Modi now terms Congress party a 'gudiya'
12 Apr 2009, 1531 hrs IST, IANS:SHRAWASTI (Uttar Pradesh): After taunting the Congress party with his "budhiya" (aged woman) comments, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Sunday termed the 125-year-old national party a "gudiya" (doll).
Addressing a poll rally in this Uttar Pradesh district, Modi said: "Ab mein Congress ko budhiya nahin, gudiya kahoonga (Now I will refer to the Congress not as an aged woman, but a doll).
Modi's "budhiya" comments had evoked sharp criticism from the Congress party, which said he should apologize to women and the elderly. Modi had likened the Congress to an aged woman and said it was a burden on the country.
Taking up cudgels on behalf of the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi, the 37-year-old daughter of party president Sonia Gandhi, had also asked Modi Saturday whether she looked old.
Shrawasti is 300 km from Lucknow.
Priyanka campaigns for Rahul, backs him for PM
Sunday, April 12, 2009 (Amethi):Rahul Gandhi is widely tipped to be the Prime Minister-in-waiting and on Sunday Priyanka Gandhi also gave her brother a big thumbs up.
While campaigning in Amethi, which goes to poll on April 23, she said though Manmohan Singh is the Congress candidate for the top job, this time it is only a matter of time before Rahul takes over the mantle.
When asked about contesting elections herself, she replied by saying 'never say never' in politics.
Priyanka also didn't waste the opportunity to launch an attack on the Samajwadi Party labelling them narrow-minded and their manifesto weird.
"I have never seen such a weird document and I want to know who has written the Samajwadi Party manifesto," she said.
Pravin Mahajan pens 'revealing' book on brother Pramod
12 Apr 2009, 1304 hrs IST, IANS:MUMBAI: Barely three weeks before the third death anniversary of the late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, his brother Pravin
-- undergoing a life-term for killing him -- has come out with a tell-all book.
The book entitled My Album -- around 175 pages -- will be published in Marathi and English soon.
In the book, which Pravin said was inspired within the confines of the prison walls where he is currently lodged, he has dwelt upon several aspects of his elder brother's personal, professional and political life, his principles, his political associates, etc, many of them not exactly laudatory.
In a statement, Pravin's wife Sarangi said: "This book should be treated as an ordinary book. It doesn't include any of the court statements which were in-camera."
However, Sarangi made it clear on Sunday morning that this book is not an autobiography of her husband, merely an authentic account of certain incidents in his life which he experienced.
"It is not directed against any individual, party or group and should not be construed as such," she declared.
Recalling his association with his elder brother, Pravin said that Pramod did everything his way by either "buying" everybody or "scaring" them into submission to his will.
"He symbolized everything in politics, he was a fixer, dealer, double-dealer, conspirator, etc, just like Amar Singh," he has written.
Once, Sharad Pawar had saved Pramod from a major problem. In 1998, Pramod had committed a blunder while filling up his nomination form for Rajya Sabha elections. He had shown his profession as "Advisor to Prime Minister", which was an 'office of profit'.
This was brought to Pramod's notice by Pawar. Pramod immediately rectified it by giving a back-dated resignation letter from his advisory post. The reason, Pravin explained, was that there were seven seats and eight contestants. If Pramod's papers had been rejected, then Pawar's arch-rival Suresh Kalmadi would have been elected unopposed.
Pravin said that in 1984 during the Lok Sabha elections, Pramod declared that politics was his "mission" not "profession". "Then, when did he slip?" the younger brother asks.
He said that between 1998 and 2004, Pramod handled several Lok Sabha and assembly elections around the country. Election times were when a lot of money flowed into the party coffers which he used for "personal pleasure pursuits". He never revealed the sources of his funds to the party and even told Pravin never to do so, the book extract says.
Discussing the family front, Pravin said that his entire family as well as sister-in-law (Pramod's wife) Rekha and her children have suffered a lot.
He cited several disturbing instances in this regard:
"Will my mother deny that Pramod once raised his hand to beat her and isn't Gopinath Munde (sister's husband) aware of this?
"Did Rahul Mahajan (Pramod's son) once not complain to me about his (prospective) wife Shweta's loose character?"
"Did Poonam Mahajan (Pramod's daughter) once not tell me how her father went with some friend to Europe/US in 1992, bringing tears to my eyes? What do Prakash Mahajan (another brother) and Pratima Mahajan (his wife) have to say about this?"
He said that Pramod had become arrogant with his position in the party and the knowledge that he was in the midst of all leaders, ranging from Pawar to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, Pravin said.
On April 22, 2006, Pravin had gone to Pramod's house in Worli and pumped several bullets into his abdomen. After an unsuccessful battle for survival, Pramod passed away on May 3 that year, leaving a void in the BJP.
After a trial by the court, Pravin was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently in jail.
He has said in the introduction to the book that he could picture his entire life like a "documentary film" compelling him to put it down on paper.
SP logs off, says it's not against computers
Sun, Apr 12, 2009:Gorakhpur: Samajwadi Party has clarified that the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha did not at all say anything about stopping use of computers or to ban English education in schools.
Samajwadi Party's youth wing chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav told UNI in Gorakhpur on Sunday that the media report about the SP manifesto on computers and English education was blown out of proportion.
“The party was never anti-computer or teaching of English in schools. But SP always supported that the poor and rural people should not be affected by modern technology or English in the schools”, he said.
“Samajwadi Party always demand for promoting mother tongue as the base of teaching in schools just as it was done in other parts of the world”, he said.
Mr Yadav said the party's manifesto only says that if human labour would be given importance and the work which can be done by human would not be made slave of computer or machines. Commenting on the English schools, the SP youth leader said how can any poor pay so much for their children in such schools.
PTI reported that the BJP on Sunday ridiculed Samajwadi Party for "opposing" the use of computer and English education in its election manifesto, saying the party was "still living in 19th century" while the country was beckoning to lead the world in the 21st century.
“It seems to be a manifesto of a party living in 19th century while the youthful nation is aspiring and beckoning to lead the world in the 21st century,” party spokesperson Siddarth Nath said.
“BJP stands for providing the right talent to the right platform to the youthful nation while we have parties like SP which is opposing computer and English education,” Nath told PTI.
Describing computer education as a means to procure jobs, he said the BJP has promised to create 1.5 crore jobs by extending Indian villages with IT facilities.
Business News:
How IBM is hurting TCS, Infy, Wipro
NEW YORK: International Business Machines Corp is expanding in India and grabbing enough customers to take the top spot in the country’s domesti
c information technology market from local rivals.
While Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies have won over US companies with cheaper labor and low capital costs, IBM snapped up contracts with some of India’s largest companies, such as wireless carrier Bharti Airtel.
The strategy will yield dividends for IBM over time as India’s economy thrives, Kaufman Bros.’s Karl Keirstead said.
“They’ve beaten their competition relatively handily,” said the New York-based analyst, who pointed to IBM’s brand name and experience as draws for potential clients. “There’s a cachet in using IBM.”
IBM has hired more than 70,000 employees in India, taking advantage of the “hyper-growth” there by helping domestic companies develop infrastructure, said Sandip Patel, managing partner for services in the country. IBM also may attract new customers from India’s Satyam Computer Services, embroiled in the nation’s largest accounting scandal.
India is slowly transforming from a back office -- a place where companies send work to cut costs -- to a coveted domestic market with fast-growing companies, Patel said. The services market is worth almost $5 billion, according to research firm Gartner Inc.
India’s economy will grow 5.3 percent in the year starting April 1, the International Monetary Fund said in March. The US economy will shrink 2.6 percent this year, IMF projects. IBM’s sales from India increased more than from any other country in the past three years.
Building infrastructure IBM snapped up contracts from Bharti, India’s largest mobile-phone operator, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, the former partner of Goldman Sachs Groups in India. IBM is helping emerging markets develop, as opposed to just focusing on cost cuts, said Edward Jones & Co. analyst Andy Miedler.
“They’re focusing on how they can help emerging governments become the big governments of tomorrow,” he said. “One of the key ways you can do that is build the computing infrastructure.”
Now, Lakshmi Mittal tops soccer rich list
New York, April 12: Football may be a poor cousin of cricket in the Indian sports arena, but the game has earned India-born business tycoon Lakshmi Mittal a place in yet another rich list — the world's richest soccer club owner.
In a ranking of the world's 10 richest owners of professional soccer
clubs, Mittal has been named at the top by American business publication Forbes and is the only person in the list with India connection.
"Lakshmi Mittal, operator of the world's largest steel company, is the richest — despite his team not being worth all that much. Mittal is a stakeholder in Queen's Park Rangers, a team that doesn't even play in England's top league," Forbes said in a report.
In its annual ranking of the world's richest people released last month, Forbes had named Mittal at the eighth place with a net worth of USD 19.3 billion. He has moved down from his fourth position a year ago, as his net worth plunged by a massive 60 percent.
Like Mittal, most of other billionaire owners of soccer clubs have also witnessed a sharp jolt of plunging fortunes, but it cannot be attributed to their soccer team ownership.
Sports News
Ipoh (Malaysia):
Skipper Sandeep Singh continued his goal-scoring spree as India pipped Pakistan 2-1 to reach the final of the five-nation Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Ipoh on Saturday.
The in-form Sandeep, leading goal scorer for his side in the tournament, struck twice in the 28th and 60th minutes to seal the win in the do-or-die tie at the Azlan Shah Stadium. For Pakistan, Mohamed Saqlain reduced the margin in the 50th minute.
With this win, India sealed their place in tomorrow's final with eight points in their kitty. Sandeep led from the front in the crucial encounter against the traditional rivals, scoring on either side of the break and then ensuring that India does not succumb to their perennial habit of conceding late goals.
After 28 minutes of mid-field scramble by both the sides, India finally took the lead though Sandeep to go into the breather with a 1-0 lead.
Trailing by a goal, Pakistan came out all guns blazing in the second half and made repeated unsuccessful forays into the Indian penalty area before Saqlain drew parity in the 50th minute.
Stung by the reverse, India, who needed a victory to ensure their place in the final, attacked with purpose and regained lead 10 minutes later with Sandeep again founding the cage.
Although Pakistan tried hard for the equaliser in the dying stages of the match, the Indian defence stood firm and ensured that there were no last moment hiccups.
Sania-Chuang in final of MPS Group Championships
12 Apr 2009, 1104 hrs IST, PTI :FLORIDA: Sania Mirza and Chia-Jung Chuang extended their brilliant run by sailing into the final of the MPS Group of Championships
after a convinc
ing straight set victory over Liga Dekmeijere and Angela Haynes.
The unseeded Indo-Taipei pair carved out a 6-4, 6-3 win over the Latvian-American pair in the semi-final match in just one hour and eight minutes.
In the summit clash, Sania and Chuang will fight it out against top seeded pair Kveta Peschke of Czech Republic and Lisa Raymond of United States, who scored a 4-6, 7-5, 15-13 victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycov and Caroline Wozniacki
in their semi-final match.
Sania and Chuang converted both the breakpoints that came their way to race away with the first set apart from saving two on their own serve.
The second set saw a fierce fight as both the teams traded seven breaks but it was Sania-Chuang who managed to get the maximum out of those chances.
They dropped their serve thrice but broke their rivals four times to emerge winners.
Slap-gate distant past, Bhajji focussed on good show
Last year's slapping row with S Sreesanth and the subsequent ban firmly behind him, feisty Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh says he is focussed on making an impact in the Indian Premier League's second edition.
"I missed the whole IPL last year because of reasons well known. But I'm looking forward to come back and it should be nice against Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and all these big guys," said Harbhajan, who was banned from inaugural IPL season after playing only three matches for Mumbai Indians for slapping Sreesanth.
Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in Mohali for which he was banned for 11 matches which cost him around Rs three crore.
The Punjab off-spinner, who was in prime form during India's just-concluded tour of New Zealand scalping 16 wickets, said the main reason Team India has been doing well is that the players are no more insecure about their place in the side.
"Why we are winning is because we are playing good cricket. Everyone is performing, everyone is willing to be a champion. A lot of credit must go to the support staff and team management for giving the surety to all the players that they would be getting at least 10-15 games. That gives a player a lot of confidence," Harbhajan told a cricket website.
"This team has a lot of talent of course like Viru (Sehwag), Gautam (Gambhir), Yuvraj (Singh), (MS) Dhoni, (Suresh) Raina ... who have been doing big things which helps us believe we can win anywhere in any sort of conditions," Harbhajan said.
"Probably that was lacking earlier, but now everyone is confident. They are not worried about their places, people go out to play for the team rather than playing for themselves."
Harbhajan's six-wicket haul in the second innings in Hamilton inspired India to a 10-wicket win, their first in 33 years in New Zealand before taking seven wickets in the drawn final Test in Wellington.
"It is always challenging bowling abroad - you don't get much spin, bounce. You do get bounce but you don't get sideways spin. It is always drifting kind of spin you get.
Also with Anil bhai not being there it was challenging and there was a lot of responsibility on me as the senior spinner to do well. This was my third tour there and I'm glad that my wickets came at the right time - we won the game in Hamilton and we almost won it in Wellington, too."
Harbhajan has now set his sights on a Test century and for this he said he would take tips from Sachin Tendulkar, his Mumbai Indians captain.
"One day I will get my hundred. I would like to spend time with Sachin, who has got so many centuries, and probably he can advise me to slow down or what I need to do to get from 60 to 100."
He admitted Twenty20 was a batsman's game but the bowlers will have to be brave and patient to earn success in this format.
"It is tough on bowlers. You need to be little more brave and smart and go with the flow. In this format you need to be smart rather than bowling magic balls."
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