AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: Whipping up Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin to flag the price rise issue, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made a veiled attack on the Congress chief saying he would now write a letter to the Centre in 'Italian' to make it act to rein in food prices.
The Congress hit back at the BJP leader's personal attack suggesting he has become mad. "He has lost his mind. From an uncivilised person, you can only expect such a presposterous rhetoric. I would not even want to dignify such comments by speaking from this podium," Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said in New Delhi today.
Speaking at a Garib Kalyan Mela at Patan, about 130 km from here, last night, Modi said, "I have written a number of letters to Central Government on the issue of price rise. I have written letters in the language they can understand urging them to take steps to do something about the rising prices of food items.
"But, I think that they have no sympathy for the poor people and it seems that they are not willing to take steps to control rising prices. Now, I need to write a letter in Italian," he said.
Modi and Sonia have had a few run-ins during the Gujarat Assembly election campaign towards the end of 2008.
"They (Centre) had organised a meeting on the issue of price rise. But have now postponed it saying that they have some other work. I don't understand what work is more important than addressing the issue of price rise," Modi said.
"Keeping poor people hungry in this manner will lead to nemesis of the Central government," Modi said.
'Garib Kalyan Mela' is brainchild of Modi to provide the direct benefit of schemes meant for poor without involving middlemen.
"Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had said that if Central government release one rupee for poor, only 10 paise reaches them. By organising such melas I have tried to solve this problem," Modi said.
Food prices to ease, but India to remain import dependent: Pawar
NEW DELHI: Food prices are expected to decline in the next fiscal on the back of higher farm output and the only worry then for the government would be on storage, food and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has said.
He, however, said that the country would remain import dependent when it came to pulses and edible oils for the next 10 years.
On the possibility of prices coming down in the next financial year beginning April one, Pawar said in a TV interview: "100 per cent. In 2011-12 the problem which the government of India will have to worry about (is) what to do and where to store".
Food inflation touched 17.40 per cent for the week ended January 16 on account of high prices of vegetables and pulses.
On controlling prices of pulses, the minister said: "Pulses we have to import, edible oil we have to import even for another 10 years or so. Because day by day, demand is growing, purchasing power of the weaker section is also improving."
India imported a record 8.1 million tonnes of edible oils in 2008-09 season (November-October). The country imports 3-4 million tonnes of pulses every year to meet domestic demand.
The prices of essential food items have risen sharply in last one year, particularly of sugar, pulses and vegetables.
Sugar prices have more than doubled since January 2009 and is ruling at Rs 43 a kg in the national capital. Pulses are ruling high, with arhar being sold at about Rs 85 a kg.
India faced a severe drought this year affecting over 300 districts that resulted in loss of Kharif production. Rice output is estimated to decline by 13 million tonnes in Kharif.
The Centre has taken various steps to curb rising prices and give relief to consumers, including abolition of import duties on sugar, rice, pulses and crude edible oils.
Russian rape case: Main accused arrested
PANAJI: Aman Bharadwaj, the main accused in the rape of a Russian minor girl, has been arrested in Chembur, in Mumbai, Goa police said on Friday evening.
Bharadwaj was arrested by a Goa police team and is being brought to the state, the police said.
Earlier today, one of the two accused in the nine-year-old Russian girl rape case, who had engaged the victim's mother while the crime was being committed, was arrested by Goa Police.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ravindra Yadav told PTI that Anil Raghuvanshi, one of the two men, mentioned by Russian mother in her complaint, was arrested from Panaji bus stand this morning.
Yadav said the accused in his thirties was picked up from a bus which had arrived from Bangalore and was taken to Pernem police station, where the case is registered.
"He was on his way to Bangalore when we spoke to him yesterday," he said.
Goa Police on Thursday had identified the main accused as Aman Bharadwaj, from Uttar Pradesh, who allegedly raped the victim, holidaying in Goa with her mother on Arambol beach on January 26.
He did so when his accomplice Anil, who is from Madhya Pradesh's Hoshangabad district, diverted the mother's attention by striking a conversation with her.
Yadav said that police had spoken to Anil on his cell yesterday and thereafter his mobile was out of coverage area or had been switched off.
The accused duo, colleagues in a pharmaceutical firm at Dhargal industrial estate, were part of a group that had gone to Arambol for a picnic on Republic Day.
Haldiram owner, four others sentenced to life
Haldiram Bhujiawala proprietor Prabhu Shankar Agarwal was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday along with four others by a fast track court for conspiring to kill a tea stall owner, whose shop came in the way of a food plaza he was building.
Judge Tapan Sen of the Bankshall Court awarded the sentence to Agarwal, history-sheeters Gopal Tiwari, Arun Khandelwal, Manoj Sharma and Raju Sonkar under Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) besides 10 years rigorous prison terms under section 307/34 (attempt to murder/common intention).
Tiwari was also found guilty under the Arms Act and sentenced to seven years in one section and three years in another. All the sentences would run concurrently, the judge said in his order.
Agarwal, owner of the multi-crore food and confectionery chain, which has outlets in many cities and also in London and elsewhere, had failed to persuade tea stall owner Satyanarayan Sharma in Burrabazar area here to move out as the shop would spoil the facade of the food plaza he was constructing.
His hired goons had then raided the shop looking for Satyanarayan, but not finding him, shot his nephew Pramod Sharma, injuring him seriously on March 30, 2005.
Earlier, Agarwal pleaded for mercy before the judge stating that thousands of his employees and their families depended on him and his incarceration would hamper his business and put their livelihood in jeopardy.
PC calls Sino-India frontier 'most difficult border'
Bhanu (Panchkula): With a glint of pride in their eyes and armed with INSAS rifles, 209 women personnel on Friday joined the ranks of the ITBP to guard the Sino-Indian frontier, which Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram termed as "one of the most difficult and challenging borders".
The new contingent will also be used to provide security to vital installations, rescue and relief operations including disaster management, perception management and psychological operations in border villages and during festivals, public meetings and agitations.
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Chidamabaram congratulated the families of the women, "especially their parents for taking a bold decision to let them join a force entrusted with guarding one of the most
difficult and challenging borders of India."
Marching to the tunes of 'Kadam Kadam Badhaye Jaa...', the women staged an impressive parade as they became the first combat counterparts to their male colleagues in the 48 years of the history of the force.
Chidambaram said, "It is always a proud moment when you are the first. These 209 woman constables will always cherish this day even as today is written in golden letters in the history of the ITBP."
He lauded the women, who took the oath of duty dressed in blue beret caps and khaki uniforms, for "successfully completing the rigorous and gruelling training schedule of 44 weeks."
The women, drawn form various states of the country, started their training in February last year and are now adept in unarmed combat, weapon firing, commando tactics, map reading and other security-related drills.
ITBP Director General Vikram Srivastava said the women personnel would be further trained in counter-insurgency and jungle warfare and a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) and a Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad will also be formed in order to raise an independent women's battalion.
The women contingent took their oath before the tricolour besides the force's insignia and an array of weapons like Light Machine Guns, Under Barrel Grenade Launchers, INSAS rifles and rocket launchers.
The 50,000 personnel-strong Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) guards the 3,488-km long Sino-Indian border. It is also protecting the Indian embassy in Afghanistan and securing VIPs.
Business News
Equities erased early losses and nudged 0.3 per cent higher on Friday after the RBI kept key interest rates unchanged, but still posted their worst monthly loss in three months.
The 30-share BSE index fell 6.3 per cent in January, its biggest drop since a 7.2 per cent slide in October.
For the week, it was down nearly 3 per cent after losing 4 per cent the previous week.
Bank stocks led the pull back after the market fell as much as 2 per cent at one stage.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept short-term interest rates steady at its quarterly policy review on Friday but lifted banks' cash reserve requirements by more than expected and warned of mounting inflation.
"There were some expectations built that the RBI could hike rates at the policy, after we saw yesterday the food inflation data had accelerated," said Rakesh Rawal, head of private wealth management at Anand Rathi Financial Services.
"Since, that didn't take place, the policy seems to be better than expectations," he said.
ICICI Bank gained 5.3 per cent, its biggest one-day rise in more than 4-½ months, to Rs 830.40.
Bigger rival State Bank of India firmed 2.7 per cent, while No. 3 lender HDFC Bank added 2.3 per cent.
The BSE index closed up 0.31 per cent, or 51.09 points, at 16,357.96. Thirteen of its components gained.
"The next key event to watch for is the budget. I am optimistic that overall 2010 should be good, on the back of economic growth and corporate earnings growth," Rawal said.
Export-driven outsourcers, which get around half of their revenue from the United States, dropped on continued concerns over the order flow from US banks.
Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services shed 0.7 per cent each, while Wipro dropped 3.8 per cent.
Metal makers Sterlite Industries and Hindalco dropped 1.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively, hurt by a sharp fall in base metal prices.
A firm dollar and concern over the pace and scope of credit tightening in China drove Shanghai copper down nearly 4 per cent, following a drop in London prices in the previous session.
Tata Steel, the world's eighth-largest steel maker by output, fell 2.8 per cent to 569 rupees. It had rallied 4.8 per cent on Thursday after forecast-beating third-quarter results.
"Valuation looks expensive, coupled with structural demand concerns in the European market and poor returns on a long-term basis," brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher said in a note.It maintained its "reduce" rating on the stock.
In the broader market, 1,484 gainers led 1,370 losers on volume of 442 million shares, below last week's daily average of 534.4 million shares.
The 50-share NSE index closed 0.3 per cent higher at 4,882.05.
RBI hikes CRR by 75 bps, holds key policy rates
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Friday raised by 75 basis points the cash reserve ratio - the amount lenders need to keep with the central bank - to suck Rs 36,000 crore out of the system and cool down the surging inflation.
The apex bank in its third quarter monetary policy review, however, refrained from raising short-term borrowing and lending rates (repo and reverse repo), primarily to encourage growth which is "is yet to fully take hold".
Encouraged by 7.9 per cent growth in the second quarter (July-September 2009), the RBI raised the economic growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.5 per cent, up from 6 per cent projected in October.
Promising to take more action to tackle the price rise, the RBI said inflation is likely to firm up to 8.5 per cent by March-end from 7.3 per cent in December. The Reserve Bank had earlier projected the inflation to be around 6.5 per cent by fiscal-end.
"Reduction in excess liquidity will help anchor inflationary expectations. The recovery process will be supported without compromising price stability," RBI Governor D Subbarao said in his policy statement.
Sensex rebounds, closes up 51 points
Mumbai: In a highly choppy trade, the benchmark Sensex recovered the sharp decline it suffered after the RBI announced a more-than-expected CRR hike by closing 51 points higher as the central bank raised the growth forecast and kept the key policy rates unchanged.
The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange barometer, which sunk below the psychological 16,000-level after the Reserve Bank raised the amount of money that banks have to park with RBI (CRR) by 75 basis points--25 bps more than the market view--bounced back to close 51.09 points up at 16,357.96 as the RBI spared key policy rates such as banks buying and borrowing rates, and raised GDP growth outlook to 7.5 per cent from 6 per cent.
In a highly volatile trade, the key index dwindled between 16,390.31 and 15,982.08 points during the sessions.
Still, for every one stock that fell there was an equal number that gained. And among the 30-Sensex counters, 17 closed with gains while 13 ended with losses.
Banking, realty and capital goods sectors-- the sectors which are more interest sensitive and hence battered for long now--were the winners on Friday.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty 50, after dipping below the 4,800 level, closed in the green with gain of 14.80 points to 4,882.05.
The RBI increased the cash reserve ratio to 5.75 per cent from 5 per cent but kept the benchmark interest rates unchanged while raising its inflation estimate to 8.5 per cent by March end from 6.5 per cent. It has also revised upwards its GDP estimate from a low 6 per cent to a high 7.5 per cent for this fiscal.
Sports News
Fedex reaches final after demolishing Tsonga
MELBOURNE: Roger Federer cruised into his 22nd Grand Slam final with an effortless straight sets win over listless Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open on Friday.
Federer will chase his fourth Australian Open title and 16th Grand Slam against British fifth seed Andy Murray in Sunday's final.
Tsonga looked a pale shadow of his best form as Federer did what he pleased to claim his 18th appearance in the last 19 Grand Slam finals.
The Frenchman had won their last encounter, in three sets at Montreal last August, but it was never a contest at their third career meeting.
"I'm very happy, you always have to deal with how your opponent plays and sometimes he plays exactly the way you want, so it's nice going through a match like this," Federer said.
"It won't be the same story in the next match I play here.
"Against top players it's always a huge bonus if you can win the first set because after that it always becomes more difficult.
"Maybe he was more mentally fatigued than physically, and that showed at the end."
Tsonga appeared to be physically struggling after his back-to-back five-setters against Nicolas Almagro and Novak Djokovic and Federer quickly capitalised.
The big Frenchman parked himself well behind the baseline as the cool Swiss dictated the rallies and controlled the points.
Federer, a renowned front-runner, broke Tsonga twice in the fourth and eighth games to capture the opening set in just 31 minutes and was quickly after the lethargic Frenchman in the second set.
The world number one was rolling through his service games and had Tsonga under pressure on his and broke him in the sixth game.
Federer, well in his comfort zone, raced to bring up two set points in the ninth game and served out for a two sets lead just over the hour.
It got worse for the ailing Tsonga in the final set, Federer breaking him again in the third and fifth games to stroll to victory.
Federer will now face Murray, who holds a 6-4 lead in their matches.
Paes-Black in final of Oz Open mixed doubles
Melbourne: Leander Paes earned a chance to equal the record for most Grand Slam title wins by an Indian after reaching the final of the Australian Open mixed doubles event with partner Cara Black, following a hard fought semifinal win here on Friday.
The top seeded Indo-Zimbawean pair came from behind to edge past seventh seeds Lisa Raymond and Wesley Moodie 6-7 7-6 (5) 10-7 at Melbourne Park. After losing the first set, Paes and Black were trailing 2-4 in the second set but their tenacity paid as they were successful in stretching the match to a Super Tie-breaker.
American Raymond and South African Davis Cupper Moody pushed the top seeds to limit but could not stop them from going into the title clash. Paes and Black will take on 10th seeds Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Jaroslav Levinsky of Czechoslovakia, who beat seventh seeds Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Marcelo Melo of Brazil 6-0 4-6 10-8 in their semifinal match.
Paes has so far won 10 Grand Slam titles, including six men's doubles trophies.
Paes' estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi has won the highest number of Grand Slam of titles -- 11 -- for India with seven mixed doubles and four men's doubles trophies.
Paes won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open in 2003 with Czech-American legend Martina Navratilova and finished runner-up the following year.
PCB cancels NOCs for Pak players for IPL
Karachi: In an apparent retaliation to the snub at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday revoked all the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) issued to its players for participation in the third edition of Twenty20 event.
The decision effectively means that no Pakistani cricketer can now take part in this season's IPL even if the franchises want to rope them in as substitutes. A statement from the board said all the NOC's issued to players for IPL-III stand revoked.
"In future, if any player receives an invitation for participation in IPL events, PCB will decide the matter on a case to case basis after consulting relevant government authorities," the statement said.
The announcement comes on the same day that the Indian hardline party Shiv Sena said it would not allow Pakistani players to play in the IPL and IPL commissioner Lalit Modi also said that no franchise could pick Pakistani players without his knowledge and approval.
All the 11 Pakistani players, including star all-rounder Shahid Afridi went unsold in the January 29 auction in Mumbai, prompting angry reaction in Pakistan.
The auction fiasco threatened to snowball into a diplomatic row between the two countries with top ministers also being drawn into the controversy.
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