Chennai, April 13
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today hinted that his party would not be averse to forming a coalition government with the Congress, if the situation warranted.

Talking to the media after casting his vote, he said: “Our prospects are as bright as the ‘rising sun’ (DMK’s symbol) and we will win as many seats as we require to form government. It could either be our own or a coalition.”

Sharing of power was one of the major demands placed by the Congress during seat-sharing and Karunanidhi was resisting such demands so far. This revives the hopes of the Congress, which lost power in Tamil Nadu in 1967 to the DMK led by its founder CN Annadurai.

Diluting his criticism of the Election Commission, he said they were harsh, but not partisan. “A few people were affected by the EC and I don’t see anything wrong when they talk about that.”

During his poll campaign, Karunanidhi had spent more time criticising the EC than the AIADMK. He had complained that a few officials were working like in “emergency times” with the intention of defeating his party and asked the Centre to consider what powers the EC should be given in the future.

Even while Karunanidhi expressed confidence, his arch rival and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, who was speaking about a landslide victory for her party, scaled down her expectations and said her party would obtain a simple majority in the Assembly.

A visibly worrried Jayalalithaa said the ruling alliance had distributed about Rs 5,000 crore to the people and the Rs 500 crore seized by the Election Commission was only a small part of the ruling front’s total expenditure.

In a major development that will have an adverse impact on the AIADMK's prospects, MDMK supporters cast their votes instead of boycotting. MDMK leader Vaiko, who cast his vote in his native village, said he was executing his democratic duty.

New Delhi, April 13
The National Commission for Women (NCW) today ordered an inquiry into the case involving two sisters in a Noida locality who imposed confinement upon themselves following the death of their father and abandonment by their brother.

Anuradha and Sonalika Behl were yesterday rescued amid resistance by a team led by social activist Usha Thakur, who used the police to help the sisters in distress.

In a tragic fold of events that lays bare the deep malaise in our social system, Anuradha, the elder sister, who had starved during the seven months of confinement, today died in a local hospital due to malnutrition and multiple organ failure after the doctors were unable to resuscitate her. Sonalika has yet not been told about her sister’s death as she is in a very fragile mental condition.

The sisters were rescued by Noida Police from House number 326 in the posh Sector-29 Noida locality, where the neighbours’ role has also come under question. They were under severe depression ever since their father Colonel (retired) O.P. Behl died in an accident following their mother’s demise.

In a statement issued today, the new acting chairperson of the NCW Yasmeen Abrar said she had already ordered an inquiry into the case.

New Delhi, April 13
The CBI today told the Supreme Court that Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) was entirely responsible for the world’s worst industrial disaster at Bhopal on the night of December 2-3, 1984, as it was running the pesticide plant with “structural and operational” defects and flouting all safety norms.

The UCIL was “sitting on a powder keg and as such the disaster was waiting to happen,” Attorney General GE Vahanvati contended before a five-member Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia.

Besides design defects, the factory built in 1969 was maintaining lethal methyl isocyanate (MIC) at the level of 90 per cent of the capacity of the tanks against the safety norm of 50-60 per cent. Also, the plant did not have the mandatory empty tank, meant for diverting excess quantity to other tanks.

Further, the plant was never maintaining the desired pressure and temperature of the hazardous nitrogen tanks, while the rubber gaskets were defective. In fact, the plant had been “limping” since 1981 due to “illegal omissions and commissions” on part of the management, resulting in “dismal state of affairs” at the plant.

The AG was trying to justify CBI’s petition seeking a review of a 1996 SC verdict that had diluted the charges against the accused company officials, from culpable homicide not amounting to murder to a crime arising from negligence.

New Delhi, April 13
In a strange coincidence, the Supreme Court today set aside the election of a Congress MLA of Tamil Nadu at a time when the state had polling to elect the next Assembly.

P Veldurai had won the May 8, 2006, Assembly election from the Cheranmahadevi constituency, defeating J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK candidate PH Paul Manoj Pandian.

Pandian had challenged the Election Commission Returning Officer’s acceptance of Veldurai’s nomination papers despite the fact that the Congress candidate had a government contract for road construction. The EC, however, rejected the objection and this was upheld by the Madras HC, forcing Pandian to approach the SC.

An apex court Bench set aside the election, holding that the contract was subsisting on the date of submission of nomination papers as well as on the date of scrutiny of the nomination papers. “The respondent having incurred disqualification under the provisions of Section 9A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, his election is declared to be illegal, null and void,” the Bench ruled. 

New Delhi, April 13
Indian authorities are not sure if the Pakistani man detained in Chile is Abdul Rauf, one of the key conspirators of 1999 Indian Airlines IC-814 hijacking, with an Indian team in the Latin American country trying to verify his identity, CBI officials said here today.

The Chilean government, through Interpol, had informed the Indian government that it had detained a person who could be Abdul Rauf. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had been on the lookout for Rauf, who is also brother-in-law of Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Maulana Masood Azhar, one of the three terrorists released by India in exchange for more than 150 hostages aboard the hijacked plane that was taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

An Indian team has already reached Chilean capital Santiago to verify the detained man's identity, which may be difficult as India does not have any fingerprints or photographs of Rauf. The team is expected to return to India April 19.

According to sources, Rauf was detained while travelling under his own name, but with an invalid visa. Indian officials are puzzled as to why Rauf - if it is indeed him - was travelling under his own name when there was an Interpol notice against him.

Then, there are concerns whether India will be able to verify the man's identity.
“We have no fingerprints or photographs. We only have voice samples,” a senior CBI official said.

Earlier, India had been trying to obtain Rauf's photographs from the US, as revealed in a US diplomatic cable of May 2005, published by WikiLeaks.

Chilean Ambassador to India Cristian Barros Melet said if Rauf's identity was established, then it could lead to his extradition.

“Now, we are receiving members of CBI and police coming from Delhi and after positive identification, if it is possible, start the extradition process. For that, the embassy of India in Santiago must apply with all papers to the justice (ministry) in Chile,” Melet told reporters.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said Wednesday that India had to be “first convinced that it is the same person” before trying to extradite him. “That is why we have deputed our man there so that they can come back and report to us. Depending on the report we get, we will take further action,” he said. — IANS

New Delhi, April 13
To honour literary great Rabindranath Tagore, Bangladesh intends to bring out a series of books this year that will explore the different facets of the personality of the Nobel Laureate.

In the offing are at least 30 books on the painter, musician, novelist and poet who redefined Bangla literature and was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

The Dhaka-based Bangla Academy that is dedicated to promoting Bangla language in the country is leading the efforts to produce a large number of literary tributes to Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary.

"We are publishing 30 books by different authors on Tagore during the year 2011-12. In fact, we have already brought out three titles and another one is supposed to be on the shelves in a few days," said Shamsuzzaman Khan, the Director General of Bangla Academy, who was part of a delegation of Bangladeshi officials which was in India recently to discuss the joint anniversary celebrations.

Khan said one of the major books that is to come out during the anniversary year is the 'Social and Environmental Thinking of Tagore' which is being authored by Prof Anisur Rahman of Dhaka University. The Academy has in the earlier years published 20 books on Tagore, but this year it has decided to give major focus to the national icon.

"We are also working to publish a biography of Tagore and initially we had planned it to be a book of 450 pages, but now the author says it may go up to 1000 pages. This we plan to bring out in September," he said.

India and Bangladesh are conducting a series of events jointly to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the multi-faceted genius considered as a "common legacy" on the two sides of the border.

The celebrations will commence on a large scale in May, in both Dhaka and New Delhi. Tagore was born on May 7, 1861.

Conservation of Tagore's manuscripts and popularising his works jointly will be a major focus of Indo-Bangla endeavours this year.

"Through these books, we want to cover different aspects of Tagore's personality, and his views on a variety of subjects of relevance," he said. India and Bangladesh have firmed up ambitious plans to jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev that include projects like joint production of films and theatre, and tourist packages for sites linked to the poet's life on both sides of the border. — PTI 

* In the offing are at least 30 books on the painter, musician, novelist and poet who redefined Bangla literature and was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in literature

* The Dhaka-based Bangla Academy that is dedicated to promoting Bangla language in the country is leading the efforts to produce a large number of literary tributes to Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary.

New Delhi, April 13
An Indian Air Force (IAF) mountaineering team, comprising 11 women officers, embarked on a mission to scale Mount Everest today.

It is the first time in the history of the IAF that its women officers have embarked on an expedition to scale the highest peak on earth. The idea to undertake such a mission was conceived in 2009. The team has undergone a rigorous training schedule, including basic mountaineering course and winter training camps at Siachen in 2010 and 2011.

The team has scaled Mt Stok Kangri (6,121m) in Leh, Mt Bhagirathi II (6,512m) in Uttarakhand, Mt Kamet (7,757m) in Garhwal and Mt Saser Kangri I (7,672m) in Ladakh over the past two years.

The team will be accompanied by a doctor and eight male air warriors, who are qualified mountaineers. The team will follow the southeast ridge route as was used by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in the first successful expedition to Mt Everest in 1953.Officer-in-charge-Administration Air Marshal JN Burma flagged off the team and wished safety and success to all its members. “Do well, the nation is looking up to you,” he said. — TNS

New Delhi, April 13
The Supreme Court today refused to lift ban on the use of plastic sachets for tobacco products. Hearing a petition filed by the Indian Asthama Care Society, a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and KSP Radhakrishnan allowed several civil societies and manufacturers of non-smoking chewing tobacco products like gutkha to become parties to the case. 

Ahmedabad, April 13
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today claimed that the state has become a benchmark for development in the
country.

"In the (ongoing) elections in the five states, one thing has come to fore, that Gujarat has become benchmark of development," Modi said while addressing a public meeting after inaugurating two bridges here in the presence of BJP Leader L K Advani.

"In these elections, those who were impressed by Gujarat had said that they would develop their state on lines of our state. And those who are against Gujarat, drew comparison saying that they have developed their state better than us," Modi said.

"This only shows that, Gujarat has become a benchmark of development in the country," Modi said.

Modi lambasted forces perceived by him to be opposed to state by saying, "Some people get fever when the name of Gujarat is taken. A simple man like Anna Hazare, was asked a question and by mistake he took my name. Those forces got jolted by it and now they are trying to defame Hazare".

Targeting Congress, he said, "Hazare had not taken name of any party in his fight against corruption. But the Congress was disturbed. This only shows that they indulge in corruption".

Modi also raised the issue of naming big national schemes only after members of one family.

"Thousands of schemes introduced by central and state government are named after them. I do not want to take their name. But we here believe in naming them after real national leaders".

"Our Municipal Corporation has given the name of Sister Nivedita to an under-bridge in Paldi and Rishi Dadhichi bridge which is 10th on river Sabarmati", Modi said.

Modi told the centre to compete with Gujarat on the issue of development.

Advani praised Modi for the developmental works carried out by his government in Gujarat. — PTI

Panaji, April 13
Before hitting the theatres April 22, Rohan Sippy’s "Dum Maaro Dum" (DMD) could be screened before the Panaji bench of the Bombay High court.

Savio Rodrigues, who has petitioned the court to ban the release of the film for being disrespectful to women in Goa, Wednesday pleaded that “the entire movie should be screened before the division bench before its theatrical release”.

The distributors of the film have also agreed to do so in case the judges expressed such a desire.

On Wednesday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari viewed the promos of the Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu starrer and have now fixed the next hearing for April 18.

The promos were viewed by the judges on a laptop.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom a senior official of Fox Star Studios India Private Limited (FSSIPL) the film's distributor, said that objectionable dialogues in it had been removed.

In an affidavit submitted to court, FSSIPL official Dina Duttani has also accused the petitioner of harassing them a few days before the release of the film.

“The petitioners have deliberately approached the court at the last moment even though press reports about the film have been prevalent for many weeks,” she said.

She said that the story line of the film revolved around an honest police officer's drive against the drug mafia in Goa and that it dealt with the subject of “victory of good against evil”.

“The story is essentially about how a minister in Goa directs an honest police officer to eradicate the drug mafia. There is nothing in the film which could be construed as depicting Goa or the people of Goa in a negative light,” the affidavit states, adding that the story was rooted in fiction.

Apart from the petition, the state government as well as women’s groups are up in arms over the allegedly sleazy portrayal of Goa.

While the State Women’s Commission has filed a police complaint against the filmmaker for bad portrayal of women in the film, the petitioner has said the “movie is against public order, decency and morality and there is clear violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution of India to the people 
of Goa".

“The film is scheduled to be released on April 22, 2011, and as per the publicity given to the said film by the producers in the media the said film will attract criminal minded tourists and offenders and drive away decent travellers and tourists from Goa,” Savio has said in his petition, adding that it would have a “create a ripple effect on Goa’s tourism”.

Goa Tourism Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar has already said that he would be taking up the issue of state's bad portrayal in the film with its director.

“We are worried that Goa maybe projected badly in the film. The industry in Goa and the government have worked very hard to build the reputation of Goa to what it is today. We will intervene. The chief minister and me will take up the issue with Sippy,” Halarnkar said. — IANS

Mumbai, April 13
The controversial Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society whose height was extended illegally by influential politicians and bureaucrats who then cornered homes in the building got a fresh lease of life today with the Bombay High Court asking all interested parties to maintain status quo in the matter till April 27 when the matter will be heard next.

The Maharashtra Government was to begun the process of demolishing the structure after a three-month deadline issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to pull down the building expired today.

In its order, the MoEF said all the 31 storeys of the unauthorised building be demolished and the area restored to its original condition. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had earlier said the state government was duty-bound to demolish the building unless the procedure was stayed by the court.

Meanwhile, a judicial commission appointed by the Maharashtra Government carried out an inspection of the building today. Members of the commission were accompanied by officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the Defence Ministry and the state government. Bombay High Court Judge JA Patil (retd), who heads the commission, later told reporters that the body wanted a firsthand look.

“We visited Adarsh to see the ground realities,” Justice Patil told reporters. During the inspection which lasted for nearly three hours, the members of the team measured the area of the building and the Prakash Pethe road, which was allegedly encroached upon to put up the building.

New Delhi, April 13
The Environment Ministry will not initiate any action against the Adarsh Housing Society till the completion of the legal process.

“Though no formal stay order was passed by the learned bench nor any other interim relief granted, it seems appropriate to respect the outcome of the judicial process and not proceed with any demolition before the hearing scheduled on April 27, 2011,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said this following the Bombay High Court order.

The high court said today that before taking any “drastic step” like passing an order for demolition, it would first hear the society and the Environment Ministry. The court was hearing the petition filed by the society, challenging the demolition order passed by the Environment Ministry in January.

The ministry ordered the demolition of the 31-storey Adarsh building after concluding that it was unauthorised and had violated several norms. The society had got three-month time to file appeal.