The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Modi hits back at Rahul over balloon jibe

Bijapur (Karnataka), March 30
Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi for his "balloon jibe", Narendra Modi today said that the Congress vice president should focus on the nation rather than criticising Gujarat which was declared "number one" by his mother Sonia Gandhi.

"If you think Gujarat model is a balloon, I want to ask if you trust your mother? The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation whose chairperson is your mother, that foundation had declared Gujarat number one. Do you see a balloon in your mother's talk? Does your mother also release balloons?," Modi said addressing a rally here.

He said the people of Gujarat had rejected the Congress leaders' "balloon of lies" in the last three assembly elections in the state.

Tearing into the much touted Gujarat development model, Rahul Gandhi had recently called it a "new heavier balloon" filled with "gas" and said it will also burst like the BJP's 'India Shining' campaign in 2004 and 2009.

"They (BJP) had made a balloon of 'India Shining' in 2004 and 2009. The people of India deflated it twice. This time they have blown a new, heavier balloon, the Gujarat model balloon filled with gas which will burst again," Gandhi had said, taking on the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate.

Attacking Rahul for criticising Gujarat model, Modi today said that this Lok Sabha election was taking place to elect the Prime Minister and the government at the centre and not to form the government in Gujarat.

"Shehzade these days talks about Gujarat...Is this election to elect the Gujarat government? Will its CM be elected? The election is to elect the Prime Minister...to form government in Delhi. Therefore, shouldn't the discussion be of the country's government?," Modi said adding that Congress should explain what it did in their ten years of rule.

Retorting to the balloon jibe, Modi said, "You, your party and 18 chief ministers came to Gujarat in 2002. And had spoken lies of such balloon. And your balloon of lies was not accepted by the people of Gujarat." "You had done the same thing in 2007 and in December 2012. But you could not make the people of Gujarat believe your lies. People were seeing development and that is why people have elected BJP," he said.

Without naming Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Modi said that it was she who had declared Gujarat number one. — PTI

If you think Gujarat model is a balloon, I want to ask if you trust your mother? The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation whose chairperson is your mother, that foundation had declared Gujarat number one. Do you see a balloon in your mother's talk
— Narendra Modi, bjp pm nominee

Mayawati dubs BJP, Congress pro-capitalist
Tribune News Service

Ambala, March 30
BSP chief Mayawati, who today reached Ambala to address an election rally in support of party candidates Kapoor Singh (Ambala), Chattar Singh (Kurukshetra) and Maratha Virender (Karnal), called upon supporters to remain wary of the Congress and the BJP and instead vote for the party that intended to work for the betterment of all sections of society.

Addressing a rally at the HUDA grounds in Ambala city, Mayawati said while the Congress had failed to ensure the country's development even after remaining 60 years in power, the BJP was promoting a candidate under whose rule Gujrat had witnessed the worst-ever communal riots.

She asked the voters not to vote for communal force. She said the BSP was no longer a party of the Harijans as it represented the downtrodden, irrespective of their caste.

She said the Congress and the BJP were being funded by business houses, who use these parties for their own benefits. She said unlike these parties, the BSP was funded by its supporters and workers and was not under any pressure to formulate pro-capitalist policies.

She said the party was in favour of reservation but the inclusion of prosperous castes into the list of reserved categories without increasing the overall reservation in jobs was a ploy of the opposition to deprive economical weaker sections of a fair chance. She said if voted to power, the BSP would support reservation even for the upper castes.

Media, hospitality sector ‘least open’ about gender equality
Ananya Panda
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 30
It is not without reason that India is ranked 120th among 134 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index.

When it comes to a gender-enabling work environment, media, aviation and hospitality sectors under the private domain have been found to be the “least transparent” about their corporate policies and practices around gender equality, points out a new study by NGO Care India. The findings were shared here today.

Certainly not welcome is the huge ambiguity on the number of cases of sexual harassment that were reported and resolved especially within such sectors that carry a high risk of sexual exploitation of women, reveals the study.

The study, which covered 50 companies and 10 business associations representing 10 industry sectors, including consulting, energy, financial services, food and beverages, hospitality, IT and information technology enabled services (ITES), metal products, telecom, media, aviation and hospitality, laments that equality of women still remains a far cry in the country.

Women constitute 24 per cent of the Indian workforce while only 14 per cent among them make it to senior management positions against the global average of 24 per cent. This number falls to a dismal 5 per cent when it comes to top management or board positions even while the new Companies Act mandates the appointment of at least one woman director on the board of a company.

The study, based on analysis of information in the public domain -- annual reports, sustainability reports etc of the companies, found out that only 18 per cent of the surveyed bodies provided paternity entitlements while IT and ITES and financial services concerns were women-friendly, offering favourable maternity entitlements, child care and flexible work options.

The representation of women on boards ranged from 4.25-28.5 per cent across sectors with highest representation in workforce seen among IT and ITES and financial services sector (16 per cent - 24 per cent).

Unfair approach

There is huge ambiguity on the number of cases of sexual harassment that were reported and resolved in the media, aviation and hospitality sectors that carry a high risk of sexual exploitation of women, reveals a study by NGO Care India.

US Senate warned of fake parts in C-130Js
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 30
The crash of the US-made C-130J Super Hercules, a special operations plane, on March 28 has raised a question mark over the clean chit given by the Indian Ministry of Defence to the plane-maker, Lockheed Martin. A committee of the US Senate in its probe had found that “counterfeit parts” such as memory chips supplied by a Chinese company were used in C-130J planes produced between a specific period.

Five Indian Air Force personnel had died when the plane, costing some Rs 730 crore, crashed 72 miles west of Gwalior. India has five more such planes and ordered six more.

It is not established yet if any of the counterfeit parts caused the crash. Faulty memory chips can cause the pilot display screen to go blank. The display provides information on engines, fuel, locations, altitude and warnings. The IAF plane reportedly hit a hillock in broad daylight.

It was in 2009 and 2010, the same period when C-130J planes were produced for the IAF, when the US Senate said 1,800 incidents were detected in which more than a million fake parts had been sourced from China.

In 2008, India signed a deal with the US for $962 million for supply of the first lot of six planes. In February 2011, India got the first plane which was manufactured in the same period when the probe was being conducted by the Senate committee.

More than 16 months later in May 2012, the Committee of Armed Services on the Senate in the US came out with a report titled “Inquiry into counterfeit electronic parts in the department of defence supply chain”. It said “counterfeit” parts were used and supplied by a suspect company, Hong Dark Electronics, in China to a US company for further supply to Lockheed Martin.

Surprisingly in December 2012, the Indian Ministry of Defence announced in Parliament, “The Indian Air Force (IAF) has acquired a list of suppliers from the US with respect to aircraft procured from the US and none of the suppliers is found to be a Chinese manufacturer.”

The US Senate report in May 2012, some six months before this announcement in Parliament, blamed China saying: “The suspected counterfeit electronic parts used on the C-130J’s originated with a company in Shenzhen China called the Hong Dark Electronic Trade Company. Hong Dark sold these parts to Global IC trading group in the US”. The trading group supplied it to L3 communication display system, which provides the displays to Lockheed Martin.

It was in 2010 that engineers of the ‘L3’ learned about the high rates of failures while integrating the systems. The counterfeit memory chips had markings of being produced by Korean giant Samsumg. In its testimony to the US Senate, Samsung said the chips were produced more than ten years ago and it could not comment as it did not know how these were stored or used. The Senate referred to a test report saying these were “not factory originals”.

Lockhheed Martin’s engineers raised the issue with the US Air Force in November 2010, but the Senate blames the company engineers of leaving the US Air Force with the false impression that these were not counterfeit. The US Senate studied other equipment also.

Defence Ministry’s clean chit comes under question

In 2008, India signed a deal with the US for $962 million for supply of six C-130Js. In February 2011, India got the first plane

The US probe found that “counterfeit parts” such as memory chips supplied by a Chinese company were used in C-130J planes produced between a specific period

In December 2012, the Indian Ministry of Defence said: “The IAF has acquired a list of suppliers from the US with respect to the aircraft and none of the suppliers has been found to be a Chinese manufacturer.”

Black box sent to US for decoding data

New Delhi, March 30
The black box of the C-130J transport aircraft that crashed near Gwalior on Friday has suffered damage and the Air Force has sent it to the US to seek the assistance of its manufacturer Lockheed Martin in decoding the data, IAF officials said today.

The connectors of the Flight Data Recorder or the black box are damaged along with the card inside the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).

“To avoid any loss of data while trying to decode the equipment, we have decided to send the black box to the US,” an IAF spokesperson said here.

The black box was sent by an early morning flight today to Lockheed Martin, he said. The delay in decoding the black box data would also mean a delay in determining the cause of the crash, he said.

The IAF had stated on Friday that it would come out with a preliminary report on the reasons behind the mishap in 24 hours. — PTI

Antony refuses govt guarantee to France over Rafale deal

New Delhi, March 30
With the UPA-II's tenure coming to an end, France had wanted India to sign a pact to provide government guarantee for completion of negotiation for 126 fighter aircraft with Dassault company but Defence Minister AK Antony has refused to do so.

France, whose company Dassault has been shortlisted for supplying the multi-role medium combat Rafale aircraft, had proposed the signing of the agreement apparently to ensure that negotiations for the multi-billion dollar deal do not get affected if a different party comes to power after the Lok Sabha elections.

"The French side wanted government guarantee to the negotiations," sources said. Antony, however, refused to sign such an agreement, arguing that governmental guarantee cannot be provided as negotiations were still underway, they said.

The Defence Ministry is still negotiating the price and terms and conditions of the contract with the French firm Dassault Aviation, whose Rafale combat aircraft was selected as the lowest bidder two years ago for supplying 126 warplanes.

Antony had recently ordered that the process to arrive at the lowest bidder in the multi-vendor tender be reviewed after completion of the whole procedure involved in the procurement as questions had been raised over it.

The two sides are trying to tackle the issue of life cycle costs (LCC) relating to Rafale. "There are complaints about the procedure of calculating the life cycle cost and that issue is not yet settled. Before bringing the deal to the Cabinet Committee on Security for final approval, we would like to get clear on that aspect," he had said.

As per the Indian defence procedure, the firms offering lowest prices and meeting the requirements of the respective services are given the contract and in this deal to procure 126 combat aircraft, LCC has been taken into view to determine the lowest bidder.

Senior BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha has written to Antony raising a number of questions over the "conceptual shift" in the defence procurement policy and expressed fears that LCC concept may bring in corruption. — PTI

Negotiations still on

The French side wanted government guarantee to the negotiations, sources said

Antony, however, refused to sign such an agreement, arguing that governmental guarantee cannot be provided as negotiations were still underway, they said

Coal scam: CBI to submit closure reports to CVC today

Ranjit Sinha, cbi director

NEW DELHI, March 30
Welcoming the decision of the Supreme Court in coal blocks allocation cases, the CBI on Sunday said it would be handing over closure reports of 20 preliminary enquiries (PEs) tomorrow to CVC for scrutinising whether the cases can be closed or chargesheets need to be filed.

"It's a welcome decision. We have done our job diligently and we are open to whatever suggestions are made by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to the Supreme Court," CBI director Ranjit Sinha told PTI.

He said the CBI will be handing over the closure reports to the CVC tomorrow in a sealed envelope. An apex court bench headed by Justice RM Lodha had on Friday directed the agency to place the documents of all 20 cases within five days before the CVC for its perusal and the corruption watchdog will file its report in four weeks.

The court had asked the CVC and two vigilance commissioners to give their suggestions whether the cases can be closed or the CBI can go ahead with the filing of chargesheets in them.

DIG Ravi Kant Sharma, who supervises the coal scam probe along with other two officers of the same rank, had told the Bench that he had given opinion for filing charge sheets in two cases in which the agency has filed closure reports on Thursday.

The CBI director said the agency was open to scrutiny of the decision taken to close the cases which were arrived at after proper scrutiny of the evidence available. — PTI

India-Russia accord on TN N-plant soon
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 30
India and Russia are engaged in consultations on the text of the feasibility study agreement for the construction of units III and IV at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu.

Official sources here said consultations were underway between the two sides and the agreement could be inked any time now.

Sources said Russia had insisted that India modify its controversial Civil Nuclear Liability law and bring it in line with international conventions. The law envisions the supplier’s liability throughout the power plant’s service life.

After discussions earlier this year in Mumbai between officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Russia’s Rosatom, both sides have approved the draft technical and economic agreement on construction of units III and IV at Kudankulam. All differences about the Indian law had been taken care of and Moscow now was more or less ready to bring its pressurised water reactors under the purview of the act.

It is understood that India has conceded Russia’s demand for increasing the equipment cost to address Moscow’s concerns over the liability law. Unit 1 at KNPP went critical last year while unit 2 is expected to attain criticality later this year.

India plans to build 19 nuclear power units with a combined capacity of 17,400 MW by 2017. Eight of them will be built in cooperation with other countries. The KNPP will supply electricity not only to Tamil Nadu but the whole south of India.

Parleys underway

Official sources consultations were underway between the two sides and the agreement could be inked any time now

Russia had insisted that India modify its Civil Nuclear Liability law and bring it in line with international conventions. The law envisions the supplier’s liability throughout the power plant’s service life

After talks earlier this year in Mumbai between officials of the NPCIL and Russia’s Rosatom, both sides have approved the draft technical and economic agreement on construction of units III and IV at Kudankulam

Google, Facebook eye Rs 500-cr poll pie

New Delhi, March 30
As political parties throng social networking platforms to woo voters, internet giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter are looking for their slice of an estimated Rs 500-crore digital spending pie for this Lok Sabha polls.

Out of the 814 million Indians eligible to vote in this elections, more than 200 million are estimated to have access to the internet including over 100 million active on various social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

According to digital media experts, a bulk of about 100 million first-time voters joining the electorate for upcoming Lok Sabha elections are very active on social networking sites and they are the main target of parties taking the social media route to reach out to their target audience.

Estimates suggest that out of nearly Rs 4,000-5,000 crore total advertisement and publicity budget across the parties, digital platforms may get at least Rs 400-500 crore in the run up to the polls.

With online campaigning emerging as a major tool for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi Assembly polls last year, social media is getting greater attention of the strategists for Lok Sabha polls as well as across parties. — PTI

Two Chinese detained in Kinnaur
Bhanu P Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 30
The police today detained two Chinese nationals near Namgya check post on the Indo-Tibet border in tribal Kinnaur district and recovered five mobile phones, SIM cards and Chinese currency worth Rs 3,000 from their possession. The duo was accompanied by their Laddakhi girl friends.

Though both Chinese nationals had valid travel documents (passport and visa), they did not have the inner line permit, which was mandatory to visit the border areas. They had been detained for verification purposes, ADGP (CID) SR Mardi said.

They were taken to the Pooh police station near the border and their antecedents are being verified. The police are yet to ascertain the motive of their visit and the route followed by them.

The antecedents of the Laddakhi girls and their association with these Chinese nationals are also being verified. They have not been arrested and any further action would be taken after verification of documents and other information gathered from them.

NDA wave will soon turn into saffron storm: Sena

Mumbai, March 30
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray today said Congress is in a bad shape due to lack of formidable leadership and claimed that "saffron resurgence" is on the cards with Narendra Modi being a credible alternative.

"The wave in favour of BJP-led NDA across the country will be soon be converted into a saffron storm," Uddhav said in an interview in today's edition of Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"Except for Atal Bihari Vajpyee, the Opposition had no face. While there were Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi ..The Congress is unable to bring Rahul Gandhi before the people and same is the case with Priyanka Vadra," he said.

"For the first time, the Congress is in a bad shape as they don't have a face, while the Opposition parties have consolidated and united themselves behind (BJP's prime ministerial nominee) Modi," he said.

To a question on whether 'India Shining' will be repeated (defeat after much hype) this time, Uddhav said, "Forget that, because of Modi, there will be 'India shining' in real terms.

Opposition parties had succeeded in rubbishing the India shining campaign run by the NDA that time." Admitting that the Lok Sabha election is the first major challenge for his party after the death of his father Bal Thackeray, Uddhav said he always feels the presence of Sena supremo around him.

To another question about several leaders quitting the party, the Sena leader said the cadres have not left.

"Few have left because they were denied tickets," he claimed. Referring to the conviction of party leader Babanrao Gholap in disproportionate assets case, he expressed surprise that the verdict came after 14 years and that too at the time of the elections. — PTI

Gogoi stronghold may see a son-rise
Bijay Sankar Bora
Tribune News Service

Kaliabor (Assam), March 30
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is leaving no stone unturned to facilitate a thumping win for his 31-year-old son Gaurav Gogoi who is cutting his teeth on electoral politics by contesting from Kaliabor constituency in central Assam.

Senior Gogoi is capitalising on every opportunity to campaign for his son in the constituency that is considered a fiefdom of the Gogoi family given that people of the constituency voted Tarun Gogoi to Lok Sabha three times (1991, 1998, 1999) and his younger brother Dip Gogoi, the sitting MP, another three times (2001 byelection, 2004, 2009). Dip Gogoi, this time, did not seek party ticket to facilitate the baptism of nephew Gaurav into the battle of the ballot.

The Gogois, who hail from the tea city of Jorhat, have made Kaliabor their home. So, Gaurav is on a comparatively comfortable ground despite the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) putting up a formidable candidate in the form of Dr Arun Kumar Sharma, a former MP.

But it won’t be easy for Arun Sharma to upset the Gogois’ applecart in Kaliabor given that Muslims form a sizable chunk of voters. There is no Muslim candidate in the fray to wean these votes away from the Congress.

The Badaruddin Ajmal-led All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a party formed by combining over a dozen minority political groups, has fielded a tea-tribe candidate Bijoy Tiru.

The AIUDF’s decision to field a low-profile candidate has prompted the AGP and the BJP to allege a ‘secret understanding’ between the AIUDF and Congress to facilitate a smooth sailing for Gaurav Gogoi in Kaliabor as well as for Congress candidates in some other constituencies.

Safe seat for Gaurav

The people of Kaliabor voted Tarun Gogoi to Lok Sabha three times (1991, 1998, 1999) and his younger brother Dip Gogoi in the 2001 byelection, 2004 and 2009

Sitting MP Dip Gogoi did not seek party ticket this time to facilitate Gaurav's entry to Parliament

Youth held for hurling slipper at Akhilesh

Ghaziabad, March 30
A 25-year-old youth was today detained by police after he threw his slipper at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav while he was addressing a rally at the Ramleela Ground in Kavinagar area here.

The incident took place this afternoon as Yadav started addressing people at the rally. A youth on the spur of the moment stood up from his seat and hurled his footwear at Yadav and protested about the illegal seizure of his land.

However, the footwear fell into the Media Gallery set up on the venue. The police officials, deployed at the venue, immediately overpowered the youth and took him to police station. The police said further investigation into the incident is on. — PTI

One more IM suspect held in Rajasthan

Jaipur, March 30
Rajasthan Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Sunday arrested one more suspected member of the Indian Mujahideen, officials said.

An Anti-Terrorism Squad officer said the 22-year-old man was detained from Sikar and arrested on charges of being a member of the terror outfit's Rajasthan module.

"The accused is pursuing a diploma in civil engineering from Sikar town. He was brought to Jaipur where he is being interrogated," he said.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad has arrested six youths from Sikar, most of them students, for being involved in terrorist activities. Besides these six, five suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists have been held from Jodhpur, 330 km from here, since March 22.

Four others, including a most-wanted terrorist, Pakistani national Waqas, and two engineering students have been held in Jaipur and Ajmer.

Muslim Forum had recently staged a protest against the arrest of some of their community youths, suspected to be IM terrorists, and claimed their arrest "was wrongful and proper legal process was not followed. —IANS