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strongAGE CORRESPONDENT/strong SRINAGAR Jan. 31: In the fourth incident of its kind during the past fortnight, Kashmiri separatists gave the security forces a slip after engaging them in a fierce gun battle in north-western town of Sop-ore early on Sunday. Similar incidents have occurred in southern Kulgam-Shopian-Pulwama belt and the fronti-er district of Poonch before. The police officials have confirmed that the 15-hour-long gunbattle between security forces and a group of militants, including a divisional commander of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen outfit, Basharat Saleem alias Munna, reportedly holed up in a private house in Sopore’s New Colony residential area, has ended but the search operations have not led to recovery of any militants’ body. A combing operation, to hunt the militants, is on and the smouldering debris of the suspected militant hideout is being rummaged around repeatedly, witnesses said. Troops from Army’s 22 Rashtriya Rifles with members of 76 CRPF and the local police’s counter-insurgency Special Operations Group mounted a cordon-and-search operation in the area at about 5.30 pm on Saturday after learning about the presence of the Harkat commander and his accomplices in the house of one Ali Muhammad Kemoo, close to his own in New Colony area. Amidst firing and deafening explosions, the residents of the area fled to safety, witnessed had rep-orted. On Sunday morning, red-faced officials said the militants, believed to be three in number, may have fled the scene after the house in which they were hiding caught fire late on Saturday night, hours after the gun battle raged. “The operation to flush out the militants was suspended late on Saturday night but resumed with the first light on Sunday…the encounter is over and search operations have not led to recovery of any militants body,” said Deputy Inspector General of Police (North Kashmir) Abdul Qayyum Manhas. He added, “The militants had apparently fled late last night after fire broke out in the besi-eged house and the officers supervising the operation pressed fire tenders to control it from spreading to adj-oining houses,” the officer added. He also claimed that one AK-47 assault rifle with three magazines and about 900 rounds, two hand gre-nades, a laptop and a pouch were found and seized from the house of Harkat commander Basharat located in the same locality. The rifle had “Basharat” inscribed on it confirming it was in the use of the Harkat commander who had wa-lked into his neighbour’s house after the forces moved in, said Mr Manhas.

strongAge correspondent/strong Patna Jan. 31: After taking charge as the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s national president for the seventh time in a row since 1997, Lalu Prasad Yadav, once unanimously described as Bihar’s strongman, on Sunday attacked both Bihar’s ruling NDA and the resurgent Congress in a step forward in his obvious comeback bid. The 63-year-old Yadav was re-elected president of the RJD uncontested on January 23, but a formal renewal of tenure took place during the party’s national executive meeting that saw several senior RJD leaders venting their spleen on both the NDA and the Congress. Sunday was a day in Bihar loaded with politically significant words and actions of three politicians — dissident JD(U) state president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh left for Delhi ostensibly to offer his resignation; Congress Bihar in-charge Jagdish Tytler said in Muzaffarpur that Mahatma Gandhi was his party’s “personal heritage;” and the newly re-elected RJD chief spoke with optimism for a comeback. Mr Yadav’s re-election was a foregone conclusion in the RJD, which he himself built up and nurtured with an iron grip and undivided attention often coming from within his previously undivided extended family. His wife Rabri Devi, who remained chief minister for eight years following Mr Yadav’s being named in the fodder scam cases, slammed Nitish Kumar’s NDA government on Sunday, saying the government was misusing public funds in undue self-publicity. Mr Rahul Gandhi’s two-day tour of Bihar starting from Monday found mention in the speeches of several RJD leaders at the party’s national executive meeting. “Banner sand posters announcing his tour of Bihar are all funded by capitalists,” said senior Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Devendra Yadav. Mr Yadav described the certificate of his re-election as the party chief as a “big burden on my shoulders” given by the party workers and the people. “I will keep working for the poor and the downtrodden masses,” he said. *** Cong for jats in OBC list Age Correspondent New Delhi Jan. 31: The Congress has advocated inclusion of jats as Other Backward Castes (OBC) in the Central list. AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh said, “The Congress’ viewpoint is that jats should be included in the Central list of OBCs and get reservation in Central government jobs and educational institutions.” He said that since the provision of creamy layer already exists, only the poor and weaker sections of the community would get the benefits. A delegation of Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh led by Mr Singh also met minister for social justice and empowerment Mukul Wasnik over the issue. The Congress is clear on the issue that the community, which is OBC in the state list of UP, should also be included in the Central list, he said. There is a provision for the National Commission for Backward Classes to carry out surveys of socio-economic conditions of various castes and make recommendations to the government for their inclusion in the Central list of OBCs. Mr Singh said the Central government should accept if any recommendation has been made or it can take this step on its own. This view of the Congress comes ahead of “Mission 2012” of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi which envisages victory in the 2012 Assembly elections in the largest state of the country. The Congress has already surprised its detractors and the rival parties by winning 21 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradsh in the multi cornered contests. And the tally went up to 22 when its candidate Raj Babbar defeated SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law Dimple in the Lok Sabha bypolls there recently. The Congress’ Jat reservation plank could certainly pose some threats to the Rashtrtiya Lok Dal led by Ajit Singh in wetern UP. The Congress’ revival in UP has already made a dent in the BJP’s upper castes support base and Bahujan Samaj Party-Samajwadi Party’s minorities and dalit vote bank.

strongAmita Verma/strong Lucknow Jan. 31: Former Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh’s attempts to build bridges for Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati have obviously failed to cut ice. The UP government has now decided to hire a chartered accountant to probe the alleged fraud case against Mr Singh. According to government sources, the need to hire a chartered accountant has been taken in view of the ‘huge volume of documents’ submitted by Shivkant Tripathi, the complainant who has accused Mr Amar Singh of a Rs 500 crore scam. The case has been registered with the state’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). According to the FIR lodged by Shivkant Tripathi in Kanpur, Mr Amar Singh has allegedly used illegal means not only in bringing about amalgamation of a number of companies into six companies owned by him, but also in artificially raising the premium of shares of these companies. Mr Singh is alleged to have used the amalgamation to legitimise ‘unaccounted wealth’ parked in the name of scores of companies in which, along with him, his wife Pankaja Kumari Singh and mega-star Amitabh Bachchan owned cross-holdings. “Since the matter involved major financial and accounting intricacies, expert advice was required to get to the root of the bungling. Therefore, we have decided to seek the services of a chartered accountancy firm,” said a senior police official. The case, in view of its political ramifications, is being personally monitored by DGP Karamvir Singh.

strongAge Correspondent/strong NEW DELHI Jan. 31: Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) continues to be torn asunder by its own partymen busy trading charges against each other. On Sunday, it was the turn of film actor turned politician Jaya Prada to speak up for her mentor in politics, Amar Singh who is presently involved in a mud-slinging match with members of a party of which he technically remains a member. Jaya Prada who is a second-term Lok Sabha MP from Rampur lashed out at her party leaders on Sunday and accused them particularly senior party leader and newly-appointed spokesperson Mohan Singh for “malinging” Amar Singh. “He (Amar Singh) is being criticised for every wrong decision taken by the party leadership. His criticis were rewarded with posts within the party on the occasion of his birthday,” said Jaya Prada. She also appealed to party supremo Mulayam Singh who she said is “like a father figure to all of us in SP” to “intervene and stop such attacks against on Amar Singh within the party”. At the same time, she sought to tread a safe path as far as her party chief is concerned saying that she did not want to blame him for not saying anything about the criticism being levelled against Amar Singh. Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Mulayam Singh seemed to brush off Jaya Prada’s remarks as ones that merely helped enhance his stature as a leader. According to agencies, he said, “Agar virodh nahin karenge to hamari haisiyat jya reh jayegi (If people do not protest, what will remain of my stature”. Further, he said that the current wranglings within the party were the SP’s internal matter and would be resolved through discussions. However, party general secretary Ram A. Kushwaha lashed out at Jaya prada stating that like Amar singh, she too has become history for the SP. Jaya Prada, on her part, put up a strident case in favour of Amar Singh. “Despite his poor health, Amar Singh has worked selflessly for the party and even campaigned for SP candidates during UP Assembly elections and last year’s Lok Sabha polls,” she stated. She also questioned Mohan Singh’s demand that Amar Singh resign from his Rajya Sabha seat on moral grounds. “Who has given Mohan Singh the right to seek his resignation? How can the statements he has been making against Amar Singh be described as the party’s viewpoint?” she asked. The actress turned politician, however, maintained that though she is supporting Amar Singh now that he is in trouble, it “does not mean that we will leave the party”. We are not against Mulayam Singh.”

strongANAND S.T. DAS/strong Patna Jan. 31: A day before Rahul Gandhi’s scheduled two-day visit to Bihar, the state Congress was all worked up by BJP national president Nitin Gadkari’s controversial likening of Narendra Modi to Mahatma Gandhi. Congress leaders spoke bitterly and possessively against the comparison and sought to keep the Mahatma within the grand old party. With Mr Rahul Gandhi set to begin his much-awaited “mission Bihar” tour on Monday from West Champaran district, from where the Mahatma began his legendary Indian journey in 1917, Mr Nitin Gadkari’s comparison between the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi caught the imagination of Bihar’s Congress leaders. In his apparent alacrity to keep the Mahatma’s priceless legacy safe with the Congress and decry the effort to compare Gujarat’s BJP chief minister Narendra Modi with the “Father of the Nation”, the Congress party’s Bihar in-charge, Jagdish Tytler, described the Mahatma as “our (the Congress party’s) personal heritage”. “Gandhijee is an inspiration for the entire world. He is linked to us (the Congress party) from the beginning. Others using his name are frauds,” said Mr Tytler in Muzaffarpur on Sunday. “He is our personal heritage,” he added in a set of comments that could set off new controversies over the Mahatma’s legacy. In similar comments pertaining to Mr Gadkari’s comparison, Congress national spokesman and former Union minister Shakil Ahmed Khan described the BJP president’s line of thinking as “childish”. Guarding his words more carefully than Mr Tytler, Mr Khan said in Darbhanga: “Gadkari has neither any understanding of Gandhi nor of Modi”. AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi will begin his tour from the Bhitiharwa Ashram set up by Mahatma Gandhi for his Satyagraha against British colonial rule and Indian backwardness of thought and action. This symbolic beginning of a major political tour of Bihar by the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family just months before the Assembly polls is now expected to be impacted by Gadkari’s Mahatma-Modi comparison. *** ‘No Mahatma comparison’ Age Correspondent Bengaluru Jan. 31: BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Sunday denied that he had compared Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi with the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. Mr Gadkari, who is on his maiden visit to Karnataka after becoming party president, asked the media to check video tapes of his speeches made in Porbandar. Mr Gadkari on a visit to Porbandar, the Mahatma’s birth place, had said on Saturday that the Mahatma and Mr Modi believed that politics is a tool to alleviate poverty. “Alleviating poverty should be the end of all politics and a living example of that is Narendra Modi who is working tirelessly for the same goal,” Mr Gadkari had said in Porbandar. Mr Gadkari said this does not mean that he had compared the Mahatma with the Gujarat CM and appealed to the media to report news and not views.

strongAGE CORRESPONDENT/strong BHOPAL Jan. 31: BJP patriarch L.K. Advani took a swipe at the growing corruption in the media, and argued that this was evidence that graft in public life had reached unseen levels. Speaking to representatives of newly-elected civic bodies, mayors included, at a function at the chief minister’s official residence on Sunday, he said there was a time in the early post-Independence era when people used to look up to their leaders as exemplars of integrity. Whenever corruption was discussed, it was largely in the context of the bureaucracy. Slowly but surely, the same disease seeped into the political arena, afflicting and poisoning the entire system of governance. Relating an anecdote, Mr Advani said he first became aware of the sheer depth of the rot a few years ago when he heard about a chauffeur who threatened to walk away in case the minister (whose staff car he drove) insisted on personally driving the vehicle. Said he: “Yeh koi sarkar nahi hai jo bahgwan bharose chale” (the car isn’t like the government that ambles along on God’s mercy). Mr Advani said it common to think that party MPs and MLAs set the trend in moral standards. But the real lessons were imbibed at the civic body level which was the gateway to politics. “Which is why the example you set will have a crucial bearing on the party’s future.” That the BJP was still cleaner than most was evident from the recent statewide civic poll results: 8/13 mayorships; 91 of the 191 nagar palikas; and 2,396 of the 5,059 councillors were BJP faithfuls. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other senior ministers were also present on the occasion. *** After AIIMS tests, docs say PM is fit AGE CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI Jan. 31: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Sunday visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to undergo a routine medical check up. Several tests were conducted for cardiovascular assessment, as a follow up to his coronary bypass surgery which was performed on him a year ago. All the tests were found to be normal. All the tests conducted on the 77-year-old Prime Minister were “normal and everything is allight with the Prime Minister,” doctors attending on him said. “This is a routine evaluation that was done in two parts. He underwent a Stress-Thallium test. It was done in two parts — one was done at 8 am and the other was done at 12.30 pm,” personal physician to the Prime Minister Dr K.S. Reddy, said. During the tests, a patient is made to do some exercises and certain assessments are made by doctors to check if the heart is able to take stress or not. Dr Reddy said, “This is a test conducted to check the functioning of the heart. Dr Singh has undergone a heart surgery last year and this is an evaluation process to ascertain working of his heart.” A team of doctors at AIIMS were involved in all the tests, Dr Reddy said. Dr Singh is scheduled to inaugurate a conference of state chief secretaries on Monday morning.

strongNamrata Biji Ahuja/strong New Delhi Jan. 31: The Centre is intensifying the anti-Naxal offensive on the Chhattisgarh-Orissa and Orissa-Jharkhand border, ruling out any talks, and has issued clear directions to the BJP-led Chattisgarh government to see that Maoists are not allowed to escape to Orissa. This was stressed during the recent visit of home minister P. Chidambaram to Raipur where he had called a meeting of chief ministers and senior officials of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Maharashtra and the chiefs of BSF and CRPF. Former Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) D.G. Vikram Srivastava on Sunday took charge of the CRPF from the outgoing director general A.S. Gill. Significantly, Mr Srivastava is due for retirement only in 2012, allowing him a full two-year tenture in CRPF during the period when the Centre plans to wrap-up its anti-naxal operations in the country. Soon after taking charge, Mr Srivastava held an hour-long meeting with CRPF Special DG and commander of the anti-Naxal task force Vijay Raman and other top officials in the CRPF where he discussed the anti-naxal offensive. The meeting gains significance in view of the February 9 meeting called by Mr Chidambaram of chief ministers of four states — West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar, to be held in Kolkata. Mr Raman said that he is not aware of any offer from Maoists to hold talks, including Maoist groups in Jharkhand. “We are not going to sit quiet. We are on the ops (operation) mode.It is a seamless, borderless operation to flush out Maoists. Collateral damage has to be avoided and will be avoided,” he said. Speaking to The Asian Age, Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan said that the government has given clear directions not to allow Maoists to sneak into Orissa. The Central and state police forces are focussing on the possible escape routes of Naxals between Chhattisgarh and Orissa, Orissa and Jharkhand, developing strategies and deploying forces in a manner to prevent Maoists from escaping into other areas, a security official said. The coordinated anti-Naxal offensive involves deployment of over 60,000 central security personnel. The CRPF special DG, meanwhile, claimed that many Naxalites, including senior leaders, have surrendered at various places especially in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra following the home ministry’s annou-ncement of the surrender-cum-rehabilitation package for Maoists. After taking charge, Mr Srivastava, whose brother, Raman Srivastava, is serving as DG BSF said, “I was DG ITBP and now I have been given the charge in CRPF. It is a job which one has to do. I am serving here in my own right.” Reacting to the controversy over a minimal age difference between the two brothers, he said, “This matter has duly been examined by the competent authority.”

strongAsit Jolly/strong Chandigarh Jan. 31: A council of village elders in Haryana’s Rohtak district has ordered a young man and his wife to separate and henceforth treat each other as “sister” and “brother” because their three-year-old marriage “violates sacred traditional bonds” based on caste and kinship. Incredulous as it sounds, the khap panchayat or caste council, besides commanding Satish and Kavita Berwal to alter the status of their relationship, also wants them to surrender custody of their ten-month-old son Raunak. “They have been living in sin and we cannot allow this to continue,” said a panchayat representative in village Kheri, where the couple have been residents since they got married. “The boy belongs to the Berwal gotra (kinship group) and the bride is a Beniwal and these two gotras have shared a centuries-old bhaichara (brotherhood),” he said. Also incensed that Satish’s family had concealed Kavita’s true lineage for three years, the elders publicly humiliated the boy’s father Azad Singh Berwal by parading him with a shoe in his mouth. He was also directed to pay a penalty of Rs 3 lakh. “The money will be dep-osited in a bank and used for the upbringing of the illegitimate child they have bro-ught into this world,” Kheri panchayat member Hawa Singh told reporters adding, “the family has been given 28 days to send Kavita back to her father’s village. Failing compliance with the panchayat’s edict they will face sterner action.” Helpless in the face of aggressively enforced caste tradition, while Satish and his family appear to have conceded, the young wife said she is prepared to fight. “How is it possible for a man and wife to suddenly become brother and sister? My father and I have sought audience with the maha-pa-nchayat at Meham later this week,” Kavita said, adding she would petition the high court at Chandigarh if the elders at Meham also failed her. Meanwhile, district police officials, who were recently issued fresh instructions on dealing with such disputes, remained typically reticent. “We have not yet received any complaint in the matter,” said a senior police officer evidently nervous about having to take on the Meham Chaubisi — Har-yana’s most influential caste council. There have been dozens of similar instances where Haryana’s powerful caste panchayats have sought to enforce their will on people particularly young couples. In June 2007, two young lovers — Manoj and Babli — were murdered and thrown into an irrigation canal. The following year, Jasbir Singh and his six-month pregnant partner Sunita were strangled by the girl’s father and brothers who later displayed the bodies outside their village home in Karnal. But in perhaps the most bizarre instance to date, in July 2009 villagers bludgeoned to death a young man who had defied gotra or kinship traditions to marry the girl he loved. 21-year-old Vedpal was lynched in the presence of 15 armed policemen and a court-appointed warrant officer assigned to protect him. While the Punjab and Har-yana high court has intervened in most such cases, Haryana’s politicians have remained aloof perhaps fea-ring electoral repercussions of tampering with tradition.

strongSHUCHISMITA/strong Jammu Jan. 31: The terrorist groups, unable to “sustain their cadre in view of the heavy attrition by the security forces”, are coercing the youth to recruit them in various terrorist outfits to keep alive terrorism in Doda. This has been claimed in an analysis of terrorist recruitment corresponding to terrorist attrition conducted in Doda region by the Army. An official handout issued by northern command maintained that with the growing disillusionment of the youth with the terrorist cause, the rate of recruitment is just 32 percent of terrorist casualties. The study revealed that in Doda district, in 2008, 98 terrorists were killed by security forces whereas 51 youngsters were recruited by various terrorist outfits (52 per cent). In 2009, 58 terrorists were killed, however, only 19 youth joined terrorist groups (32 per cent) mostly by force and fear of reprisal. Out of these 19 terrorists, 7 have already surrendered or either rescued or apprehended by the security forces. “Earlier, the youth was misguided in the name of religion or jihad by senior terrorist leaders, but due to pro-active security forces most of these self styled commanders who were being actively supported and motivated by inimical forces across Line of Control were killed or have fled to Pakistan or have surrendered. Elimination of senior terrorist leaders has resulted in significant reduction in recruitment levels. The terrorist groups are now finding it very difficult to sustain their cadres in view of the heavy attrition by the security forces and are, therefore, resorting to recruitment under coercion,” claimed the study. Decreasing levels of recruiting is a clear indication of waning terrorism. Also, the parents are unwilling to let their children join terrorist groups and are either willing to pay to get their children back or approach overground workers to put pressure on the terrorists to release their children. This is another method being employed by terrorist groups which are cash starved to raise funds. Lure of easy money and glamour of the gun is the primary motive to join terrorist groups. Majority of youth joining terrorist groups are in the age group of 18 to 28 years and are from poor economic background, are semi or illiterate and are invariable unemployed, the study stated. *** Headley planned Delhi base in Nov. Sumir Kaul Mumbai Jan. 31: American terror suspect David Headley was scheduled to visit India aga-in in November last year ap-parently to finalise the next target for LeT group and set up a base in Delhi. Sources privy to the investigations said that Headley had told his friends in India that he was coming to the country in November for his business. Headley’s messages to his friends, who have recorded their statements before the NIA, stopped in the last week of September, barely a few days before he was arrested by the FBI at O’Hare airport in Chicago on October 3 last year, the sources said. After recording the statements, the sleuths believe that since Lashker had postponed its planned terror strike on Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten because of international pressure following 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Headley, who was arrested just before he could board a plane for Philadelphia en route to Pakistan, was coming to India for finalising the next target. The friends, which included some women, told the investigators that Headley was constantly in touch with them from the US and before being arrested he had said that he was coming to India and that they will have a get-together. According to the documents shared by the FBI, Headley had been asked by his handler, a Pakistani Army official, that he should wind up his office — First World Office — in Mumbai and “open up a new business centre in Delhi to be used as a cover for future activities”. The travel details of Headley, who is now turning out to be the globe-trotting prize asset of LeT, was being examined by various agencies, the sources said. The investigators believe that the last visit of Headley to India in March last year may have been to finalise synchronised terror strikes on Jewish houses located in five cities. —PTI

strongAge Correspondent/strong NEW DELHI Jan. 31: Union defence minister A.K. Antony has said that not even a single instance of corruption can be tolerated in the Army. His declaration on Sunday came in the context of the Sukna land scam where the defe-nce minister himself had to step in and advice court martial proceedings against Lt. Gen. Avdhesh Prakash who retires as the military secretary (MS) on Sunday. While stating that the Sukna scam as also some other instances of corruption in the Army are "aberrations", Mr Antony reminded reporters that "strong action" has been taken by the Army. The action of initiating disciplinary action against Lt. Gen. Prakash by Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor came only after the defence minister advised him to take this step on Friday. Lt. Gen. Prakash was known to be a close aide of General Kapoor. Prior to the defence minister intervening, the Army Chief had been dragging his feet on taking stern action against his MS and had only initiated administrative action against him. This, even though Lt. Gen. Prakash had been indicted by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) in the Sukna land scam. With several other senior Army officers too having been indicted of late in various scams, the defence minister on Sunday sought to downplay these instances of corruption stating that the armed forces have "a much better system of correcting things and punishing the guilty". Further, Mr Antony said, "Compared to many other institutions, the armed forces and the Army are doing much better to take action and correct aberrations in the system." *** Teenager dies in police, youth clashes Age Correspondent Srinagar Jan. 31: Tension mounted in central Srinagar on Sunday evening following the death of a teenager, hours after he was hit in the head by a teargas canister fired by the riot police to quell a stone-throwing mob. Reports said that irate mobs clashed with the police in parts of central Srinagar, a phenomenon witnessed mostly on Fridays and Sundays for the past many months. The police usually pitches what it says are professional stone-throwers by swinging bamboo sticks and bursting tear-smoke shells. The exercise was repeated on Sunday. Witnesses said that a 16-year-old boy, who was not part of the stone-throwing brigade, was hit by a teargas shell on his head while walking down a side-street near Ghani Memorial Stadium at Rajwari Kadal causing serious injuries. He succumbed at a hospital here later, leading to rising tensions. The youth's corpse has been shifted to the Srinagar police control room where effort was on to identify him.

pfont size="2"strongVenkatesh Kesari/strong/font/p pNew Delhi/p pJan. 30: The Congress is in no mood to antagonise the Samajwadi Party, keeping in mind that it could be useful if the Trinamul Congress, led by Ms Mamata Banerjee, deserts the UPA./p pAccording to well-placed sources in the UPA, Congress officials are more comfortable with the Samajwadi Party in the absence of its former general secretary Amar Singh, who is on his way out after attacking the party leadership./p pThe SP, which has 22 members in the Lok Sabha, is backing the Manmohan Singh government from outside. The Trinamul Congress’ strength in the Lower House is 19. But its leader and railway minister Mamata Banerjee is reported to be sulking due to the Congress’ friendly approach towards the Marxists./p pThe Congress managers are unsure whether the Trinamul Congress would remain in the UPA for a complete term. This is because the equations between the Congress and the Trinamul Congress will depend on the outcome of the coming West Bengal Assembly elections./p pMs Banerjee wants the Congress to toe her line with regard to the Marxists, at least till the elections, after smelling power in the state. But the Congress’ thinking is not confined to West Bengal. This is because the party is in a comfortable position at the Centre after winning 208 seats in the Lok Sabha. The result of the West Bengal polls, therefore, would not affect it either way./p pAs far as Uttar Pradesh is concerned, the Congress thinks the main battle this time would be against the ruling BSP. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati would obviously be the main target of the Congress, SP and the BJP in the coming state Assembly polls./p pThe Congress and the SP will not fight the polls together for obvious reasons but their attempts to defeat the BSP and get maximum political space could bring them together in a post-poll situation./p pThe UPA leaders are not attaching much importance to Mr Amar Singh’s attack against the SP while drawing attention to his various statements in the past few days. Mr Singh resigned from the party post on health grounds but does not want to quit the Rajya Sabha, they pointed out./p p /p

pfont size="2"strongAmita Verma/strong/font/p pLucknow/p pJan. 30: The Bahujan Samaj Party has started making renewed efforts to win over Muslims in Uttar Pradesh in order to compensate losses, if any, due to the growing anti-incumbency factor./p pAccording to party sources, Ms Mayawati has entrusted the responsibility of bring Muslims into the party fold to senior minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui. Muslims MLAs and MPs in the BSP have also been asked to assist Mr Siddiqui in bringing the community closer to the BSP./p pMs Mayawati, according to party sources, is now focusing her attention on the 2012 Assembly elections in the state. The chief minister obviously is not getting complacent after the BSP’s sweeping victory in the Assembly byelections and the Vidhan Parishad polls and wants to ensure that her party returns to power with a greater majority in 2012./p pquot;We are aware that a section of Brahmins and upper castes are disillusioned with the party for no apparent reason and we cannot bank completely on them for the next Assembly elections. Muslims are more bankable as a community and are presently finding themselves politically abandoned in the state. The BSP will reach out to Muslims and solicit their support,quot; a senior party functionary said./p pThe BSP believes that the Muslims may have voted for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in a big way but when it comes to state elections, they may not opt for the Congress./p pquot;The Congress at the state level remains a non-starter and Muslims will not vote for a party that does not have the capacity to come to power. The Samajwadi Party stands completely discredited after the Kalyan Singh episode and the recent Amar Singh saga has further demoralised the party cadres. The BSP, in such a situation, can emerge as the only alternative for Muslims and we are working on this,quot; the party leader explained./p p /p

pfont size="2"strongAge Correspondent/strong/font/p pLucknow/p pJan. 30: Even as the Centre and state government makes a bid to improve literacy levels in the country, the level of education among UP legislators is steadily going down./p pMore than 60 legislators in the UP Assembly have no knowledge of their own educational qualification, in short, they have not had any formal education./p pAccording to the details published in the recently-released book on UP MLAs by the Vidhan Sabha secretariat, more than 60 legislators have not given any details about their educational qualifications./p pquot;These legislators left the education column blank which means that they have not had any formal education. Majority of these MLAs belong to the BSP while others belong to the remaining parties,quot; said a member of the editorial team of the book./p pHowever, sources said that some of the legislators have deliberately left the education column blank for reasons best known to them./p p***/p pMamata: Rail budget Feb. 23-24/p pAGE CORRESPONDENT/p pNew Delhi/p pJan. 30: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that the Railway Budget for 2010-11 will be presented in Parliament either on February 23 or 24./p pMs Banerjee, while inaugurating the commencement of work for construction of railway lines at Nandigram in East Midnapore district, said, quot;Possibly, the rail budget will be presented on February 23 or 24.quot;/p p /p

pfont size="2"strongGhazipur, Jan. 30:/strong Under pressure from his critics within the party to give up his Rajya Sabha seat, Amar Singh Saturday asked Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav to first quot;return the kidneysquot; he had sacrificed in the service of the party./font/p pAddressing a public meeting in Madgava village, about 70 km from the district headquarters here, Mr Singh said he had served the Samajwadi Party for 14 years and even sacrificed his kidneys for it. quot;The party’s treatment towards me had not been right... To those who have been demanding my resignation from the Rajya Sabha I have to say that if Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) returns my kidneys I would resign,quot; an emotional Amar Singh said. Mr Singh, who lashed out at party leaders who have been given new responsibilities after his resignation from key posts in the organisation as well as his detractors, however, spared Mr Mulayam Singh from his attacks. —PTI/p p /p p***/p pRJD to protest smuggling/p pAGE CORRESPONDENT/p pPatna/p pJan. 30: The success of its latest Bihar shutdown against price hike has prompted the RJD, the state’s main Opposition party, to plan a similar protest campaign on another issue close to the hearts of the people, rampant smuggling of essential goods from Bihar to Nepal through the porous border./p pItching to return to power in Bihar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday trained his guns on the Nitish Kumar government by asserting that the spiralling prices in the state and non-availability of essential commodities were also a result of the smuggling rackets that illegally carry Indian goods to Nepal in connivance of authorities of both the state and Central governments./p pThe quot;Border Marchquot; planned by the RJD, would be in the form of a procession of people from all parts of the state to the Indo-Nepal borders in the north. A date for the campaign will be fixed at the RJD national executive meeting on Sunday. quot;Bihar’s huge quantities of essential commodities are being secretly smuggled to Nepal through the porous borders everyday in connivance with officials, including SSB personnel, local police stations, collectors, customs officials and others deployed on the check-posts, said Mr Yadav at a news conference. These smuggled goods, he said, again enter Bihar with bigger prices./p p /p

p class="c1"strongDeepal Trivedi/strong/p pAhmedabad/p pJan. 30: BJP president Nitin Gadkari has said that Mahatma Gandhi and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi have a similarity as both believed politics to be a tool to alleviate poverty./p pThe comparison between the Mahatma and Mr Modi was made by Mr Gadkari at the Mahatma's birthtown, Porbandar, in Gujarat. This was Mr Gadkari's first visit after assuming office as national BJP president./p pMr Gadkari's visit coincided with the 61st death anniversary of the Mahatma. Mr Gadkari said Mahatma Gandhi and the BJP's founding father, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, believed in the same ideals of national unity and equality. quot;I am happy that I am at Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace today and I also had the opportunity to unveil a statue of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Both were men who thought national unity of foremost importance. Like him Gandhiji believed that politics should be used as a tool of socio-economic development and not as an instrument of power.quot;/p pquot;Alleviating poverty should be the end of all politics and a living example of that ideal is Narendra Modi who is working tirelessly for the same goal,quot; Mr Gadkari told reporters while inaugurating a special exhibition of sand sculptures depicting the life and values of the Mahatma./p pMr Gadkari and Mr Modi also attended the 34th Garib Kalyan Mela here and the chief minister said that as Gujarat celebrates its golden anniversary poverty alleviation is his prime goal. quot;We are providing relief worth Rs 1,500 crores to more than 50 lakh families through the Garib Kalyan programme. I have taken it upon myself to organise 50 more melas,quot; said Mr Modi./p pEarlier, both of them attended a prayer meeting at Kirti Mandir, the Mahatma's birthplace in Porbandar town./p pThe exhibition of sand sculpting has been organised with a theme of Gandhian values and Mr Modi announced that it will be made into a annual event with next year's theme being quot;Gandhi and the Environmentquot;./p p /p p***/p pJD-U infighting on, Nitish target again/p pANAND S.T. DAS and PRAMOD KUMAR/p pPatna/New Delhi/p pJan. 30: After Janata Dal (United) MP from Munger, Rajiv Ranjan (Lallan) Singh's open revolt against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, party Lok Sabha MP from Muzaffarpur Capt. Jainarain Prasad Nishad became yet another leader to train his gun against Mr Kumar saying that there was something wrong within the party./p pAfter a series of open revolts recently by some JD(U) heavyweights like upper-caste leader Prabhunath Singh against Mr Kumar's leadership style and prolonged display of cold shoulders by some others like the party's national spokesman Shivanand Tiwari, the tirade launched by Mr Lallan Singh is the most shocking and destructive for the chief minister because it comes from a man long seen by many as Bihar's quot;shadow chief ministerquot;. Adding to Mr Kumar's woes, Mr Nishad told this newspaper, quot;Chief minister Nitish Kumar must take all senior leaders into confidence before taking any major decision concerning the party. Mr Kumar needs to change his approach towards party leaders.quot;/p pReacting to the rumblings within the party, Mr Sharad Yadav told this newspaper, quot;Lallan Singh had spoken to me about the whole incident a few days ago. It's an internal matter of the party and it will be sorted out very soon. These are very small issues and one should not draw any conclusion at all. Our party is like a family and these sort of things happen in a family.quot; Mr Yadav further said, quot;Lallan Singh is coming to Delhi in a day or two. Once I meet him, things will be resolved. He is a senior leader of the party.quot;/p p /p

p class="c1"strongElluru (Andhra Pradesh), Jan. 30:/strong At least 11 pilgrims were drowned and three others were missing after an overcrowded boat capsized in Godavari river in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday./p pAuthorities here have launched an extensive search operation to locate additional survivors./p pThe country-made boat ferrying over 50 persons overturned at around 7 am in the river near Biyyaputeppa village, about 120 kms from here, district revenue officials said./p pThe victims, mostly belonging to fishermen's families from Upputeru and nearby villages were proceeding to have a holy dip at a temple in Antarvedi when the mishap occurred, they said adding 40 persons managed to swim to safety with the help of villagers./p pTwo helicopters from Eastern Command Naval base and Coast Guard with boats and expert divers from Visakhapatnam, were deployed to carry out search in the river and on its shore, Eluru Range DIG Mahesh Bhagwath said over phone./p pSo far, 11 bodies, including that of five women and five children (in the age-group of 3 to 50) were fished out, he said, adding at least three more people are believed to be missing. Earlier, district authorities had put the number of those missing at 30 persons./p pquot;We are still trying to find out exact number of those missing. The search will continue. Seven expert swimmers from the Navy were involved in the rescue efforts,quot; Mr Bhagwath said./p pAsked about the cause of the mishap, the senior police officer said, quot;It was a fishing boat and was overcrowded.quot;/p pAn official said three people from the boat were located in Antarvedi temple and two survivors were undergoing treatment at a medical camp here./p pMeanwhile, the state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the deceased./p p-PTI/p p***/p pVarun in race to lead BJP youth wing/p pYOJNA GUSAI/p pNew Delhi/p pJan. 30: The saffron MP and the latest Hindutva icon of the Sangh Parivar, Varun Gandhi, is being considered to lead the youth wing of the BJP./p pThe other name taking round for the job is that of Anurag Thakur, party MP from Hamirpur and son of Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal./p pWhile BJP leaders close to RSS are reportedly backing Mr Gandhi, MP from Pilibhit, others are rooting for Mr Thakur./p pSources in the party disclosed that a majority of BJP leaders want Mr Thakur to succeed Amit Thaker, who is likely to be promoted as a national secretary. Mr Thakur is considered as quot;non-controversialquot; and has a quot;good track record,quot; sources said./p pThose backing Mr Gandhi's name, it was learnt, want to project him as the saffron Gandhi to challenge Congress's Rahul Gandhi, who is making waves in the political circles and is being hailed for reviving Congress in many states./p pThough some leaders feel that party wants to utilise Pilibhit MP's pro-Hindutva stand to attract Hindu votes in the quot;cow beltquot; region of the country. quot;Gadkari ji (BJP chief) has already said that his focus will be on states like Uttar Pradesh where BJP really needs to put in lot of efforts. Varun Gandhi might attract some voters with his pro-Hindutva image but it is unlikely that he creates a sea change as far as vote bank is considered. On the other hand, Anurag Thakur has a clean image and is known for his team work and has a good rapport with most of the senior leaders,quot; said a senior party functionary./p pThe majority section within the BJP, which had also opposed Varun Gandhi during the Lok Sabha polls after his controversial hate speech, also feel that if he is given the rein of the party's youth wing, it will further ruin the party's image./p pThe final decision on the issue is likely to be taken after the BJP national executive meeting scheduled for February 17./p p /p

pfont size="2"strongAge Correspondent/strong/font/p pHyderabad/p pJan. 30: Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker N. Kirankumar Reddy on Saturday rejected the resignations tendered by 129 MLAs on quot;technical groundsquot;, terming them quot;not in orderquot; as per the rules and procedures of the House./p pThis has brought to conclusion the resignation drama enacted by MLAs cutting across party lines following the announcement of the formation of Telangana by the Centre. The move comes even as the Supreme Court is entertaining a public interest litigation seeking an order to the Speaker to accept the resignations pending with him./p pAddressing a crowded media conference in the evening, Mr Reddy said he received resignation letters from 222 of the 294 MLAs almost a month-and-a-half ago. Of them, 92 members had withdrawn their resignation letters leaving 130 pending with him, he said./p pThe Speaker said that after consultations with several constitutional experts and after going through the relevant procedures, he found that 129 out of 130 resignations were not in the prescribed form envisaged by the Constitution and rules and procedure of the House./p pquot;There is only one resignation letter which was in order,quot; he said. quot;I have decided to speak to the concerned member and take a final decision.quot;/p pSources said that Telugu Desam Legislature Party deputy leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy’s resignation alone was quot;in orderquot; and the Speaker’s office had already intimated the MLA for meeting./p pSeveral MLAs had put conditions and referred to other quot;irrelevantquot; aspects in their resignations, which is against rules of procedure./p pMr Reddy said the decisions of the Speaker could not be questioned because his authority and power were vested by the Constitution./p pHe added that the Speaker ought to take decisions in the overall interest of the state and the country. The state cannot afford to spend Rs 100 crores on byelections, he pointed out./p pMr Reddy said that this was the first time in the country that so many members had submitted resignations over an emotional issue and he decided to wait to deal with it because of the prevailing law and order situation in the state./p p /p

pfont size="2"strongAmit Agnihotri/strong/font/p pNew Delhi/p pJan. 30: The government has constituted an expert group to work out a strategy to strengthen the district rural development agencies (DRDAs) in order to expedite its anti-poverty agenda./p pThe expert group, which has senior officers from states besides representatives from the rural development ministry and the Planning Commission, is expected to submit its report by March this year./p pquot;The expert group will identify measures to professionalise the DRDAs and improve the quality of their output,quot; said a senior official in the ministry./p pSources said there is a need for holistic reforms in the DRDAs for better coordination and monitoring the implementation of various rural development programmes. Started in 1999, the DRDAs are now facing problems like fund shortage to pay staff salaries, inadequate sanctioning of posts, discriminatory service conditions of the personnel and their training. Concerned over the demand for funds for staff salary from the DRDAs during the past few years, the ministry has asked the Planning Commission for increasing allocation under the scheme./p pSince the scheme is funded on 75:25 basis between the Central and the state governments, the ministry has asked the states to take action on priority for filling up the vacant posts with competent people either on deputation or contract basis. It has also asked the state governments to review the current role, function, structure and staffing patterns of the DRDAs./p p***/p p‘N-E people are resisting conversions’/p pMANOJ ANAND/p pGuwahati/p pJan. 30: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat here on Saturday claimed that the growing movement for identity among smaller groups in north-eastern states are the sign of growing resistance against the conversion to Christianity./p pMr Bhagwat, who chose the day also to clarify the charges of their involvement with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, told reporters that the situation in north-eastern states has changed a lot and people are eager to return back to their root to protect their identity./p pWithout referring any specific instances, Mr Bhagwat claimed that there have been serious attempts by Christian missionaries to convert the Hindus into Christianity but because of their active intervention and awareness campaign, they are also facing resistance from the people./p pOutright rejecting the demand of sovereignty by militant outfits of the region, Mr Bhagwat said that for talks a peaceful atmosphere is necessary./p p /p

pfont size="2"strongS.S. NEGI/strong/font/p pNew Delhi/p pJan. 30: In a unique case of desperate attempt to somehow get into a medical college even if it means manipulating admission under the quota benefit on the basis of Scheduled Caste certificate, the Supreme Court questioned an MBBS doctor with quot;Guptaquot; surname how his community is entitled to the reservation benefit./p pThe counsel for Dr Raj Kumar Gupta from Shahjhanpur in Uttar Pradesh was grilled by a bench of Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices V.S. Sirpurkar and Deepak Verma about the entitlement of his client for quota in admission 18 years ago on the basis of a SC certificate, the authenticity of which has not yet been proven./p pMr Gupta got into medical college on the basis of a SC certificate in 1992 and after passing out continued with his medical profession. The question about his quota entitlement arose when he got admission in the specialised MS course in 2008-09 sessions even though this time he got it purely on merits not as a reserved candidate./p pMr Gupta’s lawyer Mukul Rohtagi was questioned whether his client’s SC certificate was cleared by the caste scrutiny committee (CSC), the statutory body set up in each state to settle disputes relating to documents of SC, ST and OBC claimants./p p***/p p‘Herbal balm’ helps women earn livelihood/p pAmita Verma/p pLucknow/p pJan. 30: The nondescript Chaste tree, popularly known as Monk’s Pepper, that is found in abundance in Uttarakhand, has turned around the lives of hundreds of illiterate women in the region./p pThese women, working in self–help groups, have learnt the art of making an herbal pain killer from chaste tree leaves that has become extremely popular among the local people./p pquot;We collect Nirgundi (local name for Chaste tree) leaves and crush it into a paste. The juice from the leaves is mixed with oil, water and carom seeds in the defined proportions and boiled. The liquid is then mixed with camphor to give it a semi solid consistency and the balm is ready for use,quot; explains Shrishti Bisht, a coordinator with one such group./p pThe Chaste tree balm — known as Nirgundi balm in the local parlance — is known to be highly effective in treatment of aches and sprains and also induces sleep. Even doctors have started prescribing the balm to their patients which speaks volumes for its therapeutic properties. A large-sized bottle of the balm is sold for Rs 100 while the smaller packing comes for Rs 50. At present, more then 600 women are involved in making the balm and efforts are being made to start production on a larger scale. quot;These women easily earn around Rs 1,500 per month through the self help group. Their income is bound to go up as business expands,quot; says Shrishti Bisht./p pIncidentally, Chaste tree is primarily as a women’s herb for menstrual complaints. The flavonoids in Chaste tree exert an effect similar to the hormone progesterone, although the plant contains no hormonal compounds. Chaste tree acts on the pituitary gland in the brain, normalising the release of both follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH)./p

pfont size="2"font size="2"font size="2"strongJigna Vora and Gautam S. Mengle/strong/font/font/font/p pMUMBAI/p pJan. 30: A routine anti-drunken driving check at a busy south Mumbai junction turned into tragedy for five traffic policemen and a civilian after a drunk woman driver rammed into them, killing two and injuring five others. According to the L.T. Marg police, Dinanath Shinde (46), police sub-inspector with the traffic police unit in Kalbadevi, was directing the drive under the Princess Street flyover in Marine Lines along with four constables on Friday night./p pA little after midnight, a black Honda CR-V came hurtling towards them at a great speed. The CR-V was travelling from Breach Candy towards Colaba and hit a taxi in front of it. The impact of the collision sent the taxi spinning out of control and the CR-V proceeded to ram straight into the traffic police’s Toyota Qualis, injuring all five traffic policemen as well as Afzal Maknejia, 35, who was being examined for drunken driving at that time./p pAll the injured, as well as the driver of the CR-V, identified as Nooriya Yoosuf Haveliwala, 27, were rushed to the Bombay Hospital. Nooriya was taken into custody after being administered primary medical aid. A test of her blood samples shows that she had consumed nine times the permissible limit of alcohol. Three cans of beer were also recovered from her car, the police said. Nooriya has done a beautician’s course and has spent some time in the US. She is currently living with her family at her Colaba residence. Her father, a former major with the Indian Army, is a psychiatrist who practises in his private clinic in Colaba,quot; said Mr Nandkumar Chaughule, deputy commissioner of police, traffic./p pA police officer added that she was returning from a party at a friend’s place in Breach Candy and the police is now investigating whether she had also consumed drugs. Maknejia was later shifted to the Saifee Hospital in Charni Road, where he succumbed to his injuries. Shinde, who was in the Bombay Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), died due to polytrauma on Saturday morning./p pMr D. Sivanandan, commissioner of police, Mumbai, said, quot;Shinde’s family has been given the compensation applicable for a policeman who dies on duty.quot;/p p /p p***/p pWon’t allow Nayachar chemical hub/p pAGE CORRESPONDENT/p pNandigram/p pJan. 30: Not content with forcing chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to abandon the proposed chemical hub at Nandigram in East Midnapore, railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that she would not allow him to set it up at the alternative venue, Nayachar, either./p pquot;A chemical hub will be disastrous. We will not allow a chemical hub at Nayachar. We will set up an eco-park there which will be environment-friendly and will greatly help the fishermen and local people,quot; she added. Ms Banerjee was speaking at the inauguration of the construction of railway tracks which will connect Nandigram./p pSignificantly, Ms Banerjee’s stand against the chemical hub came only a day after governor M.K. Narayanan lauded the proposed joint venture and hoped that the Nayachar chemical hub would add a new chapter in Bengal’s industrialisation drive./p pThe 18.5-km railway track will link Nandigram with the nearest railway station, Deshpran./p pIn January 2007, the people of Nandigram had risen in revolt against the state government’s grand plans to acquire 10,000 acres and convert it into a chemical hub./p pJigna Vora and Gautam S. Mengle/p pMUMBAI/p pJan. 30: A routine anti-drunken driving check at a busy south Mumbai junction turned into tragedy for five traffic policemen and a civilian after a drunk woman driver rammed into them, killing two and injuring five others. According to the L.T. Marg police, Dinanath Shinde (46), police sub-inspector with the traffic police unit in Kalbadevi, was directing the drive under the Princess Street flyover in Marine Lines along with four constables on Friday night./p pA little after midnight, a black Honda CR-V came hurtling towards them at a great speed. The CR-V was travelling from Breach Candy towards Colaba and hit a taxi in front of it. The impact of the collision sent the taxi spinning out of control and the CR-V proceeded to ram straight into the traffic police’s Toyota Qualis, injuring all five traffic policemen as well as Afzal Maknejia, 35, who was being examined for drunken driving at that time./p pAll the injured, as well as the driver of the CR-V, identified as Nooriya Yoosuf Haveliwala, 27, were rushed to the Bombay Hospital. Nooriya was taken into custody after being administered primary medical aid. A test of her blood samples shows that she had consumed nine times the permissible limit of alcohol. Three cans of beer were also recovered from her car, the police said. Nooriya has done a beautician’s course and has spent some time in the US. She is currently living with her family at her Colaba residence. Her father, a former major with the Indian Army, is a psychiatrist who practises in his private clinic in Colaba,quot; said Mr Nandkumar Chaughule, deputy commissioner of police, traffic./p pA police officer added that she was returning from a party at a friend’s place in Breach Candy and the police is now investigating whether she had also consumed drugs. Maknejia was later shifted to the Saifee Hospital in Charni Road, where he succumbed to his injuries. Shinde, who was in the Bombay Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), died due to polytrauma on Saturday morning./p pMr D. Sivanandan, commissioner of police, Mumbai, said, quot;Shinde’s family has been given the compensation applicable for a policeman who dies on duty.quot;/p p /p p***/p pWon’t allow Nayachar chemical hub/p pAGE CORRESPONDENT/p pNandigram/p pJan. 30: Not content with forcing chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to abandon the proposed chemical hub at Nandigram in East Midnapore, railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that she would not allow him to set it up at the alternative venue, Nayachar, either./p pquot;A chemical hub will be disastrous. We will not allow a chemical hub at Nayachar. We will set up an eco-park there which will be environment-friendly and will greatly help the fishermen and local people,quot; she added. Ms Banerjee was speaking at the inauguration of the construction of railway tracks which will connect Nandigram./p pSignificantly, Ms Banerjee’s stand against the chemical hub came only a day after governor M.K. Narayanan lauded the proposed joint venture and hoped that the Nayachar chemical hub would add a new chapter in Bengal’s industrialisation drive./p pThe 18.5-km railway track will link Nandigram with the nearest railway station, Deshpran./p pIn January 2007, the people of Nandigram had risen in revolt against the state government’s grand plans to acquire 10,000 acres and convert it into a chemical hub./p p /p