With the extremist elements in Pakistan expanding their sphere of influence, an American think tank on Friday warned that there could be another major terrorist attack inside India by these militants.
In its intelligence analysis after the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, Texas-based global intelligence agency Stratfor said India is watching fearfully as the jihadist insurgency in neighbouring Pakistan has spread to India's doorstep in Pakistan's Punjab province.
These attacks, Stratfor said, have revealed a trend in which the Kashmiri Islamist militant proxies formerly controlled by Pakistan's ISI are now moving into the jihadist orbit under al-Qaeda and the Taliban to carry out more complex and deadly attacks.
"Since these are the same militants who traditionally have had their sights on India, it is very likely that India will witness another large-scale attack," Stratfor said.
Under the Congress rule, it said, India restrained itself from attacking Pakistan following the November 2008 Mumbai attack.
"New Delhi's restraint arose from fears of destabilizing Pakistan further and granting the militants' wish for a cross-border conflict to divert the Pakistani military's attention from the Afghan-Pakistani border region toward India," it said.
As the link between Islamabad and its militant proxies grows more nebulous, India will continue to struggle to hold the Pakistani government accountable for such attacks, Stratfor said.
Commenting on the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Stratfor said it is more hard-line on national security issues, and never misses an opportunity to accuse Congress of being soft on terrorism.
"India is more likely to deliver a forceful response to future attacks should the BJP emerge victorious in these elections," it added.
Friday, April 17, 2009
'UPA allies will come together post-polls to form Govt'
LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday that the party would not "repeat the same mistake" of backing the BJP-led NDA as he exuded confidence that the Fourth Front would be able to form the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections.
The Fourth Front was formed as Congress had expressed inability to form a pre-poll alliance, he said, adding "the UPA allies LJP, RJD and Samajwadi Party had fought assembly and Lok Sabha elections separately in the past and came together to form the government."
The Fourth Front, would however, not join the NDA even if it secured a majority, he told reporters at the airport in Jamshedpur.
"I had committed a blunder in the past by supporting the NDA and I don't want to repeat the same mistake," he said. Later, at an election meeting, he criticised the BJP for its "anti-minority approach" saying the sole motive of the party was to "divide" the people on communal lines.
Paswan said he was proud of the minority community as it had protected the country during wars.
The Fourth Front was formed as Congress had expressed inability to form a pre-poll alliance, he said, adding "the UPA allies LJP, RJD and Samajwadi Party had fought assembly and Lok Sabha elections separately in the past and came together to form the government."
The Fourth Front, would however, not join the NDA even if it secured a majority, he told reporters at the airport in Jamshedpur.
"I had committed a blunder in the past by supporting the NDA and I don't want to repeat the same mistake," he said. Later, at an election meeting, he criticised the BJP for its "anti-minority approach" saying the sole motive of the party was to "divide" the people on communal lines.
Paswan said he was proud of the minority community as it had protected the country during wars.
Extend ceasefire, India tells Lanka
Amid criticism that it wasn't doing enough to influence Sri Lanka, India today made it clear to Colombo that further civilian casualties in the war zone would be "totally unacceptable". This came on a day the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK said in its election manifesto that if devolution of powers in Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka failed to give equal status to Tamils, it would press for a “separate Eelam”.
Adding to the pressure, Tamil Nadu chief minister Mr M Karunanidhi shot off a telegram to New Delhi urging the government to sever all ties with Colombo if did not honour and implement India's appeal for a ceasefire immediately.
“Tamils should be accorded equal status with the Sinhala majority with devolution of administrative power in the Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka,” the AIADMK manifesto, released by Miss J Jayalalithaa in Chennai, reads. It reads: “If these moves fail, then AIADMK will press for a separate state of Eelam to ensure that Tamils in the island live a life of dignity.”
Foreign minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee urged Sri Lanka to extend a limited ceasefire to enable the civilians trapped in the conflict zone to move to safe areas. "Sri Lanka must extend this pause in hostilities to prevent further casualties and enable trapped civilians to leave the area to secure locations," he said in an unusually hard-hitting statement. "Continuation of precipitate military actions leading to further civilian casualties at this time would be totally unacceptable," he added. Mr Mukherjee said that while it was incumbent on the LTTE to release all civilians under its control, Colombo "cannot be oblivious to the evolving human tragedy and the fate of the Tamil civilian population caught up in the so-called no fire zone". "There is no reason not to continue with the pause in military actions in the no fire zone... India expects the government of Sri Lanka and others concerned to respond positively to this appeal...," Mr Mukherjee said.
The statement was immediately hailed by the Tamil National Alliance, the pro-LTTE Sri Lankan Tamil grouping that over the past two days met national security advisor Mr MK Narayanan and foreign secretary Mr Shivshankar Menon to impress upon them the need for India to act fast.
In Chennai, the AIADMK manifesto promised a grant of Rs 10,000 crore for the restoration and development of Tamil areas of Sri Lanka after the devolution was completed. Sharing the dais with CPI-M general secretary Mr Prakash Karat, CPI leaders Mr N Varadarajan, Mr AB Bhardan, Mr D Raja, Mr D Pandian other than PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and MDMK leader Mr Vaiko, Miss Jayalalithaa urged the electorate: "Give us 40 seats and we can be kingmakers.”
Meanwhile, as top UN official and veteran Indian diplomat Mr Vijay Nambiar met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the plight of civilians trapped in fighting in the north, the LTTE, in a statement on the pro-Tiger TamilNet website, accused the UN, India and the international community of tacitly backing Sri Lanka in launching a military offensive in the civilian safety zone even as it sought a permanent truce in the north..
Adding to the pressure, Tamil Nadu chief minister Mr M Karunanidhi shot off a telegram to New Delhi urging the government to sever all ties with Colombo if did not honour and implement India's appeal for a ceasefire immediately.
“Tamils should be accorded equal status with the Sinhala majority with devolution of administrative power in the Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka,” the AIADMK manifesto, released by Miss J Jayalalithaa in Chennai, reads. It reads: “If these moves fail, then AIADMK will press for a separate state of Eelam to ensure that Tamils in the island live a life of dignity.”
Foreign minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee urged Sri Lanka to extend a limited ceasefire to enable the civilians trapped in the conflict zone to move to safe areas. "Sri Lanka must extend this pause in hostilities to prevent further casualties and enable trapped civilians to leave the area to secure locations," he said in an unusually hard-hitting statement. "Continuation of precipitate military actions leading to further civilian casualties at this time would be totally unacceptable," he added. Mr Mukherjee said that while it was incumbent on the LTTE to release all civilians under its control, Colombo "cannot be oblivious to the evolving human tragedy and the fate of the Tamil civilian population caught up in the so-called no fire zone". "There is no reason not to continue with the pause in military actions in the no fire zone... India expects the government of Sri Lanka and others concerned to respond positively to this appeal...," Mr Mukherjee said.
The statement was immediately hailed by the Tamil National Alliance, the pro-LTTE Sri Lankan Tamil grouping that over the past two days met national security advisor Mr MK Narayanan and foreign secretary Mr Shivshankar Menon to impress upon them the need for India to act fast.
In Chennai, the AIADMK manifesto promised a grant of Rs 10,000 crore for the restoration and development of Tamil areas of Sri Lanka after the devolution was completed. Sharing the dais with CPI-M general secretary Mr Prakash Karat, CPI leaders Mr N Varadarajan, Mr AB Bhardan, Mr D Raja, Mr D Pandian other than PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and MDMK leader Mr Vaiko, Miss Jayalalithaa urged the electorate: "Give us 40 seats and we can be kingmakers.”
Meanwhile, as top UN official and veteran Indian diplomat Mr Vijay Nambiar met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the plight of civilians trapped in fighting in the north, the LTTE, in a statement on the pro-Tiger TamilNet website, accused the UN, India and the international community of tacitly backing Sri Lanka in launching a military offensive in the civilian safety zone even as it sought a permanent truce in the north..
Now, Madhuri magic for Maya’s party
Stretching its social engineering project ~ which is no more than a euphemism for caste politics according to some ~ beyond the shores of India and the confines of the political spectrum, the Miss Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party has invited America-settled Hindi film actress Madhuri Dixit to visit Pune and campaign for Mr DS Kulkarni, its Brahmin candidate for the Lok Sabha constituency.
While it's unusual, even uncharacteristic, of Miss Mayawati to invite any mainstream "celebrity" to canvass for her tightly controlled political organisation, the fact that Dixit had been a director on the board of Mr Kulkarni’s Pune-based construction company ~ DSK Developers Private Limited ~ for several years and that the actress and the BSP candidate are of the same caste may clinch the issue. Reports from Pune suggest the erstwhile Bollywood top draw who is still popular and in demand by filmmakers is likely to agree to campaign for Mr Kulkarni.
Pune, which goes to the polls in the second phase on 26 April, is known as the "cultural capital" of Maharashtra and glories in the historical fact that it was ruled by (Brahmin) Peshwa rulers before British colonial subjugation. The city has around four lakh Brahmin voters and Mr Kulkarni is the most powerful builder of the city. But that doesn't prevent him from often beginning his campaign speech with the invocation "Jai Bhim", a reverential reference to BR Ambedkar. BSP sources said the party was hopeful of opening its account in Maharashtra as Mr Kulkarni is in with a "winning chance". "All he needs is a little boost," a BSP leader told The Statesman; and it's that X Factor, as it were, which Madhuri Dixit is expected to be if she addresses a few rallies.
Indeed, the news that Bollywood's dancing diva may pitch in for the BSP candidate may be the last straw for the Congress’ sitting MP Mr Suresh Kalmadi who is waging a grim battle to retain his seat as the "caste combination" seems to be working in favour of Mr Kulkarni. As it is, Mr Kalmadi is heavily dependent on the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra, to run his campaign; and while Mr Sharad Pawar has addressed a couple of rallies for him, the NCP chief's nephew Mr Ajit Pawar has refused to campaign for Mr Kalmadi.
n Nandu Kulkarni
While it's unusual, even uncharacteristic, of Miss Mayawati to invite any mainstream "celebrity" to canvass for her tightly controlled political organisation, the fact that Dixit had been a director on the board of Mr Kulkarni’s Pune-based construction company ~ DSK Developers Private Limited ~ for several years and that the actress and the BSP candidate are of the same caste may clinch the issue. Reports from Pune suggest the erstwhile Bollywood top draw who is still popular and in demand by filmmakers is likely to agree to campaign for Mr Kulkarni.
Pune, which goes to the polls in the second phase on 26 April, is known as the "cultural capital" of Maharashtra and glories in the historical fact that it was ruled by (Brahmin) Peshwa rulers before British colonial subjugation. The city has around four lakh Brahmin voters and Mr Kulkarni is the most powerful builder of the city. But that doesn't prevent him from often beginning his campaign speech with the invocation "Jai Bhim", a reverential reference to BR Ambedkar. BSP sources said the party was hopeful of opening its account in Maharashtra as Mr Kulkarni is in with a "winning chance". "All he needs is a little boost," a BSP leader told The Statesman; and it's that X Factor, as it were, which Madhuri Dixit is expected to be if she addresses a few rallies.
Indeed, the news that Bollywood's dancing diva may pitch in for the BSP candidate may be the last straw for the Congress’ sitting MP Mr Suresh Kalmadi who is waging a grim battle to retain his seat as the "caste combination" seems to be working in favour of Mr Kulkarni. As it is, Mr Kalmadi is heavily dependent on the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra, to run his campaign; and while Mr Sharad Pawar has addressed a couple of rallies for him, the NCP chief's nephew Mr Ajit Pawar has refused to campaign for Mr Kalmadi.
n Nandu Kulkarni
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
BSNL unions reject Esop offer in mega share sale
With the largest worker unions at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, or BSNL, opposed to a proposed share sale in the state-owned phone firm, Union minister for communications and information technology Andimuthu Raja has offered the company’s more than 300,000 workers stock at Rs10 a share compared with the Rs300-400 he expects it to list at.
The Union government has started the process of selling shares in an initial public offering, or IPO, with BSNL’s board of directors last week approving a share sale of up to 10% equity shares in the company.BSNL is India’s largest phone services firm by sales with revenues of some Rs39,715 crore last fiscal and is projected at Rs50,000 crore by 2010.
“The trade unions have expressed their apprehensions saying that BSNL can be managed better without an IPO and that the employees will suffer. The plans for public listing will be finalized after some round of talks with the employee unions—individually and collectively,” Raja told reporters on Thursday after a first meeting with the unions.
ALSO READ
$100 billion valuation is low-end: BSNL
BSNL mulls IPO, 33% market share by 2010
Each BSNL employee will be offered 500 shares through employee stock option plans, or Esops, at a price of Rs10 each potentially netting each worker up to Rs200,000, the minister said.
BSNL’s director of finance S.D. Saxena said the IPO could take place within six months though investment bankers to the sale had not been appointed.
The worker unions, however, stuck to their stand. V.A.N. Namboodiri, general secretary of BSNL Employees Union, the largest such group at the New Delhi-headquartered firm, said his union would reject the stock option offer and that it remained opposed to the company’s listing.
A second trade union echoed the view. “Even the private companies are not going for IPO now. At present we need to improve the performance of the company,” Thomas K. John, general secretary, Federation of National Telecom Union, said over the phone, adding that an IPO was the first step towards privatization of the state-owned telecom services firm.
‘Each BSNL employee will be offered 500 shares through Esops, at Rs10 each, netting up to Rs200,000.’
Worker unions are powerful at BSNL. Some 13 unions represent 304,000 BSNL employees, but five of six workers are members of four unions. The largest among them are the BSNL Employees Union backed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist); Federation of National Telecom Union, which is supported by Intuc (Indian National Trade Union Congress); National Federation of Telecom Employees, the trade union wing of the Congress-backed Aituc (All India Trade Union Congress); and BMS (Bharat Mazdoor Sangh).
Analysts say union opposition and weak market sentiment—Indian shares have lost a quarter of their value this year, and IPO plans of about $4.1 billion have been deferred—could limit investor appetite for large offers.
“I have some reservations about such a large IPO,” said R.K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Mutual Fund. “The first thing is they will have tough time in convincing the unions and just think of the kind of impact it would have on the broader market in terms of liquidity.”
In mobile subscribers, BSNL lags Bharti Airtel Ltd—whose market value is about $39 billion (Rs1,634 crore)—Reliance Communications Ltd and unlisted Vodafone Essar, which is controlled by Vodafone Plc.
At the end of June, BSNL had nearly 73 million wireless and fixed-line subscribers, slightly ahead of mobile services leader Bharti Airtel with nearly 72 million users.
In January, Saxena, had said the firm valued itself at $100 billion, and was looking at selling 10% to the public. On Thursday, he said BSNL was “still very aggressive” on the valuation.
In 2004, India raised $2.5 billion by selling a 10% stake in state-run oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd, a record at the time, and $1.3 billion from a public offer of power producer NTPC Ltd.
They were the last big public offerings by state-run firms.
In a separate decision, the government had decided to compensate BSNL for revenue losses from running rural networks. “We have decided to exempt licence fees on landlines in rural areas, arising out of sharing of adjusted growth revenue (AGR), which will be Rs600-800 crore,” Raja said. Phone firms in India pay between 2% and 7% of gross revenue to the government as licence fees.
The government has, on recommendations from the country’s telecom regulator, decided to compensate BSNL for the losses on access deficit charges or a levy meant to compensate the phone firm for its rural business that was rescinded by the regulator in March.
The firm will be compensated Rs2,000 crore by India’s universal service obligation fund, the minister said.
New Delhi also has approved release of one block of spectrum or airwaves each to BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd to help them roll out 3G, or third generation, mobile phone services and have a first-mover advantage over private operators in the country.
The Union government has started the process of selling shares in an initial public offering, or IPO, with BSNL’s board of directors last week approving a share sale of up to 10% equity shares in the company.BSNL is India’s largest phone services firm by sales with revenues of some Rs39,715 crore last fiscal and is projected at Rs50,000 crore by 2010.
“The trade unions have expressed their apprehensions saying that BSNL can be managed better without an IPO and that the employees will suffer. The plans for public listing will be finalized after some round of talks with the employee unions—individually and collectively,” Raja told reporters on Thursday after a first meeting with the unions.
ALSO READ
$100 billion valuation is low-end: BSNL
BSNL mulls IPO, 33% market share by 2010
Each BSNL employee will be offered 500 shares through employee stock option plans, or Esops, at a price of Rs10 each potentially netting each worker up to Rs200,000, the minister said.
BSNL’s director of finance S.D. Saxena said the IPO could take place within six months though investment bankers to the sale had not been appointed.
The worker unions, however, stuck to their stand. V.A.N. Namboodiri, general secretary of BSNL Employees Union, the largest such group at the New Delhi-headquartered firm, said his union would reject the stock option offer and that it remained opposed to the company’s listing.
A second trade union echoed the view. “Even the private companies are not going for IPO now. At present we need to improve the performance of the company,” Thomas K. John, general secretary, Federation of National Telecom Union, said over the phone, adding that an IPO was the first step towards privatization of the state-owned telecom services firm.
‘Each BSNL employee will be offered 500 shares through Esops, at Rs10 each, netting up to Rs200,000.’
Worker unions are powerful at BSNL. Some 13 unions represent 304,000 BSNL employees, but five of six workers are members of four unions. The largest among them are the BSNL Employees Union backed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist); Federation of National Telecom Union, which is supported by Intuc (Indian National Trade Union Congress); National Federation of Telecom Employees, the trade union wing of the Congress-backed Aituc (All India Trade Union Congress); and BMS (Bharat Mazdoor Sangh).
Analysts say union opposition and weak market sentiment—Indian shares have lost a quarter of their value this year, and IPO plans of about $4.1 billion have been deferred—could limit investor appetite for large offers.
“I have some reservations about such a large IPO,” said R.K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Mutual Fund. “The first thing is they will have tough time in convincing the unions and just think of the kind of impact it would have on the broader market in terms of liquidity.”
In mobile subscribers, BSNL lags Bharti Airtel Ltd—whose market value is about $39 billion (Rs1,634 crore)—Reliance Communications Ltd and unlisted Vodafone Essar, which is controlled by Vodafone Plc.
At the end of June, BSNL had nearly 73 million wireless and fixed-line subscribers, slightly ahead of mobile services leader Bharti Airtel with nearly 72 million users.
In January, Saxena, had said the firm valued itself at $100 billion, and was looking at selling 10% to the public. On Thursday, he said BSNL was “still very aggressive” on the valuation.
In 2004, India raised $2.5 billion by selling a 10% stake in state-run oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd, a record at the time, and $1.3 billion from a public offer of power producer NTPC Ltd.
They were the last big public offerings by state-run firms.
In a separate decision, the government had decided to compensate BSNL for revenue losses from running rural networks. “We have decided to exempt licence fees on landlines in rural areas, arising out of sharing of adjusted growth revenue (AGR), which will be Rs600-800 crore,” Raja said. Phone firms in India pay between 2% and 7% of gross revenue to the government as licence fees.
The government has, on recommendations from the country’s telecom regulator, decided to compensate BSNL for the losses on access deficit charges or a levy meant to compensate the phone firm for its rural business that was rescinded by the regulator in March.
The firm will be compensated Rs2,000 crore by India’s universal service obligation fund, the minister said.
New Delhi also has approved release of one block of spectrum or airwaves each to BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd to help them roll out 3G, or third generation, mobile phone services and have a first-mover advantage over private operators in the country.
Manji’s family waits for birth certificate
Thirteen-Day-Old Manji Yamada’s family said they were expecting her birth certificate on Friday since an application for the same had already been submitted with the Anand municipality in Gujarat on Thursday.
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Supreme Court of India
Japan Visa
The birth certificate may be Manji’s ticket back to her father Dr Yukufusi Yamada in Japan. However, this is possible only if there is cooperation between the Government of India, which has to issue travel documents, and Japanese embassy, which has to grant the visa.
Supreme Court advocate Indira Jaisingh, counsel for the Yamada family, said, “The birth certificate will establish Dr Yamada as the father, following which the Government of India can grant the travel documents. The Japanese embassy needs to grant a visa.” She added that according to the law, Manji would not be an Indian citizen, as neither of her parents is an Indian.
“The father, Dr Yamada is a Japanese citizen, while technically her maternal line cannot be proven. So she cannot be issued a passport,” Jaisingh said.
Dr Sanjay Arya, director of Arya Hospital in Jaipur where Manji is staying with her grandmother Emiko, said there would be no need to move court. “Since Dr Yamada and Emiko were present at the time of her birth, Dr Yamada is the father and Emiko the natural guardian,” Dr Arya said.
Legal experts predict minor hiccups before Manji can be reunited with her father. “The only issue could be the Government of India or the Japanese embassy insisting on proof of parentage. This can be substantiated with a DNA test,” Jaisingh said.
Related Stories Attack of the millipedes gives 2 Gujarat villages the crawls
Japanese baby gets a new ‘mother’ for now
Manoj Kumar seeks stay on TV premier of Om Shanti Om
Dark ages again as Orissa shuts for partial eclipse
Ad LinksFind My Father
Supreme Court of India
Japan Visa
The birth certificate may be Manji’s ticket back to her father Dr Yukufusi Yamada in Japan. However, this is possible only if there is cooperation between the Government of India, which has to issue travel documents, and Japanese embassy, which has to grant the visa.
Supreme Court advocate Indira Jaisingh, counsel for the Yamada family, said, “The birth certificate will establish Dr Yamada as the father, following which the Government of India can grant the travel documents. The Japanese embassy needs to grant a visa.” She added that according to the law, Manji would not be an Indian citizen, as neither of her parents is an Indian.
“The father, Dr Yamada is a Japanese citizen, while technically her maternal line cannot be proven. So she cannot be issued a passport,” Jaisingh said.
Dr Sanjay Arya, director of Arya Hospital in Jaipur where Manji is staying with her grandmother Emiko, said there would be no need to move court. “Since Dr Yamada and Emiko were present at the time of her birth, Dr Yamada is the father and Emiko the natural guardian,” Dr Arya said.
Legal experts predict minor hiccups before Manji can be reunited with her father. “The only issue could be the Government of India or the Japanese embassy insisting on proof of parentage. This can be substantiated with a DNA test,” Jaisingh said.
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