Pune, March 5
Sacked CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi today said he was ready for any inquiry into the alleged irregularities in conducting the Commonwealth Games and that he would answer all questions.

Kalmadi said he would cooperate with the investigating agencies probing the irregularities in the conduct of the mega event as he had nothing to hide.

"Everything is fine. I am ready for any inquiry and will answer all questions," the Congress MP, who returned last night from Bangkok, said while addressing party workers here.

Kalmadi also claimed that the CBI officials, who conducted searches at his premises in the city recently, did not find anything incriminating against him.

"The CBI officials came to my place. But what have they found? They could find only that is recorded in income tax returns filed by me. They have found nothing against me," he said. He said that he received letters of appreciation from all over the world following the successful hosting of the Commonwealth Games.

The Congress MP, under the scanner for the alleged corruption scandals, said the staging of Commonwealth Games also led to improvement of Delhi as a city with creation of infrastructure.

He said he had not gone "missing", as speculated in a section of media, and asserted that he would not do anything that would bring disrepute to Pune, the city which he represents in Parliament. — PTI

New Delhi, March 5
Civil rights activist Binayak Sen, sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition and links with Naxalites, has challenged the Chhattisgarh High Court’s order rejecting his bail plea. The plea will come up for hearing on March 11.

Sen, 61, a professional doctor and passout of the prestigious Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, sought the bail contending that the trial court has erred in convicting him when there was no substantial evidence.

In the petition prepared by senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, it has been submitted that Sen has already spent two years in jail after his arrest and he should be allowed to come out on bail during the pendency of appeal in the High Court.

Jethmalani, who had argued the bail plea in the Chhattisgarh High Court, had dubbed the charges against Sen as politically motivated and had said, “The whole case is nothing but political persecution.” — PTI

New Delhi, March 5
With the BJP raring to put Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the mat for appointing PJ Thomas as the CVC, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who had earlier sought to close the chapter after the Prime Minister accepted his responsibility, has beaten a hasty retreat, falling in line with her party’s mood.

She blamed the “limitations of words” on her Twitter for conveying the impression of condoning the Prime Minister’s actions. The Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, the sole dissenting member of the committee which cleared the appointment of Thomas said today, “There is no difference within the party and between me and (Arun) Jaitley on the issue. The demands he (Jaitley) made, the Prime Minister had already spoken about it that he will give a statement in Parliament. That is why I did not put it on the Twitter... There is a constraint in Twitter that you have to say things in 140 characters. So I did not put it on Twitter,” Swaraj said.

Underplaying the differences Sushma said, “Newspapers have tried to show difference between me and Jaitley. The only difference is that he demanded a statement from the PM in Parliament. In fact PM had said that he (Singh) will make a statement in Parliament.”

Notwithstanding Sushma’s denial today, it is clear that she beat a hasty retreat after she sensed the hostile and aggressive mood in her party articulated very forcefully by Jaitley. Yesterday after the Prime Minister owned up responsibility for this in Jammu, Sushma had tweeted saying, “I appreciate the statement of the Prime Minister owning responsibility for the appointment of CVC... I think this is enough. Let matters rest at this and we move forward.”

Contrary to Sushma’s attempt to bury the hatchet, Jaitley insisted on the Prime Minister’s statement in Parliament saying that he should explain “Whether he was misled or had chosen to mislead himself and whether he was aware of the case against Thomas. “He can’t hide behind silence. If necessary, we will seek the Prime Minister’s resignation,” Jaitley had told a TV news channel.

In effect Jaitely mirrored the views of other party men like spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy who had said earlier in the day: “The very fact that the PM has admitted his guilt and accepted that it was a fault on his part is welcome... but this very statement does not absolve the PM of his moral responsibility.”

New Delhi, March 5
A Parliamentary panel has rapped the government for its ‘casual approach’ in issuing Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards to eligible applicants under the OCI Scheme operationalised way back in December 2005.

The Standing Committee on External Affairs has said in its 15th report that the reply of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs gave an impression that the ministry had failed to take requisite initiatives to evolve a suitable mechanism to assess the number of PIOs eligible for OCI cards and regularise the process of issuing OCI cards in a planned and time-bound manner.

It asked the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry to make all efforts to evolve a reliable mechanism for an authentic survey of PIOs eligible for OCI cards. The panel said that on the basis of the outcome of the work-study by Indian missions abroad and an authentic assessment of number of PIOs in each country, the government should depute desired number of persons in the missions so that OCI cards could be issued to all of them in a planned and time-bound manner.

The high-powered panel was also unhappy with the government for the tardy pace of introduction of the Emigration Management Bill 2010, expected to act as an effective tool to check and prevent irregular migrations. It was informed by the ministry that the Bill has now been referred for consideration and recommendation of the Committee of Secretaries before it is placed before the Cabinet for approval.

The committee emphasised the need to get an early requisite clearance of the Bill from the Committee of Secretaries and thereafter approval from the Cabinet so that it could be introduced in Parliament without further delay.

The panel also wanted to know from the government the status of pending cases against recruiting agents responsible for large-scale exploitation and harassment of prospective Indian emigrants. It also asked the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry to explain how it proposed to make the Emigration Management Bill an effective tool to deal with erring recruiting agents stringently.

New Delhi, March 5
Although the Congress is not in a hurry to sever its ties with the DMK, it is mulling various options before it in the light of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s decision to pull out his ministers from the UPA Government.

While it is known that the DMK was unhappy with the manner in which the Congress was raising its demands for more seats during their protracted negotiations, the party was clearly not prepared for Karunanidhi’s googly.

There were, however, no signs of overt panic in the Congress camp over these developments. Though Congress insiders maintained that the situation could still be retrieved, there was no immediate move to placate the DMK leadership or continue negotiations.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi was cautious in his reaction to these developments but was also optimistic that the problems between the two parties, over seat sharing, could be sorted out.

“There is no need to comment on it now. This has happened in the middle of negotiations and unnecessary press comments will muddy the waters,” Singhvi said, implying that despite the DMK’s ultimatum, the seat-sharing talks were still on. Congress managers also said they would not react publicly till the DMK’s decision was officially communicated to them. Describing the DMK’s move as an act of brinkmanship and tough posturing, Congress insiders said the party would wait to see how the situation would develop during the next two days before making the next move.

The Congress optimism is based on the DMK’s past record when it had issued similar threats at the time of the formation of the government in 2004 and 2009 to press their demand for the Cabinet berths of their choice but had eventually retreated.

Moreover, there is no immediate threat to the UPA Government as the DMK has only decided to pull out six ministers but will continue to offer issue-based support to the Centre.

Nevertheless, the Congress would not like to lose the support of DMK’s 18 MPs as it would render the UPA Government vulnerable at a time when it is grappling with a series of corruption charges. It would not like these developments to mar its seat-sharing negotiations with the Mamata Bannerjee-led Trinamul Congress (TMC) for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls. Like DMK patriarch Karunanidhi, the TMC chief is also a tough negotiator and tonight’s developments may well set a precedent for the other allies.

Chennai, March 5
Whether the DMK's decision to withdraw its ministers from the Union government is a game of political brinksmanship was the question foremost in the mind of political analysts and observers. But, going by the flow of events, the decision seems to be the logical political fall out of the developments in the 2G spectrum scam.

More than the friction caused in the seat-sharing talks between the Congress and DMK, the break up of the seven-year old ties between the UPA allies seems to be the logical conclusion to the events that began with the resignation of DMK propaganda secretary A Raja from the Union Cabinet.

What began with Raja's resignation has ultimately culminated in the snapping of ties, following reports that the CBI was preparing to issue summons to DMK chief Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi.

There was considerable unease after the raids in the residences of Raja and his relatives, followed by raids in Tamil Maiyam, an NGO in which Kanimozhi was a director. The arrest of Raja and his incarceration have caused raised the suspicions of DMK functionaries and cadres. The raids in the DMK's TV channel, the Kalaignar TV, situated within the premises of party headquarters and owned by Karunanidhi's family members, could have been the last straw that broke the alliance.

Karunanidhi is not known for hasty decisions and he is a wily politician who will wait for the opporutne moment to strike. The first move, he made was to draw the PMK into the DMK front, thus pre-empting any possible move by the Congress to form a third front comprising the PMK and actor Vijaykanth's DMDK.

The DMK chief has also waited till Vijaykanth firmed up his alliance with the AIADMK. Now, the Congress could not enter the AIADMK front, since it could not expect even 60 seats in the AIADMK front. AIADMK supremo J Jayalaltihaa has already allocated 49 seats to her allies, and if she allocated 60 constituencies to the Congress, her party could have only 125 seats to contest.

If the DMK snapped ties with the Congress earlier, the Congress could have joined hands with the AIADMK or actor Vijaykanth's DMDK. But, the DMK's decision comes a day after the AIADMK supremo J Jayalaltihaa clinched a deal with the DMDK. The timing of the DMK's decision indicates that the decision is pre-determined and hence it could not be part of a political brinksmanship.

Varanasi, March 5
The quaint tunes of the ‘shehnai’ and the old-world sonorous sound of the ‘shankh’ set the musical beginning of the pre-nuptial ‘haldi’ ceremony of member of the Nehru-Gandhi family and Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi at the Kashi Kamkotishwar temple here this evening.

New Delhi, March 5
How many people live in India, the answer to the question will help planners shape the future policy of the country. However, the Census-2011 may report a “missing population” of two per cent, around 2.40 crore if one goes by the estimated population of 1.2 billion Indians.

Union Home Secretary GK Pillai, in an interaction with journalists at the Indian Women Press Corps on Friday, said India’s missing population in the ongoing population count could be around 2 per cent. “The missing population could be 2 per cent…. we will be able to maintain it in that zone. There may be a few villages that are left out. Even in the last Census it(missing population) was the same,” Pillai said in response to a question whether counting was proving to be a difficult task in Maoist-infested areas in this massive government task.

Counting a population of around 1.2 billion across more than 1.2 million square miles is a challenging exercise, considering that majority in India live in rural rather than urban areas.While India also has tribes living in forests and on far-off islands, the main problem emerging in the current Census is the security issue.

Maoist insurgency in certain areas, including West Bengal and Chattisgarh, is preventing Census takers from reaching each and every Indian. Local administrators in Dantewada, Kanker, Bijapur and Jagdalpur in Chattisgarh and some areas in West Midnapore district have reportedly expressed inability to execute their task in view of naxal attacks on government representatives.

The Census exercise this time has far reaching implications as it is not merely limited to simple count of people and few important characteristics.

The main aim this time is to collect data for preparation of the National Population Register (NPR). The NPR data will later be used to allocate a Unique Identification Number (UID) to every citizen of the country for effective implementation of welfare schemes and minimise their misuse. However, the NPR requires detailed individual information, besides biometric information like fingerprints and iris scan.

It would not be for the first time that people have been left out of the enumerating process. Areas in Assam were left out in the 1981 Census and in Jammu and Kashmir in the 1991 Census due to internal disturbances.

New Delhi, March 5
Facing flak from all quarters, the government today claimed that more than half of the 18,000 Indian nationals stranded in Libya have been evacuated from the strife-torn nation.

“The pace of evacuation from Libya has been stepped up even further. Already over 9,200 of our nationals have left Libya on 24 special flights, commercial carriers and by road since the (evacuation) process began on February 26,” the External Affairs Ministry said.

In the past 24 hours, two Air India special flights from Tripoli, one from Sebha and three from Djerba in Tunisia, have arrived in India.

After hectic efforts by the Indian mission in Tripoli, India was permitted yesterday by the Libyan authorities to operate a flight to Sebha, located in the interior of Libya. The plane brought back some 350 passengers to Mumbai. Another sortie was being undertaken today to Sebha.

In the past few days, the government has speeded up efforts to bring back the Indians trapped in the Arab nation. However, the general complaint is that India woke up quite late to the evolving situation in Libya. The impression is that New Delhi took quite a lot of time in making logistic arrangements to evacuate the Indians, mostly from northern and southern states.

In comparison to India, other major countries have already evacuated most of their nationals from the North African nation, apprehending worsening of the situation there which might trigger civil war.

The government had come under heavy fire in the Rajya Sabha yesterday over its efforts to evacuate Indians from Libya with some of the UPA constituents also expressing dissatisfaction with the progress of ‘Operation Safe Homecoming’.

Lucknow, March 5
Manjula Singh, wife of Banda Congress MP Vivek Singh, the whistleblower in the Banda gang rape case, was horrified when she opened a registered letter sent by the Vidhan Sabha secretariat asking her to submit the death certificate of her alive husband.

The letter signed by account section-1 Special Secretary Dinesh Chandra Awasthi referred to her husband as a ‘former' MLA and asked her to provide a death certificate verified by the gazetted officer to ensure timely payment of the dependent pension. The letter is dated February 22, while the budget session abruptly came to an end a day earlier on February 21 in which Vivek Singh was not only present but made a fiery speech on the Banda rape case, accusing a ruling party senior minister from Banda of being behind the conspiracy to pressurise the rape victim to withdraw her statement.

Speaking to this reporter, Singh who was on his way to Lucknow to take up the matter with the party high command, said that an apology from Principal Secretary, Vidhan Sabha Pradeep Dubey was not enough as he wanted to get to the bottom of this. Charging the ruling party of conspiring to kill him, Singh said that the Congress party demand to provide him with security following his exposure of the gang rape involving a BSP MLA Purushottam Naresh Dwivedi has fallen on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, Dubey admitting the ‘grave’ mistake claimed that the letter has since been withdrawn and a probe against the guilty has been ordered.

Lucknow, March 5
Going on the back foot, Chief Minister Mayawati has ordered the arrest of two BSP leaders, including a sitting MLA and a cabinet minister rank leader, for their alleged involvement in arson in Lucknow bungalow of UPCC’s president Rita Bahuguna Joshi in July 2009.

Late last night the Crime Branch of the CID, officially investigating the case, arrested Bikapur (Faizabad) MLA Jitendra Singh 'Babloo' and UP state Ganna Sansthan Chairman Intezar Abdi 'Bobby', both of whom had been named in the FIR filed by the Congress party spokesperson in Hussainganj police station immediately after the incident on the night of July 15-16, 2009.

After presenting them before the magistrate, the duo have been sent to the Lucknow jail in Gosainganj.

Confirming their arrest Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Brij Lal said that both ruling party leaders have been charged with arson, rioting, assault and attempt to murder.

It may be recalled that a bungalow of a freedom fighter in Lucknow’s VVIP next to the CM’s secretariat where UPCC president lived was set afire after masked hooligans invaded the place.

Calling the arrest an eyewash UPCC president yesterday said that the move to arrest the two BSP leaders after 20 months was to dilute the Congress party’s demand for a CBI enquiry into the incident. 

BRIEFLY

Fog hits IGIA ops
NEW DELHI: Three international flights were diverted and 50 others delayed at the IGI Airport here after dense fog in the wee hours of Saturday. Fog at this time period of the year is quite unusual but high humidity due to rains and low temperature led to formation of fog. — PTI

Saree trouble
PALAKKAD: A prospective BJP candidate's distribution of sarees to a large number of women in this Kerala city ahead of the April 13 Assembly poll has landed him in trouble with the District Collector ordering a probe into it on Saturday. — PTI

All for Lata!
JAIPUR: Two fraudsters allegedly duped an NRI of over 1.56 lakh euros promising to organise a live show of noted singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle in the Netherlands. The police said on Saturday that siblings Ravi Saini and Rekha Saini took money for the show from one Udai Singh but neither organised the show nor returned the money. — PTI