Mayawati ridicules Pawar over Price Rise

Lashing out at Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for the recent rise in food prices, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Thursday said wrong policies of the Central Government had helped "blackmarketeers and hoarders".

"The government is working under pressure of black-marketeers. Prices are rising due to the anti-poor policies of the Central Government," Mayawati told reporters. Pawar's policies helped sugar mill owners, she alleged, and added that the sugar prices were sky-rocketing because of wrong policies of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Central Government.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief had come under attack from Pawar on Wednesday for the Uttar Pradesh government's sugar policy, which Pawar said had led to a shortage. On Wednesday, Sharad Pawar had stated that soaring prices of essential commodities will start coming down in 8-10 days, adding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called a meeting of the chief ministers in New Delhi on January 27 to discuss the issue. "With the measures we have taken, the prices of essential commodities are expected to start coming down in eight to 10 days," he told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Prices chaired by Manmohan Singh.

Pawar had said the Prime Minister would also discuss the implementation of the Essential Commodities Act with the chief ministers. Pawar had also stated that state governments were not lifting the wheat and rice stocks made available to them by the Central Government. (ANI)

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IIT-JEE results declared

Over 10,000 students have qualified in the 2009 Indian Institue of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination with Nitin Jain, a student from Delhi zone, topping the list.

A total of 10,035 students, including 1,048 girls, have succeeded in this year's IIT-JEE, results of which were announced on Monday.

The students, who cracked the test, will get admission into 15 IITs, IT-BHU and ISM Dhanbad, which will offer over 8,500 seats this year.

"There will be more seats in the IITs this year as the institutes will implement OBC quota. Besides, two new IITs, one in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and another in Indore in Madhya Pradesh, will start functioning," IIT Guwahati Director Prof Gautam Baruah said.

The total number of seats in the IITs for this year will be 8,295, against 6,332 seats offered by 13 IITs last year, he said.

The highest number of 2,831 students have qualified from Mumbai zone.

The counselling for admission will start from June nine, Baruah said.

Nearly four lakh students had appeared in the test held across the country on April 13. The number of questions came down to 120 this year compared to 132 last year.

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Priyanka Gandhi's father in Law commits suicide

Rajinder Vadra, the father-in-law of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, was on Friday found hanging from a ceiling fan in a south Delhi guest house.

"Rajinder used the wire of a clothes iron to hang himself from the ceiling fan in a guest house, City Inn, in Hauz Khas area. A room attendant found the body around 9.30 a.m.," said a police official.

"The guest house employees rushed him to a private hospital in Saket where he was declared brought dead. The body was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital for post-mortem," the official added.

According to the official, Vadra was in his 60s and was staying at the guest house for some time. He was undergoing treatment at the Super Specialty Max Hospital for a liver disease, he said.

After the post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to his son Robert Vadra. The cremation was held at the Lodhi Road crematorium.

Rajinder Vadra resided in the Civil Lines area of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh and ran a brass and wood handicrafts business from there.

Around seven-eight years ago Robert Vadra sent a notice to his father and elder brother Richard, accusing them of using his relationship with Priyanka Gandhi to try and get people appointed to the Uttar Pradesh Congress committee and the Moradabad District Congress committee.

Rajinder Vadra, who was separated from his family, had in an interview denied his son's allegations and expressed his displeasure at his marrying Priyanka, the daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

His daughter Michelle died in a car accident some years ago.

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Obama admits India is a global superpower

Declaring that India was the new global power, US President Barack Obama said the country is a critical player on the world stage.

Obama was speaking after he had his first meeting with PM Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

He said the US sees India as a global partner and together the two countries can play a critical part in meeting the challenges of the 21st century, he said at the end of a lively one-on-one meeting with Singh.

“Singh has unleashed India’s economic power in the world. He is largely responsible for the rise of India,” Obama noted.

PM Manmohan Singh returned the US president;s compliments by saying India greatly admires Obama.

Singh referred to strategic relationship that had developed between the two countries during the last five years and India wanted to carry this forward.

"Under your leadership we will face challenges such as climate change," the Prime Minister told Obama

Conveying India's keenness to carry forward the Indo-US strategic relationship that has developed over the last five years, Singh told Obama that India and the US shared "same dreams and same vision" and the two countries would like to work together to realise those dreams.

Singh said he would like to invite Obama to India where a warm welcome awaits you. Obama, inturn, invited Singh to the US.

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IIM Bangalore Increases Seats, Hikes Fees

Rs 5 lakh to Rs 5.75 lakh

Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore has increased fees for its two-year post-graduate programmes from Rs five lakh to Rs 5.25 lakh.

And for 2010-11, the fee has been hiked to Rs 5.75 lakh. This was unanimously decided at the Board of Governors meeting presided by IIM-B Chairman Mukesh Ambani, IIMB Director Prof Pankaj Chandra told reporters.

"We looked at the additional cost, wages increase, the increase in pension because of the sixth pay commission which we had to bear", he said, also noting that IIMB does not get any government funding. "In fact, the hike was coming to Rs 2.5 lakh but we limited it out and hopefully we will control our cost".

He said IIMB has also increased the number of seats in its post-graduate programmes from 270 to 350. IIMB is starting a new post-graduate executive programme from tomorrow, and 75 students have already enrolled for it.

Asked if IIMB has plans to make changes in the curriculum, Chandra said the Institute is going to review the entire programme sometime later but added that core subjects would remain the same.

On compliance with OBC quota requirements, he said: "We will be exceeding OBC requirements by 15-20% this year".

Only a month ago, the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) had more than doubled its fees to Rs 9 lakh for over 400 students for the 2009-11 academic session, while doubling the scholarship fund from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.50 crore per year.

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Narendra Modi Marriage with US Actress Anita-અમેરિકન અભિનેત્રી અનિતા સાથે નરેન્દ્ર મોદીનાં પ્રભુતામાં પગલા-

Guajrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Marriage with US Actress Anita On 31 March 2009. At this grand ceramony guests were Jaydeep Patel , Nikunj Modh, Bhavik Patel, Nayak Rajan, Nitin Pawar, L.K. Advani, Mukesh Ambani , Ratan Tata are to be present for blesh Mr Modi.

ગુજરાતના મુખ્યમંત્રી નરેન્દ્ર મોદી કે જેમના વ્યક્તિત્વ પર હજારો સ્ત્રીઓ મુગ્ધ છે તેમણે આખરે તેમની જીવનસંગિની તરીકે એક અસાધારણ મહિલા પર પોતાની પસંદગીનો કળશ ઢોળી જ દીધો છે. મોદીની ફેન એવી હજારો અન્ય યુવતીઓએ હવે નિરાશ થવું પડશે.

છેલ્લા કેટલાક સમયથી નરેન્દ્ર મોદીના રાજકીય વ્યક્તિત્વથી પ્રભાવિત થયેલી હોલિવૂડની નવોદિત અભિનેત્રી અનિતા એકબર્ગ સાથે થોડીક પસંદગીની વ્યક્તિઓની હાજરીમાં નરેન્દ્ર મોદીએ તેમના વતન વડનગર ખાતે આવેલા મંદિરમાં ભારે ગુપ્તતા વચ્ચે સપ્તપદીનાં સાત ફેરા ફરી લીધા હતા. આ પ્રસંગને અત્યંત અંગત રાખવામાં આવ્યો હતો અને સલામતી રક્ષકોને પણ દૂર રાખવામાં આવ્યા હતા.

પ્રાપ્ત થતી માહિતી અનુસાર આ પ્રસંગે દિલ્હીથી બોલાવાયેલા પૂજારી રામશરણ શર્માએ હિન્દુ લગ્નવિધિ કરાવી હતી. ૨૮ વર્ષની ક્રિશ્ચિયન અનિતા એકબર્ગે હિન્દુ ધર્મ પણ અંગિકાર કર્યો હતો અને ત્યાર બાદ જ અનિતા એકબર્ગે જાજરમાન સાડી પહેરીને નરેન્દ્ર મોદી સાથે પ્રભુતામાં પગલાં માંડવાનું પસંદ કર્યું હતું. નવવધૂનાં માતા-પિતા અને અનિતા એક ચાર્ટર્ડ વિમાન દ્વારા સવારે અમદાવાદ આવ્યાં હતાં અને એરપોર્ટથી હોટેલ તાજ-ઉમેદ પર રોકાઈ સીધાં વડનગર હંકારી ગયાં હતાં.

જાણવા મળે છે કે, છેલ્લા કેટલાક સમયથી અત્યંત વ્યસ્ત રહેતા નરેન્દ્ર મોદી પર પક્ષના આગેવાનોનું લગ્ન માટે દબાણ હતું અને ખાસ કરીને એલ. કે. અડવાણીની લીલી ઝંડી અને આશીર્વાદ મળ્યા બાદ મોદી લગ્ન માટે સંમત થયા હતા. લગ્ન પ્રસંગે એલ. કે. અડવાણી અને તેમનાં પત્ની તથા પુત્રી હાજર રહ્યાં હતાં. મોદી અડવાણીજીને પિતાતુલ્ય માને છે.

અનિતા એકબર્ગે અમેરિકાની મિશિગન યુનિર્વિસટી દ્વારા કાયદાશાસ્ત્રમાં ગ્રેજ્યુએશન કરેલું છે. જ્યારે એક્ટિંગની તાલીમ બ્રિટિશ એકેડેમી ઓફ પરર્ફોિંમગ આર્ટ લંડન દ્વારા હાંસલ કરી છે. આ ઉપરાંત આવતા મહિને અનિતાના અભિનયવાળી ફિલ્મ ‘નાયગ્રા ફોલ્સ’ અને ‘ધી અમેરિકન ફેમિલી’ વિશ્વભરના થિયેટરોમાં રજૂ થશે.

મોદીની નજીકનાં સૂત્રો પાસેથી મળતી માહિતી અનુસાર હોલિવૂડની અભિનેત્રી અનિતા એકબર્ગ છેલ્લા કેટલાક સમયથી મોદીની વેબસાઈટ જોતી હતી. મોદીનાં પ્રવચનોનો તે ધ્યાનપૂર્વક અભ્યાસ કરતી હતી. ઈ-મેઈલ દ્વારા મોદીના સંપર્કમાં હતી અને અનિતાએ જ સામેથી મોદી સાથે લગ્નનો પ્રસ્તાવ મોકલ્યો હતો.

અનિતા એકબર્ગ અને નરેન્દ્ર મોદીનો પ્રથમ પરિચય દક્ષિણ આફ્રિકાના જહોનીસબર્ગ ખાતે થયો હતો. અનિતા એકબર્ગ એ વખતે દક્ષિણ આફ્રિકામાં અંગ્રેજી ફિલ્મ ‘નોન વાયોલન્સ’ માટે શૂટિંગમાં વ્યસ્ત હતી. અનિતા નાની હતી ત્યારે જ તેણે ગાંધીજીની આત્મકથાની અંગ્રેજી આવૃત્તિ વાંચી હતી. તે ગાંધીજીના વ્યક્તિત્વથી પ્રભાવિત હતી. દક્ષિણ આફ્રિકામાં શૂટિંગ દરમિયાન કોઈએ તેને કહ્યું કે, ગાંધીજીના ગુજરાતમાંથી એક પ્રભાવશાળી નેતા આવ્યા છે. ગુજરાત અને ગાંધીજીનું નામ સાંભળતાં જ તે જહોનીસબર્ગ ખાતે નરેન્દ્ર મોદીના એક કાર્યક્રમમાં પહોંચી ગઈ હતી. મોદીનું પ્રવચન સાંભળી અનિતા એકબર્ગ મંત્રમુગ્ધ થઈ ગઈ હતી અને મોદીને ડેટિંગ માટે ઓફર કરી હતી. અનિતાએ ચાર દિવસ માટે તેની સાથે સફારી પાર્કની ટૂર પર આવવા આમંત્રણ આપ્યું હતું, પરંતુ મોદીએ સવિનય ઇનકાર કરી ભવિષ્યમાં તેઓ વિચારશે તેમ જણાવ્યું હતું.

દક્ષિણ આફ્રિકાના પ્રવાસેથી પાછા ફરતી વખતે અનિતા એકબર્ગ ફરીથી મોદીને મળવા હોટેલ પર ગઈ હતી. અનિતાએ મોદીને ફ્લાવર્સ અને ચોકલેટ્સ ભેટ આપ્યાં હતાં. અનિતાનો મોદી માટેનો આ પ્રથમ દૃષ્ટિનો પ્રેમ હતો. ફૂલોના પ્રતિભાવમાં મોદીએ તેમના ગળામાં વીંટાળેલું રેશમી મફલર અનિતાને આપ્યું હતું. કહેવાય છે કે, બહારથી સખત લાગતા મોદીને પહેલી જ વાર અનિતા પ્રત્યે લગાવ પેદા થયો હતો.

શૂટિંગ પતાવીને લોસ એન્જલિસ પહોંચેલી આ અભિનેત્રી નિયમિત રીતે નરેન્દ્ર મોદીને ફોન કરતી હતી. તે વારેવારે ઇન્ડિયા આવવાની ઇચ્છા વ્યક્ત કરતી હતી. કહેવાય છે કે, ચીફ મિનિસ્ટરે અનિતાને ‘વાયબ્રન્ટ ગુજરાત સમિટ’ વખતે ગુજરાત આવવા નિમંત્રણ આપ્યું હતું. અનિતા હજી નવોદિત અભિનેત્રી હોઈ ગુજરાતના લોકો તેને ઓળખી શક્યા ન હતા. અનિતા એકબર્ગ તેના મમ્મી-પપ્પા સાથે ગુજરાત આવી હતી, પરંતુ વાયબ્રન્ટ ગુજરાત સમિટ વખતે ગુજરાતી સાડી પહેરીને અનિતાએ મોદીને સરપ્રાઈઝ આપ્યું હતું. વાયબ્રન્ટ સમિટ વખતે મોદીએ ટોચના ઉદ્યોગપતિ ગૌતમ અદાણીને એકબર્ગ પરિવારની સરભરાની જવાબદારી સોંપી હતી. અનિતા તેના માતા-પિતા સાથે ગાંધી આશ્રમ પણ ગઈ હતી. અને ભારતની ગરીબીથી દ્રવી ઊઠેલી અનિતાએ મોદીને સાથ આપી ગરીબોની ઝૂંપડપટ્ટી વિસ્તારમાં કામ કરવાની ઇચ્છા વ્યક્ત કરી હતી. આ હેતુ પાર પાડવા તેણે એક સંપૂર્ણ ભારતીય બનીને ગરીબો માટે કામ કરવા માટે મોદી સાથે લગ્ન પણ કરવાની તીવ્ર ઈચ્છા વ્યક્ત કરી હતી.

પ્રાપ્ત થતી માહિતી અનુસાર નરેન્દ્ર મોદી અનિતા એકબર્ગની મનની ઇચ્છાઓ જાણી ગયા હતા. એમાંયે અનિતાના ગાંધી-વિચારોથી તેઓ પણ પ્રભાવિત થયા હતા. એ પછી અનિતા એકબર્ગ અમેરિકાથી મોદીનો નિયમિત સંપર્ક કરતી રહી હતી. તેમનાં પ્રવચનોની સીડી તે નિયમિત મંગાવતી રહી હતી. મોદીનાં પ્રવચનોની સીડી મોકલનાર સી.એમ. ઓફિસના ઈ-પ્રચાર અધિકારી ધીરેન અવાશિયાને પણ ખબર નહોતી કે, તેઓ મોદીની ફેનને સીડી મોકલાવતા રહ્યા છે કે મોદીની વાગ્દત્તાને ?

જાણવા મળે છે કે, અનિતા એકબર્ગ મોદીની સાથે રહી ગુજરાતની જનતા માટે કામ કરવા માંગતી હોઈ તે મોદી સાથે લગ્ન પણ કરવા માંગે છે તેવો પ્રસ્તાવ આપ્યો હતો. આમ તો મોદી કોઈનીયે સલાહ લેતા નથી, પરંતુ મુંબઈમાં એક ખાનગી મીટિંગ દરમિયન મોદીએ રતન તાતાની લગ્ન અંગે સલાહ માંગી હતી. રતન તાતાએ મોદીને જણાવ્યું હતું કે, “હું ખુદ અપરિણીત છું તેથી સલાહ આપવાને લાયક નથી, પરંતુ તમે બુદ્ધિશાળી છો. અમેરિકા તમને વિઝા આપવાની ના પાડે છે, પરંતુ જો તમે એક અમેરિકન સિટિઝન મહિલા સાથે લગ્ન કરી લેશો તો અમેરિકાના બાપને પણ છૂટકો નથી કે તે તમને વિઝા ના આપે. બુશના ગાલ પર તમાચો મારવો હોય તો અમેરિકન યુવતી સાથે લગ્ન કરી લ્યો. આ વાત અમેરિકાના મીડિયામાં જશે અને અમેરિકન કંપનીઓ પણ ઇન્ડિયામાં આવશે.”

આમ પ્રથમ તાતા અને છેલ્લે અડવાણીજીની સલાહ લીધી હતી. એલ. કે. અડવાણીએ અનિતા એકબર્ગ હિન્દુ ધર્મ અંગિકાર કરે તો જ લગ્ન કરવાં એવી સલાહ આપી હતી. અનિતાએ એ શરત પણ સ્વીકારી લીધી હતી, પરંતુ આખોયે લગ્નવિધિ લોકોની ભીડ ન થઈ જાય તે માટે વડનગરના મંદિરમાં સાદગીથી ગૂપચૂપ રીતે પાર પાડી દેવામાં આવ્યો હતો.

પ્રાપ્ત માહિતી અનુસાર લગ્નવિધિ બાદ નરેન્દ્ર મોદી અને નવવધૂ અનિતા તમામ મતભેદો ભૂલીને સીધાં જ કેશુભાઈ પટેલના નિવાસસ્થાને હંકારી ગયા હતાં અને કેશુબાપાએ વર-વધૂના મોંમાં ગોળ મૂકી બેઉને આશીર્વાદ આપ્યા હતા. સામે પગલે આશીર્વાદ લેવા આવેલા નરેન્દ્ર મોદીને જોઈ કેશુબાપાની આંખમાં ઝળઝળિયાં આવી ગયાં હતાં. કેશુબાપાએ પેટીમાંથી એક નવી નક્કોર સાડી કઢાવી અનિતાને ભેટ આપી હતી.

મોડી રાત્રે ભાજપના પ્રદેશ પ્રમુખ પુરુષોત્તમ રૃપાલાએ જણાવ્યું હતું કે આજે બુધવારે સાંજે ૬થી રાતના નવ વાગ્યા સુધી ગાંધીનગર ર્સિકટ હાઉસની લોનમાં નરેન્દ્ર મોદી અને અનિતાનો સત્કાર સમારંભ યોજાશે. મુખ્યમંત્રીના લગ્નોત્સવની ઉજવણી તમામ ગામોમાં ભાજપના કાર્યકરોએ સવારથી જ ફટાકડા ફોડીને તથા આતશબાજી કરીને ઉજવવી. આ સત્કાર સમારંભમાં સમગ્ર ગુજરાતની પ્રજાને ખુલ્લું આમંત્રણ છે. ભેટસોગાદ અસ્વીકાર્ય છે.

ગુજરાત પ્રધાનમંડળના પ્રવકતા અને રાજ્યના આરોગ્યપ્રધાન જયનારાયણ વ્યાસે જણાવ્યું છે કે, આજે સવારે ૯થી ૧૨ વાગ્યા સુધી શ્રી નરેન્દ્ર મોદી તથા શ્રીમતી અનિતા મોદી ગાંધીનગર ર્સિકટ હાઉસ ખાતે પ્રજાજનોને મળશે. સાંજે ૬થી ૯ ગાંધીનગર ર્સિકટ હાઉસ ખાતે સત્કાર સમારંભમાં હાજરી આપશે. મહેમાનોએ માત્ર ફૂલો જ લાવવા. મોદી અને અનિતાના સત્કાર સમારંભમાં ભાગ લેવા દિલ્હીથી એલ. કે. અડવાણી, રાજનાથ સિંહ, અરુણ જેટલી, સુષ્મા સ્વરાજ અને વૈંકેયા નાયડુ આજે સાંજે ખાસ વિમાન દ્વારા ગુજરાત આવી રહ્યા છે. એ જ રીતે મૂકેશ અંબાણી, અનિલ અંબાણી, રતન તાતા અને બજાજ પણ પોતપોતાના વિમાનો દ્વારા ગુજરાત આવશે. કોંગ્રેસ પ્રમુખ સોનિયા ગાંધી પ્રવાસમાં વ્યસ્ત હોઈ પ્રિયંકા ગાંધીને ગુજરાત મોકલી રહ્યાં છે. વડા પ્રધાને પણ નરેન્દ્ર મોદીને અભિનંદન પાઠવ્યાં છે. મુલાયમસિંહના પ્રતિનિધિ તરીકે અમરસિંહ ગુજરાત આવી રહ્યા છે.

અલબત્ત, લાલુ પ્રસાદ યાદવે મોદીના સત્કાર સમારંભમાં કોઈનેય મોકલવાનો ઇનકાર કરી એવી નુક્તેેચીની કરી હતી કે, “એક ગોરી ક્રિશ્ચિયન લડકી સે શાદી કર કે મોદીને ગહરી ચાલ ચલી હૈ. ક્યા હિન્દુસ્તાન મેં શાદી કે લિયે કોઈ લડકી નહીં થી ? જીસ અમેરિકાને મોદી કો વિઝા નહીં દિયા વહ દેશ કી લડકી સે શાદી કરકે મોદી શાદી મેં ભી રાજનીતિ કર રહે હૈ.”

મોદીનાં લગ્નના સમાચાર જાણી પ્રમુખ સ્વામી, મોરારિ બાપુ, કાલુપુર સ્વામિનારાયણ મંદિરના આચાર્ય શ્રી કૌશલેન્દ્ર પ્રસાદજી, મણિનગર સ્વામિનારાયણ મંદિરના ગાદીપતિ શ્રી પુરુષોત્તમ પ્રિય દાસજી તથા જગન્નાથજી મંદિરના મહંતશ્રીએ મોડી રાત્રે ગાંધીનગર જઈ આશીર્વાદ પાઠવ્યાં હતાં.

મુંબઈથી પણ ફિલ્મ કલાકારો અને મહેમાનો આજે સત્કાર સમારંભમાં હાજરી આપવા આવી રહ્યા છે. બોલિવૂડના સ્ટાર્સ શાહરુખ ખાન, કરણ જોહર, પ્રીતિ ઝિન્ટા, અને નસલી વાડિયા એક પ્રાઈવેટ પ્લેનમાં આવશે. જ્યારે કેટરિના કૈફ પણ અક્ષયકુમાર સાથે આવશે. બાળ ઠાકરે ઉદ્ધવ ઠાકરેને અને રાજ ઠાકરે તેમનાં પત્નીને મોકલી રહ્યાં છે.

અમદાવાદના એરપોર્ટ પર આજ બપોર પછી એક ડઝનથી પણ વધુ પ્રાઈવેટ વિમાનોનો જમાવડો થઈ જવાની શક્યતા છે. એરપોર્ટથી ગાંધીનગરના માર્ગે અનેક વી.વી.આઈ.પી.ઓ પસાર થવાના હોઈ ગુજરાતના પોલીસ વડા ખંડવાવાલા જાતે સલામતી વ્યવસ્થા પર નજર રાખી રહ્યા છે.

ગ્રામ વિસ્તારના લોકોએ બને તેટલા વહેલા ગાંધીનગર આવી જવા પુરુષોત્તમ રૃપાલાએ જણાવ્યું છે. આવનારી ચૂંટણીના ઉપલક્ષ્યમાં શ્રીમતી અનિતા પણ મુખ્યમંત્રીની સાથે તમામ ચૂંટણીસભાઓ સંબોધશે.

કોંગ્રેસના પ્રવકતા શ્રી અર્જુન મોઢવાડિયાએ મોદી સાથે રાત્રે નિવેદન કરતાં જણાવ્યું હતું કે, એક અમેરિકન યુવતી સાથેનું નરેન્દ્ર મોદીનું લગ્ન એ પણ ક્રિશ્ચિયન માયનોરિટીની વોટબેંક ઊભી કરવાનો એક પ્રયાસ જ છે. મોદીના આવાં પ્રયાસોથી ખ્રિસ્તી બની ગયેલા આદિવાસીઓમાં કોઈ જ ફરક પડવાનો નથી. લોકોને શ્રીમતી સોનિયા ગાંધીના નેતૃત્વમાં ભરપૂર વિશ્વાસ છે.

ગુજરાત કોંગ્રેસના પ્રમુખ સિદ્ધાર્થ પટેલ અને વિધાનસભા વિરોધ પક્ષના નેતા શક્તિસિંહ ગોહિલે જણાવ્યું હતું કે, ભાજના હવે વળતાં પાણી છે. મોદીના એક અમેરિકન યુવતી સાથે લગ્નથી કોઈ મૂડીરોકાણ ગુજરાતમાં આવવાનું નથી. લોકસભાની ચૂંટણીને લક્ષ્યમાં રાખીને જ મોદીે અમેરિકન યુવતી સાથે લગ્નનું સ્ટંટ કર્યું છે.

BJP launches 'Bhay Ho' to counter Congress' 'Jai Ho'

Seeking to counter the 'Jai Ho' ad campaign of the Congress, BJP on Saturday unveiled a parody of the famous Slumdog Millionaire song saying 'Bhay Ho' (let fear prevail).

"The video is not an official one. It is sent to us by a party sympathiser. This song depicts the real situation of the country. It says.... Bhay (fear) ho.... bhook (hunger) ho.... Atank (terror) ho.... Mahangayi (inflation) ho.... phir bhi jai ho," party spokesperson Sidhaarthnath Singh told reporters.

The song features street children from Hyderabad, singing the song in the general compartment of a train and a stranger planting a bomb in the railway coach.

BJP said the street singers are already taking the message against the ruling Congress by their performances.

"The artists are street singers and they are already into the job of taking the message to different areas with this song even before it is unveiled here," Singh said.

Even as the saffron party opposed the idea of the Slumdog Millionaire child artists campaigning for Congress, calling it a "mockery of poverty", the short film features two street children Nagarjun and Durga singing the song.

On being asked if the party feared a copyright violation of the tune by launching the 'Bhay Ho' song, Singh said, "we will respond to the notice if it is sent to us".

A public relation company had earlier purchased the rights of the 'Jai Ho' song for its use in the Congress campaign.

The saffron party has plans to use 'Bhay Ho' in its rallies across the country. The party is also slated to unveil another ad song in a couple of days featuring 'team Advani'.

The campaign song will feature all the Chief Ministers and the central leaders of the party.

The more-than-two minute film will begin with the famous 'andhera chattega.... Kamal khilega' (darkness will disappear and the lotus will bloom) speech of Atal Bihari Vajpayee which the party patron gave during the foundation function of the party in the early 80s.

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Pak minister blames India for attacking SL team

A Pakistani minister accused India of being behind the attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in the city of Lahore on Tuesday, saying the attackers had crossed into Pakistan from India.

"The evidence which we have got shows that these terrorists entered from across the border from India," Sardar Nabil Ahmed Gabol, minister of state for shipping, told private Geo television.

"This was a conspiracy to defame Pakistan internationally." "This incident took place in reaction to 26/11," he said referring to the Mumbai attacks in November in which at least 170 people were killed.

"It is a declaration of open war on Pakistan by India," said the minister, who is not one of the government's official spokesmen, but belongs to President Asif Ali Zardari's party.

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India to launch its very own Aircraft Carrier

India kicked off its most ambitious warship building project on Saturday. It began the process of assembling its first indigenous aircraft carrier.

This 40,000 ton carrier will also be India's largest warship. Only three other countries have made warships of this size.

It's a giant leap for a country, 80 per cent of whose military hardware is of foreign origin.

What is the big deal about India's first aircraft carrier which will be built here at these docks? This will herald the arrival of India as an expeditionary power, capable of launching air strikes 8,000 nautical miles away from its shores. And all this muscle will be Swadeshi.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta said, " Sixty more warships to be made in India over next 10 years. This will not be the last indigenous carrier. "

India's very own carrier will be a floating airstrip, 260 metres long, 60 metres wide and as high as a 14-storeyed building. From its two take-off runways, it will be able to launch as many as 30 aircraft on the high seas, including MiG-29K fighters and the Light Combat Aircraft. Its 4 gas turbines will produce 80 MW of power, enough to light up a small city. It will need a crew of 1,600 and is expected to eventually cost about $3 billion before it is handed over to the Navy in 2014.

Call it the Lego block building approach. About 875 blocks of metal will be welded together into an aircraft carrier. The 400-odd blocks which have been built so far occupy two entire grounds at the Cochin Shipyards"

Ahead of the polls, putting his stamp on this carrier on his home turf is A K Antony's last hurrah as Defence Minister. He also announced a major post-26/11 revamp of India's coastal security

Six years down the line, India's indigenous aircraft carrier could be a metaphor for national capability, perhaps the biggest brand ambassador for the made in India tag.

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100,000 Indians will return from US in next 3 years

About 20,000 Indians have already returned home after losing their jobs overseas due to the global economic crisis.

Now according to new study, as many as 100,000 Indians and an equal number of Chinese will return to their native countries in the next three to five years, a move that will greatly boost their economies and undermine technological innovation in America.

The study on immigration by a team at Duke, Harvard and Berkeley universities led by Vivek Wadhwa, an Indian-American technology entrepreneur turned academic, says "America's loss is the world's gain".

There are no hard numbers available on how many have returned, but anecdotal evidence shows that this is in the tens of thousands, says Wadhwa, executive-in-residence for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and fellow at the Labour and Worklife Programme at Harvard Law School.

"With the economic downturn, my guess is that we'll have over 100,000 Indians and as many Chinese return home over the next three-five years," says Wadhwa. "This flood of western educated and skilled talent will greatly boost the economies of India and China and strengthen their competitiveness.

"India is already becoming a global hub for R&D. This will allow it to branch into many new areas and will accelerate the trend," he says.

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100,000 Indians will return from US in next 3 years

About 20,000 Indians have already returned home after losing their jobs overseas due to the global economic crisis.

Now according to new study, as many as 100,000 Indians and an equal number of Chinese will return to their native countries in the next three to five years, a move that will greatly boost their economies and undermine technological innovation in America.

The study on immigration by a team at Duke, Harvard and Berkeley universities led by Vivek Wadhwa, an Indian-American technology entrepreneur turned academic, says "America's loss is the world's gain".

There are no hard numbers available on how many have returned, but anecdotal evidence shows that this is in the tens of thousands, says Wadhwa, executive-in-residence for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and fellow at the Labour and Worklife Programme at Harvard Law School.

"With the economic downturn, my guess is that we'll have over 100,000 Indians and as many Chinese return home over the next three-five years," says Wadhwa. "This flood of western educated and skilled talent will greatly boost the economies of India and China and strengthen their competitiveness.

"India is already becoming a global hub for R&D. This will allow it to branch into many new areas and will accelerate the trend," he says.

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Force India aims for regular points this season

Force India gave their new Mercedes-powered Formula One car its debut in Spain on Sunday with team owner Vijay Mallya targeting regular points after a barren 2008.

The new car has a Mercedes engine and McLaren gearbox after the Silverstone-based team announced in November it was terminating a previous deal with Ferrari.

"I would like to see a strong start, rising to points mid-season and a definite improvement in qualifying. Regular points finishes should be the aim," he said in a team statement.

"This is the year we have to deliver. We are not here to make up the numbers, I want to be pushing all the way," he added.

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, now in his 14th season in Formula One, drove the first laps in the VJM02 at the Jerez circuit.

Fisichella and German team mate Adrian Sutil failed to score a point last year and Mallya expected the new partnership with McLaren-Mercedes, who won the drivers' title with Lewis Hamilton, to show a marked improvement.

"To be brutally honest, I would not be happy if we didn't show some much improved, and much needed, performance this season," he said, adding that McLaren's success would provide a real benchmark for his team.

Due to the late change in engine supplier, Force India are one of the last teams to run their 2009 car and Sunday's test was almost 100 days since Fisichella had last been behind the wheel.

Fisichella was confident the new car would deliver, particularly with the most significant rule changes the sport has seen in decades.

"It would be good to see all the teams mixed up and to be able to fight for points," said the former race winner with Jordan and Renault. "If the car is good, why not even for the podium?"

Fisichella is one of the few drivers to have raced previously in Formula One on slick tyres, in 1997, but the Roman said that would not give much of an advantage.

"In the 12 years since then the cars and the tyres have evolved so much you can't really compare the two periods," he said.

More of a disadvantage was the comparative lack of testing, with some of Force India's rivals -- with the exception of Honda and Toro Rosso -- out on track with their new cars from early January.

"It's important to drive as much as you can before the start of the year to get a feeling with the car and try and establish a good set-up," said Fisichella.

"It's not easy in just four days, especially with the new rules coming in this year. We are just going to have to try and get as much as we can from these eight days before the season."

The season starts in Australia on March 29.

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Freida Pinto sizzles in Vogue Magazine

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto appears on the cover of the new issue of Vogue India.

Freida Pinto's career has taken off and how! She is all set to join Woody Allen’s next film with Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins.

The role is a major coup for Pinto, considering Allen has directed many actors to Oscar glory, with Vicky Cristina Barcelona’s Penélope Cruz being the latest example.

Her 'Slumdog' co-star Dev Patel is already set to join M. Night Shyamalan’s 'The Last Airbender' and now Pinto is teaming with Woody Allen. Sounds like the Slumdog duo is doing just fine following the film’s massive success including winning eight Oscars last night.

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India rubbishes Pak navy claims on sea route

NEW DELHI: India on Friday rubbished Pakistan navy's claims that Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists didn't use sea route to reach Mumbai.


Home Minister P Chidambaram took a dig at Pakistan on Friday for its flip-flops on Mumbai terror attacks.

"New Delhi is very clear regarding where the attackers came from,” Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said.

“Several countries too have supported our findings on 26/11 probe. Pakistan government too had accepted them. Now their navy is belying its own government’s claims,” Sharma added.

Meanwhile, Indian naval forces told Times Now, "We have enough proof of the fact that the terrorists came from Pakistan via sea. We have their boats and satellite phones."

Earlier, in a stunning denial Pakistan navy on Friday claimed that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the Mumbai attacks, and others didn’t sea route to land in Mumbai.

Pak Admiral Norman Bashir on Friday told reporters, "There is no proof behind Indian claims that Kasab landed in Mumbai to carry out attacks using sea route from Pakistan."

“Mumbai terror attacks reflect a complete failure of Indian navy,” Bashir added.

At the same time, he admitted that patrolling the waters on the Pakistani side of the international border off the Gujarat coast was "difficult" due to the dispute over the Sir Creek, IANS reported.

The latest statement by Pakistan navy is in complete contrast to the findings of the interior ministry in the 26/11 terror probe.

According to IANS, Bashir also sought to discount suggestions that Pakistan was engaged in an arms race with India.

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Rupee falls to 50.46 per $, US sends $5 Billion to Pak

Just when it climbed out of the deep pit, the Indian market on Thursday fell into a bottomless crevasse as the rupee had settled at 50.46 per dollar, against Wednesday's close of Rs 49.94.

It is a record of sorts as it is the all-time lowest closing rate for the rupee against the dollar, even beating the 50.2 number on December 2nd 2007.

Meanwhile US has promised gifting billions of Dollars to terror haven Pak as economic and military aid. That after reports certify that Pakistan has been using American tax-payer money for deals with the terror outfit Taliban and that US arms have been ending up in the hands of the extremists.

This little brainwave is courtesy of Senator John Kerry who is considering a $5 billion aid to Pakistan. Also being contemplated is a $1.5 billion annual package for ten years.

"If we fail, we face a truly frightening prospect: terrorist sanctuary, economic meltdown, and spiraling radicalism, all in a nation with 170 million inhabitants and a full arsenal of nuclear weapons," he said. "The stakes could not be higher, and [this] report could not be more timely."

Needless to say, not many people agree with this decision.

"Not only is the United States paying the Pakistani government to abdicate territory to the Taliban, we get to fund the Taliban as well," said Bill Roggio, an expert in the war on terror, questioning the Kerry-Lugar proposal aimed to tripling military aid to Pakistan.

"It's time for the US. government to ask if it is getting a good return on its investment. Considering that more than $3.8 billion of $5 billion of US. aid to Pakistan has gone unaccounted for and the Taliban is being funded by the US, perhaps the answer is no," Roggio, who runs the blog Long War Journal, added.

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CIA helped India-Pak share 26/11 intelligence

America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has played a crucial role in India and Pakistan sharing secret intelligence information on Mumbai terrorist attacks, a media report claimed on Monday.

In a front page article, The Washington Post said CIA "orchestrated back-channel intelligence exchanges" between India and Pakistan with the top American intelligence agency itself playing the role of a neutral arbitrator.

"The exchanges, which began days after the deadly assault in late November, gradually helped the two sides overcome mutual suspicions and paved the way for Islamabad's announcement last week acknowledging that some of the planning for the attack had occurred on Pakistani soil, The Post quoted sources as saying.

"Indian and Pakistani intelligence agencies separately shared their findings with the CIA, which relayed the details while also vetting the intelligence and filling in blanks with gleanings from its networks," the Post quoted sources as saying.

"The US role was described in interviews with Pakistani officials and confirmed by US sources with detailed knowledge of the arrangement. The arrangement is ongoing, and it is unknown whether it will continue after the Mumbai case is settled," the newspaper said.

The Post article is a revelation as so far only the role of FBI in the Mumbai investigation was known.

'FIR against me is flimsy and vindictive': Modi

Lalit Modi, the chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL), on Sunday refuted the allegation of misappropriation of funds made by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), calling it "meaningless" and "flimsy".

"It is nothing but vindictiveness on the part of the police," he added.

"Basically, it was the goodwill and kind gesture of the IPL teams, franchisees and sponsors that they had pledged Rs.60 million (Rs.6 crore) and a dummy cheque was presented on the night of the game to the chief minister. Out of which, cheques to the tune of Rs.5.2 crore (Rs.52 million) have been sent directly to the Chief Minister`s Relief Fund and only two sponsors have not been able to send the pledged amount," said Modi.

Modi said the dummy cheque had the logos of the franchisees and sponsors and their signatures on it.

"A pity, instead of appreciating the gesture, the government is hounding the RCA officials, me in particular. Strictly speaking, I don`t come into the picture. It is a matter between the people who have pledged the amount and the state government which received the amount directly."

Moreover, Modi said, if someone pledged something and did not fulfill, it did not become a liability or misappropriation of funds.

"In any case, more than 90 percent of the pledged sum has been realised, and if even after that cases are being filed, it means it is nothing but vindictiveness on the part of the police," he added.

"It is a flimsy complaint and the police has taken cognisance of it."

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26/11 accused not arrested: Pak Media

It seems as if is Pakistan has gone back to speaking in two voices over the Mumbai terror attack issue - Pakistani media reports that government sources are saying none of those named by Islamabad in the 26/11 case have been arrested.

The sources say that they are in custody - which in Pakistan's case usually means house arrest. Delhi has repeatedly called all those under house arrest as guests of the state.

This new contradiction will make it difficult for India to figure out what to believe and moreover who to believe. Just 48 hours ago, Pakistan Interior Ministry Chief Rehman Malik had said, "Whatever we could do on the available information, we have done it. We have arrested a number of the accused. Some are under investigation and some may turn out to be witnesses."

Two months after being in constant denial mode, Pakistan on Thursday had finally admitted that "some part of the conspiracy" behind the Mumbai attacks took place on its soil and a case has been registered against nine people including Ajmal Kasab, the lone captured terrorist.

Islamabad made its first formal response to the Indian dossier on the attacks blamed on terrorists based on its soil at a press conference by Malik who gave details of the probe followed a meeting Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal had with officials.

Malik had said Pakistan wanted the DNA samples of Kasab to establish his identity. Among the things Pakistan wanted from India were Kasab's national identity card, electronic diaries seized and the confessional statement made by him in the Indian court and details of who helped in refuelling of one of the boats used by the terrorists.

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Ram Sene attacks Valentines Day party

Goondagardi = Free publicity

Activists of right wing group Sri Rama Sene on Saturday raided a Valentine's Day party in a software firm here, attacking the participants and ransacking the furnitures.

A group of Sene activists, who had been on the prowl in parts of the city, spotted the Valentine's Day celebrators at the Katwa Infotech, barged into it, assaulted some of those gathered and damaged furnitures, police said.

The police, who were taken aback by the suddenness of the strike coming at the fag end of the day, rushed to the spot.

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India won't hand over Kasab to Pak

Pakistan said Saturday it might seek the custody of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured during the Mumbai mayhem, if its investigations require this, but India immediately nixed the idea.

"If Ajmal Kasab is needed for the investigation process, then India could be asked (to hand) him over," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters in Karachi.

India was quick to react, saying there was no way this could happen.

"The crime was committed in India. There is no question of handing Kasab to them. In fact, Pakistan should hand over to India the other suspects they've arrested because they were responsible for this terror attack. It can't be the other way around," sources in the Indian external affairs ministry said in New Delhi.

"On what basis do we send Kasab out there? The crime was committed out here (in Mumbai), therefore logic and reasoning demands that the suspects who they've rounded up be sent here (to India)," the sources said.

According to Malik, "we first had to register an FIR (first information report on the Mumbai strikes). This has been done. Now, if our investigators recommend, we will ask for access to him (Kasab)," Malik added.

"So far, we have not asked for Kasab's custody," the minister pointed out.

He said Kasab was one of the eight suspects named in the FIR registered by the Federal Investigation Agency on the Mumbai strikes. Six of the suspects have been arrested while two are at large.

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