Odisha govt names prisoners to be released, Maoists extend deadline

Maoists extended the deadline for fulfilment of their demands till April 7 for the release of BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka while Odisha govt on Thursday named the 27 prisoners to be freed for him and Italian Paulo Bosusco being held hostage by two separate groups of Naxals.

A Maoist leader telephoned a section of the media saying the deadline, which was to end this evening, has been extended till the evening of April seven.

The leader of Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist) (AOBSZC), which abducted Hikaka used the MLA's phone to inform the media about the extension of the deadline, sources said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced the 27 names of prisoners to be released in the assembly.

The state government would take legal steps for their release.

Among them, 15 belonged to the Maoist-backed Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha, eight Maoists and four from the list furnished by Odisha State Organising Committee of CPI (Maoist).

"As you can see, the state government has made this gesture on humanitarian grounds. I hope that the Maoists will reciprocate in a similar spirit and release the MLA and the Italian national immediately," Patnaik said.

He said the eight Maoists to be released included six from Odisha and a couple from Andhra Pradesh Murla Neelam Reddy and his wife Setu Pangi.

The four to be released for freeing Italian Paolo Bosusco included Subhashree Das, also known as Mili Panda, the wife of Sabyasachi Panda, secretary of Odisha State Organising Committee of CPI (Maoist).

The Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist) was behind Hikaka's abduction while Sabyasachi Panda's outfit was responsble for that of the Italian.

Bosusco had been kidnapped along with another Italian Claudio Colangelo while they were trekking in Kandhamal district on March 14.

Colangelo was freed on March 25.

A day earlier, Hikaka was abducted from Koraput district when he was returning home.

Heavy rains lash Kolkata

Heavy rains lashed Kolkata on Friday morning, inundating low-lying areas of the metropolis and affecting vehicular and train services.

Weatherman said the rainfall measuring 63 mm early Friday morning was the result of a cyclonic trough extending from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and up to Bangladesh.

The rainfall was marked by occasional lightning and gale snapping power and cable lines and uprooting trees in some areas of the city disrupting vehicular movement.

Train services in Sealdah south section and Howrah divisions were affected for some time due to the heavy rain but no trains were cancelled, railway sources said.

Police said no loss of life or injury was reported. Heavy rains also lashed neighbouring Howrah, Hooghly and North and South 24 Parganas districts. The met office forecast rainfall for the next 24 hours.

Rahul Gandhi begins exercise to analyse UP poll outcome

With the Congress debacle in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls coming as a jolt, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday began the task of analysing the outcome to make the party battle-ready ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014. 

Gandhi, who led the party in the crucial polls, held parleys with party candidates who lost despite securing more than 20,000 votes, party sources said.

The two-day exercise, which was earlier scheduled to take place last week, has been launched as part of a move to set the house in order with UP having a crucial role for the party.

Newly elected party MLAs as also MPs from the state have been called on Friday for the much-talked about meeting, the first formal review of the UP polls by Gandhi, who has owned up responsibility for the defeat.

Gandhi had himself led the campaign in UP after being instrumental in securing 22 of the 80 seats in the Lok Sabha polls in the state in 2009 which was seen as a revival of the organisation.

AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, who has been abroad, was not present at the meeting despite being in-charge of the party affairs in the state.

Senior leader Mohan Prakash, who had overseen the ticket distribution work in the polls, was also absent.

The exercise could be utilised by some leaders to blame their detractors for the poor show.

The talk in the party is that some Union Ministers from the state may face flak at the meeting for their controversial statements as also moves to corner tickets for their loyalists.

Congress secured just 28 of the 403 seats in the polls, six more than it had bagged in the Assembly polls of 2007.

UP Assembly legislators to take oath on April 11

The newly-elected members of Uttar Pradesh Assembly will take oath on April 11-12, while the Speaker would be elected on 13^th April, official sources said in Lucknow on Thursday.

Congress and SP MLAs Pramod Tiwari and Mitrasen Yadav respectively will administer oath to the legislators in the House. The date for the session of the Assembly will be decided later.

Problems confronting party in states would soon be over

Amid growing unease in the party in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Congress has indicated that the problems confronting the organisation would be sorted out soon.

The remarks by party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi that the issues being raised in various states would be satisfactorily sorted out in the near future came on the eve of Rahul Gandhi embarking on the exericse of analysing the poll outcome in Uttar Pradesh.

Gandhi will be meeting party leaders from UP in the next two to three days in a move to set right the organization ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The exercise has been undertaken in the backdrop of the debacle in recent Assembly polls in three of the five states as the party struggles to set its house in order there.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and state Congress president Botsa Satyanarayana, with their guns trained at each other, held parleys with AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday.

A desperate party high command is seeking to broker peace between them ahead of the crucial by-elections to one Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly seats in the state and to bring a semblance of an order in the state unit.

"You will see in the near future everything will be satisfactorily sorted out", Singhvi told reporters at the AICC briefing on Wednesday to questions that there are several states in the country where the Congress party is rudderless and the turmoil is growing within the ranks.

Singhvi downplayed the issue of around three dozen MLAs from Rajasthan Assembly camping in Delhi and criticizing the working style of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot saying everyone in the party was entitled to put forward his views.

CBI arrests BJP MLA in Dara Singh fake encounter

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested BJP MLA Rajendra Rathore in connection with the fake encounter of local liquor smuggler Dara Singh in 2006. 

Rathore, an MLA from Taranagar Assembly constituency, was arrested by the sleuths from his residence on Thursday morning and would be produced before a court later in the day.

ADG Police A K Jain wanted by the CBI for his role in the case has already surrendered before a special court in Jaipur.

"The circumstantial evidence shows clearly that Dara was murdered in cold blood by SOG personnel and the same was duly monitored by ADG Police A K Jain, SP SOG A Ponnuchammi and Additional SP Arshad Ali along with other officials and during this entire period Rajendra Rathore (a sitting BJP MLA) was on telephonic touch with Jain, ADGP," the charge-sheet had said.

In its charge-sheet filed last year in June, CBI had alleged that Dara Singh was taken into illegal custody by SOG officials from Jaipur Airport and was taken to a lonely place near Amber where he was kept hostage till October 23, 2006 and killed in a planned manner.

Before his arrest, Rathore addressed a meeting of party workers at the BJP office and alleged that he was being falsely implicated at the behest of the Congress government.

"I did not know the person who was killed in the encounter before the incident was reported in newspapers next day in October 2006," Rathore claimed.

"In his first address in the Rajasthan Vidhansabha, the chief minister had said that he will get the matter inquired...and while pointing towards me he had said: 'I am concerned for you'. I then replied that I am a strong man and have faith in judiciary," Rathore said.

"It is very unfortunate that I am being falsely implicated but it is fortunate that you all are gathered here to give me moral support. I will return and resume my work to strengthen the party," he said.

In the meeting, party leaders including the party's state chief Arun Chaturvedi, leader of opposition Vasundhara Raje, Deputy leader of opposition Ghanshyam Tiwari, MLAs Digambar Singh, Gulabchand Kataria, Vasudev Devnani and large number of party workers were present.

Rathore alleged, "I was named in the case just because of political reasons. His family members did not name me anywhere in their early complaints, now it is done in a planned manner".

Dara Singh was killed in the alleged fake encounter on October 23, 2006. Police had then claimed that Dara Singh was killed while fleeing from their custody.

Acting on a petition by Dara's widow that her husband was killed in cold blood at the behest of Rajendra Rathore, the Supreme Court had ordered a CBI inquiry in the case.

The CBI has named 16 police officials including suspended IPS officers A K Jain and A Ponnuchammi, besides then Additional Superintendent of Police Arsad Ali, Inspectors Nisar Khan and Naresh Sharma, Assistant Sub-Inspector Surendra Singh, Sub-Inspector Satyanarayan Godara among other policemen for the killing.

Talks on Italian hostage crisis resume

After a day's break, talks resumed between the Odisha govt and Maoist negotiators on Wednesday for release of the Italian captive while the state Assembly unanimously appealed to the kidnappers of BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka to free him.

The appeal comes a day before the deadline fixed by the ultras expires. Home Secretary U N Behera led a three-member team of government representatives in the talks with Maoist-named mediators B D Sharma and Dandapani Mohanty.

Fresh talks to resolve the Italian hostage crisis began on Monday night after a threat from Secretary of Odisha State Organising Committee of CPI (Maoist) Sabyasachi Panda, whose organisation claimed to have abducted Paolo Bosusco on 14^th March, that the hostage might be harmed if any action was launched.

"We may take the extreme step if the government launches an offensive to release the hostage," Panda said in an audio message released to the media, demanding immediate release of seven jailed rebels, including his wife Subhashree Das alias Mili Panda.

However, negotiations could not be held on Tuesday as one of the Maoist-nominated mediators was away from Bhubaneswar for a day, official sources said.

With a day left for the 5^th April deadline set by the abductors of the Laxmipur legislator, the Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution appealing to the Maoists to release the MLA immediately unharmed.

"This house expresses deep concern over the abduction of the MLA by Maoists. We unanimously appeal to Maoists to release the MLA immediately unharmed," the resolution moved by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.

The resolution was adopted after Congress legislator Dambarudhar Ulaka voiced concern about Hikaka's fate as the deadline set by Maoists ends Thursday and there was no news on the extension of the deadline despite the government's appeal.

The government on Tuesday appealed to Hikaka's abductors to extend the 5^th April deadline and invited Nachika Linga, president of Maoist-backed Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh for negotiation, even as the rebels rejected the offer.

India commissions nuclear powered submarine 'INS Chakra'

India has inducted Russian- made nuclear powered submarine 'INS Chakra' into the Navy, joining an elite group of five nations possessing such sophisticated warships.

Defence Minister A K Antony formally commissioned the Akula II class Nerpa, rechristened INS Chakra, into the Navy at the Ship Building Complex in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

With the country entering the select club consisting of the US, Russia, the UK, France and China with nuclear submarines after a gap of two decades, Antony said, "INS Chakra will ensure security and sovereignty of the country."

He did not subscribe to the view that the induction of nuclear powered submarines will lead to any arms race in the region. He said the armed forces will be strengthened to meet any challenge.

"India does not believe in arms race. We are not a confrontationist nation. We are a peaceloving nation....but, at the same time, the armed forces will be strengthened to meet any challenge," Antony told reporters when asked about Pakistan's reaction that INS Chakra's induction will lead to arms race in the region.

"We have a vast land border. We have more than 7500 kms of coastline and more than two lakhs EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zone). We have to protect the sea lanes of our core area of interest," he said.

With INS Chakra and indigenously built INS Arihant expected to start operational patrols soon, India will soon have two nuclear submarines guarding its vast maritime boundary.

To a question on China's increasing military capability, Antony said “Induction of INS Chakra or Vikramaditya (aircraft carrier) warships or any other platform is not aimed at any country. It is to strengthen our national security to meet any challenge more effectively.”

With a maximum speed of 30 knots, the submarine can go upto a depth of 600 metres and has an endurance of 100 days with a crew of 73.

The vessel is armed with four 533mm torpedo tubes and four 650mm torpedo tubes. India had leased and operated a Charlie class Russian nuclear submarine in 1988 for training its personnel on such submarines.

Antony said, "INS Arihant will be ready for sea trials sometime this year."

He also said the induction of INS Vikramaditya, earlier called 'Admiral Gorshkov', will take place sometimes early next year.

On future induction of platforms in the Indian Navy, he said four warships, including INS Vikramaditya, were expected to be delivered at the end of this year, besides 15 fast interception craft.

"In the next few years, the Navy will get more submarines," the Defence Minister said.

He refused to share details with the media about the cost of leasing INS Chakra from Russia. He said there is a proposal for leasing another submarine but refused to take queries on the issue.

"There is a proposal. But we have not taken any decision...Cost is not necessary, but India can afford it," Antony said.

On whether the process of procuring submarines from Russia was too long and slow, he said, "We want speedy procurement and we will modernise our armed forces as quickly as possible. At the same time, zero tolerance to corruption is also our policy."

INS Chakra has been taken on lease from Russia for 10 years and would provide the Navy the opportunity to train personnel and operate such nuclear-powered vessels.

India had signed a deal with Russia in 2004 worth over USD 900 million for leasing the submarine.

It was expected to be inducted a couple of years back, but after an on-board accident in 2008, in which several Russian sailors died, the delivery schedule was changed.

Indian Navy personnel have already been imparted training in Russia for operating the submarine.

A crew of over 70 people, including around 30 officers, is required to operate INS Chakra.

Kingfisher employees withdraw threatened agitation

The standoff between Kingfisher Airlines mgt and employees, agitating over delayed salaries, ended on Tuesday with the protestors accepting the assurance given by the beleaguered carrier's promoter Vijay Mallya and deciding to withdraw their agitation from Wed.

Mallya, who had a meeting with the employees including pilots and engineers late Monday night, had assured them that their dues would be paid in a staggered manner by 10^th April.

"The employees accepted the assurance Mallya had given in his letter and decided that they would not go ahead with their ultimatum of an agitation if a part of their dues were not paid by 8 PM" today, airline sources said on Tuesday.

After a day-long meeting between the employees and the management on Monday, Mallya made a last ditch effort and met the agitators at his residence late Monday night.

He is understood to have warned them that any agitation could lead to cancellation of Kingfisher's flying permit by aviation regulator DGCA if its services were disrupted any further.

The crisis-ridden carrier was in any case operating a curtailed summer schedule of about 100 daily flights with 16 planes.

Urging the employees not to press their ultimatum, Mallya reiterated his promise of clearing the salary dues of junior staff, including those involved in ground handling and security, by Wednesday and that of the pilots and engineers by 9^th and 10^th April.

The staffers have not been paid salaries since December.

On Monday, several pilots and staff of Kingfisher had not reported for duty to protest the continued delay in payment of salaries leading to cancellation of at least ten flights including those from Delhi and Mumbai.

The troubled carrier's employees had put the airline on notice asking it to pay two months' salaries and dues by 8 PM Tuesday and the rest by 20^th April.

Mallya, in a letter to his employees, had conveyed that the formalities of un-freezing the airline's bank accounts was completed on 31^st March after it paid Rs 44 crore to the Income Tax and Rs 20 crore to the Service Tax authorities.

"My only focus now is to start paying your seriously overdue salaries. All junior staff will be paid before the Easter that is on April 4th. All pilots and engineers will be paid on April 9th and April 10th," Mallya had said.

He had also told the employees that starting this week, he would be personally available at each major station for one day a week to listen to the concerns of all staff.

Kingfisher has massively cut down its operations, including shutting down many domestic sectors and completely discontinuing international operations.

From 400 flights a day before the crisis last November, it is operating just about 100 flights now.

The airline, which has a debt of USD 1.3 billion, is under pressure from its lenders to inject fresh equity.

The debt-laden carrier terminated operations to 28 of its 56 destinations, including Hyderabad and Kolkata, over the past few days and asked about 40-50 percent of its staff to stay at home till further orders.

India welcomes US$ 10 mn reward on Hafiz Saeed

The US has announced a USD 10 mn bounty on Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, a move welcomed by India, which said it sends a strong signal to LeT and its patrons that the int community remains united in combating terrorism.

Late Monday night, the US Government announced an award of up to USD 10 million for information leading to arrest and conviction of Saeed and up to USD two million for Hafiz Adbul Rahman Makki, his jihar financier brother-in-law under the Rewards for Justice programme, for information on the two terrorists, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

"India welcomes the notification under the Rewards for Justice Programme. It reflects the commitment of India and the United States to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice and continuing efforts to combat terrorism.

"It also sends a strong signal to LeT as also its members and patrons that the international community remains united in combating terrorism," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday.

He also said Saeed, the brain behind the terror attack on Mumbai, was "safely tucked away" somewhere in Pakistan.

The US maintains both Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat ul Dawa as foreign terrorist organisations and has also individually designated Saeed and Makki for terrorist activities under its law.

Sixty-one-year-old Saeed has become one of only four terrorist leaders for whom the US has offered a bounty of USD 10 million, joining the likes of Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar.

The only person with a higher bounty on his head than these four terrorist leaders is Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al- Zawahiri, for whom the US has put a reward of USD 25 million.

Krishna said in recent years, India and the US have deepened mutual understanding on the nature of terrorism challenges emanating from India’s neighbourhood.

"US which keeps a tab on all these terrorists around the world, would have kept a tab on Saeed.....I have always been insisting that he was the brain behind the terror attack on Mumbai. These terrorists and conspirators cannot be spared and they will have to be brought to justice and that is what we have been demanding from Pakistan," he said.

India and the US agree that all terrorist organisations, including LeT, should be defeated and have called for elimination of terrorist safe havens and infrastructure inside Pakistan and Afghanistan, a statement by the MEA said.

It also said that on Monday, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman conveyed to Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai Washington's intention to take additional steps to deal with terrorists like Saeed and Makki to which Mathai expressed New Delhi's sincere appreciation.

The two countries have strengthened their counter- terrorism cooperation through the Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism, Counter-terrorism Cooperation Initiative, the Homeland Security Dialogue and regular exchanges between intelligence and law enforcement agencies, MEA said.

T20 to celebrate 150th anniversary of Indians landing in SA

India and South Africa meet in a one-off Twenty20 international at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday, with India coach Duncan Fletcher insisting the long, round trip will be worthwhile.

 

The only one-off T20 clash will be played to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Indians landing in South Africa. 

India arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday with a near-full strength T20 squad, with batsman Virender Sehwag and pace bowler Zaheer Khan the only key players being rested.

South Africa, by contrast, has picked only eight of the squad which won a T20 series in New Zealand last month, resting all its Test players with the exception of Jacques Kallis, who will be the recipient of a special tribute at the match.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) will contribute to the Jacques Kallis Foundation, which provides scholarships for talented cricketers from under-privileged areas to attend leading cricket schools.

Kallis said he would, in turn, assist the Yuvraj Singh Foundation. India player Yuvraj is being treated for cancer. Kallis' father died of cancer in 2003.

The squads (from):

South Africa: Johan Botha (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk (wk) and Dane Vilas (wk).

India: M.S. Dhoni (capt, wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Rahul Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary and Robin Uthappa.

India, Brazil ink six pacts to boost ties in Science & Tech

India and Brazil have signed six pacts on Friday to enhance mutual cooperation in the areas of Science and Technology.

The agreements were for executive program on cultural exchange, Technical cooperation and bio technology. An MoU was also inked to provide scholarship to Brazilian students in India.

Earlier, visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff held talks with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on important bilateral and multilateral issues.

Later addressing media Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said that both countries will ensure more consultations on global issues including on UN reform.

Dr Singh also assured Brazilian President that will give its full support to the Rio+20 summit on the sustainable development.

Brazilian President said that bilateral trade between both the countries will reach 15 billion dollar in next three years, a jump of 50 percent from the existing trade.

Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff, who is on a state visit to India was given a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Earlier, she also visited Rajghat and paid tribute to father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi.