Perfect Package of HAZARDs: Quattrocchi, Tsunami, Prafulla Patel, Chettiyar Chidambaram and Nclear Galaxy Order Triiblis
 | Reform affiliating-varsity model The ability to own a good portion of the curriculum will allow colleges to introduce new courses and new ideas in education. |
Share of communications sector, which include postal, telephone and telegraph services, to total GDP has risen from a meagre 0.7% in 1980s to 5.7% in 2007-08.
With mobile penetration on the rise, most banks customers are targets for phone sales.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinionshome/897228639.cms
Gandhi as a luxury label
Priced at around Rs 12 lakh, the premium white-gold 'Mahatma Gandhi
Unless Montblanc has had the foresight to obtain a waiver, it violates the Act that bans the use of "any name or emblem specified in the Schedule or any colourable imitation thereof without the previous permission of the central government" for the "purpose of any trade, business, calling or profession, or in the title of any patent, or in any trade mark or design".
No one can "register a trade mark or design which bears any emblem or name" in this proscribed list. And 9A of the Schedule includes "the name or pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or the Prime Minister of India or the words 'Gandhi', 'Nehru' or 'Shivaji' except the pictorial use thereof on calendars..."
Also forbidden is the use of the national flag, the Ashok Chakra, and "the name, emblem or official seal" of entities as diverse as the President of India, Governor, Republic or Union of India, UN, World Health Organisation, the Ramakrishna Mission, the International Olympic Committee and Interpol.
The company has obviously gone to great lengths to research the Mahatma — even 241 apparently stands for the miles he covered in his Dandi March, but has it also researched relevant laws? With the furore over the auction of Gandhi items still fresh in many minds, India's most 'aam aadmi' as a luxury pen label — even at the 'janta' edition price of a mere Rs 1.5 lakh or a little more than a Nano — may be a bit much for the government.
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IMF estimate of global losses arising from the crisis for 2007-10 now stands at roughly $3.4 trillion largely due to rising securities values, it said in the October Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), released in Istanbul Wednesday. The new estimate is around $600 billion lower than the last GFSR.
While systemic risks have declined, the policy challenges are significant, the report said ahead of the Annual Meetings of the IMF-World Bank Group.
Policymakers, IMF said need to (i) ensure sufficient credit growth to support the nascent economic recovery; (ii) devise appropriate exit strategies; (iii) manage risks associated with sovereign balance sheet pressures; and (iv) maintain a balance between regulation and market forces in reducing future systemic risks.
Moving toward the medium-term, policymakers should seek to restore market discipline, address risks posed by systemic institutions, institute a macroprudential policy approach, and strengthen the oversight of cross-border financial institutions, it said.
Financial institutions continue to face three main challenges-rebuilding capital, strengthening earnings, and weaning themselves off government funding support, GFSR said.
Securities write downs by financials have begun to taper, but credit deterioration will continue to lead to higher loan losses over the next few years, the report said. Bank write downs on holdings of loans and securities realized between mid-2007 and mid-2009 have amounted to $1.3 trillion.
IMF estimates that $1.5 trillion of actual and potential writedowns through end-2010 has yet to be recognized. While the capital positions and outlook for banks have improved significantly since the last GFSR, earnings are not expected to fully offset forthcoming writedowns.
Banks have enough capital to survive, but they remain under deleveraging pressure, the report said. With steady-state earnings likely to be lower in the post-crisis environment, stronger action is needed to bolster bank capital and earnings capacity to support lending.
Private sector credit growth has continued to contract across the major economies as weak activity and household deleveraging restrain private sector credit demand and the financing capacity of both the bank and non-bank sectors remains limited, it said.
However, total borrowing needs are not decelerating as rapidly, due to burgeoning public sector deficits. The likely result is constrained credit availability, IMF said suggesting continued support by central banks may be required to help alleviate this constraint.
Tail risks in emerging markets have declined as a result of strong policy measures. Asia and Latin America have benefited most from the stabilisation of core markets and a recovery in portfolio inflows, the report said.
The situation is most acute in emerging Europe, where corporate revenues are declining sharply as a result of the recession and several large defaults have already occurred, it said.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5079.25, up 72.40 points or 1.45 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 5087.60 and low of 5004.35.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed at 17126.84, up 273.93 points or 1.63 per cent. The index hit a high of 17142.52 and low of 16868.46.
BSE Midcap Index was up 0.95 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.94 per cent.
Biggest Nifty gainers were State Bank of India (5.74%), Axis Bank (5.51%), ICICI Bank (4.46%), Maruti Suzuki (4.31%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (4.1%).
ONGC (-1.9%), Idea Cellular (-1.18%), GAIL (-1.1%), Suzlon (-0.97%) and Power Grid (-0.95%) were the laggards in the rally.
Market breadth on BSE was positive with 1600 advances outnumbering 1176 declines.
(All figures are provisional)
Shares in leading mobile firm Bharti Airtel rose 0.5 percent, as exclusive talks deadline loomed for a tie-up with South Africa's MTN Group. There is still little clarity about the outcome of the deal, which is facing increasing scrutiny in South Africa.
Oil India gained as much as 9.3 percent on its trading debut after the state explorer's heavily subscribed $570 million IPO, potentially boosting government plans for selling stakes in other companies.
By 11:39 a.m. (0609 GMT), the 30-share BSE index was up 1.13 percent at 17,043.74, with all but two components gaining. The index had started 0.09 percent higher. It has risen 76.7 percent so far in 2009, making it one of the best performing indices in the region.
"There is visibility in terms of earnings which is adding to the confidence," said Rajesh Jain, chief executive at Pranav Securities.
Companies begin releasing their quarterly results from the second week of October, and advance tax payments indicate robust profits.
Top lender State Bank of India led the gains, climbing 2.8 percent to 2,149.25 rupees as investors expected strong corporate earnings to boost the bank's profits and ease bad debt worries.
ICICI Bank rose 1.2 percent to 874.50 rupees.
"The markets could do very well to take a correction ahead of the results but every dip sees fresh buying. The advice is to stay invested and review global markets, liquidity and Indian festival demand before buying again," Jain said.
Energy giant Reliance Industries gained 1.2 percent to 2,191.30 rupees. Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.7 percent to 614.70 rupees after the top software exporter said it signed a multi-million dollar contract with a Singapore state organisation.
Software bellwether Infosys added 1.4 percent to 2,319.10 rupees.
The strong debut of Oil India helped larger rival Oil and Natural Gas Corp climb 1 percent to 1,197.75 rupees.
Bharti was up 0.5 percent at 420.9 rupees.
In the broader market, 1,570 gainers were ahead of 849 losers on relatively low volume of 164.5 million shares.
The market was shut on Monday for a local holiday and will be closed on Friday for Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary. Analysts said the holidays would keep investors cautious. The 50-share NSE index rose 0.88 percent to 5,051.45.
STOCKS ON THE MOVE
* Larsen & Toubro rose as much as 1.05 percent to 1,665 rupees after sources told Reuters on Tuesday the firm was readying a $600 million share sale to institutions.
* Drug maker Wockhardt Ltd rose to a 52-week high of 191 rupees after it received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing tamsulosin capsules, used to treat enlargement of prostate.
* Radico Khaitan rose as much as 3.9 percent after the liquor maker said it planned to raise 3.75 billion rupees, through equity or related instruments, global depositary receipts, foreign currency convertible bonds and warrants.
MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME
* Oil India on 4.9 million shares
 Huge tsunami waves spawned by a powerful undersea quake of magnitude 8.0 hit Samoa islands and American Samoa. (Reuters) |
At least 100 people were killed in Samoa, the disaster management office of the island state of 220,000 people said. Several tourist resorts and villages were destroyed, it reported.
Another 19 people died in neighbouring American Samoa, while 10 deaths were reported on Tonga's northern island of Niuatoputapu.
New Zealand's 'Stuff news' website quoted witnesses as saying the devastation in Samoa was unimaginable "with bodies, covered in clothes, strewn around coastal villages".
Reports said cars and people, including children torn from the arms of their mothers, were swept out to sea by waves of up to six metres as survivors fled to high ground, where they remained huddled hours later.
New Zealand's acting Prime Minister Bill English told a news conference in Wellington there had been "considerable loss of life" with many more deaths likely to be reported in an unfolding tragedy.
An unknown number of New Zealand and Australian tourists, holidaying in Samoa, were believed to have died, trapped in tourist resorts as the tsunami followed one of the world's biggest earthquakes this year.
The south coast of Samoa's main island Upolu was devastated. "We've had very heavy damage all along the coast and most of the tourist resorts have been wiped out," Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister Misa Telefoni said.
Up to 20 people were reported killed in the beach resort Lalomanu, which is popular with New Zealand and Australian holidaymakers.
US President Barack Obama declared a "major disaster" in the US territory of American Samoa, freeing up federal funds for disaster relief.
English said a New Zealand air force maritime surveillance plane has been sent to look for survivors swept out to sea and other defence forces put on standby to fly medical aid and emergency shelters to Samoa, a former New Zealand territory.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake, which was located about 204 km southwest of Samoa, at 8.0 on the Richter scale after earlier estimating it at 8.3.
As aftershocks continued to hit the two Samoa states, seismologists reported two more quakes measuring 5.6 and a third of 5.8 in the South Pacific.
The 'Pacific Tsunami Warning Center' lifted its alert to countries across the South Pacific about five hours after the first quake and people in Samoa were reported to be returning to the sites of their homes to inspect the damage and search for the missing.
Civil defence officials in New Zealand, 2,685 km away from the quake's epicentre, issued an alert for the country's entire coastline after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a three-metre tsunami was travelling across the Pacific at about 800 km an hour.
It lifted its warning after nine hours, telling people it was safe to return to the beaches.
"The government's support for Air India doesn't come without a rider. We have asked the carrier to cut costs," Patel told reporters here soon after the pilots said they were returning to work.
The government has in principle agreed to infuse funds up to Rs.5,000 crore into Air India. The airline's losses since last fiscal till recently is expected to be over Rs.7,200 crore.
Regarding the management decision to cut wages, Patel said the management and workers should avoid taking unilateral decisions.
He said a pilots' committee will be formed to discuss the wage cut issue.
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"There is no reason for any section of the employees to be unhappy. The committee of pilots will discuss pay cuts with the management," he said.
Senior executive pilots of Air India went on sick leave Saturday to protest against cuts in their productivity linked incentives. The protest was called off on Wednesday following the government's intervention.
1 crore women hold PSU bank accounts
The number of accounts with access to credit
The number refers to just individual beneficiaries. If self-help groups and those dealing with banks in the private sector are added, the number of women beneficiaries would be manifold.
Even in 2008, when all financial institutions were engaged in consolidation, public sector banks added at least 10 lakh new women account holders under their credit facility.
The growth augurs well for the UPA government’s objective of bringing at least 50% of rural women under the credit facility extended by PSBs by linking them through self-help groups.
The country’s largest bank, State Bank of India, with over 22.40 lakh account holders in 2009, remains on top of the chart on this count. It is followed by Canara Bank with more than 10 lakh account holders , Punjab National Bank with 8.44 lakh accounts and Indian Bank with 5.50 lakh accounts. Syndicate Bank and Bank of Baroda were the only other banks having more than 5 lakh women account holders under their credit facility.
Though most of the PSBs achieved the government’s target, according to finance ministry data, as of March 2008 four PSBs — Allahabad Bank, Dena Bank, State Bank of Patiala and IDBI Bank — failed to meet the target set by RBI in earmarking 5% of their net credit to women entrepreneurs. In 2009, State Bank of Patiala and IDBI could not achieve their target.
Besides easy credit flow through PSBs, the UPA government had facilitated micro finance to those women who have not been able to avail of institutionalised banking support through the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh. The government has announced increasing the Mahila Kosh’s corpus from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore over the next few years.
CNN-IBN SPECIAL | P CHIDAMBARAM INTERVIEW
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India not convinced Pak acting on 26/11: Chidambaram
The Indian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers have met this Dusshera weekend, but they have been unable to overcome the standoff created by the investigation into the Mumbai terror attack probe. At home the war against Naxals is set to intensify with an MP’s son being killed in Chhattisgarh. At a time when the internal and external security challenge remains potent, CNN-IBN Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai questions the man responsible for meeting those challenges: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Is Pakistan stifling the 26/11 probe? Mr Chidambaram, we are asking this because only yesterday (Sunday) the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr Shah Mehmood Qureshi, after talks with the Indian Foreign Minister said the trial against the 26/11 suspects will start on October 3. Do you see this as a positive step at last?
P Chidambaram: When it starts I will see it as a positive step. These dates have been set many times before. For example, the last date that was set the judge was on leave, they said. So when it starts it is a positive step.
Rajdeep Sardesai: So to that extent you are still not convinced about the sincerity of the Pakistani action. You still believe that the proof of the pudding is essentially, as always, is in its eating?
P Chidambaram: That is right.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Are we then to presume that Mr Chidambaram believes that Pakistan is insincere when it talks about 26/11? Because that is the impression one has got over the last few months, that you are not convinced that Pakistan is serious about prosecuting those who are responsible for 26/11?
P Chidambaram: I don't want to make any judgments or use any judgmental words, but you are right I am not yet satisfied that Pakistan is moving as it should on the 26/11 incidents.
Rajdeep Sardesai: What is that would convince you? Would it be just the trial starting against the seven suspects who have already been arrested? Or would it require Hafiz Saeed, crucially, to be arrested and prosecuted for you to be convinced?
P Chidambaram: There is more than that. The trial must start--that is a given. Hafiz Saeed must be arrested, interrogated and the investigation must take place on Pakistan's soil. All the evidence against Hafiz Saeed is on Pakistan's soil, so that has to be gathered. They have to respond to our letters rorgatory. There are some requests pending from the FBI and the Indian agencies for certain things--that Pakistan has to respond to.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Sir, the (Pakistan) Foreign Minister yesterday (Sunday) said he doesn't want to take the Hafiz Saeed case to court if it's a half-baked court. You are a lawyer--
P Chidambaram: So let him bake it fully.
Rajdeep Sardesai: You want him to bake it fully?
P Chidambaram: Because the evidence is on Pakistan's soil.
Rajdeep Sardesai: You keep saying that the evidence is on Pakistan's soil. Do you believe we have shared all the bits of evidence we have; that our dossiers are good enough to stand scrutiny in a court of law?
P Chidambaram: Since you remind that I am a lawyer, let me explain. Whatever an investigating officer gathers is only prima facie material--it is admissible as evidence according to the rules of evidence. It will be subject to cross-examination by the other side.
If it stands up to cross examination, if the court accepts it as probable, credible and trustworthy then it becomes evidence to punish an accused. We have gathered an enormous material (of evidence) and we have shared every bit of material so far with the Pakistanis. If more material comes out in the trial in Mumbai, if witnesses present some more evidence we will share that also.
Rajdeep Sardesai: We are also getting mixed signals from Pakistan specifically on Saeed. Prime Minister Gilani one day says he has been arrested; next day his (Saeed's) lawyer says he is freely moving around; we hear that he was a state guest at an iftaar function in Rawalpindi.
P Chidambaram: I have heard four versions.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Has the government of India got different versions as well?
P Chidambaram: I have heard four versions. Arrest is one version, house arrest is one version, place some restrains upon him is the third version and he is a free man is the fourth version.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Those are the versions coming through the media, but what about the government?
P Chidambaram: No, I have heard the ministers speak the words I have just uttered.
Rajdeep Sardesai: If you as Home Minister are not convinced yet that Pakistan is acting on 26/11, why should the Foreign Ministers have met in the first place in New York?
P Chidambaram: That raises questions involving the whole government. That is not a Home Ministry issue. Nevertheless since you have asked, we have agreed to engage the Pakistanis but we have said when and in what manner a dialogue will start will depend on action that Pakistan takes post 26/11.
That doesn't mean Foreign Ministers should not meet or Foreign Secretaries should not meet. There is no composite dialogue and there is no dialogue on any substantive issue.
The first of the stake sales could be follow-on offerings in utilities Rural Electrification Corp or NTPC, S. Pradhan, the joint secretary of the department of disinvestment, told reporters after state-run Oil India made its stock market debut.
The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wednesday surged past the 17,000-points level for the first time in 16 months in early morning trading on the back of sustained buying by foreign funds in heavy-weight stocks in anticipation of strong quarterly earnings.
The Sensex shot up by 175.88 points, or 1.1 per cent to 17,028.79 points at 1100 hrs, a level last seen on May 23, 2008. The barometer ended 159.91 points higher on Tuesday.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also gathered 43.90 points at 5,050.75.
Brokers said continued buying by foreign funds on the domestic bourses on expectations of strong quarterly earnings mainly bolstered the trading sentiments, helping Sensex to go past the 17,000-mark.
The rally was backed by a steep rise in stocks of banking, oil and gas, IT and metal segments.
Air India pilots' strike called off!
Air India pilots called off their four-day long strike over cut in their performance-linked incentives (PLI) and arrears on Wednesday morning.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday Captain VK Bhalla said the pilots association decided to call off their stir following Centre's intervention.
"I am very grateful to the Prime Minister who asked Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to intervene in our crisis. I have full faith on the assurances given by our Aviation Minister. If the Minister says that it (PLI) will be paid then we trust him. Civil Aviation Minister is the government and we trust the government. Therefore, we are going to call off our strike with immediate effect," said Bhalla.
He also added that there would be a turn-around committee formed to look into the demands of the pilots.
"The strike was for a serious issue. Now that the issue has been resolved, there is no pointing continuing the strike," he said.
Retaliation rage in Maoist zone
Times of India reports:
Three days after the arrest of PCPA spokesperson Chhatradhar Mahato, Maoists retaliated with heavy firing at Bankati in Binpur, around 200
Tuesday's violence, during which 30 rounds were fired, continued till late in the evening. This is the second instance of firing
by Maoists in the last eight days. Last Monday, armed Maoist cadres had attacked a CPM party office at Enayetpur but were forced to beat a retreat in the face of opposition. With the two-day bandh called by PCPA starting from Wednesday, police are cautious about more strikes.
PCPA leaders are in no mood to let go the battle at this stage. "The way combined forces are torturing the villagers, people want us to go for a stronger movement even if it means spilling blood," said PCPA leader Asit Mahato.
Adding to the confusion, posters appeared at Belpahari on behalf of CPI (Maoist) threatening to kill "corrupt Trinamool leaders like Nishikanta Mandal".
In the absence of Chhatradhar Mahato, PCPA is projecting Santosh Patra as the voice of the organization. Till Mahato's arrest, Patra handled cash for the organization. The 45-year-old Patra is known as a smart talker. After the combined forces started its operation in Lalgarh, Patra has been on the run. He has been seen around Dherua in the last three months.
Police suspect that Maoists will continue with late strikes to avenge Mahato's arrest. Around 5.30 pm, gunshots were heard at Bankati. Though Maoists have been present in other parts of Binpur, their presence at Bankati was not known earlier. Police suspect that Maoists are spreading their area of influence in the remaining parts of Jangalmahal.
On Monday evening, the Red ultras had set on fire two buses at Dohijuri and Binpur after asking all passengers to get down. On Tuesday morning, landmines exploded at Dherua and Rathbera, Binpur. No one were injured. The atmosphere of fear and suspicion has put on hold a tribal festival held at this time.
Meanwhile, state home secretary Ardhendu Sen and city police chief Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti defended the police having used the garb of journalists to apprehend Mahato. Sen said there was "nothing wrong" in it. Chakrabarti, too, held a similar view. "To arrest a person who has several charges pending against him, every means is justified," Chakrabarti said.
"It will be all right after a while," Sen said. The home secretary said that the state government was on the alert and taking adequate measures to counter the bandh called by the Maoists on October 3. Asked why Mahato was not arrested earlier when he had met government officials or came to Kolkata, Sen said the situation had been different then. "It is a changed situation now," he said.
Sources said that writer Mahasweta Devi who has supported the Lalgarh agitation spoke to Chakrabarti about the manner in which Mahato was arrested. Chakrabarti refused to comment on the matter.
The West Bengal Union of Journalists condemned the "misuse of journalists". "We hold chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee responsible for whatever police has done," said Asim Kumar Mitra, president of the union.
Mahato had links with Maoists, says West Bengal
Marcus Dam
KOLKATA: The West Bengal administration, which has confirmed information of Chhatradhar Mahato, convener of the Maoist-backed Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC), having “connections” with the Maoists, does not see anything wrong in the manner of his arrest near Lalgarh in Paschim Medinipur district. Policemen posing as journalists arrested him on September 26.
“Yes,” was Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen’s reply to questions from journalists here on Tuesday whether the State administration was sure that Mr. Mahato had links with the Maoists.
Mr. Mahato has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Asked whether it was ethical on the part of policemen to pose as journalists to arrest the PSBJC leader, Mr. Sen said he was aware of such questions being raised in certain quarters. “But I am not one with them,” he said of those disapproving the way the arrest was made.
The International Federation of Journalists reportedly said in a statement that it was “deeply disturbed” by the implications of the operation. Some human rights activists have also expressed their resentment.
Responding to apprehensions of journalists that the operation could affect their functioning while reporting on events at Lalgarh, Mr. Sen said: “It might be difficult for a few days, after which all will be well and it will no longer be difficult to collect information… Telephonic interviews can always continue.”
http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/30/stories/2009093060331000.htm
CPI-Maoist urges war against 'state terror'
Calling arrested Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy a "role model" for the youth, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) on Tuesday also urged people to unite against "state terror".
The CPI-Maoist, in a statement, termed the operation against their cadres a "cruel war" led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
It said the "Sonia-Manmohan-Chidambaram fascist clique has upped its cruel war by launching the biggest-ever armed onslaught on the adivasis and CPI-Maoist in Chhattisgarh".
The outfit appealed to all revolutionary, democratic and peace-loving forces to unite to resist this "fascist country-wide offensive" by the central and state governments.
It called upon the party cadres, "the brave PLGA (People's Liberation Guerrilla Army) fighters, and the revolutionary masses to rise up courageously to confront the brutal offensive unleashed by imperialist agents ruling our country, to prepare for immense sacrifices in this war of resistance".
The CPI-Maoist also urged them to mobilise masses all over the country into militant movements against the "brutal onslaught" by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh.
In an earlier statement, it described its London-educated leader and ideologue Kobad Ghandy, who was arrested in New Delhi Sep 17, as a "role model to be emulated by the new generation of youth".
The statement said Ghandy had organised revolutionary activities in Maharashtra during the 1970s and became a member of the central committee of the erstwhile Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (Peoples War) in 1981.
He continued as member of the central committee of the merged CPI-Maoist in 2004 and was elected to the politburo after the unity Congress in February 2007. He played a crucial role in bringing out the party publications in English and was also looking after the sub-committee on mass organisations set up by the central committee besides other work.
The CPI-Maoist called Ghandy's arrest a temporary success for the authorities.
"The reactionary rulers were elated by this temporary success and the wily Chidambaram had congratulated the intelligence agencies for the prize catch. Like true heirs to George Bush, these state terrorists have stepped up their propaganda that the Maoists and the Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy are terrorists."
http://www.hindustantimes.com/CPI-Maoist-urges-war-against-state-terror/H1-Article1-459261.aspx
Maoists demand Ghandy’s unconditional release
CPI (Maoist) hails Ghandy as a role model for the youth to emulate
Sadiq Naqvi Delhi Hardnews
More than a week after CPI (Maoist) leader, Kobad Ghandy, was arrested in Delhi; the outfit has sought his unconditional release.
The party hailed Ghandy as "a role model to be emulated by the new generation of youth that is being estranged from its own people by the elitist, slavish, anti-people colonial education system and selfish values promoted by the pro-imperialist rulers".
Terming it to be a combined attack by the mainstream political parties, the banned organisation said in a press release, "The various exploiting class parties in the states, irrespective of their colour, have engaged their lawless repressive State apparatus to eliminate the central and state leadership of our party."
Acknowledging Ghandy's arrest as a great loss to the party and the cause of the Indian revolution, the party says Kobad had forsaken a life of luxury to serve the oppressed. According to the press release, "Comrade Kobad Ghandy, who hails from a rich, elitist background, had abandoned everything and mingled with the oppressed masses to serve them selflessly for almost four decades. He lived with unorganised workers, adivasi peasants and the urban poor and became popular among the oppressed sections of the Indian people."
Ghandy was arrested in Delhi on September 21, 2009. He is in Tihar Jail after the court sent him to a 14-day judicial remand. His lawyer, Rajesh Tyagi, is yet to get a copy of the FIR. "Until we get a copy of the FIR, we can't proceed," Tyagi told Hardnews. He also added, "We have filed an application asking the court to direct the police to provide us a copy of the FIR and also to provide Ghandy specialised medical treatment as he is suffering from cancer and various ailments of the kidney and heart."
Hardnews learnt that Ghandy is a member of the banned CPI (Maoist). Reportedly, he has no criminal record anywhere in the country. His lawyer said that practising an ideology is not a crime and that there are many active Maoists groups in the country. Only some of them are banned. "So, the police must tell us to which particular group he belongs to," Tyagi said.
Meanwhile, the CPI (Maoist) claimed Ghandy to be a member of the party's politburo. "He organised revolutionary activity in Maharashtra during the 1970s and became a member of the central committee (CC) of the erstwhile CPI-ML (PW) in 1981. He continued as a member of the CC after the merger and formation of CPI (Maoist) in 2004. He was elected to the Politburo after the 9th Unity Congress in February 2007. He played a crucial role in bringing out the party's publications in English and was also looking after the sub-committee on mass organisations set up by the CC besides other works," the outfit said.
In a bid to defend their activities, the Maoists claimed that they have only punished the repressive forces, the feudal lords and police informers. It is the security apparatus of the country, under the influence of imperialist agents, which is brutally killing and raping tribals and dispossessing them of their lands.
"None would believe that the freedom-loving Maoists who are fighting for the oppressed people undergoing countless sacrifices and facing tremendous hardships and brutal repression by the police would terrorise the very same people for whose liberation they have been waging a bitter war against the Indian state " the party claimed.
Amid all this fighting between the Maoists and the security forces, it is the hapless tribals who fall victims. They are either mistaken as Maoists by the security forces or as police informers by the Maoists.
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2009/09/3264
NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday looked to give the over two-decade-old Bofors bribery scandal a legal burial, informing the Supreme Court that it had decided to withdraw case against Ottavio Quattrocchi.
In the Howitzer deal of 1980s, kickbacks of Rs 64 crore as commission were alleged and Italian businessman Quattrocchi remained the only accused.
Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan that all efforts to get Quattrocchi extradited had failed. He said the CBI had decided to close the case by also taking into account a 2004 Delhi High Court judgement which held that no case of corruption was made out in the Bofors gun deal.
Advocate Ajay K Agrawal who moved the apex court in 2006 challenging the de-freezing of Quattrocchi’s bank account in London, opposed the government’s stand. He told the Bench that Quattrocchi was being treated as the son-in-law of the country and alleged that the government was using its top law officers as tools. The Bench posted the matter to December 11 for further hearing.
CBI named Quattrocchi in a chargesheet in 1999 as the conduit for the Bofors bribe. Quattrocchi, said to be close to the late Rajiv Gandhi, who was prime minister in 1987 when the scandal broke, and his wife Sonia, was accused of receiving millions of dollars for helping fix the $1.4 billion deal.
Visiting Maoist-affected Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on Friday that the Army would not be involved in the offensive against naxals. Union home minister P Chidambaram on Friday said Maoists' penetration into civil society is a serious impediment to anti-Naxal operations.
The home minister, who was on a whirlwind tour of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on Friday ahead of a major offensive against the outlawed outfit in the two states, said the Left extremism is the biggest challenge to democracy and rights bodies should condemn the armed liberation struggle
He said it was a matter of concern that Jharkhand had become the “epicentre of left-wing extremism” along with Chhattisgarh.
“There is no proposal to involve the Army in the anti-naxal operations,” said Mr. Chidambaram, who was in Ranchi to review the security situation in Jharkhand.
“Left-wing extremism is the gravest challenge to our way of life, our republic and our democracy,” he said of the banned CPI (Maoist).
“Our policy on left-wing extremism is very clear. There is no place for violence or so-called armed struggle for liberation in a republican, democratic form of government.
“They believe in armed liberation struggle. We reject that argument. So long any one indulges in violence, the State has to oppose and fight the group,” he said.
He said the Centre had made it clear at the recent Chief Ministers’ Conference in New Delhi that the so-called armed liberation struggle was unacceptable, and the police would act against it.
Earlier, Mr. Chidambaram said in Raipur that the Centre was committed to fighting naxalism and would provide all help to the Chhattisgarh government to eradicate the extremists.
Home minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the central government would extend all support to states to counter and defeat left-wing
"It is a long drawn fight against Naxals (Maoists). The centre is totally supporting Chhattisgarh in its efforts to counter left wing extremism," he told reporters at the state secretariat where he reviewed the state's internal security situation in the wake of police and para-military forces mounting an onslaught against the Maoist rebels.
Chidambaram, who refused to take any questions, said his visit to Chhattisgarh was to assure the centre's support in the state's fight against the Naxalites and to offer his condolences to the policemen who had laid down their lives while fighting the rebels.
Referring to the July 12 incident in which 29 police personnel, including Superintendent of Police V.K. Choubey, were killed in an Maoist ambush at Madanwara in Rajnandgaon district, he said the state government had taken prompt action to provide relief to the families of the killed security personnel.
Meanwhile, official sources said the government of Chhattisgarh - India's worst Maoist hit state - had sought more forces and resources from the centre at the meet so that simultaneous operations could be carried out in the state's sprawling, mineral-rich Bastar region where the rebels hold sway since the late 1980s.
The agitating executive pilots of Air India called off their four-day-old strike on Wednesday, a day after Government gave an assurance that status quo will prevail on cost cutting measures relating to productivity-linked incentive (PLI).
Capt V K Bhalla, representative of the protesting Air India pilots, said they have decided to withdraw the strike following assurances given by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. He also thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for intervening in the matter.
"The strike is being called off in view of the assurances by the Civil Aviation Minister that status quo will continue on issues," he said.
"I apologise to the passengers for inconvenience caused due to the agitation," Bhalla said.
"I am appealing to all the agitating pilots to resume duty," he said.
Bhalla said they have received a communication from the Government in which the pilots have been assured that their grievances would be looked into.
The pilots' agitation had forced the airline to cancel over 240 flights in the last four days.
Bhalla said the minister has given assurance that there will be no salary cuts. "The minister represents the government and I have full faith in him and trust him absolutely," he said.
"We will now work in full cooperation with the management and all the pilots will start flying," he said. On cost cutting issues, Bhalla said "there will be a turnaround policy committee. All these issues will be discussed in that committee".
Patel had yesterday appealed to the striking pilots to return to work failing which the Air India management was "free to take any action" against them.
Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav had said that the PLI and allowance of July have been paid and it will reflect in the account of pilots by October 6 or 7.
The Prime Minister had yesterday reviewed the situation arising out of the agitation with Civil Aviation Secretary Madhavan Nambiar and Jadhav.
About 200 Air India pilots had reported "sick" since Saturday in protest against a 50 per cent cut in their productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and payment of their due flying allowance of three months. Government had said that the agitation had cost a loss of over Rs 100 crore.
Meanwhile,Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily has backed the Centre’s decision to drop the case against Ottavio Quattrocchi admitting that there was nothing left to do in the case.
Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman, is the main accused in the Bofors gun purchase scam.
Moily pleaded helplessness in the investigation and defended the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) positive role.
Speaking to a private news channel Moily said: "This case is going on since long. If he could be brought back and any conviction could be held then the case could be pursued with a positive result. But ultimately nothing positive was found.”
“In Feb 2004 itself the Delhi High Court said it is a waste of time. Thereafter the case was handed over to the CBI, and they have been playing a positive role for 22 years now. We must have spent more money in the case than the Bofors gun itself,” Moily added.
On Tuesday, the CBI decided to withdraw all cases registered against Quattrocchi in the Bofors gun purchase scam.
“We want to close the matter against Bofors accused Ottavio Quattrocchi,” said the CBI.
Earlier, the Centre had informed the Supreme Court that they want to withdraw all cases against Quattrocchi.
Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told the court that the CBI has failed to extradite Quattrocchi and that the Delhi High Court has held that there is no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the Bofors matter.
The Supreme Court will hear the matter on December 11.
The controversial Bofors gun deal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s, in which former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were allegedly accused of receiving kickbacks from A B Bofors, the Swedish arms manufacturer, in order to win the bid to supply the Army with 155 mm howitzer guns.
The court had on February 10, 1997, sent letters to Malaysia and the UAE seeking the arrest and extradition of Quattrocchi.
The CBI had registered an FIR in the Bofors case on January 22, 1990, three years after Swedish Radio on April 16, 1987, had claimed that A B Bofors had paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians and key defence officials to secure the Rs 1,437 crore gun deal.
The contract between the Indian Government and AB Bofors was signed on March 24, 1986.
The Solicitor-General, Mr Gopal Subramanium, told a Supreme Court Bench, headed by the Chief Justice, KG Balakrishnan, that all “efforts” to extradite Quattrocchi have failed. The sole surviving accused in the case relating to the alleged bribe payment of Rs 64 crore as commission in the purchase of the US $1.4 billion Howitzer gun deal from the Swedish arms company Bofors, Quattrocchi had been on the run for many years and has never faced trial in any Indian court.
The Centre’s move to close all cases against Quattrocchi followed the 12-year Interpol Red Corner notice against him being taken off from the CBI’s wanted list on the legal advice of the then Attorney General, Milon Banerjee, in November 2008 on the ground that the agency “did not have any basis” to keep the Red Corner notice alive “especially in view of the fact that it lost the case for his extradition from Argentina in February 2007”.
Mr Subramanium told the apex court that the CBI has taken the decision to close the case by also taking into account the February 2004 Delhi High Court judgement which had held that no case of corruption was made out in the Bofors deal. He said the government came to the decision after taking into account all the facts of the case.
The Congress-led UPA government’s move instantly drew fire from various quarters, with the Opposition led by the BJP crying foul and accusing the government of allegedly “letting Quattrocchi off the hook” again because of his alleged proximity to the Rajiv-Sonia Gandhi family. The Congress rejected such allegations as “unfounded and baseless” while defending the government’s move.
The petitioner lawyer, Mr Ajay Agrawal, who had moved the apex court in January 2006 against the then defreezing of Quattrocchi’s bank account in London at the behest of the same government, opposed the stand of the Centre and the CBI. “Quattrocchi has been treated by this government as the son-in-law of this country,” he said.
“CBI and the entire government is trying to close the case,” said the advocate, who has challenged the Delhi High Court’s May 2005 verdict ~ quashing charges against other accused ~ after CBI decided not to go for an appeal against the decision. The Solicitor General, who had once objected to the description of Quattrocchi as “son-in-law”, said the CBI tried to get him extradited following the Red Corner Notice issued against him but failed.
The water was swirling like a spa pool outwards [towards] the rim of the lagoon and in a few seconds the water sunk 
Amateur video of aftermath
Radio news summary 
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