We will win vote

The Chief Minis ter, Dr Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy, on Sunday exuded confidence that the Congress-led UPA government will sail through the trust vote in Parliament on July 22.

Dr Rajashekhar Reddy, who arrived in the capital on Sunday morning, hosted a luncheon meeting for the MPs from the state.

The Congress is confident that all the party MPs from the state, and two more votes will be cast in favour of the motion of confidence to be moved by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

All the Congress MPs, barring Mr Ch Harirama Jogaiah and Mr Y.S. Vivekanand Reddy, were present.

Mr Jogaiah had reportedly told the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, that he only had reservations against the Chief Minister, Dr Rajashekhar Reddy, and that he would vote for the Congress.

Mr Vivekananda Reddy was away in Jaipur on a personal work and could attend the meet.

Dr Reddy called on Congress president’s political adviser, Mr Ahmed Patel and briefed him.

He also called on Union information and broadcasting minister, Mr Priyaranjan Das Munshi, who had recently undergone a bypass surgery.

It was attended by CWC member in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, M. Veerappa Moily, AICC coordi nator, Mr P.J. Kurien, AICC secretary, Mr Iqbal Singh, and APCC president D.Srinivas.

The party managers are confident that with MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi announcing his support to the UPA government, the entire contingent from Andhra Pradesh will cast its vote en bloc in favour of the trust motion.

Apart from Union ministers belonging to Andhra Pradesh, the luncheon meeting was also attended by several MLAs and state irri gation minister, Mr Ponnala Laxmaiah and state housing minister, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana.

The Congress has been propagating that nuclear energy is indispensable for rural development and tackling agrarian unrest.

It has resorted to aggressive posturing on the issue till now. It said that while the initial investment was high, the provision for reprocessing the spent nuclear fuel would considerably bring down the costs, the party argued.

Maya to be UNPA chief

The BSP is likely to join the UNPA on July 23, a day after the trust vote, and the party chief, Ms Mayawati will become chairperson.

According to sources, the TD chief, Mr N.Chandrababu Naidu, the UNPA convenor, has formally invited Ms Mayawati to the UNPA. He has already said that Ms Mayawati should be Prime Minister.

In the event the government loses the trust vote on July 22, the leaders will decide on July 23 whether to stake claim to form an alternative government or to go for polls. In case the government survives the vote, the leaders will meet to decide on the future course of action.

“The government has no numbers. It has lost its majority. I am warning the government against trying to mobilise invisible and indirect numbers,” Mr Naidu said.

Mr Naidu said that the UNPA, BSP and the Left had come together on a one-point agenda to dislodge the Congress-led UPA government.

Mr Naidu and Ms Mayawati had a separate meeting when the UNPA and Left leaders met at the residence of TD leader Mr K. Yerrannaidu in Delhi on Sunday.

Congress eyes 2009 LS polls

Bolstered by its performance in the bypolls, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy and the pradesh Congress chief, Mr D. Srinivas, have started gearing up for the 2009 general elections.

On Monday, the Chief Minister said steps are being taken in this direction. He, however, refused to divulge the details. But the sources close to him said a number of programmes are on the wings to ensure that the party does well to take on the opposition parties.

The sources also added that if all the plans get the high command’s approval, almost 40 per cent to 45 per cent of the sitting Congress legislators would be denied tickets because of the allegations of largescale corruption, nepotism, inefficiency and poor public image.

The Chief Minister and PCC chief have decided to use the services of three reputed institutions to conduct a public opinion on the party’s winning chances across the state.

The party is likely to kickstart the surveys from June 15.

Similarly, in another 100 constituencies where there is no party representation, opinion polls will be conducted to find people who can be prospective candidates .

The party also decided to revamp the district Congress committees by removing atleast 15 district unit presidents soon.

Yeddy may rake up Hogenakkal

The Hogenakkal drinking water scheme could face problems as chief minister elect B. S.eddyurappa in Karnataka is expected to keep his ‘promise’ that should his BJP return to power in the state, he would halt the project once and for all.

It may be recalled that Mr Yeddyurappa had inspired the antiHogenakkal agitation in Karnataka by undertaking a boat ride in the Hogenakkal falls on March 16. But, chief minister M. Karunanidhi had put the project on hold and said it could be taken up after a government got elected in Karnataka. The ambitious Hogenakkal drinking water scheme could hit a roadblock as the chief minister elect B. S. Yeddyurappa in Karnataka is expected to keep his ‘promise’ that should his BJP return to power in the state, he would halt the project once and for all.

It may be recalled that Mr Yeddyurappa had inspired the antiHogenakkal agitation in Karnataka by undertaking a boat ride in the falls on March 16. Following violent protests, chief minister M.

Karunanidhi had put the project on hold so that it could be taken up after a popular government got elected in Karnataka. However, Mr Yeddyurappa had then declared in an interview to a Tamil biweekly that the project would be “permanently stalled once a BJP govern ment gets elected.” Now that the BJP has come to power and he would himself lead the government, it is logical to assume that Mr Yeddyurappa would block Tamil Nadu’s Rs.1,334 crore project for providing drinking water to the districts of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri bordering Karnataka.

His stand is that the Tamil Nadu project would hurt the availability of water for Karnataka, while Tamil Nadu argued that Karnataka had already tapped its share of Hogenakkal water to feed the domestic taps in Bangaluru.

Sensing the changed political situation in Karnataka, chief minister Karunanidhi had instructed the officials during a review meeting of the municipal administration and water supply departments on Friday to resume Hogenakkal works. “As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, work is happening as per schedule,” said chief secretary L. K. Tripathy on Monday.

BJP pins hopes on Yeddy

The ‘intrusive’ Hogenakkal water project will not be affected by the return of B. S. Yeddyuruppa as Karnataka’s chief minister, Tamil Nadu president of the party L. Ganesan asserted.

“I do not foresee any threat to the Hogenakkal project. It is a scheme that ought to be implemented by Tamil Nadu government,” Mr Ganesan said on Sunday and added, that Mr Yeddyuruppa was a “staunch nationalist who believes that India is one nation from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. I am sure he would help resolve the issue amicably.” Mr Ganesan was reacting to a query on the prospects of implementing the Hogenakkal project in Dharmapuri owing to stiff opposition from Karnataka.

Karnataka BJP had been belligerently opposing the project.

In March Mr Yeddyuruppa visit ed the site bordering Karnataka and asked the TN government to stop it. The state government put the project on hold but hardly two days before counting commenced in Karnataka, chief minister M. Karunanidhi asked offi cials to complete the Rs 1,334crore project as scheduled.

Expressing that the state government should go ahead with the project, Mr Ganesan remarked, “Let Mr Yeddyuruppa first assume charge as chief min ister. The issue could be explained to him and he would surely act favourably.” On his party’s behalf, the senior leader pledged ‘full support for the project’.

He told reporters at Kamalalayam, party headquarters here, that the rout of Congress in Karnataka Assembly elections showed that people have rejected the Congress. Elated over his party’s victory in Karnataka, he said the poll verdict was a victory to the party’s policies and achievements of the government led by former prime minister A.B.Vajpayee and Mr Yeddyuruppa’s short but good rule.

Meanwhile, party members were on cloud nine over the victory and possibility of forming the first-ever saffron government in South India on May 28.

Sweets were distributed and crackers burst.

State general secretary Dr Tamilisai Soundarajan and other leaders participated.

Setback for Congress in Lok Sabha bypolls

It was a day of set backs for the Congress, with the party defeated in three byelections to the Lok Sabha. Thane in Maharashtra went to the Shiv Sena, Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh to the BJP and Tura in Meghalaya to the NCP. The Congress, however, managed to retain two Assembly seats in Haryana.

In Tura, Delhi lawyer Agatha Sangma, daughter of senior NCP leader Purno A. Sangma, consensus candidate of the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance, defeated the Congress’ Zenith Sangma by 99,855 votes. Ms Sangma, 27, becomes the fourth member of her family in public life:

two of her brothers are MLAs in Meghalaya.

In Hamirpur, chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s son Anurag defeated O.P.Rattan of the Congress by 1,74,666 votes. In Thane, the Shiv Sena’s Anand Paranjape defeated Sanjeev Naik of the NCP by 90,872 votes. In Haryana, former chief minister Bhajan Lal won the Adampur Assembly seat.

BJP objects to Sonia pics in ads

Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravishankar Prasad on Monday demanded the removal of the photographs of Congress president Sonia Gandhi from all government advertisements as the post that she held, that of UPA chairperson, was a political one and not a government office. It was simply a political title “which conferred no entitlement or legitimacy for being featured in media advertisements paid for by the government,” he said.

Mr Ravishankar Prasad noted that Mrs Gandhi was earlier chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC), which was a governmental position, but she subsequently stepped down from that in the wake of the office-of-profit row. At present she does not hold any government office, he pointed out, therefore there was no justification for her being featured in government advertisements.

The BJP leader said her photographs were appearing on an almost daily basis not only in advertisements released by the Union and some (Congress-led) state governments, but also in those of public sector undertakings. The Congress president was thus getting “free and privileged publicity at the cost of crores of rupees from the public exchequer,” he said.

“Though Dr Manmohan Singh was nominated Prime Minister by Mrs Sonia Gandhi, we hope appropriate direction would be given by him to stop this palpably illegal and unjustified practice,” he said. The BJP leader demanded that the Prime Minister’s Office instruct all ministries, departments and PSUs to put an immediate end to “this corrupt and unjustifiable practice.” A directive to this effect must go out immediately, he added, so that when the government completes four years on May 22 Mrs Sonia Gandhi is not projected in the publicity blitz.

Karnataka sees 60% poll

Nearly 60 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of the elections on Saturday that an exit poll by a private television station said would net the BJP 31 seats of the 89 contested in the key Cauvery basin area.

Of these, the BJP is expected to win 14 of the 28 seats in the capital Bangalore, giving the rightwing party a clear edge as campaigning begins in earnest for the crucial second and third phase of elections to the Karnataka Assembly.

Welcoming the early trends that showed the Congress taking a huge dent winning only a paltry 23 seats trailing behind, even the Janata Dal (Secular) which NDTV predicted would win 26 seats, said, “We will win more than 40 seats in the first phase and I believe more number of minorities have come to vote for our party.” Announcing the poll turnout details, chief electoral officer M.N.

Vidyashankar on Saturday claimed credit for a peaceful election. “Of course, I have to thank the media and police for this,” he said. Of the 11 districts that went to the polls on Saturday, the Bangalore rural district topped the list with 72.5 per cent voter turnout.

UPA warned by Lalu’s RJD Power factor

Giving a jolt to the ruling coalition, an important ally, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, has “warned” the Congress-led UPA government of “withdrawing support” if its demand for a “quota within quota” in the Women’s Reservation Bill is not met with.

“We are opposed to the bill in its present form. If the government doesn’t agree to our amendments, we will use our strength in voting against the bill in Parliament along with parties like the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal (United),” the RJD deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Mr Devendra Prasad Yadav told this newspaper.

“We can go to any extent.

If the government ignores our demand, a political crisis bigger than Indo-US nuclear deal may arise,” he added.

Politicos get rap over rally violence

The Justice Panduranga Rao Commission probing the Mudigonda firing has expressed concern at political parties failing to rein in their workers when they become violent during agitations.

Justice Rao, who probed the police firing at Mudigonda in Khammam district on July 28, 2007, in which seven people were killed, submitted his report to the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, on Wednesday.

The report pointed out lapses in the way the police handled the agitating mob. Some police personnel who fired at the mob were drunk, it said.

Justice Rao observed that police did not have rubber bullets or tear gas shells to disperse the mob. “There would not have been casualties had the police tried out other means to disperse the mob,” he pointed out.

Official sources told this correspondent that the commission took a critical view of political parties resorting to rasta roko and stone throwing while conducting agitations.

Leaders were not able to control the huge crowds which parties mobilised for their programmes, the panel said.

“They (political parties) have right to protest but should not cause trouble to people,” the report said. Though no specific charges were made against Communist Party of India (Marxist) activist Bandi Ramesh, who “piloted the agitation”, the commission pointed out that the former left wing extremist triggered the events that led to the firing.

And contrary to the CPM’s claim that it was brutal caning of Ramesh that led to the violence, the commission revealed that only two simple injuries were found on his body. Sources said Justice Rao pointed out that protesters continued with the road blockade despite repeated pleas from the police. There were no stone guards with the police to protect themselves from stones hurled by the agitators.

The commission, sources said, pointed out that the situation remained grim even after the lathicharge and this led to the police firing. Two circle inspectors, three sub-inspectors, and a constable who was the gunman of the additional SP, Mr Ramesh Babu, participated in the firing.

The commission suggested that specific places should be identified in the districts to hold agitations on the lines of Hyde Park in London, Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Dharna Chowk near Indira Park in city.

It also wanted government to equip the district police with stone guards, tear gas shells and rubber bullets.

MP quits, says ‘coterie’ runs Rahul Gandhi

The coterie issue is back on centrestage in the Congress after nearly 10 years.

Former Union minister Akhilesh Das on Tuesday resigned from the party and the Rajya Sabha in protest against what he described as a “coterie” controlling AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, and party managers are having a hard time fielding questions on whether a group of select leaders has indeed emerged as a power centre in the organisation. Mr Das, son of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Banarsi Das, has raised the issue at a time when the party is keen to project Mr Rahul Gandhi as a charismatic leader ahead of the general elections.

Mr Das, who refused to directly attack either Congress president Sonia Gandhi or her son Rahul, told reporters that a new caucus around Rahul was trying to control who could and who could not get appointments with him. He claimed that senior leader and human resources development min ister Arjun Singh “had been asking for an appointment for the past four months, but failed to get it.” He then went on to tell reporters: “I too had requested a meeting with him, but had not been granted one.” Nearly a decade ago, just after Mrs Sonia Gandhi had become Congress president, the late Jitendra Prasada and the late Rajesh Pilot had come out openly against the “coterie” surrounding Mrs Gandhi.

Mr Akhilesh Das is perhaps the first leader in the Congress to raise the banner of revolt against the caucus surrounding Rahul Gandhi.

He said on Tuesday that the party had “lost miserably” in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections because of the “bunch of rootless leaders” surrounding Mrs Gandhi’s son. “They misled Rahulji, asked him to give tickets on the basis of information fed into computers. They have no idea of political management,” he said.

Mr Das, a former mayor of Lucknow, said he might contest the Lok Sabha elections from there next year.

Advani is BJP PM candidate

Going into election mode, the BJP on Monday declared Leader of the Opposition Lal Krishna Advani as the party's prime ministerial candidate in the next parliamentary election.

The announcement was made by BJP president Rajnath Singh after a meeting of the party's parliamentary board.

It is learnt that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has endorsed the decision to project Mr Advani as the BJP's prime minister-inwaiting. Mr Rajnath Singh also held consultations with former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee before making the announcement.

Mr Vajpayee is understood to have told the party president that his health did not permit him to play an active role any longer.

He said Mr Advani should be entrusted with the responsibility of leading the party into the next election, and said that his blessings and guidance would always be available to Mr Advani.

Mr Advani, 80, who was deputy prime minister and home minister in the Vajpayee government, said after the party's announcement: "I express my gratitude to the

PM under fire over Russian reactors

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came in for concerted attack in the Rajya Sabha for the failure to sign the agreement for four nuclear reactors with Russia. His inability to attend the Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) summits was also questioned by a cross-section of MPs from different political parties to highlight their contention that the government was already coming under pressure from the United States over the civilian nuclear energy agreement.

BJP leader and former minister for external affairs Yashwant Sinha was the first off the mark during the debate on the nuclear deal in the Rajya Sabha to question the Prime Minister on his foreign policy. During a strong speech rejecting the nuclear deal, Mr Sinha went on to point out that the Prime Minister did not have the time to attend the SCO summit. Dr Singh was on his feet to insist that there was never any pressure on him or the government to "join or not join the SCO". He said that he had not gone for the summit as "all that I was interested was that if the Indian Prime Minister goes to these meetings, he should not sit in the side lounge, coffee lounge and be involved in an active manner". Mr Sinha took this up to ask the House to note that "our Prime Minister wanted to sit on the main table" and that he had now said that he would not go to the SCO summit meetings until he could do so.

Mr Sinha then moved on to speak of Dr Singh's recent visit to Russia, saying that in Moscow he did not sign the agreement for four nuclear reactors. Dr Singh was back on his feet saying, "What falsehoods you are preaching in this House." He said there was a draft agreement for the four additional nuclear reactors but it could have been operationalised only if India had the necessary safeguards agreement with the IAEA and the clearances from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group. He said these issues were being debated and that is why the agreement had not been signed.

"The false propaganda being made here and outside is not related to the facts of the case," Dr Singh said.

Mr Sinha went on amidst interruptions from the treasury benches to insist that Dr Singh could have signed the agreement subject to the IAEA and NSG clearances. He then said "with full seriousness" that the government had "come under US pressure and did not sign the agreement.

We were insulted by tax officials: Jaya Bachchan

Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan on Saturday alleged that the service tax authorities humiliated her family while seeking details on expenses on the wedding of her actor son Abhishek with actress Aishwarya Rai. "I received notices from tax authorities who wanted to know how much amount was spent on the marriage of my son," she said

New Aussie PM vows to tackle Iraq policy

Australia's new leader Kevin Rudd vowed on Sunday to tackle climate change and Iraq war policy, a day after sweeping veteran Prime Minister John Howard from power in a stunning election landslide.

Mr Rudd pledged to implement his campaign promises as a new era dawned for Australia after Saturday's poll ended nearly 12 years of conservative rule by US President George W. Bush's closest remaining ally in the war in Iraq.

Voters abandoned Mr Howard, 68, who presided over a record economic boom and became Australia's second longest-serving leader, in a humiliating drubbing in which he is also likely to suffer the indignity of losing his parliamentary seat of 33 years.

As the campaign hubris dissipated, Mr Rudd, 50, said his centre-left Labour Party would immediately begin work on fulfilling campaign pledges, which included tackling global warming and withdrawing combat troops from Iraq.

In his first press conference as leader, he also reached out to Australia's traditional allies, offered Mr Bush an olive branch despite policy differences and called for unity at home following a bruising election campaign.

"This is a humbling experience, to be extended the trust and confidence of people right across the country," he said in his hometown of Brisbane, thanking voters and promising not to breach their trust.

"I would also say to those people that we will be a government for all Australians and that I will always govern in the national interest," he said.

Mr Rudd revealed he had spoken to major world leaders on the telephone, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Mr Bush. "I emphasised to President Bush the centrality of the US alliance in our approach to future foreign policy," Mr Rudd said, adding he planned to visit the United States in 2008 and that Mr Bush had welcomed the trip.

But Mr Rudd refused to say if he had discussed his campaign pledge to withdraw Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq with Bush, a plan Mr Howard and Mr Bush insisted would be a signal that the "terrorists" were winning the conflict.

Karnataka is back under Central rule

President's Rule was reim posed in Karnataka on Tuesday following the fall of the BJP-JD(S) government in the state headed by Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa. An early morning meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh just before he left for the Asean summit in Singapore, took the decision. President Pratibha Patil signed the proclamation bringing the state under Central rule later in the day. The Karnataka Assembly has been kept under suspended animation for the time being, pending ratification of the proclamation under Article 356 by Parliament. Immediately after that the Assembly is likely to be dissolved.

The Union home ministry issued the proclamation imposing President's Rule in Karnakata shortly after receiving a report from Karnataka governor Rameshwar Thakur. The Centre's action comes a day after the first-ever BJP government in the South collapsed after the Janata Dal (Secular) decided on Monday to vote against a government it had earlier pledged to support in a confidence vote in the Assembly.

Information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, who is also parliamentary affairs minister, said the Union government would seek the approval of Parliament for the proclamation under Article 356 and later.

Stalin on mystery visit to Bangkok

Mystery shrouds the sudden flight to Bangkok of local administration minister and DMK strongman M. K. Stalin on Tuesday sans the normal protocol and the elaborate "send-off" by the ruling party.

Mr Stalin took a 10.35 a.m. flight to Bangkok, accompanied only by close friend Ramajayam Raja Shankar. The usual bureaucratic and political paraphernalia were absent when the minister arrived at the airport shortly before the plane's take-off. The security personnel at the airport were taken aback when the all-powerful minister drove in for his sudden departure. The booking for the flight, made the previous day, was kept under wraps, sources said.

Bombarded with enquiries from the media and others regarding his whereabouts, the minister's office initially insisted he was unwell and was resting, but later admitted he had gone to Bangkok on some personal work. However, political circles here are agog with speculation regarding the sudden trip. The most heard reason was that it was on private business , albeit made at an important political juncture, when his party and the government were involved in an elaborate celebration of the birth centenary of the influential Muthuramalinga Thevar on Tuesday. The minister did not go through the ritual of garlanding Thevar's statue in Chennai, nor did he accompany his father and chief minister M. Karunanidhi to Thevar's native Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district down south.

Unconfirmed reports said the minister has been upset with his father for deciding to make stepsister and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi a Union minister. It is said that both the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have approved her induction into the Cabinet. Another report said Mr Stalin was not happy with KKSSR Ramachandran, one of his favourites, being recently divested of the plum health portfolio, reportedly under pressure from brother Azhagiri calling the shots