India awaits early elections
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Amulya Ganguli writes:The possibility of an early general election is very much in the air as 2007 draws to a close.
The reason is the steady deterioration in the ties between the Congress and the Left over the India-US nuclear deal. In view of the Left's stout resistance to the measure, it is difficult to see how the two can remain together for the rest of the Manmohan Singh government's term, which ends in 2009.
In all likelihood, therefore, an election will take place early next year. Yet, it is more than obvious that none of the parties wants a poll. That much was made clear to the Congress by some of its partners in the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) during the UPA's talks with the Left on the N-deal.
Their disinclination persuaded Congress president Sonia Gandhi to virtually rule out an early election and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to say in a philosophical vein that failing to clinch the nuclear pact was not the end of life.
Since then, however, the scene seems to have changed. As the parliamentary debate on the issue showed, Congressmen and even some of its allies are now quite enthusiastic about an election.
Why the change? One explanation is the softening of the Left's stance in allowing the government to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the subject. Another is the continuing disarray in the upper levels of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress' main opponent.
Considering that the Communists are facing fairly serious problems in their West Bengal stronghold, the Congress may have come to believe that an early poll may be worth it.
The BJP's travails began with its defeat in Uttar Pradesh, which wiped off its earlier successes in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Delhi. But that setback is not the only reason for its problems, which stem from its failure to resolve the leadership issue.
Although L.K. Advani is now projected as a prime ministerial candidate, it is not a little odd that a man who was unceremoniously deposed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from the post of the party president is now being put forward as a possible prime minister.
As Manmohan Singh, quoting newspaper reports, jokingly said that it was the fear of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi making a bid for the position that has made the BJP opt for the old charioteer of the Ram temple movement.
Yet, how Advani's hold on the party has slipped from the days of the temple agitation could be seen from the manner in which his attempt to steer a less belligerent line on the N-deal was shot down by two former central ministers, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie.
Even then, since Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ill-health has ruled him out for a more active role, Advani is likely to be the frontrunner if and when the elections are called -- probably to the dismay of party chief Rajnath Singh who had earlier wanted to be the 'bridegroom' leading the party's baraat (wedding procession) to New Delhi.
But it is doubtful whether Advani will have Vajpayee's ability to keep the fractious National Democratic Alliance (NDA) together. Only recently, one of the NDA's important members, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal-United, voiced displeasure at Modi's support for the 'fake encounter' in which a Muslim accused was killed in cold blood by the Gujarat Police in a case now before the Supreme Court.
If the BJP appears unsteady on its feet, the Left is in no better shape. Its difficulties stem from the industrialization drive of Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee in West Bengal, which has created considerable resentment among farmers.
The resultant violence in Nandigram, where the cadres of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) forcibly 'recaptured' the villages from where their supporters had earlier been evicted, has angered even a section of the Left intellectuals and some allies of the CPI-M in the Left Front.
There have been other incidents too in the state, such as the so-called ration riots over the alleged siphoning off of subsidized foodgrains by shop owners acting in collusion with local CPI-M politicians, which have dented the Left's image. In addition, the hurried departure of controversial Bangladeshi writer, Taslima Nasreen, from Kolkata following violent demonstrations by a Muslim group has undermined the Left's claims as an upholder of secularism.
It is obvious, therefore, that the comrades are in no position to face the electorate with confidence either in West Bengal or in Kerala, where the two CPI-M stalwarts, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and party chief Pinaryi Vijayan, have long been at loggerheads.
Arguably, while the Communists have never been in a weaker position in the states, their reputation at the central level has taken a hit in view of CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat's uncompromising opposition to the N-deal on grounds that it will make India subservient to the US.
Even if this argument is believed, there will still be a suspicion that the Commissars are being too solicitous about China's predilections in this matter since it is known that Beijing (and Islamabad) are not too pleased about the growing strategic relations between India and the US. Such misgivings, among the middle class in particular, are unlikely to help the Communists at election time.
Not surprisingly, the Left's problems have made the so-called anti-Congress and anti-BJP Third Front, in which the comrades used to take a great deal of interest, something of a non-starter. Its constituents -- the Samajwadi Party of Uttar Pradesh, the Telugu Desam of Andhra Pradesh and the Indian National Lok Dal of Haryana - are, therefore, at a loose end. The fact that they are all out of power also hasn't helped.
Unlike these regional parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) startled everyone by securing a majority of its own in Uttar Pradesh under its combative leader, Mayawati. Her success was ascribed to the formation of a Dalit-Brahmin combination, which blazed a new trail by bringing together two apparently antagonistic castes in an electoral alliance. This novel arrangement was in sharp contrast to the largely single caste outfits like the Samajwadi Party or the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
But how successful she will be elsewhere has to be seen since the Brahmins elsewhere are not as numerically strong as in Uttar Pradesh. For instance, her recent rally in Mumbai was not a very large one. Besides, how long these arithmetical tricks of combining castes and promising reservations will help these parties with limited visions is open to question.
The Congress has an advantage in this context because it has a more sophisticated outlook with an approach to economic development that is more in tune with the present times.
It has also succeeded in breaking free of shackles of the past such as a preference for socialism and non-alignment. Instead, it is now committed to a market-oriented economy and closer ties with the US and Israel.
The N-deal is crucial in this respect for it will enable India to sit at the high table of the Big Five by securing recognition as a legitimate nuclear power. It may well prove to be the trump card for the party in the elections.
Sensex drops 840 pts; DLF, ONGC dip 7%
Mumbai: The Sensex has dipped sharply in the last few minutes of trades and is now down 840 points at 19,190.
NTPC has slumped 8% to Rs 227. DLF and ONGC have plunged 7% each to Rs 949 and Rs 1,152, respectively.
Tata Steel has tumbled 6.5% to Rs 821. HDFC has dropped over 6% to Rs 2,870.
Reliance Communications and Hindalco have slipped 5.7% each to Rs 716 and Rs 201, respectively.
Tata Motors, BHEL and Bharti Airtel are down nearly 5% each to Rs 708, Rs 2,437 and Rs 907, respectively.
Out of 2,940 stocks traded so far, 1,678 have declined, 1,242 have advanced, and 20 are unchanged.
Source: BS
India awaits early elections
SBI mulls VRS for 40,000 staffers
Mumbai: SBI is planning to introduce a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for subordinate staffers in the next financial year.
The proposed scheme aims to give a chance to over 40,000 employees, who find it challenging to work in a computerised environment and competitive market conditions.
"The nature of work has changed substantially due to the introduction of core banking solutions (CBS) and automation. Besides, the work demands on staff are growing enormously to retain market share. Some of the subordinate staff should get a decent exit option," a senior SBI official said. He, however, ruled out VRS for the clerical and officer cadre.
SBI's total employee base is around 2,00,000. The actual amount payable to employees opting for VRS will be determined by taking into account their number of years of service and the remaining period.
There are three aspects related to VRS for this category of staffers. First, with computerisation and core banking, their role is limited. Second, even if some of them could be retrained, the cost incurred may not bring much benefit. Finally, they are not mobile.
Source: BS
Cong warns Swedish investigator of Bofors deal
New Delhi: The Congress Monday threatened "civil and criminal defamatory action" against private Swedish investigator Sven Lindstorm, who was probing the Bofors payoff scandal, for his " baseless innuendos" against the party and Sonia Gandhi.
Reacting to the interviews and remarks Lindstorm has made in the Indian media about the Rs.64 million bribe scandal, the ruling party has sent a legal notice saying that the investigator had "intentionally and maliciously defamed" the Congress party and Sonia Gandhi by publishing "false, incorrect and defamatory statements about them."
"We have sent a notice (to Lindstorm). He has been shooting off some remarks about the Bofors controversy. He does it periodically and furnishes no material and evidence," party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here. Lindstorm has retired from service.
In a recent interview in which he spoke about the main accused, Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, the Swedish investigator had said that he wanted to "interview" Sonia Gandhi about the Bofors issue. He was also quoted as saying "we wanted to know through her what the reason was for him to be given this money."
The Italian businessman was said to be a family friend of Sonia Gandhi and her assassinated husband, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
In the legal notice sent by senior party leader Motilal Vohra, the Congress pointed out that successive governments, including one led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), could not find "an iota of evidence to even suggest any illegality of any kind against late Rajiv Gandhi or any member of his family."
It also said that Delhi High Court in its judgment in February 2004 had stated that Sonia Gandhi had no connection with the case.
"Yet persons like you, without evidence continue to flog a dead horse contrary to detailed judicial findings after detailed adjudication and minute examination of evidence."
The party has asked the investigator to "withdraw and retract in writing all offending remarks, comments and observations regarding Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi or any member of the Nehru family or the Congress party."
The notice also asked him to apologise in writing for his remarks and desist from making such remarks in future.
Source: IANS
Cell phones overtake broadband in net access
Mumbai: Falling prices of handsets, reasonable connectivity prices and the convenience of an easy-to-carry mobile device have more than doubled internet access over cell phones last year.
Consider these numbers. The latest figures from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) reveal that the number of Indians using mobiles to log on to the internet has increased from 16 million in 2006 to 38 million in 2007 (both GSM and CDMA).
Broadband subscribers figures, on the other hand, as on October 30, 2007, were a mere 2.69 million. And there are 22 million PCs in the country, with just 30 to 40 per cent of them with internet access.
This implies that internet access through mobiles is at least six times more than through PCs, and nearly 14 times more than broadband access.
Operators of both GSM and CDMA mobile technology services have registered double-digit growth in users accessing the internet via mobile.
Take, for instance, the case of Bharti-Airtel. With a subscriber base of 50.91 million (as in October 2007), about 35 per cent of the user base can access the internet through their handsets.
“In any quarter, 10 per cent of this user base accesses the internet through mobile handsets,” said a company spokesperson. The company said the actual user base has been doubling over the last two to three years. In the last 12 months alone, it has seen 70 per cent growth in this user base.
Reliance Communications (RCom) claimed that since July 2007, 10 million unique users have been visiting Reliance Mobile World every month to try out some new application or content.
Krishna Durbha, head business and marketing, application solutions and content, RCOM, said: “This shows there is tremendous interest among people to use mobile devices to access the internet.
We believe this is growing at a conservative estimate of 10 to 15 per cent across the industry.”
Analyst firms agree that India has one of the fastest growing mobile markets and that the next stage of growth will be use of data on handsets.
Research firm Gartner stated that Indian mobile data revenue is expected to outpace that of voice services and contribute to about a fifth of total revenues by 2011, doubling year-on-year.
Said Mukul Khanna, VP (marketing) Spice Telecom: “Increasingly, data usage is becoming a larger pie in value-added services. The growth rate of data will be between 50 and 60 per cent, more than the traditional content in the next few years.”
Spice Telecom recently launched Spice TV for its subscribers. This allows subscribers to watch live cricket matches on their handsets (it is the official telecom partner of the Indian Cricket League). Subscribers can also watch channels like NDTV, Times Now, Zoom, Cartoon network among others.
“About 10 to 15 per cent of Spice users browse the net through their handsets. We are expecting 25 to 30 per cent of these users will browse through these services in the first three months,” Khanna added.
Choices are still restricted to checking emails, search, downloading ring tones, wallpapers and images, games, e-ticketing and instant messaging. Operators feel that once the speed limit increases users will be able to download longer videos as well.
However, there are a few hurdles in the mass adoption of mobile handsets for feature rich applications through the Internet. One of them is mobile internet browsers.
At present, loading a browser takes more than 100 kb of bandwidth. However, the uptake among users will propel operators to solve this problem as well, analysts believe.
Source: BS
HC pulls up CBI for probe in Scorpene sub deal
New Delhi: The CBI was in the dock today when the Delhi High Court questioned the kind of probe done by the investigating agency for ascertaining whether any kickbacks were paid in the multi-crore Scorpene Submarine deal and ordered it to submit a complete report.
"We would like to cross-check your investigation officer to know what has been done on the complaint alleging kickbacks in the Scorpene deal. We feel dissatisfied with what you have done so far. If you have tried to shield someone, then we would come down very heavily on you," the court said.
"Let the record come to your rescue," a Bench comprising Justices T S Thakur and Veena Birbal said while directing the CBI to submit the report of the Investigating officer in the open court on December 19.
The CBI, despite repeated questions from the court on what steps it had taken, had failed to convince the court that nothing was found in the preliminary inquiry done by it.
"Get the report of the Investigating Officer in the open court. We would like to see what has been done so far and if no inquiry has been conducted then it means that there has been a deliberate attempt to protect someone," the court said.
The CBI, which filed a status report in the court on the investigations carried out so far, found no takers in the Bench,which observed that "this is nothing. It has no value at all."
. Police are concerned with the Maoist posters on the walls of the state secretariat. While other wings of the city police are blaming SB for failing to provide information on Maoist plans, the latter pointed at the existing set-up for the failure. SB officers have pointed out several problems as reasons for their failure. All the officers have to perform law and order duties on a regular basis and since they are in uniform, they are easily identifiable.