New Delhi/Mumbai, March 04(ANI): Cutting across party lines, Indian lawmakers on Wednesday voiced their support for the Bharat Ratna, country's highest civilian award for cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. Voices supporting awarding the honour to Tendulkar are growing with each passing day.

Joining the chorus were lawmakers from various political parties. Rahul Bajaj, Chairman of Bajaj Auto Limited and a lawmaker said Tendulkar's contribution to the sport made him deserving of the highest honors.
 

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India, March 4 -- The Nano, the world's cheapest car at Rs 1 lakh, may no longer be as cheap, when Tata Motors  opens fresh booking later this year.

The company on Tuesday said it had promised to hold the price line for the first lot of Nano buyers, hinting at a hike for fresh buyers. It did not divulge the exact amount of the price hike.

"Deliveries to the first lot of customers should be over by December... prices of commodities and logistics have gone up, so we'll look into the pricing of the car closer to the date of fresh bookings," said Ravi Kant, vice-chairman, Tata Motors.

The Nano is currently manufactured on a makeshift basis at Tata's Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand, which gets tax sops as the region is a zero excise zone. With production at its motherplant Sanand, Gujarat, set to commence from April, tax outgo will go up.

"Pantnagar enjoys some tax sops which Sanand does not. Also, our suppliers transport components from far off areas to Uttarakhand, which increases logistic costs," said Prakash Telang, managing director (India operations), Tata Motors. Tata Motors showcased the electric version of the Nano at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday. This version will be launched in Europe in three years time.
 

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New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) The US should ensure that the 'latest tranche' of military aid to Pakistan is used only for countering the Al Qaeda and the Taliban, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Thursday.

'Given our bitter past experience of how Islamabad used such aid against India, Washington should ensure that the latest tranche of military aid is used only for the purpose of countering Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists and not against India,' he said in a statement here.
 

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Islamabad, March 4 (IANS) Eleven people wanted for the Mumbai terror attacks that left 166 people dead are on a terror list prepared by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The country's top Taliban leadership, however, isn't mentioned in it, a media report said.

The list, also known as the `red book', names 119 people including those involved in attacks on former premier Benazir Bhutto, former president Pervez Musharraf and on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, the Dawn said quoting a BBC Urdu report.

Prepared in October 2009, the list includes names of 11 people wanted for the Mumbai attacks but there are no details on the bounty in case of their arrest.

Ten terrorists sneaked into Mumbai Nov 26, 2008 and went on a killing spree. One of the terrorists, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was arrested. The terror strike strained India-Pakistan relations.

The Dawn report said the list does not include names of prominent militant leaders from Swat and Fata region and there was no mention of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan's leadership.

The list includes the names of 25 wanted people from Punjab, 24 from Sindh and 18 from Balochistan.
 

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Chandigarh, March 4 (IANS) A woman military officer has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year after an army court held her guilty of corruption, indiscipline and professional impropriety.

Major Dimple Singla, who faced General Court Martial (GCM) proceedings at K area, an army cantonment, in Zirakpur town of Punjab, was also ordered to be cashiered (degradation of a military officer that involves stripping of medals, badges and status).

The GCM was presided over by Col Sanjeev Jose and the verdict came late Wednesday night.

Singla is an officer in the branch of Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the army.

She was commissioned in JAG branch of the Indian Army in March 1997. Her trial started in April 2007 but the court proceedings were adjourned several times for various reasons.

She was charged with accepting a bribe of Rs.10,000 from an advocate, who was a defence counsel of an accused army official. She was also found guilty of favouring various accused during court martial proceedings and of influencing their trials.

Singla was charged under Section 63 (violation of good order and army discipline) and 69 (prevent of corruption) of the Army Act.

GCM proceedings were adjourned Dec 28 last year, as Singla was admitted to a hospital with complaints of poor health. However, she left the hospital next day (Dec 29) without being formally discharged and without informing anybody following which arrest warrants were issued against her.

Army officials also raided her house but did not find her.

In the meantime Singla appealed before the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal and said that she would appear before the GCM, provided she is not arrested. However, the tribunal denied her plea and directed her to appear before the GCM Feb 1.

She was placed under arrest by the army court Feb 1 but was granted bail Feb 9.

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Sending a strong message that she was fully behind the government on fuel price hike, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday praised Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for deft handling of the Union Budget.

"We have many essential social obligations and to meet them it is necessary to raise resources. I congratulate the Finance Minister for a fine and delicate balancing act, which has bee

Congress President will also talk to allies of the UPA Government on Thursday, and explain to them the party's position on fuel price hike.

Meanehile, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who has cautioned against instant populism, has told party MPs and UPA leaders that correcting distortions in petro good pricing was unavoidable. He also said the time to take bold decisions is "right now".

Mukherjee also referred to the window of opportunity available to the Centre and added that fuel price hike was critical to the economy.

Mukherjee had hiked customs duty on petrol and diesel to 7.5 per cent from 2.5 per cent while excise duty was raised by Rs 1 on non-branded, or normal, petrol and diesel to maintain growth and give the common man spending power.

Mukherjee said he had three options before him: Sit back and do nothing; Go on a borrowing spree; or Restore the duty structure. He said he opted for the third, as the government could not afford to take economically reckless decisions.

Addressing concerns raised by UPA leaders over the decision's impact on the prices of essentials, he said the government has already carried out a back-of-the-envelope calculation.

"The inflationary impact will be a mere 0.41 per cent," he said, adding that an improved crop situation can absorb it.

Meanwhile, the BJP led opposition has decided to halt proceedings in Parliament for the second consecutive day over the fuel price hike and other issues.
 

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New Delhi, Mar 3 (ANI): Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will brief United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies on fuel price hike issue today.

Sources said the Centre is going to brief its allies, the Left, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Significantly, the estranged partners of the UPA- RJD, SP and the BSP parties are lending outside support to Dr Singh's Government and are also in sync with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in not letting the opportunity be wasted on embarrassing the UPA Government on the issue.

The Left, too, is with the Opposition on the issue and has resolved to bring cut motions in Parliament.

Meanwhile, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon on Wednesday as the opposition protested over the fuel price hike.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Opposition has demanded a rollback on the fuel hike placing the Central Government under pressure after a four-day break.

The BJP has planned to take Opposition unity on this issue to a new plane even as the Left parties decided to step up pressure on the government leading to its March 12 rally in the capital against rise in the prices of essential commodities.

The opposition would plan its strategy on this issue today and other subjects at a meeting of National Democratic Alliance leaders.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for the "arrogance of power" displayed in his assertion that there would be no rollback of the increased taxes on petroleum products announced in the budget.

The opposition said Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has added salts to the wounds.

Dr Singh had on Monday ruled out any rollback in petrol and diesel prices, saying the economy has the capacity to absorb the increase without triggering inflationary pressure.

He said the fuel price hike would affect the wholesale price index (WPI) by no more than 0.4 per cent.

"Increase in prices does hurt some people, but we have to take a long-term view," he said making it clear following populist fiscal policies for long would harm the economy.

"Sooner or later these populist policies if persisted for a long time to come will lead to the erosion of the investment climate," he added. (ANI)
 

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Ahmedabad, March 3 (IANS) Ravindra Naik, a former Andhra Pradesh MP, is in Gujarat to garner support for the formation of a new political party to spearhead the separate Telangana movement. He plans to meet state Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The former Warangal MP, who arrived in Ahmedabad Tuesday, said he plans to seek the support of all for a mass movement for the formation of a Telangana state. 'We plan to announce the formation of a new political party to spearhead our movement on March 16 which is our new year,' he said.

The former MP is a member of the Telangana Rastra Samiti, the party heading the agitation for a separate state, but is at loggerheads with TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar.

Naik held a meeting of people from the Telangana region settled in Ahmedabad before he visited the Sabarmati ashram to pay his respects to Mahatma Gandhi. 'I want to commence my movement for this cause from here,' he added.

The politician who claims to have the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) head office in Delhi is keen to meet the Gujarat chief minister. While on his way to Delhi, he also plans to meet other chief ministers in a bid to convince them of the legitimacy of the Telangana cause.

Pro Telangana activists have been demanding that the central government immediately initiate the process for granting separate statehood to the region
 

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A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced two men to life in prison in the Pushkin Chandra murder case. Additional session judge A K Kunar handed the order. Rajesh Rekhwar (27) and Moti (25) had stabbed to death Pushkin, who worked for the United Nations, and his friend Kuldeep on August 14, 2004. The victims were stabbed repeatedly.

Rajesh and Moti had told the police they killed Pushkin because he was gay and used to sexually exploit them. The court, however, acquitted two other accused, Munna and Jay Kishore, for want of evidence. They were charged with destroying evidence. ''The murder committed in a brutal manner reflects a beastly streak in Rajesh Rekhwar and Moti. To say that they might have committed this act to save themselves from blackmailing by Pushkin Chandra would be without any substance and justification,'' the judge said in his order.

The prosecution cracked the case entirely on circumstantial evidence. The statements of Pushkin's domestic servant, Hare Ram, and his friend Christopher Jacob, who informed the police they had seen both the accused with the deceased on the night of August 13-14, 2004, proved crucial. The missing credit cards of the deceased provided another crucial lead.

The police, based on their interrogation of a chief manager with the ICICI Bank and the seizure of a Samsung CD, helped the police identify and arrest the accused.

Close-circuit television at an ATM in Karol Bagh also captured the faces of the accused. Rajesh was arrested from Balia in Uttar Pradesh. Rajesh, in his statement to the police, claimed Pushkin, son of retired bureaucrat Anil Chandra, used to pick him up along with Moti from Connaught Place and have sex with them.

Pornographic tapes of men having sex with men were recovered from the scene of crime.

''After going through the photographs of the deceased, it is clear that he was involved in unnatural sex with boys. But at the same time, I would say that despite these activities of the deceased, no material could be gathered to show that he used to blackmail the poor boys with whom he used to indulge in sex. Nobody gets a right to eliminate a human being for whatever injustice has been caused to him. If this attitude is given sanction, what will happen to the civil society which is governed by law?'' the judge said.

Rajesh's counsel Aman Sareen argued the court must consider the circumstances in which the murders took place.

Pleading leniency, he said Rajesh was HIVpositive and his wife and three children were dependant on him.

Sareen said they would appeal against the order in the Delhi High Court. Moti, who represented his case himself, said: ''I have no criminal record and my family will suffer if harsh punishment is handed to me.'' Rejecting their contention, the court held the death was homicidal and not natural and the cause of death was injuries on the bodies of the deceased persons.

''The body of Pushkin was found naked in the bathroom. Without going further on this aspect, I put a question whether the convicts had any justification in killing two human beings in such a brutal manner? The answer would be no,'' the court said.

''No doubt the convicts committed a ghastly murder in a very brutal fashion. The lifestyle of Pushkin, which is reflected from various photographs placed in the judicial file, shows his indulgence in unnatural sex with boys.

The convicts, of course, belong to poor families.

Their living standards did not match Chandra's but still they were in his company,'' the judge noted in his 53-page order.

The court said: ''The entire case is based on circumstantial evidence. The criminal trial which is based on the circumstantial evidence puts an extra burden on the court while appreciating the evidence. The court has to be on its guard not to be swayed by the nature and gravity of the offence and it has to judge the evidence with much more care and caution.''
 

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Washington, March 3 (IANS) Stressing that both India and Pakistan have legitimate security interests in Afghanistan, the United States says it encouraged a dialogue between the two neighbours but has ruled out any mediation between them.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India 'are vastly different in culture, socio-economic standing, and political development, but they share a common strategic space,' Richard Holbrooke, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Tuesday.

'And in order to understand America's policy and America's policy dilemma, one has to understand that both India and Pakistan have legitimate security interests in the region,' he said briefing reporters on his trip to the region.

'India has a legitimate interest even though they don't have a common border (with Afghanistan),' Holbrooke said suggesting a dialogue between the two South Asian neighbours. 'And if one country says the other has no interest, then it's hard to have a dialogue.'

'That's why President(Barack)Obama has said we encourage any sort of dialogue between the two countries, and Afghanistan is not the core of the issue, but it is a part of the issue,' he said.

Among other very critical issues 'water is a huge issue...and increasingly on our trips, people in both countries talk about water - and overall security relationships,' Holbrooke said. 'Other issues have arisen continually.'

Noting that the US has 'good relations with both India and Pakistan,' the envoy said: 'It is our view that it is in our national interest to improve relations with both countries - not at the expense of the other.'

On the contrary, 'by improving relations in both countries, we can move forward a general search for peace and stability in the region,' Holbrooke said noting that this policy really began in 2000 when President Bill Clinton went to both countries, the first president to visit either country in 22 years since Jimmy Carter had gone in 1978.

'And since then, President (George) Bush has done the same thing. And we will - this is the overriding approach we have to the issue. And that's our starting point for the strategic overview of the region,' he said.

Later State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley also reaffirmed that US has 'encouraged both India and Pakistan to continue their dialogue.'

'They are neighbours. As Richard just said, share the same strategic space. So we will continue to talk to both countries and encourage the very kind of dialogue we saw in recent days,' he said referring to the recent foreign secretary level talks in New Delhi.

Asked if the US was playing a role other than encouraging it,' Crowley said: 'This is about the future relationship between two important allies. It is really for India and Pakistan to establish the kind of dialogue we think is in the long-term interest of both countries.'

The spokesman responded with a 'No' when asked if there was any kind of mediation at this time by the US.
 

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