'Not inevitable' to call Raja as witness before JPC: Chacko

THRISSUR: JPC chairman P C Chacko on Saturday said 'it is not inevitable' to call former telecom minister A Raja, prime accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, before the joint parliamentary committee as a witness as all the main witnesses had been called and evidence taken.

"It is not inevitable at this juncture to call Raja as all main witnesses have been called and evidence taken," he said.

He was responding to a query on CPI leader and joint parliamentary committee member Gurudas Dasgupta's letter to him stressing the need to call Raja as witness.

Chacko said Raja had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to allow him tender evidence as witness before the JPC. Several other persons have also expressed a similar desire but it was impractical to call all of them, he said.

"A final decision, however, in this regard will be taken after discussing it with all JPC members," Chacko said.

On February 22, Raja had written to Meira Kumar and Chacko, expressing willingness to appear before JPC as witness. He claimed he has been "condemned unheard" in the 2G scam and wanted to present his side of the story.

Chacko said JPC had asked to prepare the draft report which would be ready by the first week of May.Thereafter a JPC meeting would be convened to finalize it and the report would have to be submitted before the end of the current Parliament session on May 22, he said.

On Dasgupta's contention that Raja's name was there in the list of witnesses prepared, Chacko said it was not correct as no final list of witnesses had been prepared.

All members had given a list of witnesses to be called before JPC and no final list was prepared by JPC, Chacko said.

DMK members in the JPC T R Baalu and T Siva have been pressing Chacko to call Raja as a witness.

However, Congress members in JPC are against calling Raja as witness as his deposition could be used by the opposition, including BJP and the Left, to corner the government. Raja has maintained he had kept the Prime Minister's Office and others informed about his decisions on 2G licencing issue.

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J&K assembly adjourned after furore over Afzal issue

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir assembly was rocked by repeated disruptions on Friday, which ultimately led to the House being adjourned for the day, as various parties demanded that Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's mortal remains be handed over to his family.

Cutting across party lines, members of the House from the ruling National Conference as well as opposition PDP and CPM had moved adjournment motions seeking discussion on the situation in the aftermath of Guru's execution and handing over of his mortal remains to his family.

Led by the leader of the opposition Mehbooba Mufti, PDP legislators flashed placards and demanded suspension of the business of the House to discuss the issue, with CPM member MY Tarigami, too joining in urging the speaker Mubarak Gul to accept their demand.

But when the speaker tried to pacify them saying that a discussion would be held in due course, PDP members raised slogans like 'Guru ki body ko wapas karoo, wapas karoo' (Return Guru's body).

"If there is a serious issue, (then) you have to suspend the normal business and discuss (it). But I fail to understand the attitude of this government (since yesterday)," Mehbooba Mufti later told reporters here.

The protests continued for over 15 minutes, forcing the speaker to adjourn the House for 45 minutes.

As the House reassembled after the adjournment, the speaker said that he had received adjournment motions of five members of NC besides those from PDP and CPIM and that he would take a view on them.

However, PDP members continued their protest even as the speaker started discussion on the governor's address.

With noisy scenes continuing in the House, the speaker adjourned the House for a second time around noon and later for the day.

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Left returns to power in Tripura for 5th consecutive time; Congress retains Meghalaya

AGARTALA: The Left Front in Tripura today retained power for the fifth consecutive time since 1993 with the coalition securing a three-fourths majority by winning 50 of the 60 Assembly seats.

While CPM, which contested in 55 seats, secured win in 49 seats, coalition partner CPI won one seat of the two it had contested. However, RSP which fought in two seats and Forward Bloc in one, failed to open their accounts.

The Left Front also increased its tally from 49 seats in 2008 and 42 seats in 2003, paving the way for the seventh Left Front government since 1978 in the Northeast state.

The Congress managed to retain 10 seats of the 48 in which it had contested, while allies Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura and National Conference of Tripura were unable to win a single seat. The INPT and the NCT had contested in 10 and one seats, respectively.

All ministers of the outgoing ministry except science and technology minister Joy Gobinda Debroy of RSP were re-elected.

Chief minister Manik Sarkar won from the Dhanpur constituency where he defeated his nearest rival -- Congress' Shah Alam -- by 6,017 votes. Sarkar had won by 4,000 votes in the last Assembly elections.

Finance minister Badal Chowdhury made electoral history by defeating his nearest rival, a Congress candidate, by 12,429 votes in the Hrishyamukh constituency.

Other prominent Front leaders who won are Agriculture Minister Aghore Debbarma (Asharambari constituency), Industries Minister Jitendra Chowdhury (Manu) and Jail Minister Manindra Reang (Shantirbazar; ST).

Among Congress winners were Leader of the Opposition Ratan Lal Nath (Mohanpur constituency) and TPCC President Sudip Roy Burman (Agartala).

INPT president Bijoy Hrankhawl (Ambassa) and former TPCC president Surajit Dutta (Ramnagar) were among prominent candidates who lost in electoral battle.

CPM state party secretary Bijan Dhar said: "It is a victory of the people of the state, and a victory of peace and development and good governance of the sixth Left Front government."

Leader of the opposition Ratan Lal Nath said, "We accept defeat and will review the causes for it.

Nagaland for NPF and Congress wins Meghalaya

The Left Front stormed back to power in Tripura and the Naga People's Front (NPF) in Nagaland, while the Congress, which fared poorly in both states, emerged as the single largest party in Meghalaya with two seats short of absolute majority in the assembly election results declared today.

The three outgoing chief ministers of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, Manik Sarkar, Neiphu Rio and Mukul Sangma respectively were victorious.

The Left Front, which has won for the fifth consecutive term in Tripura, secured a three fourths majority with 50 of the 60 seats, with major partner CPM itself securing 49.

In Nagaland, NPF swept back to power for the third consecutive time winning absolute majority securing 38 of the 59 seats. Election in one seat was countermanded following the death of a candidate.

Congress could win only 10 of the 48 seats it contested in Tripura while it could manage to win only eight seats compared to the 18 it clinched last time in Nagaland.

In Meghalaya, the Congress bagged 29 of the 60 seats, falling two short of an absolute majority.

But the Congress improved its tally by securing four more than its tally in 2008.

The results were a shot in the arm of Congress chief minister Mukul Sangma who faced stiff opposition from old warhorse P A Sangma whose National People's Party managed to win just two seats.

In Tripura, the Left Front increased its tally from 49 seats in 2008 and 42 seats in 2003 paving the way for the installation of the seventh Left Front government since 1967.

Congress allies INPT and National Conference of Tripura, which had virtually revolted over allocation of seats before being pacified, drew a blank.

All ministers of the outgoing ministry except Science and Technology minister Joy Gobinda Debroy of RSP were re-elected.

Finance minister Badal Chowdhury made electoral history by defeating his nearest Congress rival by 12,429 votes in the Hrishyamukh constituency.

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India silent over US-backed resolution against Lanka at UN rights body

NEW DELHI: India is not ready to reveal its hand on the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). And, the radio silence is all for a good reason.

Despite the loud support by DMK and AIADMK members in the Rajya Sabha for the resolution on Wednesday, there is discomfort within the Indian government regarding the document's fine print. Sources said recommendations in the resolution are "intrusive", which would be unacceptable for India.

However, India will continue to push Sri Lanka to devolve more power to the Tamil areas, as part of the promise of the 13th amendment. Colombo maintains that most of the amendment has been implemented, but they wanted to "adjust" some of what was left to work on. The government has set up a select committee, but the Tamil parties have refused to be part of it.

Although the text of the resolution has not yet been made public, it is believed that the US resolution calls for an international committee to monitor that justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation are implemented by the Lankan government. India would much rather like that issues of accountability are kept as sovereign responsibility of a nation and not imposed from outside. Like China, India is opposed to externally imposed solutions on countries.

Foreign minister Salman Khurshid remained non-committal on how India would vote at the UN body. He told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that while the recent photographs of Prabhakaran's son's death were "very sad, very moving, very tragic" and "that is the reason we have engaged with Sri Lanka". This accountability, he said, should come from within, rather than from outside. "When accountability comes from within, there is a greater chance of sustainability," he added.

India has more problems with the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. Her report, which the US has said it will support, calls for an "independent, international inquiry" into the Lankan actions during the concluding phase of the war against the LTTE. The report also calls for investigations of "violations" of international law. In addition, India is uncomfortable with the idea of special rapporteurs being appointed to visit Sri Lanka, fearing that at some stage it could come back to bite New Delhi.

"Our initiative is to find a solution... go beyond pain and anger. We want a sustainable settlement to the issues in Sri Lanka. "There is no question of our having a blinkered vision of the ground situation," Khurshid said.

Traditionally, India did not support country-specific resolutions, though New Delhi went against its own unwritten rule to vote against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC last year. Second, there is a strong opinion in the government that the US resolution is basically going after an easy target. "There is no accountability sought in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, where there was significant violations of international law," said sources.

Quietly, the government is also wary of fanning the flames of ethnic nationalism among the Tamils again, given the dangers of that operating in India as well. In the past year, Tamil Nadu has seen violence against Lankan tourists and pilgrims which has got the Centre worried.

Human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch (HRW) have documented horrific tales of rape and torture of Sri Lankan Tamil detainees who have told their stories after fleeing from the country. This is in addition to the film, No Fire Zone by Callum McCrae, which showed disturbing visuals of Prabhakaran's son's last hours.

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Afzal Guru allegedly justified Parliament attack in letter written four years ago

SRINAGAR: Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru had in a letter, purportedly written by him over four years ago, said that there was no need to be ashamed of the December 13 attack on Parliament, but had stopped short of owning any responsibility for it.

In the letter written to editor of a local Urdu weekly, Guru, who was hanged in Delhi's Tihar jail on February 9, asked Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin not to be "ashamed of December 13" and stop terming the attack as a "conspiracy".

Editor of the Urdu weekly Shabnum Qayoom said that he had been receiving Guru's letters and articles and is sure that this letter was written by him.

"I used to receive his (Guru's) letters and articles, so this was nothing new. The handwriting is the same as the previous letters and articles. I do not care if people believe it to be authentic or not," he said.

Asked why he did not publish the letter for four years, he said he did not deem it appropriate.

"I believe he was swept by emotions. He was not involved but he thought that as there was no way for escape, why not accept and achieve martyrdom. I did not think it was appropriate to publish the letter that time as it would have been taken as an evidence against him, but now that he is no more, I went ahead with it," he said.

Guru had said in the letter, "I request Salahuddin to not call the attack of December 13 as a conspiracy. It pains my heart. The attacks are related to Kashmir issue. If the attack was a conspiracy, then the whole struggle is a conspiracy. We should not be ashamed of December 13".

He said as long as the Kashmir issue is kept unresolved, India and its rulers will have "temporary peace".

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Chopper scam: CBI names ex-IAF chief SP Tyagi as suspect

NEW DELHI: Former Air Force chief SP Tyagi has been named in a CBI preliminary enquiry (PE) on allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, becoming the second former defence services chief to figure in the agency probe.

Besides the former IAF chief, 10 others including his cousins — Julie, Docsa and Sandeep Tyagi have also been named besides four companies in the PE, CBI sources said here.

This is the second instance when a former services chief has been named in a CBI inquiry. Former Admiral Sushil Kumar was named in a CBI case to probe alleged kickback in purchase of Barak missiles in early 2000.

The sources said suspected European middlemen Carlo Garosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschkhe, advocate Gautam Khaitan formerly associated with Aeromatrix and its CEO Praveen Bakshi, former Finmeccanica chairman Giuseppe Orsi, former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini have also been named.

Italian companies Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland, IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix also figure in the PE, they said.

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Congress president or VP natural choice for PM's post: Tharoor

BHOPAL: Union minister Shashi Tharoor on Sunday suggested if the party is voted to power, its president or the vice-president will be the natural choice for the post.

"Everybody knows who is the president and vice president of our party and if people vote for our party, then naturally one among them would become Prime Minister of the country," he said without specifying any name.

He was suggesting that that Congress does not need to name its prime ministerial candidate before the elections.

When asked whether the Lok Sabha polls will be a contest between Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi for Prime Minister's post, he dismissed the query.

"In India, we don't have a system like the US where it was a direct contest between President Barack Obama and Republican Party leader Mitt Romney. Here people vote for the party and the elected members then elect their leader," Tharoor told reporters here without taking names of Rahul Gandhi and Modi.

He was here to address a seminar on women empowerment, organised by a private educational institution.

When asked whether Modi has prime ministerial qualities, Tharoor did not to comment.

The Centre is providing lot of funds to the states for the implementation of Right to Education, Sarva Shiksha Ahbiyan and other programmes and it is the duty of the governments under federal system to utilize the money properly, the minister of state for human resource development said.

Without naming any state, Tharoor said he was aware that in some states money was not being utilised properly.

The government should also provide the facility of toilets to girls, which is a major problem, and also ramps in the schools, he said.

When asked about cases of rapes in Madhya Pradesh, he said he was not aware of the exact situation and added that it was a nationwide problem.

There is a need to change the mindset towards women to address the issue in a proper manner, he said.

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Assembly elections 2013: Meghalaya registers 88% voting, Nagaland 83%

NEW DELHI: Meghalaya recorded 88 per cent polling and Nagaland 83.27 per cent in the assembly elections held on Saturday, which passed off peacefully barring a few minor incidents in Nagaland.

The counting would be held on February 28. Meghalaya recorded a high turnout defying a bandh call by militants in some districts and came close to its last time turnout of 89.04 per cent.

Defying a bandh called by militants in seven districts, 88 per cent of the 15.03 lakh electorate cast their votes to elect 60 members from among 345 candidates in the election to the ninth Meghalaya assembly on Saturday.

State's chief election officer P Naik said voting was more intense in the Khasi Jaintia Hills region despite a 36-hour bandh called from 6pm on Friday by the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council in seven districts.

Nagaland had recorded 86.19 per cent voting in the last assembly polls.

Brisk polling was recorded in Nagaland for 59 out of 60 seats of the state assembly amidst unprecendented security. Polling has been adjourned in Tuensang sadar seat following the sudden death of Congress candidate P Chuba Chang on Friday.

Enthusiasm was noticed among the electorate following calls by Nagaland Baptist Church Council and Election Commission for "one person one vote".

The sources said polling was peaceful across the state barring some skirmishes between party workers and candidates' supporters.

In the bye-elections to six assembly constituencies which were also peaceful, Chalfilh in Mizoram recorded 78 per cent voting, Bhatpar in Uttar Pradesh 50 per cent and Moga in Punjab recorded 70.33 per cent polling, deputy election commissioner Alok Shukla told reporters here.

In the bypolls to three assembly constituencies in West Bengal, Nalhati Birbhum recorded 65 per cent polling, English Bazar in Malda district 75 per cent and Rejinagar in Murshidabad district recorded 72 per cent polling.

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Suriyanelli gang-rape case: Victim lodges complaint against Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien

KOTTAYAM: In a new twist to Suriyanelli gang-rape case, the victim on Friday lodged a police complaint insisting that Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien be made an accused.

The complaint lodged at Chingavanam police station also sought that Dharmarajan, an absconding convict who had jumped bail in the case and was arrested recently from Karnataka, and two other people — Unnikrishnan and Jamal, be also arraigned as accused.

According to the complainant, Dharmarajan had told a television channel that he had accompanied Kurien to Kumily rest house in his car on February 19, 1996 where the victim had been sexually exploited.

The victim and her parents had come to the police station to file the complaint.

The assistant sub-inspector accepted the complaint but refused to register the case saying the sub-inspector was not present, the victim's counsel Anila George said.

She said the victim's plea was to make Kurien an accused. So far, there is no police case or FIR against Kurien.

"When his name came up, police went after alibis and they have come to the conclusion that it was not possible for Kurien to be at the Kumily rest house because of the alibis. So he was never made an accused," George claimed.

The counsel said in the light of new amendment to CrPC 166A, when a girl makes a complaint police authorities are bound to register a crime, failing which they are liable to be prosecuted.

Kurien's name figured again in connection with the case recently after the victim wrote to her advocate to explore the possibility of filing a review plea in the Supreme Court, seeking a fresh probe against him. Kurien has maintained he has been cleared of the charges by the apex court.

The case relates to the victim hailing from Suryanelli in Idukki district of Kerala being abducted in January 1996 and transported to various places and sexually exploited by different persons.

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Chopper deal, Kurien controversy to dominate Parliament

NEW DELHI: The VVIP chopper deal and P J Kurien controversy are expected to dominate proceedings in Parliament tomorrow, practically the first working day of the budget session after the President's address today.

The opposition is united in plans to flag the Italian chopper deal issue in both Houses tomorrow but disruption is unlikely with the government already making it clear that it was ready for any kind of inquiry.

A debate on the issue will be held under a rule that does not entail voting but most likely after the presentation of the general budget on February 28.

While the opposition is raring to raise the chopper deal issue, Left parties are firm on raking up the demand for Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson P J Kurien's resignation in the wake of fresh revelations in the Suryanelli rape case.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath will be making a statement in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow on the Kurien issue. Nath is already on record expressing himself against debating a matter related to state politics in Parliament.

An all-party meeting convened by Nath saw the Left parties seeking suspension of Question Hour in the Upper House tomorrow to discuss the Kurien issue.

However, in the Business Advisory Committee meeting of the Rajya Sabha, SP and other parties opposed the demand of Left parties to bring up the Kurien issue in the House.

Question Hour in the Lok Sabha is also likely to be disrupted with Left parties planning to move an Adjournment Motion to discuss the strike by the bank employees.

During the all-party meeting, government proposed to the Opposition that the pending Bills on which there is near unanimity should be passed after a discussion in the House. But this was opposed by BJP which said the convention should not be breached and these Bills should go to respective Standing Committees. (MORE) RC SPG RT

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Kurien writes to RS members on rape charges

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Budget session of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien has written to members of the House, saying three police inquiries and two judicial processes have cleared him in the 17-year-old Suryanelli rape case.

Kurien, who is under attack since the victim demanded recently that he be made an accused in the case, has attached an elaborate note on the sequence of events along with his appeal -- "kindly read in full and apply your judicious mind". The attempt by the senior Congress leader from Kerala to reach out to Rajya Sabha members assumes significance as it comes just ahead of the Budget session beginning tomorrow during which opposition is expected to rake up the issue with demands for his resignation.

The note titled "The Truth About Prof P J Kurien" reads-- "This false allegation was investigated three times by senior-level police officers (two under the Left Front governments). The Kerala high court has exonerated him and the Supreme Court confirmed the discharge in 2007. What more can Prof Kurien do to prove his innocence?" The note alleges that the CPI(M) was "propagating falsehood" by "trying to link" the recent Supreme Court judgment in the case to the exoneration given to Kurien by the Kerala high court which was upheld by the Supreme Court.

"The Supreme Court recently set aside the Kerala high court acquittal of 35 accused in the main Suryanelli case. It must be noted here that Prof Kurien was not at all an accused in this case," says the note. It says that the recent Supreme Court direction in the "main Suryanelli case" to Kerala High Court "does not involve (a) re-trial of the case, or (b) re-investigation of the case" and "it is only for re-hearing the appeal of the convicts, who were acquitted by the Kerala High Court".

"It is (a) reiterated that exoneration of Prof P J Kurien by the Kerala high court (in a private complaint filed by the girl) and the Kerala High Court's acquittal of the 35 accused persons, convicted by the trial court, were not linke at all," the note says.

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Dubai-based saviour of Youths suggstes information network for UAE goers

JALANDHAR: Dubai-based hotelier S P Singh Oberoi, who has returned with 17 Punjabi youths after saving them from gallows of Sharjah, has suggested to the NRI Sabha Punjab to have an "information and feedback offices" in every district of Punjab to guide youths who wanted to go to UAE for doing odd labour jobs.

During his visit to office of NRI Sabha Punjab, where he was felicitated on Monday late evening, Oberoi said that these offices of NRI Sabha should be approached by youths with names, addresses of the companies where the travel agents were assuring them to send and his UAE based organization 'Sarbat Da Bhalla' would get back within three days about the credentials of the companies.

"Most of the youths who go to UAE are from poor families and arrange loans to migrate there but when they don't get work in good companies or good salaries then they start trapped in illegal trades to save some money for repaying the loan," he said. "They are often misguided by travel agents and we can evolve a system of getting a reliable feedback from UAE then these youths can be saved from such entrapments which are leading them to jails," he said.

He said that several Punjabi youths were getting trapped in such illegal businesses and those he saved from gallows were caught there in similar conditions.

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Advani best PM for NDA, Modi could be home minister: Govindacharya

BHOPAL: Former BJP ideologue and RSS thinker KN Govindacharya said on Sunday night that veteran BJP leader LK Advani and the UPA government defence minister AK Antony would be the most suitable candidates to run for Prime Ministerial post. Amidst the clamour for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's prime ministerial candidature within the BJP and allied saffron organisations, Govindacharya thought differently.

Speaking to TOI, he argued: If the NDA has to come to power, then LK Advani should be leading the 2014 Lok Sabha as PM candidate while Narendra Modi should be assisting him.'' Reminded that LK Advani has already been the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate in 2009, Govindacharya explained that in 1984, the party's tallest leader Atal Behari Vajpayee lost his seat from Gwalior. Vajpayee was defeated by Madhavrao Scindia. But Vajpayee became the Prime Minister of the country 13 years later,'' he reasoned.

The national scenario at the moment is such that we need more seasoned leaders to be at the helm of affairs. If the party wants to utilise the popularity of Narendra Modi, then he should be involved in the process of government functioning. Instead of trying yet another experiment, the party should put its trust in tried and proven leaders,'' Govindacharya said. Narendra Modi, he said, could be given the post of Home minister so he can learn the ropes of government functioning at the centre.

Talking about the Congress party, he argued that AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi has a lot more to learn'' and suggested the name of AK Antony. Had Pranab Mukherjee not been the President, he would have been the best option for the Congress. The culture of sycophancy has so gripped the Congress party that it should be abhorred. And someone has to call and spade a spade in that party,'' he said.

He said that if inexperienced leaders like Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi are made Prime Minister then it would be unfair for them, their parties and injustice to the nation.'' Talking on the 2014 General elections, he argued for a change: The stalemate and stagnancy has to be broken and this regime at the Centre should go. And we have to churn for a fresh start in politics.''

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J&K legislator to move resolution seeking Guru's remains

SRINAGAR: Independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid on Sunday said he would move a resolution in the coming session of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly for handing over of the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru to his family.

"I will bring a resolution in the coming session of the assembly for handing over of the mortal remains of Afzal Guru to his family," the MLA from Langate told reporters.

"Earlier, I had brought a resolution in the assembly seeking clemency for him (Guru) but I failed. I apologise to the people of Kashmir for not being able to save him," the legislator said.

"My resolution was sabotaged and I failed," he said adding he intented to bring two more resolutions - one to seek the mortal remains of JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat and second for abolishing the death penalty.

The MLA asked mainstream political parties to support his resolutions in the assembly.

"I have called for a meeting of all mainstream parties tomorrow at my residence to chalk out a joint strategy in this regard," he said.

Rashid said if the Centre did not hand over the Guru's remains, he would resign from the assembly.

"I am in touch with the PDP and other parties and if the mortal remains are not returned, then let us all resign," the MLA said.

He demanded naming of commercial Lal Chowk in Guru's name.

Guru was hanged in Tihar jail in Delhi last week.

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Veerappan's aides move SC against execution of death sentence

NEW DELHI: Four aides of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan on Saturday moved the Supreme Court against the execution of their death penalty in connection with a landmine blast that had killed 22 policemen in Karnataka nearly 20 years ago.

Veerappan's elder brother Gnanaprakash, Simon, Meesekar Madaiah and Bilavendran were awarded death sentence in 2004 in connection with a landmine blast at Palar in Karnataka in 1993 in which 22 police personnel were killed.

Their mercy petition was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee on February 13 and according to sources, their hanging has been fixed for Sunday.

The four convicts are lodged in a jail in Belgaum in Karnataka.

A TADA court in Mysore had in 2001 sentenced them to life term which was enhanced to death sentence by the apex court.

Gang leader Veerappan was killed in an encounter with the Tamil Nadu police in October 2004.

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Not interfering in Maldivian affairs, India says

NEW DELHI: India denied Friday that it was interfering in the internal affairs of the Maldives, where former president Mohamed Nasheed has taken refuge in the Indian mission.

An official source said the Indian statement issued after Nasheed walked into the Indian High Commission in Male Wednesday was never meant to "pass a judgement on their internal system".

"We have clarified our position (on the situation in the Maldives)," the source said, amid reports that the Indian High Commission website had been hacked.

The clarification came two days after India voiced concern over the "ongoing political instability" in the Maldives as Nasheed sought shelter citing possible imminent arrest.

The Indian statement had also urged the Maldivian government and political parties "to adhere strictly to democratic principles and the rule of law, thereby paving the way for free, fair, credible and inclusive elections".

The Maldives accused India of undermining its democratic institutions.

Indian External Affairs Minister SalmanKhurshid spoke for some 40 minutes with his Maldivian counterpart Abdul Samad Abdullah Thursday.

He stressed that India would like to see "free, fair, credible and inclusive elections leading up to a stable, peaceful and prosperous Maldives".

He said India would be happy to work with the Maldives to facilitate "this objective".

Abdullah told Khurshid that the Maldivian government "would do its utmost to prevent any precipitate act that adversely affects the atmosphere for a free and fair democratic process and rule of law".

The official source also explained the circumstances under which Nasheed came to the Indian mission Wednesday.

The source said the former president wanted to meet Indian High Commissioner D.N. Mulay. As the envoy was not there at that time, Nasheed decided to wait for him.

"He said he won't budge till he (Mulay) came..."

The official added that the political situation in the Maldives "can only be resolved when you have an elected government".

The official said that the warrant of arrest against Nasheed "has expired and he is free to go".

Nasheed has to deal with domestic issues, he said, and clarified that New Delhi "had no intention of getting drawn in, but Nasheed walked in..

"We have explained we were not interfering."

Maldivian press secretary MasoodImad told CNN-IBN Friday that while "India is the most important country for us to maintain the best of relations and we are continuing to do this", they wanted India "out of this and stay out of this issue and look at it as a judicial issue".

"This is Nasheed's drama and he has involved the Indian government in this for no reason at all. He has proved he can hold the Indian government hostage and involve the Indian government beyond rationale."

He said that none of Nasheed's problems "have been forwarded to us as something to negotiate or talk about. All we know is that he went to meet Mulay and is refusing to come out...

"Unless he decides to come out what do we do, it is none of our business."

UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon has urged political actors in Male to "exercise restraint" and "work toward creating conditions conducive for fair, peaceful and inclusive" presidential elections due Sep 7.

Nasheed felt that if he was arrested and convicted, he could be prevented from contesting the presidential poll.

The first democratically elected president of the Maldives, Nasheed quit Feb 7 last year following what he alleged was a coup. He was succeeded by Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan.

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Chopper scam: Govt warns of blacklisting Italy's Finmeccanica

NEW DELHI: With the VVIP choppers deal facing charges of kickbacks, government on Thursday formally asked Italian firm Finmeccanica to state whether any money was illegally paid to any Indian entity or individual amidst its warning of legal action including blacklisting of the firm.

The ministry of defence, which is under attack on the issue, came out with a factsheet detailing the sequence of the Rs 3 crore deal for 12 helicopters clinched in 2010 by a Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland.

It notes that the mandatory technical requirements of the chopper were changed in the tender during the Vajpayee government in 2003, with the then national security adviser Brajesh Mishra playing a key role.

The CEO of AgustaWestland has been asked to "categorically state the clear position in view of the current developments indicating specifically if any financial transaction has taken place with any Indian individual/entity which would be violative of the integrity pact or any other terms and conditions of the contract", it said.

Noting that the contract with AgustaWestland carried an integrity pact that bars paying of bribes or involvement of middlemen, the ministry warned of "strict action including cancellation of contract, recovery of payment, blacklisting and penal action can be taken against the vendors."

It said the Government is "determined to take all possible legal and administrative action against the guilty parties and accordingly has ordered a thorough probe by CBI."

Giving details, the fact-sheet said that the first request for proposal was issued in March 2002 mandating requirement of 6,000 metre (18,000 feet) flying altitude for selection of the chopper.

This requirement made it clear that AgustaWestland could not participate in the deal.

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Chopper scam: Govt suspends payments for Italy's Finmeccanica

NEW DELHI: India has suspended payments to Italian defence group Finmeccanica SpA for a $750 million helicopter deal and won't take delivery of more aircraft until the completion of a federal police investigation into bribery allegations, a defence ministry source told Reuters.

Will blacklist Finmeccanica if bribery proven

India will cancel a $750 million deal to buy helicopters from Finmeccanica SpA and blacklist the Italian defence group if bribery allegations are proven, defence minister AK Antony said, as political opponents tried to capitalize on the scandal.

Italian police arrested Finmeccanica's chief executive Giuseppe Orsi on Tuesday for alleged bribes paid to secure the sale of 12 AgustaWestland executive helicopters to the Indian Air Force, when he was head of the Finmeccanica helicopter unit. Orsi's lawyer denied the allegations.

The former head of India's Air Force, SP "Shashi" Tyagi, and three of his cousins are among the Indians named in the arrest warrant for Orsi. All say they are innocent.

AK Antony said he had ordered Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the purchase of the luxury helicopters destined for use by India's political leadership. He said that if the allegations are proven to be true, the company would be blacklisted and those involved punished.

"If any individual or foreigner, any firm are involved in this malpractice, nobody will be spared. We will take action against them, whatever may be the consequences," he told reporters on Wednesday. Three helicopters have already been delivered.

Coming at a time of cuts in defence procurement spending, the latest scandal could lead to additional scrutiny and delays for defence deals in the works.

"I am sure that there will be initial setback, but we will overcome that. That is not the main thing. The main thing is that we cannot allow corruption in defence deals," Antony said when asked about the impact on weapons modernization.

The arrests in Italy came as Finmeccanica unit Alenia Aermacchi was preparing to compete for a contract to supply over 50 military transport aircraft to India in competition with European aerospace group EADS.

The military arm of EADS subsidiary Airbus told Reuters last week it would offer its C295 military transport plane, adding that manufacturers were waiting for a formal competition document from the Indian government.

India, the world's largest weapons importer, has a long history of corruption in defence deals. A multi-million dollar scandal in the 1980s over the purchase of Swedish Bofors artillery guns contributed to an electoral defeat for then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, of the Congress party.

The current Congress party-led government has been buffeted by a series of corruption scandals that opposition parties plan to exploit ahead of general elections due in 2014.

India's defence ministry has put in place strict guidelines for arms deals in an effort to crack down on bribery and corruption. Last year, six arms firms including Rheinmetall Air Defence, part of Rheinmetall AG, a German automotive parts and defence group, were placed on a blacklist of firms banned from doing business in India. Rheinmettal strongly denied the allegations against it.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party accused Antony of dragging his feet in the latest instance and said the case was similar to the Bofors scandal, which implicated an Italian middleman close to the Gandhis. The BJP often seeks to play up the Italian origins of current Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv's widow.

"I see the making of another Bofors in this," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said. He asked why the government had not launched a police investigation earlier despite the details of the Italian prosecution case, including suspects' names, being published in media reports months ago.

"The suspicious circumstances surrounding this raises one fundamental question again — the fact that it was an Italian company, was it the grounds to go slow?"

The Indian Express newspaper had access to Italian prosecution documents last October and ran a series of stories giving detailed accounts of the alleged bribery and named several Indians said to have been involved.

The minister formally ordered the CBI to investigate the deal after Orsi's arrest on Tuesday. It was not clear why the agency had not been asked to investigate before, but Antony criticized Italy on Wednesday for not responding to requests for information about the allegations uncovered by Italian investigators.

"From day one, we have been trying to find out the truth and we conveyed that to them," he said. "So far we have not received any details."

Antony said that so far internal enquiries by the defence ministry have found no evidence against Finmeccanica in the deal. He refused to answer specific questions about the Italian allegations and said the CBI investigation would find the truth.

Former Air Force chief

The Italian arrest warrant for Orsi said three brothers who are cousins of Shashi Tyagi received kickbacks and helped twist rules in favour of AgustaWestland in the helicopter tender.

Tyagi denied all wrongdoing and described the charges as "bunkum". Speaking at his home near Delhi, he said that a requirement that the aircraft fly at 18,000 feet (6,000 metres) had been lowered to 15,000 ft, but during a government led by the opposition BJP and before his time as air chief.

He said the change was necessary because only one helicopter was able to fly that high. Tyagi admitted to having met an Italian called Carlo Gerosa who Italian authorities accuse — along with his US-born partner Guido Ralph Haschk — of working as a middleman for Finmeccanica.

Tyagi, who spoke openly and extensively with media on Wednesday about the case, said he had met Gerosa at least twice, once 15 years ago and once since his retirement, but not while he ran the Air Force.

Gerosa and Haschk are directors of an India-based IT company called Aeromatrix, the company told Reuters. Tyagi said his cousins had links to Gerosa, but he knew nothing of any defence dealings. Tyagi said he had no knowledge of Gerosa's links to Finmeccanica.

He said the deal had been sealed three years after he retired from the air force in 2007 and denied the changes to the tender requirements had happened during his time in the job.

Antony said he could not comment on the alleged involvement of Tyagi, who still headed the IAF when Antony took over the ministry in 2006.

"I have no information within my hands ... nothing is available with me. How can I say anything? At the moment, I will not say anything against any individual unless I get some reports from CBI," he said.

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Newspapers in Kashmir to be available from Wednesday

SRINAGAR: Local newspapers in Kashmir would hit the stands Wednesday as their editors said authorities had told them to resume publication, while cable operations were again normal.

"We have been told to resume publications of our newspapers from tomorrow. Authorities have also said security forces have been instructed to treat identity cards of our staff members as curfew passes," the editor of a local newspaper told IANS.

Local newspaper editors had said they had to suspend publications Monday and Tuesday on the orders of the authorities.

Cable operators in Srinagar also said they have resumed operations after three days. They had Sunday stopped transmission under orders from the authorities.

Although there was no official confirmation of stop to cable operations and newspaper publication, senior police officers said the administration was worried about spread of rumours in the tension-ridden Valley after the Saturday execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

In another development, police lodged an FIR against the security force unit whose personnel allegedly fired at protesters in north Kashmir's Watergam village Sunday leading to the death of a teenaged protestor.

Meanwhile, curfew continued without any relaxation in all the ten district headquarters of the valley for the fourth day on Tuesday.

Reports of sporadic clashes between protestors and security forces have come in from some places in the curfew-bound areas, but there has been no major incident of violence.

Three people have died so far during the protests in the valley after Guru's hanging.

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Afzal Guru's last letter to wife yet to reach her in Kashmir

NEW DELHI: Hours before he was to be executed, Afzal Guru penned his last letter to his wife, Tihar Jail officials said on Monday. The letter, written in Urdu, was posted on Saturday but is yet to reach his wife in Kashmir.

Speaking to IANS, officials at Tihar jail said that Afzal Guru, convicted for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack, was told on February 8 evening that he would be hanged the next morning.

"When he was told about his execution, he was cool and calm. He just expressed his wish that he wants to write a letter to his wife. The jail superintendent gave him a pen and paper," an official told IANS under condition of anonymity.

"He wrote the letter in Urdu, which was posted to his family in Kashmir on the same day," the official said. However, when IANS contacted the family, who live in Sopore, they said they are yet to receive it.

"We haven't received this letter. Maybe like the letter that we got today about his hanging, we will get it later," Yaseen Guru, Afzal's cousin, told IANS on phone.

Afzal Guru was hanged on February 9 at 8am in the Tihar Jail complex where he had lived in a solitary cell for many years.

His family has demanded that they be allowed to conduct his last rites.

"The government will take a decision in this regard," another official told IANS.

Afzal Guru, who used to spend his time in the jail by reading and writing, has left behind many books and hand-written articles.

The family has asked the jail authorities that all his belongings should be returned to them.

"The government will have to take a decision on this issue," the official added.

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