LUCKNOW: Brushing aside the opposition outcry, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati today displayed brazen defiance against today by getting herself garlanded with currency notes valued at Rs.18 lakh.
As a fall-out of the controversy, Karnataka BSP spokesman Y N Sharma, who on Monday disclosed that it was a garland of currency notes, was on Wednesday sacked from the post. He said he was being made a "scapegoat".
Even as the controversy triggered by the garland of Rs.1,000 notes worn by her on Monday raged across the political spectrum, Mayawati appeared at a meeting of her party leaders here and put up a defiant show.
Parliament was rocked by the issue on Monday and Tuesday with BSP's opponents disrupting proceedings and demanding action against Mayawati. The Income Tax department also said it would probe the issue.
Today's display was also attacked by political parties including Congress, BJP and SP leaders who described it as a blot on democracy and a brazen display of love for money.
The latest garland comprising notes of various denominations carried by five men was put around her neck at a meeting of party leaders two days after she was felicitated with 1000-rupee notes estimated between Rs 21 lakh and Rs 15 crore at a massive BSP rally here.
"We want to tell our opponents through the media that it is a matter of happiness that workers from 18 zones of the party brought collections in one rupee notes which has been strung around. The garland is worth Rs.18 lakh.
"We also want to announce that, Mayawati permitting, that wherever she goes, she will henceforth be greeted with garland of notes and garland of flowers," PWD minister and the Muslim face of BSP Naseemuddin Siddiqui announced at the meeting to a thunderous applause of the gathering of partymen.
Don't expect miracles from India-Pakistan dialogue: Antony
PANAJI: Defence Minister A.K Antony on Wednesday said Pakistan "was not taking serious steps" to destroy 42 terror camps on its soil. Stating that India was "exploring all possibilities", Antony also said he did not expect any "miracles" from the dialogue with Pakistan.
"All the terror camps in Pakistan are active. Pakistan has not taken any serious steps to destroy these camps," Antony told a press conference on the sidelines of the launch of Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Vishwast at the port town of Vasco, 30 km from here.
Antony said India was one of the important targets for terrorist groups and that there were 42 terror training camps in Pakistan which were aimed at creating violence in the country. Reiterating that Pakistan had not taken serious steps to control the terror apparatus directed at New Delhi, Antony said that despite this, India would continue to talk to Pakistan.
"However, I do not expect any miracles," Antony said. The foreign secretaries of the two countries had held talks last month, in the first structured dialogue since 26/11. Pakistan has in the past routinely denied allegations that it arms, funds and trains anti-India terrorists.
Speaking on the issue of infiltration by militants from Pakistan into India, the defence minister attributed it to Jammu and Kashmir's fast-paced return to normalcy.
"Kashmir is becoming normal. Violence is less. This situation cannot be tolerated by forces inimical to India," he said, adding that since "normalcy was coming to Kashmir fast, infiltration was increasing". He said the Jammu and Kashmir Police had now become "efficient and committed".
Earlier, ICGS Vishwast was commissioned by Antony in the presence of the director general ICG, Anil Chopra, and Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat.
The 90-meter long ship is a state of the art vessel with infra red surveillance system, which enables it to detect targets at night and is designed to carry one helicopter and five high-speed boats for search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, exclusive economic zone surveillance and marine pollution response missions.
Bhagat Singh's kin sue Kings XI
The IPL season I saw a showdown between the Mohali police and Ness Wadia over smoking in the stands, Season II was all about the Slapgate between Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth, and now, they are in the news for an ad featuring their team in a Chandigarh newspaper.
The advertisement, which appeared on March 13, read, “The stadium was silent. Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru had just walked into the stands. Are you the wildest Kings XI fan in the stadium? Then you are fan of the match...” This ad led to some NGOs moving court, and also some protest demonstrations in and around the stadium. Now, Bhagat Singh’s grandson, Abhey Singh Sandhu, has submitted a written complaint to the Mohali police, and has also filed a suit in court in Chandigarh, which is set for a hearing today.
We spoke to Team Punjab chairperson, Preity Zinta. “It was not our intention to hurt anybody’s sentiments. I have been informed that the recent ad has hurt some people’s sentiments, which was not what we wanted. I have the utmost respect for leaders of past who made sacrifices for the country. We apologise to the people. The advertisement will be recalled with immediate effect.”
Team senior vice president (operations) Col (retd) Arvinder Singh said, “We have already apologised and we will do it again. I am meeting the senior police officers in this connection. It will be premature to say anything else as some people have taken legal recourse. The ad has been withdrawn and we are hopeful that the matter will be resolved soon.” Talking about Sandhu’s and Global Human Rights Commission lawyer Arvind Thakur’s complaint, Mohali SSP GPS Bhullar said, “I have marked an inquiry into the matter.” SP (detective) Varinder Pal Singh, who’s conducting the probe, said, “I have summoned team management and have asked them to join the probe. We have also recorded some statements.”
Thakur said, “This amounts to hurting the feelings of millions of Indians. How can someone use the names of freedom fighters for commercial gain? We have made Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta parties in this issue.” Wadia and co-owner Mohit Burman refused to comment.
Any lenience to Headley a matter of concern: India
New Delhi: Concerned over reports that Mumbai terror suspect David Headley may enter into a plea bargain with prosecutors in Chicago, Indian security establishment feels that it would lend credence to suspicions that he may have been working for the Americans.
Indian officials, who have been watching the progress in the case at Chicago in US, is somewhat worried about reports emanating from there today that Pakistani-American Headley would be pleading guilty in an attempt to get lighter sentence.
Headley, who has been charged with hatching conspiracy in the 2008 Mumbai attacks by the FBI, has sought plea bargain under American laws, a senior government official said.
The laws there provide for agreement between federal prosecutors and individuals under criminal investigation which permit them to give the government information about crimes with some assurances that they will be protected against prosecution.
The official said any lenient sentence now will ‘confirm’ that Headley, who was arrested on October three last for his links with Lashker-e-Taiba, was an American agent.
A lenient sentence is a matter of concern for India and may give credence to the suspicion that he was an American agent, the official said, adding if the sentence was something like 100 years, then there was no problem.
India has been trying to get access to 49-year-old Headley, who has been charged with conducting recee of installations attacked by Lashker terrorists in 26/11 in Mumbai.
Headley had earlier pleaded not guilty to the 12-count superseding indictment filed against him on January 14 but now moved for a "change of plea" which will be heard by US District Judge Harry Leinenweber tomorrow.
The American terror suspect had got away with a lesser sentence after he was arrested in 1998 for smuggling heroin into the US from Pakistan as he cooperated with the investigation in the case.
He was sentenced to less than two years in prison and thereafter went to Pakistan to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
CBSE set to go global from next session
After deciding to make Class X board exam optional, India's premier school board CBSE is set to go global by introducing a new syllabus for international students and would affiliate any school from any country from the next academic session.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) would introduce a new syllabus to make it on par with international boards like International Baccalaureate (IB).
The new syllabus will be only meant for international students and will be taught in the interested affiliated schools from abroad.
"From next session, the CBSE will introduce a separate curriculum for international students. This will help the board to become an international board like IB," a HRD Ministry official said.
However, CBSE will continue its existing curriculum for domestic students.
The new curriculum will be of international standards and give a global perspective to the subjects of study.
Citing an example, the official said while the subject of history in the existing syllabus mainly deals with Indian history, the new syllabus will focus on world history. Similarly, the syllabus of all subjects would be made keeping in view the curriculum of international boards.
The CBSE would introduce the new syllabus in Class I and Class IX in the next session. Then every year, the new syllabus would be introduced in a new class.
"Over a few years, CBSE will have international standard syllabus for all classes," he said.
The board at present has affiliated schools in a number of Gulf countries and Singapore. However, such schools are mainly started by the Indian diaspora there.
The new curriculum will help even other schools in any country to opt for the CBSE system and get affiliated to it.
"CBSE, in the process, will be an alternative to any international school boards," the official said.
This will help the students of those schools better compete at international level. It will be easier for them to study any where in the world.
The new curriculum will give more importance to activity-based teaching. More project works and practical experiences will be the thrust, the official said.
CBSE has set up a committee which is working on the new syllabus. The syllabus will be ready within a month.
Business News
Pak, Iran sign pipeline deal sans India
Islamabad: Pakistan has signed a deal with Iran paving the way for the construction of a much-delayed pipeline pumping Iranian natural gas to the energy-starved South Asian country, officials said on Wednesday.
The $7.6 billion project is crucial for Pakistan to avert a growing energy crisis already causing severe electricity shortages in the country of about 170 million.
Pakistani Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Naveed Qmar hailed the signing of the deal in Turkey on Tuesday as an historic achievement.
It's a milestone towards meeting energy needs of the country, a Pakistani government statement quoted Qamar as saying.
The pipeline will connect Iran's South Fars gas field with Pakistan's southern Baluchistan and Sindh provinces.
Iran has the world's second-largest gas reserves after Russia. But sanctions by the West, political turmoil and construction delays have slowed its development as an exporter.
Under the deal, 750 million cubic feet of gas will be pumped to Pakistan daily from Iran by mid-2015.
Qamar said he hoped work on the project would be started soon so that gas supplies to Pakistan could start on time.
PEACE PIPELINE
Dubbed the peace pipeline, the project has been planned since the 1990s and originally would have extended from Pakistan to its old rival, India.
However, India has been reluctant to join the project given its long-running distrust of Pakistan, with which it has fought three wars since they achieved independence in 1947.
Under the deal signed on Tuesday, Pakistan is allowed to charge a transit fee if the proposed pipeline is eventually extended to India.
The United States has tried to discourage India and Pakistan from any deal with Iran because of Tehran's suspected ambitions to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies any such ambitions.
India has invested in civilian nuclear reactors to help fulfill its increasing energy demand. It also signed a landmark civilian nuclear deal with the United States in 2008.
Pakistan has long called for a similar deal from the United States but Washington has been unwilling to make an agreement with its ally, which is battling an al Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgency.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari reiterated Pakistan's demand in talks with Director of U.S. National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair on Tuesday.
(Zardari) called upon the U.S. to assist Pakistan in civilian nuclear technology to help the country overcome (the) energy crisis, on the one hand, and bridge the trust deficit between the two countries on the other, a government statement said.
India Inc's hiring activity up 17 pct in Feb
New Delhi: India Inc's hiring activity was up 17 per cent in February with telecom and auto sectors leading the rebound, a report by leading job portal Naukri.com said.
The naukri.com's monthly Job Speak survey reflected renewed optimism among recruiters, with the new job index moving up to 947 in February compared to 808 in January.
This time the portal has introduced its new and expanded job index, which takes into account not only the jobs posted online by its clients but also those made by them with the help of the website's tele-calling team.
A year-on-year comparison of the job index shows a 14 per cent growth in February this year compared to the same month last year.
"Recruitment activity accelerated in February, reflecting underlying strength and positive momentum in the job market.
The 'cautious optimism' that pervaded throughout the last year and a half has evaporated as most industry sectors are now looking to hire," Info Edge COO Hitesh Oberoi said.
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Hiring activity for the top 10 industry sectors saw positive growth last month with telecom registering a 27 per cent growth in the reviewed month compared to same month last year.
The recruitment in IT-software and auto sectors moved up by 24 per cent and banking and insurance rose 14 per cent in February, it said.
The IT sector has been witnessing a rapid growth in hiring and this trend is also reflected in the demand for IT software professionals, where the functional area job index moved up 24 per cent in February.
L&T bags Rs 1,000 cr project from ONGC
Engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said it has bagged a project worth Rs 1,013 crore from Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
The company has bagged the contract for four well platforms for the Mumbai High North Re-development Project, L&T said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The scope of the contract includes engineering, procurement and installation of these platforms, the filing said.
The Mumbai High field has been operational since 1974 and ONGC is currently in the process of ramping up production.
Shares of L&T were trading at Rs 1,622.50 on BSE, up 1.55 per cent from its previous close.
Sports News
Dhoni out for 10 days, Raina to lead CSK
Kolkata: Chennai Super Kings' charismatic captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be out of action for 10 days because of an elbow injury and, in his absence, left-hander Suresh Raina will lead the side in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
"Dhoni has been diagnosed with an elbow injury and advised 10 days' rest," CSK team manager Russell Radhakrishnan said.
Consequentially, Dhoni will miss Chennai Super Kings' matches against Delhi Daredevils (March 19), Kings XI Punjab (March 21), Royal Challengers Bangalore (March 23) and Mumbai Indians (March 25).
Team owner Gurunath Meyappan and director (cricket operation) V B Chandrasekhar said in a statement that Dhoni would return home and in his absence, Parthiv Patel would keep the wickets.
"Dhoni is going back to Ranchi today and will join the squad in Chennai on March 21 (ahead of their home match against Kings XI Punjab). Thankfully there is no fracture it's just a bad bruise," they said.
Gambhir invites Mumbai to bat
New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl against Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match at Ferozshah Kotla ground here on Wednesday.
Mumbai have included Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, leaving out Ali Murtaza and Ryan McLaren.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (C), Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Aditya Tare, Ambati Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary, T Sathish, Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.
Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (c), Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers, Dinesh Karthik, Mithun Manhas, Farveez Maharoof, Amit Mishra, Sarabjit Ladda, Pradeep Sangwan and Dirk Nannes.
Indian boxers make a clean sweep at C'wealth C'ship
World number one Vijender Singh (75kg) fought through a bleeding nose to clinch his first international gold medal in two years as Indian pugilists made a clean sweep in the finals to win the overall team title at the fifth Commonwealth Boxing Championships here on Wednesday.
With Asian champion Suranjoy Singh (52kg), South Asian Games gold medallist Amandeep Singh (49kg), Asian silver medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) also triumphing in the finals, it turned out to be an all-win day for the hosts in front of a houseful crowd.
The gold rush started early for the Indians when Olympian Dinesh Kumar (81kg) got a walkover against Scot Callum Johnson, who was declared medically unfit due to a right wrist injury this morning.
In the last bout of the day, Olympic and World
Championship bronze medallist Vijender thrashed England's Frank Buglioni 13-3 despite a bloodied nose.
"I was scared that the bout may be stopped and I would be declared medically unfit. Bleeding was just not stopping. I was constantly looking at the judges to see what they might do," said the 24-year-old Haryana boxer, who was adjudged the best boxer of the tournament.
"A gold medal after two years (the last being at the Chemistry Cup in Germany in 2008) is obviously very satisfying," added the strapping six-footer, who started the year with a silver in an invitational tourney in China in January.
Sharp and swift with his movement, Vijender out-witted his rival, who repeatedly tried to hit him on the injured nose. Scoring mostly through straight right punches and left hooks, the Indian was 3-1 up in the opening round and despite being tentative after injuring his nose, Vijender remained ruthless enough to land some telling jabs on his opponent.
Buglioni ran out of steam in the final three minutes and Vijender even dared him with an open guard after taking complete control of the bout.
"Vijender is very quick on his feet and that helped him remain in control. As far as the bleeding goes, I would say, god protected him today because the blood was just not stopping despite applying ice," said national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.
Earlier, the day started perfectly for the Indians when Samota eked out a hard-fought 7-3 triumph over New Zealand's Joseph Parker.
Samota trailed 0-1 in the opening round but came back strongly with a flurry of straight punches to unsettle his rival. The two boxers were tied 3-3 in the second round but the Indian nosed ahead in the final round as Parker began to tire out.
"I tried to settle down in the first round and though I was trailing, I was confident of coming back and the massive crowd support also helped me. He began to look tired after the second round and that's when I attacked him the most," said Samota, for whom it was a career-best performance.
Next man in was Amandeep and though he faced an aggressive opponent in Kenya's Peter Mungai, the Punjab boxer kept his cool to notch up a 3-0 triumph.
"It wasn't as tough as I expected and I am happy about that. I got just three points but then my rival didn't get any," quipped the 23-year-old.
For Suranjoy, it was literally a stroll in the park as he out-classed his Mauritian rival Oliver Lavigi in just 25 seconds to get the gold medal. The diminutive Manipuri was up 1-0 but didn't know which punch of his left his opponent in no condition to fight.
"I just hit three punches and no clue which one of them got him," said the Asian Championship and President's Cup gold medallist.
In contrast, Jai had to toil hard and the Haryana-lad even ended up with a cut below his right eye after the 6-2 win over Bahamian Valention Knowles.
Knowles was the first to score in the most edge-of-the-seat contest of the day and it was only in the second round that Jai began taking control with a slender 3-2 lead.
The Indian went all out in the final round, forcing
Knowles on the defensive.
"It was difficult to control punches as my rival was moving so much in the ring. But my fitness levels helped me," he said.
Jai dedicated his triumph to good friend and his room-partner Vijender for supporting him in his hour of crisis.
"Vijender supported me through an injury crisis in 2008 and motivated me to continue. So, this win is for him," Jai said.
While India clinched the team title, defending champion England finished runners-up. India had previously won the team title in 2005 with four gold and three silver medals in Glasgow. In 2007, Indians had fetched a gold, two silver and three bronze medals to finish runners-up in Liverpool.
This time, the hosts had picked a 10-member team for the competition.
Of them, Akhil Kumar (56kg), Balwinder Beniwal (64kg), Dilbagh Singh (69kg) and Manpreet Singh (91kg) had crashed out by the quarterfinal stage.
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