The passage of Telangana Bill in Lok Sabha on Tuesday (18 February) sparked celebrations across the ten districts of the region even as Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, strongly espousing the cause for keeping the state united, appeared set to quit his post in protest.Pro-integrationists denounced the move and seemed downcast as stage is now set for the creation of a separate state of Telangana once the Rajya Sabha also gives its nod.YSR Congress, in the forefront of the agitation against division of Andhra Pradesh, has called for a bandh on Wednesday (19 February) in the state in protest against the passage of the Bill."This is the black day in the history of this country," YSRC president and Kadapa MP, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, told reporters in Delhi.The ruling Congress suffered a setback in Coastal Andhra, with state Infrastructure and Investment Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao quitting his post and the party in protest against the Centre going ahead with the state's division."A decision (regarding division) was taken against people's wishes...," said Rao, a former MP and an influential leader in north coastal Andhra, who was elected in 2009 from Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district on the ticket of Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam, which later merged with Congress.A defiant Chief Minister has invited his loyalist ministers and legislators for a meeting tomorrow to formally communicate his decision to quit, according to state Social Welfare Minister Pitani Satyanarayana."The Chief Minister will address a press conference at 10.45 AM and then proceed to Raj Bhavan to hand over his resignation to Governor E S L Narasimhan," the minister, one of the his close followers, said.As the news of the passage trickled in, chants of "Jai Telangana" rented the air in many parts of the region, where a festive atmosphere prevailed with the separate statehood supporters bursting crackers, distributing sweets, taking out victory rallies and dancing to the tunes of popular songs hailing Telangana.A large number of students gathered in Osmania University here, the nerve-centre of separate statehood agitation, and danced in joy.Congress activists at some places in Telangana rejoiced distributing sweets and held pictures showing their party president Sonia Gandhi in the image of 'Telangana Talli' (Telangana mother)."Greetings to Telangana people. This is the result of a long struggle. The bill will be passed in Rajya Sabha tomorrow. We thank Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, CPI General Secretary Sudhakar Reddy and each one of those who supported separate Telangana bill. We are actually at loss of words to express our joy," Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) chairman M Kodandaram said.APNGOs, a powerful union of employees from Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema who have been agitating against the division, slammed the passage of the Bill."People will not forget this. They will teach a lesson to this government. People (of Seemandhra) need not feel sad.We have to move ahead in such a way the loss is minimal on account of state's division," APNGOs' president P Ashok Babu, who also heads the forum for protection of united AP, said in Delhi.Security in Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh was today beefed up and forces were put on alert to meet any eventuality on law and order front."We are monitoring the situation... police in districts have already been asked to be on alert... depending upon the situation we will take appropriate action," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) VSK Kaumudi told PTI.(Agencies)
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The Indian rupee on Monday (21 April) lost a hefty 30 paise to end the day at almost one-month low of 60.59 against the dollar due to fresh demand for the US currency from importers, mainly oil refiners despite a surge in stocks. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit plunged to 60.61 before settling at 60.59, a fall of 30 paise or 0.50 per cent from its previous close. Forex managers attributed weakness in the rupee value to heavy dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, to meet their month-end requirements. "There was buying from nationalised banks throughout the day for oil companies. Some short-covering by market participants also led to the fall," said Agam Gupta, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Trading, Standard Chartered Bank. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex today rose to its all-time high of 22,795.58 but settled the day a few points lower at 22,764.83--its life-time closing high. According to per Sebi data, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth USD 67.58 million last Thursday. The dollar index, a gauge of six major global rivals, was almost stable. Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO, said: "The rupee opened flat after a three-day week-end break and also due holiday in some of the global markets due to Easter Monday. Not much movement was seen in the dollar index and it is trading near its previous close." The benchmark six-month premium payable in September declined to 218.5-220.5 paise from 220-221.5 paise previously. Far forward contracts maturing in March, 2015 also dropped to 456-458 paise from 460-462 paise. The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 60.33 and for the euro at 83.38. The rupee moved down against the pound to 101.80 from last Thursday's close of 101.37 while declined further against the euro to 83.69 from 83.56. It, however, edged up to 59.03 per 100 Japanese yen from 59.04.(PTI)
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The rupee fell the most in three weeks on Tuesday on bunched-up dollar demand from importers, with weakness in emerging Asian currencies adding to losses.Dealers cited thin dollar supply due to the Presidents Day holiday in the United States on Monday. Consistent dollar demand from a large state-run bank, likely to meet the needs of its oil refining clients, also pulled down the rupee, they said.The rupee has been largely stable even after the U.S. Federal Reserve started tapering its bond buying programme, having cut it to $65 billion a month.Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Monday that the current account deficit would come in at $45 billion in the current fiscal year, sharply lower than $88 billion in the previous year.Presenting his last budget before facing elections due by May, Chidambaram bettered his previous fiscal deficit target of 4.8 percent for the current fiscal year and said he will achieve 4.1 percent in the next.India's large fiscal and current account deficits have been a sore point for foreign investors and rating agencies. It has also been a key reason for the rupee's fall to record lows last summer.Subsequently, policymakers took steps to shore up foreign reserves by raising $34 billion via two concessional swap facilities and bringing down the current account deficit through higher taxes on gold imports.With the interim budget out of the way, dealers are now focusing on the general elections as the next trigger. A stable government is expected to help bolster reforms and be rupee positive."INR continues to remain shockingly stable and is trading with a bullish bias, thought this cannot be disentangled from the weak-USD macro environment enough to say that it is on account of Indian-bullish factors," said Sacha Tihanyi, a senior currency strategist at Scotiabank in Hong Kong."Technically speaking, we are heading towards 61.50 as the next USD/INR downside target."The partially convertible rupee closed at 62.20/21 per dollar versus its close at 61.84/85 on Monday. It fell 0.58 percent, its biggest daily fall since January 27.Indian bond and currency markets will be shut on Wednesday for a religious holiday.In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 62.52, while the three-month was at 63.39.(Agencies)
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India's Supreme Court commuted death sentences on three men for killing former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to life imprisonment on Tuesday because of an 11-year delay in deciding on their petitions for mercy.Gandhi was killed by an ethnic Tamil suicide bomber while campaigning in an election in the southern Indian town of Sriperumbudur in May 1991.The three Indian men - tried as Santhan, Murugan, Perarivalan - were members of a Sri Lankan ethnic Tamil separatist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Gandhi's killing was seen as an act of retaliation after he sent Indian peacekeepers to Sri Lanka in 1987.The three were convicted of involvement in 1998 and sentenced to death by hanging. A fourth person, a woman, was also given the death sentence but it was later commuted to a life term.The men appealed for mercy but successive Indian presidents gave no decision until 2011, when their plea was rejected."Delay in deciding mercy pleas is one of the grounds to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment," the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam said in its order.Gandhi's widow, Sonia, is head of the Congress party while their son, Rahul, leads its campaign for elections in the next few months.Rajiv Gandhi's mother, Indira, was assassinated in 1984 over the army's storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar to crush a Sikh militant movement.The death penalty remains in force in India despite a long campaign by human rights groups to abolish it. It has rarely been carried out, however.About 500 people are on death row, many of whom have been there for years.In November 2012, India ended what many rights groups had interpreted as an undeclared moratorium on capital punishment when it executed a gunman convicted for the 2008 militant attack on Mumbai. Three months later, it hanged a man from Kashmir for a 2001 militant attack on parliament.The Supreme Court said on Tuesday the administration must move faster on deciding on mercy petitions in the interest of justice.Last month, the Supreme Court commuted the sentences of 15 death row prisoners to life in jail on the grounds of delay.(PTI)
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The Supreme Court on Monday (21 APril) agreed to hear the bail plea of Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal, an accused in a rape case, and issued notice to the Goa Police.A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam asked the Goa Police to file its reply within four weeks. During the brief arguments, senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Tejpal, pleaded for interim bail and said that the apex court can impose the condition on him not to leave Goa and come to Delhi during the pendency of the trial, which would be acceptable to him.50-year-old Tejpal approached the apex court challenging the March 14 verdict of the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court which had rejected his bail plea.Tejpal has been chargesheeted for allegedly raping, sexually harassing and outraging the modesty of a junior colleague during an event held at a hotel in Goa in November last year. Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013.He has been accused of sexually assaulting the victim on November 7 and repeating the offence the next day. He is currently in judicial custody and lodged at Sada sub-jail in Goa's Vasco town.Tejpal, in his bail petition, stated there were 152 prosecution witnesses who have to be cross-examined by the court, due to which the trial is likely to get prolonged further.Tejpal has been chargesheeted under sections 354, 354-A (sexual harassment), 341 and 342 (wrongful restrain), 376 (rape), 376(2)(f) (being a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman and rapes her) and 376 (2)(k) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman and rapes her) of the IPC.The Goa Police has claimed in the chargesheet that there was sufficient evidence available in the form of documents and statements on record to show that Tejpal had been evading police after commission of the alleged crime.(PTI)
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Hitting out at critics of United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) management of economy, Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday (17 February) said the government has "pulled back" the economy from a difficult situation and put it back on a high growth path.Rejecting description of his interim Budget as populist, he said over the last couple of years the government was trying to do a "rescue act" like every other government in the world was doing."To put it plainly, over the last couple of years we are trying to do a rescue act like every other government in the world is doing. I am at pains to emphasise that we are not alone."Every Finance Minister says that he is engaged in a rescue act. Therefore what I did in 2013 Budget and what I have proposed in the 2014 interim Budget must be seen as part of getting back growth when the economy in the world is fragile and I think we have succeeded in a fair measure," Chidambaram told PTI in an exclusive interview here.He said the economy has "clawed back" to 4.4 per cent in Q1, 4.8 per cent in Q2 and going by the CSO's estimate a minimum of 5.2 per cent in Q3 and Q4 taken together for the half year is likely."Very few countries have been able to do this over the last 18 months. Therefore while I am not entirely pleased with what we have been able to achieve, I must emphasise that we have achieved our goals in fair measure and going forward if the governments follow the 10-point agenda that I have laid down towards the end of my speech, we will get back to the high growth path," he said when asked how he would define his Budget.When told that his critics would say the problems in India are not only due to international situation, he said, "I did not say that either. But the problems in India and the problems in every country of the world are largely due to the international situation."He acknowledged that in the past some mistakes had been made. Asked what they were, Chidambaram referred to economist T N Srinivasan who had written a monograph which said the first stimulus package was perhaps necessary, but deeper analysis may have shown that the second and third stimulus packages were not necessary."But that is a judgement he makes in hindsight.Given the circumstances then, given the data available then, a decision was taken to have three stimulus packages in succession."There were clearly benefits out of the 3 packages. The growth rate was above 8 per cent. But the downside was that the fiscal deficit limits were breached and inflation went almost out of control. In hindsight some things are clear. But what human beings don't have is luxury of hindsight," he said.Asked what in hindsight went wrong, he said, "In hindsight I would have said despite the slowdown, despite the threat of a slowdown perhaps we should have stuck to the fiscal consolidation path with only some minor or temporary relaxation. That is in hindsight."Asked what his successor would inherit, he said, "he will inherit an improved economy, a more stable economy and an economy that is growing. He will also inherit a world that is turbulent."Reacting to reactions to his vote on account budget, he said, "a vote on account is usually expected to be a non-event. But the reactions to the Budget mean that we must have done something to catch the imagination of both our supports as well as our critics. The points we have made in the Budget have gone home."He said the points made in the Budget have not gone unnoticed. "I am pleased with the fact that the points that I have made have gone home. They have not gone unnoticed. The worst thing that can happen to either a politician or to an event is that it goes unnoticed." To a question on criticism of the money spent on subsidies, the Minister said it was a matter of political philosophy and one can debate why should there be subsidies."But a vast majority of the people of the country want food prices to be lower, want kerosene prices to be lower. And a political government is after all a government of the people and one has to respond to the demands of the people."Answering a query on the raising of the cap on supply of subsidised cooking gas (LPG) and whether it was guided by the demand raised by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Chidambaram said there were demands from every section of Parliament."You saw the clamour from every section of Parliament.You saw the clamour at AICC session. How do you simply brush aside or reject the demand of the people. After all they are the ones who elect you. No government descends from heaven and says I dont care for the wishes of the people," he said.When told that Gandhi made the demand in AICC, he said, "The demand came from the floor."The government, he said, had raised the quota of subsidised cylinders from 6 to 9 in January last year without any AICC session because there were demands."Because the government is a government of representatives of the people, represent what that people want and No government can say I will not pay heed to the demands of the people," he said.Asked about criticism that the excise duty relief had come in too late for the struggling sectors, the Minister said last year the principal challenge was winning investor confidence and reassuring analysts and rating agencies that "we are going to put the economy back on more stable foundations." So, the Minister said, there was no room for any kind of tax concessions last year.However, recent data, specially of last 5 months "clearly points to a decline in manufacturing, capital goods and consumer durables. Once the data is available, we take action.I firmly believe, one must have data before one takes decisions," he said.When told that critics say that he has left a "headache" for his successor, he said in a lighter vein "who knows, I may be my own successor."But he went on to add, "These are all the usual criticisms. Every government can conveniently blame the predecessor government."The fact remains that this government has delivered growth rate above the trend growth rate of the last 33 years.The fact remains that this government has delivered policies that will endure for 10-20 years."The fact is that this government has recognised that the world is going through a turbulent period and has a done a lot to put the economy on more stable foundations through the years of turbulence."Asked if it was his farewell budget, he said interim budget of any government is a farewell budget. "Well the press wrote our obituary even in... The press, in fact, described the outgoing BJP government in 2004 as simply a government that is going back to stitch new clothes and buy new shoes and coming back to power. In 2009, the media described our government as the outgoing government. In both the occasions, the media was wrong."On containing fiscal deficit and CAD at the cost of expenditure, Chidambaram said the total spending cut is Rs 75,000 crore out of the total expenditure of Rs 15,90,434 crore which does not have the impact that many imagine would have on the economy.Also, revenue collection is lower than what is projected in the Budget estimates. "That money remains with the people and people are spending it. Whether the people spend money or whether the government spends money, the impact will be the same." Asked how he saw the reaction to his Budget that it is populist, Chidambaram shot back why should I react to the reaction in media."This is a free country. Opinion is free but facts are sacred. The fact is we have pulled back the country, pulled back the economy from a very difficult situation to where it is now more stable."Nobody talks of a downgrade anymore. Everybody has agreed that we are back on the path of fiscal consolidation.The facts show that there is an uptick in growth from Q1 to Q2, to Q3 and Q4. These are facts. As long as these facts are not buried I have no fear of criticism or any adverse opinion," he added.(PTI)
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Election commission has lifted a ban on a top aide of Hindu nationalist opposition leader Narendra Modi that had threatened to hobble his efforts to win votes in the country's most populous state.Amit Shah, Modi's campaign manager in the battleground state of Uttar Pradesh, was banned from election rallies and meetings this month after making speeches deemed to have stirred tensions with minority Muslims.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has named Modi as its candidate to become prime minister, is forecast to emerge as the clear leader after India's five-week general election that ends on 12 May. Results are due on 16 May.A series of opinion polls this year has forecast that the BJP and its allies will win the biggest chunk of the 543 parliamentary seats up for grabs but fall short of a majority. One large poll this week predicted they would scrape a majority."The commission ... has decided to modify its order dated 11th April, 2014, to the effect that permission may be granted for holding any public meetings, public processions, public rallies, road shows, etc," India's election authorities stated in an order addressed to Shah on Thursday (17 April).Speaking earlier this month in Uttar Pradesh, Shah was recorded telling voters to reject parties with Muslim candidates. He also said Muslims in the area had raped, killed and humiliated Hindus.The commission stated that it was lifting the ban partly because Shah had lodged an appeal in which he vowed not to use "abusive or derogatory language" and that it would monitor his campaigning using video tracking.Uttar Pradesh is home to 134 million registered voters, more than the entire population of Japan. One in every six Indian voters lives in the state, which accounts for around a seventh of parliamentary seats.Hindu-Muslim relations have been a tense campaign issue in the election, with critics accusing Modi, the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, of not doing enough during religious riots there in 2002. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in the violence.Modi has always denied the accusations and a Supreme Court inquiry did not find enough evidence to prosecute him.In an interview with ANI television news agency this week, Modi said he did not have personal aides and referred to Shah as a hard worker and a self-made man.The election commission this month also banned Azam Khan, a senior member of the Samajwadi Party, a state party that governs Uttar Pradesh, for speeches that stirred "disharmony between different religious communities".Muslims account for about 13 per cent of India's population and are a significant vote bank in Uttar Pradesh. (Reuters)
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In a fresh war of words, P Chidambaram on Thursday (17 April) hit out at Narendra Modi, dubbing him a "compulsive liar" and an "encounter Chief Minister". Modi, who has been referring to Chidamabaram as "recounting minister" in his election rallies, also sharpened his attack on the Finance Minister, demanding a probe by Election Commission, alleging that wrist watches with photos of the Finance Minister were being distributed to voters. In Chennai, Chidambaram said, "Mr Modi is a compulsive liar. There was no re-count in Sivaganga. He knows that. Yet he lies and continues to make this false statement, one of the many false statements made by him. If he insists on calling me Recounting Minister, I can call him Encounter Chief Minister," he told reporters who sought his reaction on Modi repeatedly calling him "recounting minister". The minister was obviously referring to the spate of alleged fake encounters that occurred in Gujarat under Modi rule. Chidambaram won the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu by a margin of about 3,500 votes and the counting process was mired in controversy. Addressing an election rally in Ramanathapuram, bordering Chidambaram's native Sivaganga district, Modi accused the senior Congress leader of running away from elections. After Chidambaram opted out of the April 24 Lok Sabha polls, his son Karti Chidambaram has been given the Sivaganga seat by Congress. "In Tamil Nadu, there is a Congress leader--recounting Minister-- he is so afraid that he ran away from elections," Modi, who is on a two-day trip to Tamil Nadu to canvass for NDA candidates, said without taking Chidambaram's name. "Some people on this dais showed me a watch. It has the recounting minister's photo and his symbol. I was told that these watches are being given to every household. EC should take it very seriously. There should be a probe against the recounting minister and Congress," Modi said. Continuing his tirade against Rahul Gandhi, whom he once again described as 'Shehzada', Modi questioned the Congress leader's notion of poverty, saying he was "born with a golden spoon". He said BJP-led NDA in Tamil Nadu had emerged as an "able, reliable front" to DMK and AIADMK, which he alleged were keen only on settling personal scores. With an eye on the large Muslim population in this coastal district, Modi said Congress Government's 15-Point Programme that promises employment to Muslim youth among others has not achieved the desired result. Congress was only trying to 'hoodwink' Muslims, he said, adding the Central government could achieve only 56 per cent of its goal between 2006-12 in this regard. Heaping praise on former President Abdul Kalam, who was born in this town, Modi described him as a "great son of India" and lauded his contribution to space science. Earier, addressing a rally in Erode, he took a dig at former Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan and without naming her, said a woman Congress leader from the state was responsible for delaying many infrastructural projects in the country including in Tamil Nadu. (PTI)
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