forces which has become a major threat and major contributor towards loss of valuable human lives of troops as well as innocent human lives,” the article said.

The SAF, erstwhile Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, was created by the Central Government on the pattern of Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh to deal with Naxal menace.

Shukla, a 1986 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, said in the article in the special Dantewada issue of the magazine that “the environment has been created to conduct the anti-Naxal operations in full swing. During September, 2009, the troops of 201 Battalion SAF could successfully launch operations in the so-called liberated zone of Maoists. It is expected the achievements of SAF troops will further enhance once troops are fully settled and institutionalised system of sharing of intelligence is put in place,” he wrote. — PTI

New Delhi, July 2
Stepping up India’s engagement with Africa to match China’s increasing investments in this resource-rich region, SM Krishna is leaving on his first visit to the continent after becoming the External Affairs Minister.On his itinerary are Mozambique and Mauritius, two key nations strategically located in the Indian Ocean. Krishna has his task cut out when he meets the leaders of the two countries: deepen economic and strategic ties with them.

Defence cooperation will be high on Krishna’s agenda as India already has significant naval engagement with the two states. Security cooperation between India and Mozambique has been growing since they signed a bilateral security cooperation agreement in 2005. From Mozambique, Krishna heads to Mauritius.India will focus on expanding the strategic dialogue with the tiny Indian Ocean nation.

China is certainly giving India a stiff challenge in meeting its aspirations in the continent. China’s foray into Africa is driven by its appetite for resources and oil to feed its economy. But experts say there is enough scope for both India and China to co-exist in Africa. India’s relations with key African nations have slowly but steadily increased in recent years. They drew attention to the fact that South African President Jacob Zuma was here along with a 200-strong business delegation recently. The President of Seychelles was also in New Delhi last month, followed by a visit by the Vice-President of diamond-laden Botswana.

Soon after Krishna’s visit, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur will undertake a trip to the African continent. One event that went virtually unnoticed in media circles but carried a lot of weight in diplomatic circles was the presence of as many as 15 African envoys at a suburban gurdwara near New Delhi recently to attend the ‘bhog ceremony’ of the father of the current head of the African division in the foreign ministry. 

New Delhi is quite optimistic about India’s deepening engagement with the African continent in recent years where China has made deep inroads in a variety of areas.

New Delhi, July 2
The Commonwealth Games face a threat from Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and other militant outfits, which, according to a US think-tank, may be planning an attack during the event.

Vice-President of Tactical Intelligence, Stratfor, Scott Stewart replied in affirmative when asked whether the sporting event scheduled in October faces any terror threat.

“Yes. Two days after the February 13, 2010 blast in Pune, Ilyas Kashmiri (wanted Al-Qaida terrorist) threatened the Field Hockey World Cup, the Indian Premier League cricket competition and the Commonwealth Games,” Stewart said in an interview to PTI. — PTI

Orissa, July 2
As the country celebrates Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary today, a house in a remote Orissa village, where the poet had penned his immortal dance-drama 'Chitrangada' based on Arjun's marriage to a valiant princess of Manipur, lies in ruins.

The modest house, located at distant Pandua village in Jagatsinghpur district, faces the threat of being reduced to a rubble in the absence of any conservation efforts, an official of a Kolkata-based socio-cultural organisation said after a visit to the place.

Utpal Roy, the secretary of 'Diganta', said the house was one of Tagore's most preferred retreats which in the 150th birth anniversary of the great poet should be restored. He said he had also written to the Prime Minister drawing his attention to the neglect of not only the house, but also the area.

“The stone plaque on which Tagore's name was inscribed is damaged and even Tagore's bust in the village is left uncared for and covered with thick layers of dust,” he said. — PTI

New Delhi, July 2
Children find it hard to resist them, but jazzy trinkets, bracelets and a string of other artificial jewellery pieces adorning the capital's retail shops bear dangerous levels of lead, reveals a significant new study unveiled here today.

Of the 54 samples of necklaces, rings, bangles, bracelets, earrings and hoops collected from various manufacturing and retailing markets across the city and tested in labs for metal content, high concentration of toxic lead was found, with 64.8 per cent samples (35 out of 54) containing lead levels more than 90 ppm (parts per million).

Almost 44.4 per cent samples had lead over 300 ppm, and 38.9 per cent had the heavy metal content of over 600 ppm limit. Although no standards for lead controls in products for children's use (including toys) exist in India, and most South Asian nations, the US Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act 2008 sets this standard for lead concentration in children’s products, fixing it to a maximum allowable limit of 300 ppm. Lead levels beyond the permissible limits can damage the nervous system, blunting intelligence; at even higher levels, it can be lethal.

Among the artificial jewellery samples collected from Central Delhi, Janpath, South Delhi, Lajpat Nagar, Old Delhi, and Sadar Bazaar, lead levels varied from the lowest 12.68 to as high as 3,43,415.64 ppm - a lethal concentration indeed.

The study by Toxics Link, a Delhi-based environment group that assesses the impact of toxic materials on human and environmental health, also shows that rings have the highest lead content. Among all samples, rings, despite being small, were found having lead concentration amounting to 8,56,346.9 ppm - a confirmation that lead is routinely used by manufacturers as a malleable agent to lend better shape to jewellery items.

Ravi Aggarwal, Director Toxics Link told TNS, “The findings are a warning sign for parents, who must be conscious of the adverse health effects of lead exposure. Lead continues to be used in paints, toys and jewellery, even though its toxicity has been known for over 100 years. It is time we prescribed standards for use of lead by different manufacturers of products, like toys and paints”.