New Delhi, April 14
Union Minister Sharad Pawar’s name has cropped up in a statement corporate lobbyist Niira Radia has made to CBI in the 2G scam in which she has claimed without evidence that he was controlling the controversial DB Realty group, whose telecom company Swan has been chargesheeted in the case.

In her statement as witness in the case, Radia has, however, said that she did not have any documentary or other evidence to back her allegation against the Maratha strongman. “I state that as per the general perception in Mumbai as well as outside, DB Realty is directly or indirectly controlled by Pawar and his family members,” she said, adding that Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa and DB Realty managing director Vinod Goenka are the key persons in the firm.

However, Pawar reacted sharply, trashing Radia’s claim. “I have no financial interest in this company. DB Realty and that telecom company I have no relations at all. I have no financial, not one ‘naya paisa’ interest in that company,” he said.

“The person Vinod Goenka… his father knows me from many years. He has set up a milk processing unit in my hometown 20 years back and that unit is going well,” Pawar told a TV channel.

Radia, in her statement, had also said that Pawar who might have pursued the matter with Raja for getting UAS licence and dual technology to Swan as well as to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications. She also told the CBI that her company had given 10 per cent sweat equity to former TRAI chairman Pradeep Baijal.

Meanwhile, Radia’s Vaishnavi Corporate Communications Pvt Ltd, today issued a statement on reports relating to her testimony to CBI. “Corporates with vested interest are circulating statements related to an ongoing trial, unverified transcripts, white papers, and other documents with questionable authenticity. The whole exercise quite clearly is to divert attention from real issues. For the record, it is stated that right context of the conversation can be established only when the statement is looked at in totality,” the release said.

Another key prosecution witness, Attorney General G E Vahanvati has testified before the CBI that the allegations against Swan Telecom first cropped up in 2005 and he had then opined that the matter did not require to be referred to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MOCA).

New Delhi, April 14
In what will be a major boost to Punjab and its canal irrigation system that provides water to millions of farmers, the Centre may agree to pump in crores of rupees to upgrade the canals.

It is working to amend rules of the existing schemes to allow the state to get grants for the upgrade and relining of the canals. For the past 15 years, Punjab has been virtually screaming itself hoarse as the state does not qualify for funds under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) of the Centre - some Rs 43,000 crore have been pumped in across the country for developing irrigation facilities since 1996-97.

Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar told The Tribune that “guidelines of the AIBP and the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) will be amended to allow Punjab to get benefits”. The matter will be taken up with the Ministry of Water Resources and will be presented before the Cabinet, he added while assuring that the state’s irrigation needs were in the mind of the commission.

At present, the AIBP has a rule that allows states having less than 50 per cent irrigated area to be eligible for funds to develop irrigation systems.

Punjab does not qualify for the scheme as over 98 per cent of its fields are cultivated and irrigated, either through canals or through tube wells. The state has some 43 lakh hectares of cultivated land. It contributes some 65 per cent of wheat and 40 per cent of rice to the central food grain pool, hence there is the need to take a fresh look at the AIBP.

The state has no money to fund the Rs 3,500-crore relining and upgrade programme of the canals - almost all of which are a minimum 50 years old and runs across thousands of kilometres in the state.

The Centre, once it amends the AIBP, can provide up to 90 per cent of the funding. Punjab has been projecting that it was losing out of Central funds as the AIBP has no provision for renovation and upgrade of the existing irrigation facilities.

Punjab has been demanding that all the major six canal systems in the state need urgent attention and the Sirhind canal built over 100 years ago by the Britishers does not even have a brick lining leading to seepage and damage to the adjoining roads. The other canals are the Bist Doab Canal system, the UBDC, Eastern Canal system, Sirhind feeder system and Shahnehar Canal System.

However, the Bhakra Main Line and its feeders are under the control of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and well looked as it is a unique central project. The state has over 14 million acres of feet (MAF) river water allocation that supplied through these canals. Besides this, the rain water overflow also goes to the canals through the head works. 

New Delhi, April 14
Real estate major Unitech had offered to sell its telecom arm to RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia told the CBI during investigation into the Spectrum scam.

She said that the offer in this regard was made by Unitech Group MD Sanjay Chandra, who has been named as an accused in the case, as the telecom company was facing an economic downturn.

“Sanjay Chandra requested me (that) given their current crisis, would Mukesh Ambani be interested in buying them out of their telecom venture,” Radia said in her statement, which was submitted to the court as part of the chargesheet filed on April 2.

The lobbyist said that she intimated Chandra that Mukesh was not interested in telecom and “even for datacom for Dhoot (of Videocon) and Nahata (Mahendra of HFCL, which also got the 2G licence), he (Mukesh) said no”.

Even after Chandra persisted that she approach Mukesh, Radia said that she refused. — PTI 

Lucknow, April 14
Rubbing salt in the wounds of national volleyball player Sonu Sinha, alias Arunima, the Railway Ministry initially offered her a compensation of Rs 5,000. The ministry woke up only after the intervention of the Prime Minister Office(PMO) and raised the compensation to Rs 2 lakh and a job in the railways for the sportswoman.

Following the PMO’s intervention, the ministry has formed a four-member high-level committee to inquire into the incident. ADG GRP AK Jain said his department was preparing computer-generated sketches of the four accused.

“I have also announced a reward of Rs 15,000 to any one “civilian or policeman - who would give any lead for the arrest of the culprits,” Jain said.

Earlier, ADRM, Bareilly, offered Sonu a compensation of Rs 5,000. Speaking from her hospital bed in Bareilly, a visibly angry Sonu said: “This appears to be a cruel joke. I am not a beggar but a national player.”

However, later when the offer was revised she said she was “satisfied”. Railway Board chairman Vivek Sahai announced in the national capital of extending all help for her rehabilitation which include a suitable job in railways, assurance of financial assistance, including adequate and proper medical attention, as well as Rs 2 lakh as compensation.

Sports Minister Ajay Maken has also announced an interim relief of Rs 25,000 and has assured more help. This national volleyball player lost her leg after being thrown out from a running train near Bareilly on April 12. 

Bangalore, April 14
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare’s popularity appears to extend even into the virtual world, going by the thousands of gamers who choose to extend their solidarity to him through the social gaming network.

Hazare is seen wearing his trademark white shirt and Gandhi topi in the game, ‘Yes Prime Minister’, launched by a social gaming website, ibibo.com. The online game, which revolves around the theme of anti-corruption, has Hazare’s photograph superimposed on the game, as it invites players to build a “Corruption Free India”.

Hazare is shown sitting with placards like “Brashatacahar ko Khatam Karo” (eradicate corruption) in the backdrop. The game, which was launched on April 1 and incorporated a section on Hazare on April 5, has since seen its number of users jump from 50,000 to 1.5 lakh, sources at ibibo.com said.

Cashing in on the anti-corruption momentum, the social gaming network has come up with a game that gives the player the chance to control corruption. The game concept demands that the player, who can play the Prime Minister, to take control of the situation and start a massive cleaning up exercise online.

In the virtual world, the common man can stand up against scams and scandals and punish the corrupt and other powerful wrongdoers who have been roaming scot free.

The theme of the game is to “build India” by taking control of various ministries such as Education, Infrastructure, National Security, Railways, Sports and Urban Development.

Players can contribute to the “development” of India by assigning “development projects” in these departments. However, if these projects are left unguarded, corruption creeps in and takes over the system. This is where online friends, come to rescue”. — PTI

Sanya (China), April 14
With concerns mounting over the safety of nuclear facilities after the Fukushima disaster, India and other BRICS nations today said that international cooperation in the development of safe nuke energy for peaceful purposes should proceed under conditions of strict observance of relevant safety standards and requirements concerning design, construction and operation of nuke plants.

The BRICS nations unanimously observed that nuclear energy would continue to be an important element in the energy mix of member countries of the grouping in the future.

In his address to the summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also briefly touched upon nuclear safety in the context of the recent disaster in Japan. “Nuclear safety has emerged as a major source of concern the world over after the tragedy in Japan. We should cooperate in this area as well as in disaster relief and management,” he said.

While referring to the importance of clean energy, Manmohan Singh said, “We have the opportunity to give concrete meaning to the concept of sustainable and balanced development, and produce innovative models of development.” He said the BRICS countries could cooperate in clean and alternative sources of energy and technologies.

The Sanya Declaration said the leaders were of the view that climate change is one of the global threats challenging the livelihood of communities and countries and that member countries supported the Cancun Agreements. They expressed readiness to make concerted efforts, with the rest of the international community, to bring a successful conclusion to the negotiations at the Durban Conference, applying the mandate of the Bali Roadmap and in line with the principle of equity, but differentiated responsibilities.

Both India and South Africa are cricket-crazy nations. So, when leaders of the two countries meet, why shouldn’t they also discuss the “Gentleman’s Game”? South African President Jacob Zuma today congratulated PM Manmohan Singh on India’s triumph in the cricket World Cup. He was also appreciative of the grand way in which India co-hosted the tournament. Zuma told Manmohan Singh that when South Africa lost to New Zealand in the quarter-final, he was sure India would lift the trophy. During the talks, Zuma and Manmohan Singh also referred to the coming naval exercises between the two countries in the context of defence cooperation.

Ahmedabad, April 14
Kerala CM VS Achutanandan may have come under attack for calling Rahul Gandhi an ‘Amul Baby’, but a leading dairy producer known for its catchy ad campaigns has lapped it up with a new advertisement whose punchline is ‘They both are Amul Babies!’

Achutanandan had recently hit back at Rahul, who had referred to the 87-year-old CPM stalwart’s advancing age during a poll campaign, saying he had come to Kerala to campaign for ‘Amul babies’, as the Congress leader himself was an ‘Amul Baby’. The Amul Baby is a chubby butter girl usually dressed in a polka dot dress.

Quick to capitalise on the Chief Minister's diatribe, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) -- which markets its products under the Amul brand name -- has come out with the ad. Known for its famous mascot, the Amul Baby, with catchy punchlines and the longest running ad campaign ever, the cooperative has come up with billboard advertisements and promotional posters covering all spheres of life be it cricket, politics, Bollywood, business or sports.

“Catchy advertisements are part of our campaign on the hoardings. One topic is released nationally every week, while another is specific to the region of news-focus,” a Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation official said, referring to the ageless ‘Utterly-Butterly Girl’, who has been smiling down on every Indian, alerting all with current issues in a can't-help-but-smile one-liner. —PTI 

New Delhi, April 14
While the government is seriously contemplating cash transfers to replace the corruption-ridden Public Distribution System (PDS), an independent report claims that 99 per cent of the people surveyed in Delhi slums do not prefer cash transfers.

Cash can be misused and respondents, especially women, would rather want to have improvement in the PDS system so that their children can get two square meals a day. The UPA’s draft National Food Security Bill is likely to propose cash transfer of subsidy to the BPL card holders’ accounts instead of providing cheap food grain, primarily because of widespread problems in the existing distributing system.

The survey released today by Ration Vyvastha Sudhar Abhiyan and its associate groups Parivartan, Jagori, Chintan and CFAR is clear that 99 per cent of the people living in Delhi’s slums want an improvement in the PDS system, but not cash transfers.

As a community member says: “We don’t want cash, we need ration. Presently we have at least something for a month at home that we can eat even with chutney. It is very difficult to purchase it from the market.” Of the total respondents surveyed by the organisation, 74 per cent were women.

According to the survey, when asked whether the cash would be used for ration, 52 per cent respondents felt otherwise. Around 84 per cent respondents felt that inflation would soon reduce the value of the cash they received.

Those who conducted the survey say that the sample survey of 593 ration card holders in Delhi can be easily extrapolated to the rest of India as problems of poor were the same everywhere.

Deepa Sinha of the Right to Food Campaign says that in the current context of high poverty and malnutrition in our country, a strengthened PDS can play an important role in providing food security, ensuring price stabilisation and contributing to revitalisation of agriculture.

“Replacing PDS with cash transfers does not solve many of the problems currently being faced by the PDS (such as identification of poor households) it also does not ensure food security, does not protect the poor from inflation and is difficult to implement in the absence of a wide network of banks. The PDS must be improved by universalising coverage, removing the APL-BPL distinction and introducing a wide range of reforms such as decentralisation of procurement, de-privatisation of ration shops, end-to-end computerisation and so on,” she says. 

New Delhi, April 14
The BJP is almost certain that the results of the Assembly elections to five states, four of which completed polling by yesterday, will turn the tables on the Congress and its UPA government.

The results, if they meet BJP’s expectations, could even catapult the BJP to power sometime next year, party leaders are hoping.

According to the BJP’s calculation, the Congress will not be able to form a government even in Assam this time. The Assamese vote has gone to the AGP, Bengali voter has opted for the BJP, Muslims have been dented by Badruddin Ajmal, who will do dramatically well this time.

“Then where is the vote left for the Congress? Maybe Christian, I asked a Congress leader,” chuckled a senior BJP leader recalling his recent discussion with a Congress leader.

“Last time they (Congress) formed the government with the help of the Bodoland Front. But Bodos have problems with Muslims. So, the Bodo Front has perforce to tie up with the BJP. If the AGP plus the BJP have sufficient numbers to form the government with Bodo, then there will be no uncertainty in the state, felt a BJP leader.

In Tamil Nadu even though the All-India Anna DMK is contesting current elections with the Left, BJP emissaries have been constantly working at its leader J Jayalalithaa and hope to secure her support at the crucial time.

“Jayalalithaa would need ministers at the Centre, to get even with the DMK and that is possible only when she aligns with us,” said a BJP leader with immense confidence.

In Kerala, thanks to Chief Minister VS Achhutanandan’s personal charisma, return of the Congress-led UDF is uncertain.

That will then leave out only one state, West Bengal, where the Left defeat is a near certainty. But from the BJP’s point of view, the Left loss will be no consolation to the Congress because the main beneficiary will be the Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.

The collapse of the Left will bolster the BJP prospects of returning to power at the Centre tremendously. Many fence sitters like the AIADMK and the TDP may desert the sinking Left ship and hop on to the winning BJP bandwagon.

BJP’s biggest source of confidence is that while in its perception the Left is going to be routed, the Congress is not benefitting from it. In fact, the BJP is banking on Mamata getting enough seats to form a government on her own and therefore be in a position to walk out of the UPA. She has done this twice earlier, what will prevent her from doing this a third time?” asked the BJP analyst. 

Kolkata, April 14
Bad and inclement weather forced AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to cut short his scheduled election programme in north Bengal today. He addressed only three election meetings at Farakka, Domkal and Naxalbari, while he was scheduled to address some more meetings at Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and the adjoining areas.

In all the three meetings, Gandhi lashed out at the CPM for failing to develop the state during their prolonged 34-year rule. He alleged the industrialists were now unwilling to invest in the Marxist-ruled state due to unhealthy atmosphere and misrule of the CPM.

He accused the CPM of ruining Bengal and held the Left Front Government responsible for the present acute unemployment problems. Rahul was confident that the Congress and TMC would jointly form a stable government in Bengal after the elections under Mamata ji.

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, could not address any meeting in north Bengal since his helicopter did not fly due to the rough weather. Mukherjee was to address several meetings at Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling today for campaigning in favour of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress candidates.

Railway Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who was touring north Bengal districts for the last five days, however, today addressed three public meetings at Uttar Dinajpur, Siliguri and Jalpaiguri, ignoring the bad weather. She returned to Kolkata after ending her six-day campaign in north Bengal. 

About 75 per cent of the 2.3 crore voters in Kerala exercised their franchise in the Assembly polls on Wednesday, indicating a wind in favour of the Congress-led Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF).

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala viewed the high turnout as reflection of the people’s yearning for a change in the state. He expressed hope that the UDF would capture power, winning over 100 out of 140 seats.

The ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) camp, on the other hand, was modest in their claims. CPM State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and LDF convenor Vaikkom Viswan evaded questions on the number of seats expected by them, saying they would get enough seats to retain power.

The 74.6 per cent turnout, as per the provisional figures released by the Election Commission of India, is in fact the highest polling recorded in the state in the Assembly polls in the past two decades.

The polling in Kannur was 80.4 per cent and was followed by Kozhikode with 80.2 per cent polling. The lowest polling of 68.2 per cent was recorded in Pathanamthitta district, which is a part of the minority belt.

The polling in the minority belt was less than the state average, which is a matter of concern for the UDF, since the pre-poll surveys had indicated a sweep for them in the Christian and Muslim dominated districts.

Polling in the Muslim-dominated Malappuram district, where the ice-cream parlour sex scandal, involving Indian Union Muslim League leader P K Kunhalikutty, dominated the campaign, was 73.6 per cent.

Barring Ernakulam, polling in other districts in the Christian belt was below 75 per cent. While Ernakulam recorded 77.4 per cent polling, Thrissur recorded 74.7 per cent, Idukki 71.1 per cent, Kottayam 73.5 per cent and Pathanamthitta 68.7 per cent.

Political observers feel that the low polling in the Christian belt could be due to the rift over the selection of candidates by the Congress. Several leaders of the Church had picked up cudgels against the Congress leadership for not giving adequate representation to them.

The polling was comparatively lower in two constituencies, which the BJP hoped to win. High turnout in the Assembly polls is considered traditionally favourable to the UDF, since the cadre-based LDF ensures full polling of their votes in the elections. UDF convenor PP Thankachan said history would be repeated again this time and the UDF will win 90 to 100 seats. 

Kolkata, April 14
The CPM and other Left parties had overestimated themselves and accordingly, they suddenly withdrew support from the UPA-I over the N-deal issue. This was stated by veteran Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in an interview with a Bengali TV channel here last night.

Mukherjee said the nation had realised that they (the CPM and others) were unnecessarily making a row over the nuclear deal and the Manmohan Singh Government had not done anything wrong in signing the deal.

Referring to the prevalent political situation vis-a-vis the ongoing Assembly elections in five states, including West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Mukherjee said the Congress had to make some adjustment either in sharing of seats or maintaining some understanding with some like-minded secular parties, which were necessary for the larger interest of the nation.

“We have to accept Mamata Banerjee’s demand for larger number of seats in West Bengal since the Trinamool Congress is now the main opposition party which, with the help of the Congress, could replace the CPM-led Left Front government in the state. We have to accept that in the last three-four decades, the Congress in West Bengal could not develop so hugely like the TMC,” he admitted.

Meanwhile, state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sunil Kumar Gupta today said all preparations for ensuring a free and fair poll in West Bengal had been completed. He said adequate paramilitary forces and the Central observers had already been deployed in different districts for manning some 71,000 polling stations where the elections would be held in six phases staring April 18 in five districts.

Gupta said they were closely monitoring the day-to-day law and order situations and accordingly taking necessary steps. He said so far over 1,500 anti-social elements had been detained. The borders adjoining Bangladesh and the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa had been kept under strict vigil for stopping the people to enter the state from outside during the elections.

New Delhi, April 14
A Delhi court on Wednesday directed Tihar Jail authorities to give proper and timely food to former communications minister A. Raja and former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura sent to judicial custody in the 2G spectrum scam case..Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini was hearing applications filed by Raja and Behura.

"We are not getting proper food. The jail authorities are not even giving the food on time," said the application.

The duo pleaded before the judge that the jail officials should be directed to give them better quality food or they should be allowed to eat home-made food. Tihar officials replied that they were following the jail manual while giving them food.

"Give them food on time as per jail manual and also try to give proper food," the court said. Accordingly, the two withdrew their applications. Raja, his personal aide R.K. Chandolia, Behura and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa are in judicial custody in connection with the spectrum allocation scam. Raja, a DMK leader, resigned Nov 14 as communications minister.

He was arrested by the CBI in the national capital Feb 2, along with Behura and Chandolia. Balwa was arrested from Pune Feb 8. The CBI has already filed a 127-page charge sheet and 80,000-page annexure against nine people and three firms in the case involving allocation of second generation spectrum.— IANS

Guwahati, April 14
The investigation team of the Assam police has filed a chargesheet against nine persons, including four ULFA militants and linkmen, for their involvement in triggering a blast that killed 10 schoolchildren and three women on August 15, 2004, at Dhemaji town in Upper Assam.

The blast, which went off at the venue for celebration of the Independence Day, was instrumental in sparking an unprecedented statewide public protest against the banned ULFA much to the advantage of the security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operation against the outfit.

The Assam police has submitted the chargesheet at the Dhemaji district court. Those named in the chargesheet included ULFA men Rashid Bharali, Ajan Neog, Pintu Baruah, Jatin Duwari and ULFA linkmen Lila Gogoi, Dipanjali Gohain, Muhi Handique, Prasanta Bhuyan, Mohan Chutia, Jiten Chutia and Mani Barua. Among them, ULFA members Ajan Neog and Pinku Barua were killed in encounter with security forces in subsequent period.

Meanwhile, the Dhemaji Town Committee has unanimously dismissed incumbent vice-president Rubi Handique, wife of Muhi Handique, who has been named in the chargesheet related to Dhemaji blast.

The flood and erosion affected Dhamaji district of Assam was once a stronghold of the banned ULFA, which could set up a support base among poor villagers of the backward district. However, the dastardly blast of August 15, 2004, dented the image of the ULFA, which faced unprecedented public ire over the blast.

The ULFA leadership was initially very quick to term the blast a handiwork of government forces with an intention to tarnish the image of the outfit. However, the public protest raged against the outfit as the evidences were indicating its involvement in the blast.

Subsequently, ULFA leaders apologied before the people of Assam for Dhemaji carnage terming it a grave mistake on part of its local-level leaders, but the blast remained one of the darkest spot on ULFA and was instrumental in fast erosion of ULFA’s support base all over the state.

A memorial set up by Dhemaji district administration in the memory of blast victims still reminds people of the state of the dastardly act of ULFA.

Kolhapur, April 14
Defying a 2,000-year-old restriction, 10 women entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Mahalakshmi Temple in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur city and offered prayers. The women, led by Nita Kelkar, president of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha, trooped in peacefully, taking many by surprise.

“It is so strange that women are barred from entering the holy spot in the temple of a goddess,” said Kelkar.

The women offered prayers to goddess Ambabai. Until now, women were allowed to enter the temple, but forced to offer prayers from a point away from the sancturm sanctorum.

But there were no such restrictions on women from royal families as well as celebrities and wives of priests.

“Why do common women have to worship the goddess from a distance?” asked Kelkar.

Giving a brief history of the temple, she said several communities were not allowed to enter the temple until 1978.

Considered one of the six “Shakti Peeths” of India, the temple is associated with the goddess of power. — IANS 

Hyderabad, April 14
While in office, he had famously described politicians as cancers of the society and corruption as a symptom of a greater disease. The string of scams over years has only deepened his suspicion of the political class. “The people have lost faith in the State. 

The only function of the government seems to be to help private sector,” laments JM Lyngdoh, the former Chief Election Commissioner known for his honesty, integrity and brutal frankness. After retirement, this upright IAS officer has chosen to settle down in a desolate place far from the madding crowd, about 50 Kms from

Hyderabad. Mention about corruption and he displays the angst of a common man, bordering on cynicism over the state of affairs. “Corruption is only a symptom of a larger disease afflicting India. It is part of the capitalism going wild. No aspect of our society is free from corruption,” he said in an interview to The Tribune at his modest house “in the lap of Nature” at Pragathi Resorts near Chevella village on the city outskirts. “This is my longest posting,” he said smiling, when asked why he had chosen the remote village in this part of the country for his retired life. Soon after his retirement on February 7, 2004, Lyngdoh drove straight from Delhi to Hyderabad to lead a quiet life.

“The world is now ruled by Fortune 500 people,” he declared and added “It is the corporate sector which is controlling the politics now. They dictate the policies. They are getting into politics. They are far more dangerous than criminals and musclemen. I had predicted long back that the Ambani Brothers will rule the country one day. There is a distinct possibility of that happening.”

Long after leaving the Election Commission, where his stint was marked by uprightness and uncompromising stance on political corruption, Lyngdoh still feels the sense of frustration and helplessness when he reads about the stories of corruption and scandals. “Corruption is just one of the facets of unbridled capitalism. It has destroyed a lot of institutions. The capitalism-driven world gives an illusion of security, euphemistically called the market system,” he says with a sense of conviction. In India, the corruption had been growing rapidly because there is no fear of law among the perpetrators. “The temptations are too strong and opportunities are plenty. Why should anybody be honest? There is no incentive for being honest,” the former CEC said. Asked what would be best solution to make Indian society corrupt-free, Lyngdoh turned philosophical, saying “There seems to be no solution now. A tremendous catastrophe of some kind may have a sobering effect and force us to take a re-look at the value systems. Then, the humans will have a different attitude towards life and the basic values.” 

New Delhi, April 14
Armed with new details gathered by its team in London in connection with the Queen's Baton Relay, the CBI has asked former Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi to appear before it next week.

Kalmadi has been called to “clarify” some issues, which came to light during the visit of the two-member CBI team to London in connection with cases related to alleged irregularities in hiring the AM Films and AM Car and the Van Hire Limited during the QBR held in 2009, sources in the agency said. The agency has sent a two-member team comprising additional director VK Gupta and DIG SK Palsania to London, which has got some “clinching” details about the payments made to the two companies allegedly with the sanction of Kalmadi,they said.

However, Kalmadi did not respond to SMSes and calls made to him to seek his comments on the development. CBI sources said the team now wanted Kalmadi to reply to the information on the monetary transactions with the two companies.

The sources said the agency had gathered evidence against Ashish Patel, owner of the firms for allegedly manipulating certain documents to get undue benefits from the deal with the help of some OC officials. “It is alleged that in relation to the QBR held on October 29, 2009, the OC awarded the work of transportation to the AM Car and the Van Hire Ltd, owned by Ashish Patel, at exorbitantly high rates...the work was awarded to the AM Car and the Van Hire Ltd without following the standard tender process,” the FIR registered by the CBI said. — PTI

BRIEFLY

SC to hear Sen's bail plea today
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will on Friday hear the bail plea of civil rights activist Binayak Sen, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition and links with Naxalites. Sen, 61, had challenged the order of the Chhattisgarh High Court, which had rejected his bail plea on February 10. A professional doctor and a pass-out of Vellore's prestigious Christian Medical College (CMC), Sen has sought bail contending that the trial court has erred in convicting him when there was no substantial evidence against him. — PTI

RS bypoll on May 12
NEW DELHI: The byelection to the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh held by late Congress leader Arjun Singh will be held on May 12. As per the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the notification would be issued on April 25. The last date for filing nominations is May 2 and scrutiny will be done the following day. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is May 5. Counting of votes will begin after completion of polling on May 12. — PTI