Bachchan, Sachin, Ponting 'beneficiaries' of MNREGA in Goa Panaji, April 26

Names of a host of celebrities from the world of cricket and Bollywood, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, have been found in the list of beneficiaries of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Assurance scheme in Goa. Other illustrious names in the list include Aamir Khan, Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvaraj Singh and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, the information obtained from the state government's Rural Development Agency under the Right to Information by the NGO Goa Parivartan Manch (GPM), reveals. The NGO today alleged that money was being siphoned off in the implementation of UPA's flagship scheme in the state by making payments to bogus beneficiaries. GPM convener Yatish Naik said that wages of Rs 100 per day for 150 days were made in the name of aforesaid celebrities and even their spouses and children. The list is from Chimbel area, a hub of labour market, which has more than a thousand MNREGA beneficiaries. The scheme is implemented by the Rural Development Agency (RDA) of the Goa government. GPM leaders today also met Goa Governor B V Wanchoo and sought his intervention. The list has the name of former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting and family members 'Rikli, Micky and Rosy', Indian cricketer Yuvaraj Singh with family member 'Josl', Rahul Dravid with family member 'Resma and Arjun'.  PTI

We wanted to fight graft, but BJP didnt let us: PM

Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service Hyderabad, April 26

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today blamed the main Opposition party for being unable to introduce anti-graft legislations in Parliament. The Opposition is levelling a series of baseless allegations against our government. One of them is that we have not done enough to fight corruption. Let me make it clear that we took steps that no other government had taken in the past to tackle corruption, he said while addressing an election rally at Bhongir in Telangana region, about 55 km from the city. The UPA government had formulated a set of new legislations to fight corruption but could not pass them in the last session of Parliament because of the obstructions created by the BJP, the Prime Minister said. I am placing these facts before you so that you get to know the true colours of a party that is claiming to fight corruption, he said. Without naming BJPs prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, he assailed the saffron party for focusing its poll campaign on a single individual. He (Modi) has been making tall claims and impractical promises, he said. Accusing the BJP of pursuing divisive politics, the PM said: It thinks that dividing society on communal lines and creating social discord and disharmony can bring electoral dividends. He claimed that the Congress alone was capable of ensuring all-round development of the country by ensuring participation of all sections, particularly the weaker sections.

UPA rush to pick Army Chief ethically wrong: VK Singh

Umesh Dewan

Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 26

Former Army Chief General VK Singh (retd) today opposed the reported move of the Congress-led UPA government to announce the new Chief of Army Staff on May 1 - three months before present incumbent General Bikram Singh retires. General VK Singh, who is the BJP candidate from Ghaziabad, was in the city to campaign for SAD candidate Pawan Kumar Tinu. Talking to The Tribune, he said there were reports that the Union Government was keen to announce the new Army Chief. As per tradition, the government announces the names of services chiefs designate two months before the retirement of the incumbent. Since General Bikram will retire on July 31, the name of the new Army Chief should be announced on June 1. Going ahead with the announcement in the middle of elections will be ethically wrong, he said. He alleged that the UPA government was befooling ex-servicemen in the name of One Rank, One Pension (OROP) Scheme as nothing concrete had been done in this regard so far. The KP Singh Deo Committee report on the scheme was accepted 26 years ago, but instead of issuing a notification, the Union Finance Minister is saying that the proposal has been accepted in principle, he said. About shady defence deals, he said there was a nexus between the politicians, bureaucracy and arms dealers. There is a need to streamline the defence deals procedure, he said. Gen VK Singh differs from BJPs prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modis stance on the drug inflow in Punjab. While Modi blamed the BSF and the Union Government for the illegal trade, Gen VK Singh says: I will not blame only one agency. There is a need to have a holistic approach towards the issue and serious deliberations are required to end the problem.

Maharashtra post-poll feedback gives Congress the jitters

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service Mumbai, April 26

Feedback from candidates and party workers after the close of elections on Thursday is giving the jitters to the Congress in Maharashtra. Assessments by the party in Mumbai and other places indicate that the tally of the UPA would fall sharply from the 28 seats bagged in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Some Congress leaders have told the party leadership that the UPA's final tally may fall to a low of 15 seats. "The Congress and the NCP could lose heavily in its former strongholds of Vidarbha, western Maharashtra and most of the six seats from Mumbai," a party source said. NCP leaders also felt that their initial assessments of heavy losses in the sugarcane belt of western Maharashtra could come true. Party sources felt that the BJP's decision to rope in farmers' outfit Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana in western Maharashtra could pay it rich dividends. The region reported a turnout of nearly 60 per cent. The NDA had unleashed a high-pitched campaign against the Maharashtra Government, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his uncle Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, for the sorry plight of the cultivators. In Mumbai, the Congress is worried that it would be swamped by the Narendra Modi wave. The city reported a 11 per cent increase in turnout over the last elections. Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan himself attributed the turnout to the increase in number of youths who have reached the voting age.

Maharashtra CM says small parties shouldnt jump into LS fray; faces flak

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service





Prithiviraj Chavan

Mumbai, April 26

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan has come in for criticism from the Nationalist Congress Party for saying that regional parties should not contest the Lok Sabha elections. Chavan had told reporters that India too should follow in the footsteps of Germany where regional parties are not allowed to contest national elections. Chavan felt the move will help foster a two or three-party system in the country. The Maharashtra Chief Minister, however, clarified that his statements were entirely his personal views and did not reflect the stand of his party. This, however, did not go down well with the Nationalist Congress Party. "Such policies, if implemented, would have dangerous consequences," NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said in response to Chavan's statements. Malik pointed out that both UPA and NDA formations had several regional parties in their groups. "Everybody has the right to contest elections in the country," Malik said. He said the NCP would oppose any move to restrict the participation of regional parties in national elections in India.

Cong may back Third Front, says Khurshid





Salman Khurshid, union minister

Farukkhabad, April 26

The Congress may consider extending support to the Third Front or taking its help to form the government if necessary after the Lok Sabha elections, Union Minister Salman Khurshid today said. He claimed Narendra Modi was going to emerge as a "big problem" for the BJP. Referring to the Ram temple movement, he said when "Bhagwan ki lehar" (God's wave) could not stop the Congress, how can Modi wave stop it. Speaking to mediapersons at his native Pitauram village, Khurshid said there seemed to be no possibility of the BJP forming the government. "After poll results, if necessary, the Congress could consider extending support even to the Third Front to form the government. Not only this, taking support from the Third Front can be considered, he said. He said Modi had said in Varanasi that Maa Ganga had called him. While Modi went to pay floral tributes to great personalities, he did not go for the darshan and pujan of the Ganga, he said. The minister claimed despite all efforts of the Election Commission, security arrangements at booths were lax, which was misused by Samajwadi Party workers. He said he had received information of irregularities at 1015 polling booth of the Aliganj Assembly segment and had drawn the attention of the EC. Khurshid claimed Central forces were not utilised properly. In the last election, Central forces were deployed at booths, but this time they were kept in reserve. The Congress candidate alleged that while cases were lodged against him even on slightest mistake, not a single FIR was lodged against the SP candidate, which was not a good message.  PTI

Ktaka youths death: ANF men booked

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Tribune News Service Bangalore, April 26

Even as the family of Mohammed Kabeer (23), shot by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) near Sringeri in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka on April 19, continues to cry foul over his death, the autopsy report of Kabeers body strengthens the ANFs theory that he was running away when challenged by ANF personnel. The Sringeri police have filed an FIR against Naveen G Naik, a gallantry award winning cop, and other unidentified ANF personnel under sections 302 (murder), 341 (wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and Section 295A (outraging religious feelings of any class), in connection with Kabeers death. Kabeers family alleges that he was shot by the ANF when he lost his temper during a confrontation with ANF personnel who abused him. An official source, however, said Kabeer was shot on his back. The autopsy report says that Kabeer was hit by more than one bullet on his back. How could this be the case if he was shot during a frontal confrontation? the source asked. The police said four people engaged in cattle trade in Mangalore were transporting 21 cattle heads purchased from Tirthahalli and Sringeri in a goods carrier. When the vehicle reached a check-post, ANF personnel signalled it to stop. The passengers got out and started running. Their behaviour prompted the ANF men to open fire. The ANF men thought they were Naxals, a police official said. While Kabeer died on the spot, ANF personnel took Umar Farooq (27) into their custody. Three others, Sarafaraz, Rafiq and the driver, Pramod, fled the spot.

Man confesses to rape, SC upholds life term

Legal Correspondent New Delhi, April 26

The Supreme Court has upheld the life sentence awarded to two persons for the gang rape and murder of a girl in 1995 on the basis of a confessional statement made by one of them to a village administrative officer. The victim had been subjected to sexual violence by four persons, including the two convicts, in a Tamil Nadu village, but the police could not solve the case for more than one month. After 35 days, the prime accused Bhaskaran made a confessional statement to the village officer and another about the crime and offered to surrender. A Bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and Gyan Sudha Misra pointed out that though the village officer had turned hostile during the trial, he could not refute the fact that the extra-judicial confession had been recorded in his presence. We are not prepared to accept the plea that merely because one of the witnesses to the confessional statement did not support the confession in its entirety, the entire confession should be brushed aside as unreliable, the Bench said. It also noted that the confessional statement matched with the post-mortem report and the evidence of an independent witness who corroborated the recording of the statement and thus did not raise any doubt about the credibility of the prosecution case. If the evidence relating to extra-judicial confession is found credible after being tested on the touchstone of credibility and acceptability, it can solely form the basis of conviction, the SC ruled yesterday. The trial court had acquitted the third and the fourth accused for want of evidence and the state government did not challenge the ruling in the High Court.

Recovery of dues from Kingfisher on: SBI chief Bangalore, April 26

State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya today said the process of recovery of dues from Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines is going on. "Kingfisher is currently a non-operative account and we don't want to discuss individual accounts. Whatever are the steps necessary for recovery, they are going on, but there are some steps that will take time because there is a legal system to negotiate with, and obviously there are legal challenges. So we are looking at that," she told reporters here. SBI leads a 17-member consortium of lenders that is trying to recover dues running into over Rs 7,500 crore in principal alone from Kingfisher Airlines. SBI has the maximum exposure of Rs 1,600 crore to the airline, which has been grounded since October 2012. Asked how much the bank has recovered from the sale of Kingfisher Airlines' shares, she said, "Nothing very much. I think the recovery is in the range of Rs 350 to Rs 400 crore." Asked about recovering the balance, she said, "I have fully provided from our profits." SBI Capital Markets Ltd has been tasked by the consortium of lenders to recover their dues. Punjab National Bank and IDBI Bank each have an exposure of Rs 800 crore each to Kingfisher, Bank of India Rs 650 crore and Bank of Baroda Rs 550 crore. Among the others, United Bank of India has Rs 430 crore, Central Bank of India (Rs 410 crore), Uco Bank (Rs 320 crore), Corporation Bank (Rs 310 crore), State Bank of Mysore, (Rs 150 crore), Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 140 crore), Federal Bank (Rs 90 crore), Punjab & Sind Bank (Rs 60 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 50 crore). Lenders outside the consortium are Srei Infrastructure Finance (Rs 430 crore), Jammu & Kashmir Bank (Rs 80 crore) and Oriental Bank of Commerce (Rs 50 crore).  PTI

Saradha scam: ED may grill TMC ministers Kolkata, April 26

The Enforcement Directorate may grill Trinamool Congress leaders and ministers in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. Referring to the interrogation of Trinamool Congress candidate from Balurghat Arpita Ghosh in the scam, a senior ED official said: "From now on, we will call whoever is needed for investigation in the scam." Asked whether there were chances that Trinamool ministers and leaders would be grilled, he said "Nobody is out of our radar." The ED had yesterday interrogated Ghosh for more than two and a half hours at its Salt Lake office. The ED had arrested Saradha Group chairman Sudipta Sen's wife Piyali Sen and son Subhojit though an SIT was set up by the state government to investigate the scam. The ED's investigation had led to a war of words between the state government which had accused ED of acting at the behest of Union Minister P Chidamabaram.  PTI

Murder convict spared gallows as apex court says he can be reformed

Legal Correspondent New Delhi, April 26

The Supreme Court has commuted the death penalty awarded to a person for murdering an 18-year-old girl after his failed rape attempt in a Uttar Pradesh village in 2004, observing that he would not be a menace to society and could be reformed. A Bench comprising Justices AK Patnaik and SJ Mukhopadhaya noted that the convict was 21-year-old while committing the crime and it was not the case of the prosecution that he could not be reformed. Also, he had no criminal antecedent. The victim had spurned the convicts advances earlier. The girls eve teasing indicates that the accused wanted sex with her and it was in this background that he made a forcible attempt to rape her. It appears that the girl was bold and brave and she resisted the forceful attempt which enraged and provoked the accused to eventually commit the crime, the SC observed. The apex court also pointed out that a Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court was divided on the verdict, with one of the judges confirming the death penalty and the other acquitting the accused. Then the case was sent to a third judge who affirmed the death sentence. Further, the case did not fall under the rarest of rare category, the SC said.

Priyanka defending husband as Cong not doing so: BJP

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 26

In a guarded attack on Priyanka, the BJP today said she was compelled to publicly defend her husband, Robert Vadra, in alleged controversial land deals as Congress leaders have not come to his defence. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaj Hussain said in tongue-in-cheek that Priyanka was following the Indian tradition of defending her husband in the best possible manner. On Priyankas criticism of BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, Hussain alleged that there was nothing new about it as she was trotting out rehearsed lines of Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Union Ministers. She is playing the same cassette, Hussain said. Not going to Varanasi Amethi: Priyanka Gandhi on Friday said she will not be campaigning in Varanasi, where party candidate Ajay Rai is pitted against BJP PM nominee Narendra Modi. I am not going to Varanasi. I will campaign in Amethi and Rae Bareli only, Priyanka said.  PTI