Funny Men in Bed and NANO for CPIM, Electoral Alchemists for CONG and BJP,G20 Summit for USA, AUTO DOOM for the REST of the WORLD and a PHONE Call from Haldwani, UTTARAKHAND
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 192
Palash Biswas
Just don't laugh it off. A sense of humour could be a million-dollar asset to bedding a woman, say researchers!
A new study by Northumbria University has found that men really can laugh women into bed as females perceive funny males are smarter and more likely to be honest than more dour counterparts!
Lovelorn Anuradha Bali alias Fiza, whose short-lived marriage with former Haryana deputy chief minister Chander Mohan alias Chand Mohammed, hogged the headlines before a tragic climax, will be acting in Bollywood movie 'Desh Drohi-II'.
A new study has debunked the myth that women are the ones who love to gossip, for it has been found that men are bigger tittle-tattlers than ladies. A poll of 5,000 people by research company has revealed that blokes spend an average 76 minutes a day rumour-mongering with pals and colleagues while women do it for just 52 minutes.
I was in a meeting while I got a RING on my mobile Number from Haldwani, Uttarakhand.
Since I received the call from my homeland, I had no choice but to receive.
I came out of the meeting and switched on.
The caller introduced himself a TRIPATHI from Haldwani.
I could not identify and he told his name.
I was mistaken and heard, PC TRIPATHI.
`YARR, PC BOLLO’, I said.
`Not PC, it is TC, TC Tripathi. Tarachandra Tripathi!”
I was surprised to receive the call of my Hindi Teacher from GIC Nainital after so many years.
I knew, he has retired long ago.
Meanwhile, I have read his TRAVELOGUES on USA and Japan. The japanese Economy and RESOURCE Management described by my GURUJI has enlightened me to understand Indian Economy and I have written it several times. Even in Mumbai, I shared the reading with economists and trade Union activists.
GURUJI informed me that he has read the article written on me by Mahashweta DI in Hindustan.
It is great pleasure for me that Mahashweta Di has highlighted the role of my Primary Teacher Pitambar Pant and GIC teacher TARACHAND TRIPATHI.
Pitamber Pant retired while I was a graduation student in DSB College , Nainital.
I have to regret that I never knew the whereabouts of my first teacher.
But I, somehow, managed to continue the RELATIONSHIP with Tripathi who taught me Social Realism, Political Theories, Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology, WORLD Classic and contemporary Literature, linguistics, phonetics, Aesthetics and VISION.
He taught me Marxism.
He showed me ways of Empowerment, Awakening, Mobilisation and Resistance.
He made me and my friend Kapilesh Bhoj to stay in his Home in Mohan Niwas and guided our studies during our Graduation!
His BOOK on Japanese TRAVELOGUE has to be released very soon.
Guruji read out the FLAP on Mobile then we shifted to the FALSE RECESSION, OIL Economy, Defence Budget, LPG mafia , Dalit Liberation, Indian Political Economy and Public Opinion and Mobilisation! We also discussed Nano, global Auto crisis and GREAT Indian AUTO SURGE!
I am satisfied that my Guruji, TARA CHANDRA Tripathi who once told me that HINDI is my Mother language as well as Bengali, ENDORSED my shift in ENGLISH. he endorsed the national networking and Global networking as well as my SPEAKING Tours!
Now, I have not to care for others!
I skipped the Meeting to be ENLIGHTENED once again by my GURUJI!
The government will take stock of interest rates and credit growth on Thursday when it meets industry chambers and bankers, as India Inc has demanded cuts in interest rates and higher loan disbursal to tackle industrial slowdown.
The meeting between Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and heads of banks along with representatives of chambers will be held at a time when almost 50 per cent of PSU banks have reduced their benchmark lending rates effective from Wednesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said there is scope for further cuts in interest rates in his meeting with industrialists last week.
The Cabinet Secretary's meeting, which is taking place after the scheduled one late last month got postponed, is likely to take up issues coming in the way of industrial revival.
For the first time in about 17 years, industrial growth was negative in two consecutive months, in December and January, after it saw a monthly contraction for the first time in 15 years in October 2008.
While there are signs of revival in certain sectors like auto, cement, steel and capital goods, exports declined for the fifth consecutive month, in February.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has written to Chief Ministers of all the states to provide adequate security for nearly two dozen VVIPs during the period of the upcoming general elections.
Chidambaram has urged all the state chiefs to cooperate with security agencies.
Meanwhile, Samsung India Wednesday launched its full-touch slider phone, Samsung Ultra, and said it has partnered with the state-run telecom operators BSNL and MTNL to bundle phones for the third generation (3G) mobile services.
The Election Commission Wednesday clarified that it has not issued any instruction to remove from government offices photographs and images of national leaders, prominent historical personalities of the past, the president and the governors ahead of polls.
The global metal industry is likely to benefit from the various economic stimulus measures taken by the governments worldwide by the end of this year, says consultancy firm Deloitte.
"It was one of the industries hit first by the downturn, but unfortunately will also be one of the last to get out. A jump-start in other sectors such as automotive and construction will need to occur before we see a rebound in the metal industry," Deloitte's Global Manufacturing Industry Group Leader (Process Sector) Claude Martin said on Wednesday.
"Governments across the world have pumped in billions of dollars to stimulate local economies and they plan to spend more. These measures hold the potential to significantly affect the global metals industry," Deloitte said, adding that "However, the benefits to date for the steel sector will unlikely be seen until late 2009 at the earliest."
Regarding the Indian metal industry and the stimulus plan, Deloitte India Senior Director Kumar Kandaswami said, "The Indian stimulus package is very nominal compared to others and is not perceived to lead the change in the global market."
"The Indian Metal industry feels that the protectionist measures were introduced a little too late to revive the economy. The sector is expected to remain broadly stable over current year 2009, however, growth is expected in the long run," Mr. Kandaswami added.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and her sister Priyanka Gandhi have already got special security of the Special Protection Group (SPG).
Besides them, the list proposes elite security cover to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani, former chief ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, Farooq Abdullah, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader J Jayalalithaa, Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh-Omar Abdullah, Narendra Modi and Mayawati.
The Situation is fit for NANO POLITICS in India Today! U.S. President Barack Obama's administration remains optimistic that General Motors Corp can restructure without going to bankruptcy court, a senior administration official said on Wednesday! A day after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud threatened to carry out a spectacular strike on Washington, US President Barack Obama has expressed fears that Al-Qaeda was planning to attack the United States from Pakistani soil. Extending its support to the neighbouring Bangladesh, New Delhi on Wednesday said that it will ensure that any of the "recalcitrant elements" of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) do not cross over to India.
U.S. President Barack Obama benefits from a broadly held perception that others bear the bulk of responsibility for state of the U.S. economy, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll published on Tuesday.
The threat given by Pakistan Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud to target the White House and other important places in the United States must be taken seriously, terrorism experts have said. On the other hand, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev agreed Wednesday to draw up a new deal on nuclear disarmament.
Taliban insurgents reject a US offer of "honourable reconciliation", a top spokesman said on Wednesday, calling it a "lunatic idea" and saying the only way to end the war was to withdraw foreign troops.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court against his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).): After courting controversy with his hate speech, Varun Gandhi has sought an upgrade in his security citing "family history".BJP on Wednesday alleged that Congress and BSP have entered into an understanding in Uttar Pradesh to "frame" its leader Varun Gandhi, against whom National Security Act has been invoked. "What Varun is facing is a bailable ...
Senior leader of main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Lal Krishna Advani on Wednesday targeted the Prime Minister for his statement about the need for New Delhi and Islamabad fighting militancy jointly.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar will participate in an election rally organised here on Friday by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and its allies, including the Left parties, the BJD said on Wednesday.
All seems well now in the feuding family of the late central minister Abu Barkat Ataul Ghani Khan Chowdhury in this northern West Bengal district.
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi today said that it was the Manmohan Singh Government which silenced Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks. The ruling Congress, which has pre-poll alliances in eight states across the country for the coming general elections, is open to post-poll alliances to remain in power even in a coalition set-up, a senior party leader said Wednesday.The poor need a pro-poor government and it is the Congress that is capable of empowering them, young MP Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday, kicking off the election campaign in Bihar where the party is going it alone.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today met his British counterpart Gordon Brown in London at 10 Downing Street ahead of G20 summit.
Barack Obama says the differences in opinion between world leaders attending G20 have been "vastly overstated".
Astronaut Sunita Williams and Oscar-winning music composer A.R. Rahman are among the role models for young Indians who are driving a 'society on the move', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says.
Why did he EXCLUDE NANO and Ratan Tata?
Calling Wednesday the 'Financial Fool's Day', thousands of protesters tried to block downtown London, shouting anti-capitalism slogans, as G20 leaders prepared for a crucial summit a day later to find ways out of the worst global financial crisis in six decades.
As the city police heightened its security and put blockades around central London, some 1,200 protesters managed to storm outside the Bank of England, in what has, by and large, been a peaceful demonstration so far.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is among the G20 leaders already here for the summit, so is US President Barack Obama, collectively representing economies that account for 85 percent of the world's output and two-thirds of its population
The London Stock Exchange and the offices and headquarters of other financial institutions were the target of the protesters, who were heard shouting: 'These streets our streets, these banks our banks'.
'This is London's largest, most challenging security operation,' said Simon O'Brien, a senior commander with London's Metropolitan Police.
India's stock market is riding a global rally and is hoping a major party wins a strong hand at coming elections, but could be beaten back if a fractious group of parties including Communists gains influence at the polls. Investors are pricing victory for a coalition led by either the ruling Congress-led alliance or the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when the world's largest democracy goes to polls between April 16 and May 13 against a backdrop of slowing growth. But cracks in the two main national coalitions have raised fears that a "Third Front" could tip the balance of power, which market watchers believe could pull down stocks by between 15 to 30 percent from current levels.
The International Monetary Fund sees the world economy contracting by between 0.5 and 1 per cent in 2009, Mananging Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in an interview published on Wednesday.
He said a recovery could come in the first two quarters of 2010.
"If ... economic policies are appropriate, the recovery should come in the first two quarters of 2010," he told Spanish newspaper ‘El Pais’.
The Marxist Stance against Fascism and Imperialism as well as GLOBALISATION and Capitalism also RESEMBLES the men so FUNNY in Bed!
Most waited NANO has landed in KOLKATA from TATA MOTORS Pantnagar Plant. Pantnagar had been always in production mode. But Ratan Tata shifted Singur Plant to GUJARAT and rescheduled Launching.
It proves the SINGUR Prelude had nothing to do with the SHIFTING. US auto sales are expected to have fallen 40 per cent in March from a year ago. Data is due on Wednesday. It is the best EVIDENCE that the GLOBAL RECESSION and AUTO WOES led RATAN TATA, not MS MAMT Bannerjee, as the MEDIA ISINFORMS!
See and FEEL the AUTO WOES before having a VISION in the MARXIST Brahaminical NANO DRIVE in ELECTIONEERING!
Gloom settled over credit investors Monday amid unsettling developments for U.S. auto makers and worries about the banking sector.
GM's 8.375% notes due 2033 were down 1.25 point to 16.75 cents on the dollar and its 7.2% notes due 2011 were down 6.4 points to 20.1 cents on the dollar Monday afternoon, although trade volumes were modest, according to online trading platform MarketAxess.
GM's credit default swaps were quoted at 81 points from 77 points up front on Friday, which means that investors must now pay $8.1 million up front plus a $500,000 fee to protect $10 million of GM bonds against default for five years. Similarly, GMAC's credit default swaps were trading at 31 points up front Monday from 27.5 points up front on Friday, according to Phoenix Partners Group.
The White House pushed out General Motors Corp. (GM) Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and demanded further restructuring before signing another assistance check for GM and Chrysler LLC.
"Even with the additional funding the government will provide in the coming weeks, the risk of bankruptcy remains high, in our opinion, for the remainder of 2009, and even in 2010," wrote Standard & Poor's analysts of the two auto companies.
Also weighing on the market, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said over the weekend that some financial institutions "are going to need some large amounts of assistance."
The Obama administration seized the wheel of the failing U.S. auto industry on Monday, forcing out General Motors Corp's CEO, pushing Chrysler LLC toward a merger and threatening bankruptcy for both.
The moves came after Europe's second-biggest carmaker by sales PSA Peugeot Citroen ousted CEO Christian Streiff, replacing him with former Corus head Philippe Varin from June 1.
GM shares plunged around 20 percent in Frankfurt after steps outlined by the White House autos panel -- headed by former investment banker Steve Rattner -- marked a stunning reversal for management at both GM and private equity-owned Chrysler and took aim at GM creditors who had bet on its rescue.
GM bonds and Chrysler loans slid and investment-grade corporate bonds weakened. Treasurys, after a brief bout of selling earlier Monday, headed higher as investors sought their safety.
"It feels heavy," said Joe Balestrino, senior portfolio manager at Federated Investment Management, about the tone in corporate credit. "It's more than GM. It's Geithner telling us that banks need more help, it's equities fading, it's bank CEOs talking about their profitability or lack thereof. It's not very pleasant."
Nano is rescheduled to be launched and is now AVAILABLE in the DOMESTIC market while it had always been PROJECTED for Third World Market. Tatas did emphasise the Plant to situated in COASTAL AREA so the ONE LAC PRICE TAG may be defended. Hence, Pantnagar Plant in Production Mode was to be rejected. But the timing of NANO Launch may not help FREEsenSEX as EXPORT SCENERIO is quite MISERABLE! Asia's banks are likely to step in with loans and boost their presence across the region as the credit crisis has forced big Western rivals to retreat.
With the exception of Japanese lenders, domestic banks are poised to steal market share in Asia from Royal Bank of Scotland, Citigroup and others with big government stakes.
India's exports fell an annual 21.7 per cent in February to $11.91 billion, government data showed on Wednesday, a fifth straight fall as the global slowdown slashed demand for Indian goods.
The trade deficit narrowed to $4.9 billion in February from $6.1 billion in January due to a sharp fall in imports.
Imports fell an annual 23.3 per cent to $16.82 billion in February. Oil imports fell 47.5 per cent during the month from a year earlier to $4.05 billion.
It was a PURE Marketing Strategy which helped the Bengal Ruling Marxists to defame the RESISTANCE hegemony branding it as ANTI DEVELOPMENT for ELECTORAL MILEAGE!
Since Nano is AVAILABLE for Affluent BENGALI ES, the Marxists may now bank on its Capitalist EQUITIES as well as BRAND BUDDHA!
Bollywood star Aamir Khan said the November 26 terror strikes had stirred up awareness among the citizens to chose right leaders.
AMIR KHAN is engaged to MOBILISE Indian VOTERS in National Interests. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, in a rally in Jharkhand, Wednesday appealed to the youth to vote to 'change the fate of the country'. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief E. Sreedharan Wednesday urged people to choose the 'right political leaders' and not vote a criminal to power.
Corporates and TOILET Media is also focused on MOBILISING the VOTERS in national Interest!
It is UNPRECEDENTED as well as UNPRECEDENTED are the suggestions for CONG BJP Coalition in the CENTRE as well as a NATIONAL Government in national INTEREST!
What is this bloody NATIONAL Interest?
It reminds me the RAMRAJ or SWARAJ slogan mobilising the caste Hindus led by Brahamins and Banias to CAPTURE INDIAN STATE POWER! Meanwhile, The US is planning a USD 2.8 billion military aid to Pakistan to successfully fight terrorism, but Washington would ensure that the money is not spent in a way that would give Islamabad a greater capacity to attack another country, primarily India, a media report said. The Obama Administration is planning to propose to the Congress a USD 2.8 billion military aid to Pakistan, in addition to the USD 7.5 billion non-military aid in the next five years as proposed in the Kerry-Lugar Bill, the Fox News said quoting unnamed Defence Department officials.
It is well known that the ABORIGINAL, Indigenous, Minority and BPL communities are HABITUAL to stand in the QUE and they do happen the deciding FACTOR for any ELECTORAL MANDATE in MAJORAITARIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM presently STRUCK deep in CASTEOLOGY.
It is a TURNING POINT in Indian politics which may END UP in MARGINALISING the so called national BRAHAMINICAL Parties clubbed together in Three major factions of different COLOR, The NDA, THe UPA and the LEFT.It may prove to be a TIMINGS headed to UP and BIHAR SUBALTERN Land.
So that the AFFLUENT Media STRUCK RULING Class is being ALERTED to be AWARE of the IMMINENT CHANGE so that they may be MOBILISED TO STOP this with their VOTE!
The TV Channels also telecasted that TWENTY TWO percent VOTERS sell their VOTE and thirty seven percent of the BPL Population is PURCHASED!
This is EQUITY VALUE of Indian Parliamentary SYSTEM!
But neither the ELECTION Commission nor the MEDIA seems to be interested to launch a CAMPAIGN against the SELL OUT with DIVIDENDS ensured!
As campaigning picks up for the Lok Sabha elections, the newly elected President of industry body CII, Venu Srinivasan, has said he will promote a transparent way of donations to political parties by business houses.
"Companies should do it (election funding) transparently. If it becomes transparent it is good for the polity, good for society," Srinivasan told PTI.
He said the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been promoting the idea of transparency in political donations. In any case, he said, it has become difficult for business houses to deal only in cash.
"Companies have shifted from cash payments to cheques... the cash (transactions) have been reduced in the economy considerably since liberalisation... it has become difficult to deal with cash," he said.
The Government monitoring through different taxes like Banking Cash Transaction Tax is also a deterrent to the cash economy, Srinivasan, who is also Chairman of Chennai-based TVS Motor Company Ltd, said.
The CII chief said the chamber would like its members to ensure that the money given away to political parties is properly accounted for in their books.
Some of the country's well-respected industrial houses have already taken lead in giving political donations through cheques.
On the state of the economy, he said while the growth has slowed down, the GDP trends still remain in the positive zone.
However, he remained cautious about fiscal 2009-10 that began today. "(The) growth in the next year may not meet our aspirations, but I look at the world with cautious optimism," he said.
Mr. Srinivasan said the first-half of the fiscal is likely to be poorer because of the high growth in the comparative period the previous year. However, the economy is expected to pick up in the second-half of the financial year 2009-10.
"We have already digested the recession...We are still growing," he said.
While the big picture remains positive, sectors like manufacturing, exports, handicrafts, textile, gems and jewellery remain areas of concern.
After growing by a robust 30 per cent till September, exports have been shrinking in the second half. The government estimates do not project the annualised shipments to grow beyond 3-4 per cent.
Mr. Srinivasan, who is from the automobile industry, said it is early days to see a recovery in the sector. The commercial vehicles segment is still reeling under recessionary trends.
Hence the NATIONAL INTEREST means the URGENCY and EMERGENCY to STOP and PREEMPT the most FEARED Change in Indian MANUSMRITI APARTHEID Rule!
Thus, the Politicians, Economists, Intelligentsia, media Psephologist TUNE UP the THEME SONG of NATIONAL INTEREST clubbed with FALSE RECESSION, Capital DRAINAGE, DIVERSION of national Income and revenue,Clash of CIVILISATION and war against TERROR associated with Indo US nuke Deal and Strategic re alliance in US ISRAEL lead with the SINGLE AGENDA to SUSTAIN the GLOBAL Brahaminical, ZIONIST WHITE Corporate WAR HEGEMONY with the ONE POINT Formula of MASS DESTRUCTION!
The NANO PROJECTION in INDIAN MEDIA shows of the Vital statics as well as the SKIN of the STRATEGIC MARKETING of such NATIONAL INTERESTS on which the MARXISTS seem to BANK on MOST!
Thus, NANO is engaged HIGHLIGHTING the global recession and STRATEGIC marketing by DESI ILLUMINITI, the INDIA INCs! Maruti 800 - the small car that revolutionised personal transport in modern India - will take a bow starting next year and be phased out by 2016, when the country is expected to embrace new emission norms, Maruti Suzuki India said on Wednesday.
Along with the M800, MSI will also be phasing out its second oldest model, the utility van Omni. In the initial phase, the two models will be done away with in 11 cities from next year, where the Bharat Stage-IV emission norms (which is equivalent to Euro-IV norms) will become applicable.
Taxpayers will not have to pay levy on withdrawal of cash from banks with the government withdrawing the Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) from Wednesday. The government had introduced 0.1 per cent BCCT in 2005 on cash withdrawals of more than Rs 50,000 (individuals) and Rs 1,00,000 for others in a single day from non-savings bank account maintained with any scheduled bank. The tax has been withdrawn from April 1 following an announcement made by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his budget speech for 2008-09, sources said.
BJP leader Varun Gandhi on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court challenging invoking of National Security Act (NSA) against him by Uttar Pradesh government for allegedly inciting communal tension.
Congress on Wednesday hit out at BJP Prime Ministerial candidate L.K. Advani for accusing the UPA government of not taking steps to bring back Indian money stashed in Swiss banks and asked him why he had never raised the issue when the NDA was in power.
"Why did Advani who was the Home Minister and also Deputy Prime Minister not raise the issue earlier when he was in office for six years"? Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said here.
Criticising Mr. Advani for attacking the UPA government about the "ill-gotten money deposited in Swiss banks in 2004", he sought to know whether no such money had been deposited prior to 2004.
Mr. Advani had claimed he had received an "evasive" reply from the government to his demand for bringing back money stashed in foreign banks, but the government had described the charge as "farther from the truth."
Flaying Advani's remarks describing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the "weakest" Prime Minister, Mr. Sharma termed it "unfair and uncharitable" and said it was high time he stopped making such statements.
Questioning Mr. Advani about his "very definition of a weak Prime Minister", Mr. Sharma said "a man who is firm, is a man of integrity and commands respect worldwide is called a weak Prime Minister".
On BJP Pilibhit candidate Varun Gandhi's alleged hate speech, Mr. Sharma said: "it is unacceptable in constitutional democracy. Such hate campaigns have no place in India."
Mr. Sharma said the Congress was contesting about 440 seats in the Lok Sabha polls and expressed optimism that it would win more seats this time than in 2004 when it bagged 145 seats.
He said the Congress had never formed a national alliance but always had "State-specific alliances", which it already has in eight States, the major being in Maharashtra, J&K, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
However, the issue of post-poll alliances would be addressed later "once the arithmetic becomes clear", he said.
Slamming the Left parties, especially the CPI(M) for "their mindset frozen in decades gone by", he claimed their ability to influence the voter was "going to diminish sharply in the coming days."
In a surprising admission just a fortnight before the start of the Lok Sabha elections, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj voiced doubts whether the party-led NDA will get a majority on its own.Swaraj, who is contesting the elections from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh for which she is the party in-charge, however said that if the NDA emerged as the single largest coalition then with post-poll alliances the BJP-led grouping will be able to form the government.Bhopal The BJP was very acutely feeling the absence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the present political scene in the country, senior party leader Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Ruling out any truck with Biju Janta Dal (BJD) in Orissa after elections, BJP prime ministerial candidate LK Advani said on Wednesday that the Naveen Patnaik-led regional party has not only betrayed the BJP but also the people of the state who fear the return of Congress' "misrule".
On the other hand, Senior Janata Dal (U) leader George Fernandes on Tuesday described Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a dictator, alleged a nexus between him and the “Congress dictator” (Sonia Gandhi) and vowed to fight the Muzaffarpur Lok Sabha seat as “a people’s candidate”.
“I will not keep quiet; I will definitely fight,” Fernandes stated in the latest issue of his magazine, Pratipaksh. Recounting the deterioration of his relationship with Nitish, Fernandes said the Bihar CM has been ignoring party leaders and workers after the formation of his Government. Defectors, according to him, were given a share in the Government and dedicated leaders of the party were humiliated, he claimed.
US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday there was "enormous consensus" between the world's largest developed and emerging economies on plans to haul the world out of the deepest downturn since the 1930s. Obama played down any differences with France and Germany, which insisted again on the eve of the summit that G20 countries must agree on measures to tighten financial regulation and crack down on tax havens rather than simply make promises.
We have to assess the ECONOMY at home before analysing the G 20 summit!
Equities erased early losses and climbed 2 per cent on Wednesday, to start the new financial year on a positive note, but political and economic uncertainties could weigh on investor confidence in the coming weeks.
Leading energy company Reliance Industries, top mortgage firm Housing Development Finance Corp and outsourcer Infosys Technologies led the the rise, while No.1 telecoms firm Bharti Airtel and Bharat Heavy Electricals were laggards.
Trading is expected to be choppy ahead of month-long general elections that begin in mid-April amid worries about the slowing economy.
This is the MOST VOLATILE FREEseSEX on which SHINING HEGEMONY INDIA is BASED!
The mutual funds industry is sitting on a volcano as 75-80 per cent of its assets are short-term while it resorts to long-term lending to corporates, creating an asset-liability mismatch.
"This is a dangerous situation," said UTI MF's Chairman U K Sinha highlighting the need to take corrective measures. Flagging-off the issue, Sinha, however, made it clear that it is not a crisis situation warranting panic, but it is time the regulators looked at the issue.
"I have brought it to the notice of the concerned authorities that it has systemic risks," Sinha said when asked if he had taken up the matter with the Government and regulators.
Of the 75-80 per cent of mutual fund assets, which are short-term, Sinha said, a substantial investment came from banks.
Banking money with mutual funds in end-October was Rs 13,000 crore and it jumped up to Rs 90,000 crore by February, he said.
Though banks have long-term money, they are not lending but mutual funds, which have banks' short-term money parked with them, are lending long-term to corporates.
Led by IT major Wipro, Indian companies listed on American bourses saw rise in their total market capitalisation by as much as USD 9 billion in March.
The 16 Indian entities' trading as American Depository Receipts (ADRs) gained USD 9.08 billion in valuation for the month of March, with Wipro alone accounting for USD 2.06 billion.
Among the stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, apart from Wipro, leading copper producer Sterlite Industries witnessed its market valuation jump by USD 1.75 billion.
Protesters smashed windows and clashed with police in London's financial district. Up to 400 demonstrators attacked offices of the Royal Bank of Scotland, shouting "These streets, our streets! These banks, our banks!"
The Royal Bank of Scotland has become a lightning rod for anger over banker excess that is blamed for the financial crisis. Rescued by the British government last October, RBS continues to pay its former boss an annual pension of around 700,000 pounds ($1 million).
Obama, making his first official visit to Europe, said G20 nations were not going to agree on every point but pushed aside suggestions the summit would falter because countries were split over the importance of regulation versus new stimulus packages.
"The core notion that government has to take some steps to deal with a contracting global market place and that we should be promoting growth -- that's not in dispute," Obama said at a news conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
"On the regulatory side, this notion that somehow there are those who are pushing for regulation and those who are resisting regulation is belied by the facts."
French President Nicholas Sarkozy earlier threatened to disassociate himself from any "false compromises" at Thursday's summit in London, the second such meeting of world leaders to try to tackle the problems created by the credit crunch. [ID:nL1152984]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel supported Sarkozy's stance and said she would make sure concrete decisions were taken.
Analysts said both were posturing largely for their own voters and staking their positions ahead of the meeting.
"I am not sure that NDA will get majority on its own. But if NDA emerges as single largest coalition then with post-poll alliances we will be able to form government with that,"Sushama Swaraj told reporters in Bhopal.
An apparently embarrassed BJP sought to quickly snub Sushma saying the NDA will form the government.
"We are strong, we are fighting under the leadership of Mr Advani and we should be there to form the government," BJP spokesman Siddarth Nath Singh said in New Delhi.
In reply to a question, Sushma said there was no question of the BJP distancing itself from Varun Gandhi, the party candidate from Pilibhit for the Lok Sabha elections, following his controversial hate speeches which saw the stringent NSA being slapped on him. Sushma had earlier suggested that the BJP was not inclined to utilise the services of Varun for its poll campaign outside Pilibhit.
Sushma said her party's reaction to Varun Gandhi was determined by the manner in which the Election Commission and Mayawati had treated him.
She also charged the Election Commission and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati with adopting double standards in the case of Gandhi
The very same Election Commission which was advising the BJP not to set up Varun as a candidate saw nothing wrong in criminals like Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed contesting the elections, Sushma told reporters in Bhopal.
Similarly, Mayawati had slapped the National Security Act (NSA) on Varun, but took no action against people like Ansari who have been given the BSP ticket for Lok Sabha polls, she said.
Answering a question, the BJP leader said that personally she was against use of intemperate language by any person in politics.
Sushma said that in her view even the most harsh and strong words could be delivered with a lot of politeness and without losing any sense of control.
She also said the BJP was acutely feeling the absence
Pak as 'epicentre of terror' is a harsh reality: PM
London:Calling Pakistan the "epicentre of terrorism", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the world community "has to come to grips with this harsh reality" and slammed Islamabad for failing to take "effective action" to curb the menace.
Ahead of his maiden meeting with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, Singh said the world has a responsibility that Pakistan lives up to the promise that it will not allow its territory to be used to promote acts of terrorism directed against India.
He said not taking any action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks is a "living proof" that Pakistan is not taking effective action to control terrorism.
"That is living proof that despite many promises made by Pakistan since 2004 to my predecessor and to me that Pakistan will not be allowed to be used to undertake acts of terror against India, in practice no effective action has been taken to control terror," Singh told 'Financial Times' in an interview, ahead of his visit here to attend the G-20 summit.
"We all know the epicentre of terrorism in the world today is Pakistan. The world community has to come to grips with this harsh reality," said the Prime Minister, who arrived in London on Tuesday.
He said the 26/11 attacks were planned and acted upon in Pakistani territory is now admitted by everybody, including the intelligence agencies of developed countries.
Asked why Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group blamed for the Mumbai attacks, has been able to bounce back so quickly, Singh said: "It is because the promises that the government of Pakistan have made to control terrorism and all its instrumentalities, they are either not able to control them or they are not willing to control them."
The Prime Minister said India and US would like both Afghanistan and Pakistan to be free from the hold of terrorist elements.
Asked how did he assess the chances of success for Obama's just-released AfPak strategy, he said: "I have not studied the Obama plan. We are victims of terrorism and we hope that whatever the world community plans to do they will pay adequate attention that terrorism ceases to be a problem in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan."
Singh said it has been India's experience in the past that there are elements in the armed forces of Pakistan, some segments of the ISI involved in perpetrating acts of terror, particularly the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul.
"We have been told that the ISI in Pakistan has a different mindset. I hope that is right," he said.
Asked why Pakistan has not been able to tackle terrorism, Singh said: "I'm not an expert on how Pakistan is being run. But the proof of pudding is in the eating. That the attacks on Mumbai were planned and acted upon in Pakistani territory is now admitted by everybody.
If Sidhu can contest, then why not me: Sanjay
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has confirmed that he was being threatened by a Union Minister's aide of "dire consequences" if he joined SP even as Congress dismissed the allegations as completely "baseless".
"Yes I can confirm that I was threatened by a senior aide of a Cabinet Minister and warned of dire consequences," he told a TV channel in a joint interview with SP general secretary Amar Singh.
Dutt, who was barred by Supreme Court from contesting the LS polls, however, refused to reveal the name of the person.
"I will reveal everything at the appropriate time. No one can stop me from being with Samajwadi Party," he asserted.
Meanwhile, Congress dismissed Dutt's allegations on Wednesday, terming it as completely "baseless."
"I think it is a self-serving claim. I would it dismiss as completely baseless unless they come out with anything substantial," she said.
In the joint interview, Singh said the "counsel of a very senior minister had also threatened Sanjay Dutt from joining SP".
"Sanjay was told clearly that should he take such a step, even his bail could be cancelled," Singh said, adding "there are certain managers of Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister who were against Sanjay joining SP."
Dutt confirmed Singh's charges. He contended that "I am not saying that there is a conspiracy against me, but there are people who are scared of my contesting from Lucknow."
Singh contended that if Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was convicted in a murder case, was allowed to contest elections then "why not Sanjay?"
"If Sanjay is denied then Sidhu should also be banned". Putting up a brave face, Dutt said he has no regrets about the Supreme Court's ruling. "If I cannot serve as a politician, I will serve as a citizen. I have no regrets. It has just started with me. I will be with SP till I die."
He said even though he will not be able to contest, he will campaign for SP throughout the country. "I am going to Lucknow on Wednesday and will stay there till the end," he said.
Denying any differences between him and his family over his joining politics, Dutt said, "There is no break-up in the family".
On speculations whether his wife Manyata could contest from Lucknow, Dutt said, "I have left all these decisions to the SP leaders. Whatever they decide, we will accept."
Media persons face Mamata fury
Wed, Apr 1 08:37 PM
Kolkata, April 1 (IANS) Amid high drama, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Wednesday fretted and fumed at a section of the media during an election rally here and alleged that they were trying to sabotage her meetings at the behest of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
The firebrand leader lost her cool when two photographers tried to climb the dias to take snaps.
'Why are you trying to disturb my meeting? You are doing this every day. You are acting at the behest of the CPI-M. This can't go on,' she told the two photographers.
'I know which organisation you represent, and how it is funded by the CPI-M-run government,' said Banerjee at the rally in the northern part of the city in support of her party candidate Sudip Bandyopadhyay.
As the crowd of her supporters got restive, Banerjee asked them to stop.
However, she stopped her speech and went back to her seat on the dias, only to resume speaking after a couple of minutes.
'A section of the media is writing all sorts of nonsense against us. We don't care. But why should they conspire to disrupt my meetings?' Banerjee asked.
'There are CPI-M stooges and they are trying to infiltrate my meetings. I ask them not to do these. I don't want to see them on my dias from the next meeting. But I would also like to clarify that only two or three media houses are doing this,' she said.
Banerjee later named two TV channels and two newspapers and asked people not to watch or read these.
Indo Asian News Service
Indian stamp on luxury envelope
Wed, Apr 1 05:35 PM
Last season we saw Giorgio Armani going in for dhoti-pants and Jean Paul Gaultier's sari-dresses. In fact the House of Hermes, for which Gaultier is the chief designer, came out with a fragrance inspired by the backwaters of Kerala.
Well, the fascination for India goes unabated. At the Paris Fashion Week, Balenciaga's collection for fall 2009 was dubbed 'Sari Silhouette' collection.
Nicolas Ghesquire of Balenciaga drew inspiration from the drape of a sari and created tulip skirts and slim Jodhpurs that were paired with Maharani tops. In an interview Ghesquire stated, "India was something that was always there in the archives of the house.
But only after going there did I realise how deeply." He was in India in the fall of 2008.
House of Dior's fascination with India goes way back to 1950s when Christian Dior designed a sari for Princess Lillian de Belgique. At Dior's fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear collection shown in Paris, Galliano delved into Dior archives and that meant a collection with Indian influences.
Jackets appeared with Ikat prints. Coats came in purple wool with paisley-style teardrop-shaped Indian embroidery and rich brocades.
And the Indian influence is not just limited to clothes. Soon Dior is launching a fragrance that is named 'Pondicherry'.
Ricardo Tisci of Givenchy played with the sari drape too in his fall 2009 collection. Earlier the fashion house of Givenchy introduced Maharani range of colour cosmetics for summer 2009 in shades of Tangerine and Pink.
Its creator Nicolas Degennes said, "I have been, sometimes without realising it, inspired by historical, traditional India - the India of symbols and thousands of Gods, where even cows and elephants are made up and 'bejewelled'." At the New York Fashion Week, a young fashion label Port 1961 showed a collection inspired by the Mughal Courts of India.
Silk sari dresses came down the runway in long and short versions.
Jaydeep Ghosh
