Yeddyurappa discharged from hospital, goes back to jail

Former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, arrested in an alleged land scam case, was taken back to jail on Wednesday after being discharged from the state-run Victoria Hospital.

The 68-year-old BJP leader, who is in judicial custody till 22nd October in connection with the case, was taken to Parappana Agrahara jail in an ambulance after he insisted on receiving treatment in the prison itself.

Hospital sources said that he insisted on undergoing treatment in the prison itself.

Yeddyurappa was shifted from the government-run Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology to Victoria Hospital on Tuesday, hours after the Karnataka High Court deferred till 20th October hearing on his interim bail plea.

The institute Director C N Manjunath had said the condition of Yeddyurappa's heart condition was normal and stable but he suffers from other medical problems including diabetes and depression.

After the advice by the Institute doctors, jail authorities had permitted shifting of Yeddyurappa noting that he required multi-disciplinary medical consultations.

The Jayadeva hospital in its discharge summary also stated Yeddyurappa, who is a chronic diabetic required consultations from the Institute of Nephrology and Urology, adjacent to the Victoria Hospital.

Congress had taken a dig at Yeddyurappa on his hospitalisation, suggesting he was trying to avoid jail.

Yeddyurappa had filed a bail application in the High Court on Monday.

Facing imminent arrest, he had surrendered before the Lokayukta Court on Saturday last after it rejected his bail plea.

The Lokayukta court had on 15th October remanded Yeddyurappa to judicial custody till 22nd October in cases relating to alleged irregularities in denotification of government lands.

Hours after he was remanded to judicial custody by a local court on 15th October, Yeddyurappa had complained of uneasiness and chest pain in the wee hours and was rushed to Jayadeva hospital.

On reaching the jail, Yeddyurappa underwent routine medical checkup, prison officials said.

He is now lodged in a cell and not been admitted to jail hospital yet, they said.

Jayalalithaa urges Centre to stop work at Kudankulam nuclear plant

On the eve of second phase local body polls voting, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said her govt was firm on suspension of work on the controversial Koodankulam project till people's concern were addressed.

A resolution to this effect was adopted at the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa this evening, an official press release said.

Taking objection to Union Minister in PMO V Narayanasamy blaming the state for the delay in forming the high level expert panel as promised by the Prime Minister to allay the fears of the locals , she alleged that centre is not having proper corrospondence with the state and urged it to take all steps to solve the Koodankulam issue instead of blaming the state.

One by-poll result is no reflection of the performance of his govt: PM

One by-election result could not be seen as a reflection of the performance of the government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday.

"One by-election cannot be seen as a referendum or a reflection on the performance of my government," the Prime Minister told journalists in Pretoria in response to a question on the Congress and its allies losing all four by-elections in Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar.

The Oct 13 election results were announced on Monday, leaving the Congress with a zero-four score.

It lost the Hisar parliamentary seat as well as the assembly seats of Banswada (Andhra Pradesh), Khadakwasla (Maharashtra) and Daraunda (Bihar).

He was replying to a question by a reporter on the sidelines of the IBSA Summit.

PM leaves for Pretoria to attend IBSA summit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday embarked on a visit to Pretoria to attend the trilateral India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit that is expected to be dominated by pressing global issues like the difficult economic scenario and security situation. 

During his three-day visit, Dr. Singh will also have bilateral meetings with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and South African President Jacob Zuma.

The fifth IBSA summit of the three leading emerging nations of three different continents will take place on 18th October.

It will be preceded by the trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers and forums on various topics like Commerce and Women and Child Development.

An agreement for setting up of a Diplomatic Academy will be signed after the Summit.

One of the important issues to be discussed at the summit would be the current global financial and economic situation, officials said in New Delhi.

The three leaders will discuss possible steps that need to be taken to address the economic situation, which has become difficult in view of crisis in Europe.

The discussion on the global financial situation and coordination of views would be significant as all the three leaders would be attending the G-20 meet in Cannes early next month.

Issues related to international security like terrorism and maritime safety are also expected to be discussed.

The leaders of the three countries, which are aspirants for permanent membership of the Security Council, are also expected to discuss issues related to UN reforms.

The three countries, all non-permanent members of the Security Council, have demonstrated coordinated actions in the recent past on Syria.

In the backdrop of representatives of India, Brazil and South Africa visiting Syria, the leaders of the three countries are expected to take their discussions forward on the issue.

Singh, Rousseff and Zuma are also expected to discuss issues related to the IBSA Trust Fund, which is used for joint developmental projects in under-developed countries like Palestine and Haiti.

Each country contributes USD one million each year to the Fund.

India has been maintaining that the relevance of the IBSA will remain as it brings together three large democracies of three continents and is not undermined by the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS).

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash recently said the IBSA was a forum of like-minded developing countries and there was no "ganging up" against anybody.

Kuldeep Bishnoi wins Hisar bypoll

Haryana Janhit Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi won the Hisar by-election on Monday, defeating his nearest rival Ajay Chautala of the INLD by a margin of 6,323 votes.

Bishnoi (42), son of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal whose death caused the bypoll, retained the seat for the party defeating his nearest rival INLD's Ajay Singh Chautala (50), son of former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala, by a margin of 6,323 votes, out of the over nine lakh votes polled.

Ruling Congress nominee and three-time MP from Hisar Jai Prakash (58), a former Union Minister, finished third. He had won the seat last in 2004 as Congress nominee.

Bishnoi, whose Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) tied up with BJP, secured 3,55,941 votes followed by Chautala with 3,49,618 votes and way behind was Jai Parkash, who polled 1,49,785 votes.

It was essentially a triangular contest in a field with 40 candidates and a total electorate of 13.32 lakh.

Bishnoi's father Bhajan Lal had won the Hissar Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 elections with a margin of 6,983 votes over his nearest rival Sampat Singh of the INLD, who later joined Congress shortly before 2009 Assembly elections.

Jai Prakash had finished third in 2009 Lok Sabha elections when he secured 2,04,539 votes as compared with 1,49,785 votes secured now.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj thanked people of Haryana, particularly the electorate of Hisar, for supporting the BJP-HJC alliance and electing Bishnoi.

"The BJP-HJC alliance will continue in future also," she said.

Echoing her words, Bishnoi said, "people have voted for the alliance and alliance will go a long way."

Union Finance Minister and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said, "A loss in any election is a sad thing. We shall have to analyse why we lost the bypolls and what are the reasons."

Out of the nine assembly segments Bishnoi led in five - Adampur, Hansi, Barwala, Hisar and Nalwa.

Chautala led in remaining four - Uchana Kalan, Uklana, Narnaund and Bawani Khera.

The Congress nominee remained third in all the segments. Bishnoi was maintaining a lead of around 30,000 votes till the last few rounds of counting but at the end he had to be satisfied with a narrow lead of 6,323 votes.

The bypoll held on 13^th October had witnessed a turnout of nearly 69 percent with the Anna factor raising the stakes for the Congress.

Thanking the voters, Bishnoi said that Hisar had been traditional seat won by a member of his family.

"The win is basically because of my father and family's track record. We have done a lot for Hisar," he said.

"The win today is a foundation stone for the formation of HJC-BJP government in the state in the future," he said.

DMK, AIADMK to square off as TN gears up for civic body polls

In a major trial of strength at the grassroot level since the April assembly polls, ruling AIADMK and DMK will seek people's manadate to rule civic bodies in the first phase of the local body elections on Monday.

DMK and AIADMK are going on their own, squeezing out their allies Congress and DMDK and Left, respectively, forcing the Communists to join hands with actor Vijayakant's DMDK.

Congress and PMK, another former DMK ally, will also be going it alone in the elections for over 1.30 lakh civic posts in which more than four lakh candidates are in fray. Final phase of the polls is scheduled on October 19.

DMK, seeking to redeem its lost pride after the rout in the assembly polls, is banking on its performance having been at the helm in most of the Corporations and several municipalities besides scores of local bodies.

In the controversial 2006 local body polls marred by allegations of violence and irregularities, DMK managed to win Chennai corporation among others. But AIADMK is keen to wrest control, seeking to repeat its Assembly polls performance.

DMK Chief M Karunanidhi is seeking a successive term for his party candidates, listing out the various efforts taken by the respective civic bodies.

AIADMK on the other hand, has assured people to implement various welfare projects not done by DMK or in demand for a long time, even as Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has assured to continue to crackdown against landgrab involving DMK men.

In her election rallies across the state, Jayalalithaa has sought the people's mandate not just on this promise, but highlighted her government's sops such as rice free of cost, providing free mixer-grinder and fan among others.

The DMDK and the two Left parties, all former allies of AIADMK, have aligned to face the elections, after seat-sharing talks with their lead partner failed.

The popularity of DMDK will be tested as the party, launched as an alternative to the two Dravidian parties in 2005, aligned with Jayalalithaa's AIADMK for the 2011 polls to oust DMK.
With 29 members, DMDK is the Principal Opposition party in the Assembly, pushing DMK to the third spot.

For the first time, Electronic Voting Machines will be used for the ten corporations and municipalities.

The State Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements, including videographing of the polling process in sensitive booths and deploying police personnel from neighbouring states.

Hisar Lok Sabha bypoll result today

The fate of political heavyweights locked in a keen fight for Hisar Lok Sabha seat will be known on Monday after counting of ballots, the bypoll held on 13th October had witnessed a turnout of nearly 69 percent.

"We have made all arrangements for the counting of votes and the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being stored in strong rooms under tight security. The results should be out by 2 pm," Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Sumita Misra said.

The bypoll held on 13^th October had witnessed a turnout of nearly 69 percent with the Anna factor raising the stakes for the Congress in a triangular fight.

The polling, which was necessitated due to the death of sitting MP Bhajan Lal of Haryana Janhit Congress in June will decide the electoral fortune of Jai Prakash (Congress), Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi (HJC-BJP) and Ajay Chautala (INLD).

There were in all 40 candidates, mostly independents, in the fray.

Anna distances himself from Bhushan's view on Kashmir

Team Anna was in turmoil on Friday after Anna Hazare wondered whether Prashant Bhushan should continue in their campaign after his controversial remarks on Kashmir.

However, a few of Anna's associates met in Delhi seeking to downplay the issue saying the Gandhian had made no such point about Bhushan's continuance in the team.

"Woh aage jaake hum log tay karenge, rakhna (hai) nahi rakhna (hai) (We will decide later whether he will be in the teamor not)," Hazare told reporters in his native Ralegan Siddhi when asked whether Bhushan, a key aide in his fight for a strong Lokpal Bill, will remain part of Team Anna.

"Whatever views he has articulated, that is not right," he said, two days after Bhushan was attacked by three youths of a right-wing in his chamber in New Delhi for advocating plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.

As Hazare's comments triggered a fresh controversy, activist Arvind Kejriwal addressed a press conference in New Delhi in which he sought to say that Hazare did not mean that the lawyer should be removed from the team.

"He is an integral part of the team. He is a very respected citizen who has worked in several areas including environment and human rights. He has played a crucial role in the anti-corruption movement also," Kejriwal said.

"I spoke to Anna over telephone. He told me that he did not say that. What he told me was that the committee will decide who should be in or out," he said.

A meeting of Team Anna's core committee was held in UP's Noida during which a resolution saying Kashmir is an integral part of India and the complex problem should be solved through peaceful discussions, was adopted.

However, Hazare, Bhushan and Bedi did not attend the meeting. Bedi is in Amsterdam while Bhushan has left for the US. Prashant's father Shanti Bhushan attended the meeting on Friday.

India, Pak finalize draft visa accord to ease travel

India and Pakistan on Friday finalised the draft of the new Bilateral Visa Agreement to ease travel for the nationals of either country desiring to visit the other.

The draft was finalised during the second meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on visa matters which also examined the modalities for streamlining the visa procedures, a Ministry of External Affairs statement said in New Delhi on Friday.

The two-day meeting, which was held in pursuance of the decision taken during the India-Pakistan Home/Interior Secretary-level talks held in March, was a follow-up on the deliberations held in the first meeting of the JWG in Islamabad in June earlier this year.

The meeting was led by Anil Goswami, Additional Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs, and Nasar Hayat, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Interior, from Pakistani side.

"The discussions were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The two sides finalized the draft text of the Agreement which will be submitted to the respective governments for obtaining necessary approvals in order to sign the Agreement at an early date," MEA said.

According to sources, the draft text provides for hassle-free visa procedure for the businessmen from either country.

It also provides for more than three destinations for visit in each country to the travellers from India as well as Pakistan. At present, travellers are permitted to visit only three places in one visit.

Govt working on streamlining labour laws: PM

Voicing serious concern over cases of industrial unrest, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the government is working on streamlining labour laws for welfare of workers and it would move ahead only in those areas where consensus for reform is built. 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underlined that healthy worker-management relations were fundamental to industrial development and both sides need to work in a spirit of collaboration and cooperation, without losing sight of the overall objective of progress.

"Recently we have witnessed some incidents of industrial unrest. This is a matter of serious concern to me and I believe we need to address this issue with alacrity and sincerity," he said while giving away Shram awards in New Delhi.
Though cited no specific case of industrial unrest, his statement comes against the backdrop of strike at the Maruti plant in Manesar in Haryana, on the outskirts of Delhi.
Referring to labour reforms, the Prime Minister said his government was committed to do everything possible to ensure good industry-labour relations.
"There is a view that the labour laws are too rigid and are a constraint on our growth impulses. There is also a contrary view that the labour legislation needs to better protect the interests of workers, particularly in the unorganised and the contract labour sectors," he said.

Singh said there were areas where there was a need to strike a balance between the needs of a growing economy and interest of the workers.

Noting that the government was working on several fronts to streamline labour legislation, the Prime Minister said he was aware that there were many aspects of the issue that may require reform to encourage business and enterprise.

"We will move ahead only in those areas where a consensus for reform is built and will ensure that the interests of our workers are fully protected in doing so," he said.

Singh said the National Skill Development Mission has put in place a coordinated action plan for skill development which lays down a solid foundation for future work in the area.

"During the 12th Plan, we must identify the gaps in the institutional arrangements for skill development and plug them," he said.

The government has established the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) which, along with initiatives at the state level, will provide the bulk of the skill development results, particularly in the unorganised sector, Singh said.

"However, for this to happen, support to NSDC would have to be significantly enhanced and state skill development missions in all states would have to be fully operational and effective during the 12th Plan," he said.

Singh said sufficient attention must be paid to skill development so that our growing youth population is provided decent employment opportunities.

He higlighted steps the government had taken for the benefit of workers in the unorganised sector.

The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana was already benefitting about 25 million workers and the government was in the process of covering more categories of workers under the scheme, Singh said.