Andhranews

Hyderabad, Sept 18: The weeklong verbal jousting between Congress MPs Sarve Satyanarayana (Siddipet in Telangana) and Lagadapati Rajagopal (Vijayawada in Andhra) over Telangana Statehood suddenly flared up on Monday and took regional and caste colours. Pro-Telangana and Dalit activists roughed up Mr Rajagopal, who belongs to the powerful Kamma caste, and hurled slippers at him as he tried to address mediapersons at the Press Club here. The protest was against alleged anti-Dalit remarks he had made. The police was present there but for over three hours merely watched the proceedings.

The attack broke all barriers. Telugu Desam activists turned up to support Mr Rajagopal. “This has nothing to do with political affiliations. When they are criticising Rajagopal on his caste, why should we keep quiet? They are raking up regional feelings and we will support Mr Rajagopal though he belongs to the Congress,” a TD senior leader from Vijayawada said.

Ministers Botsa Satyanarayana (Andhra) and M. Marappa (Rayalaseema) were overheard pressing Mr Rajagopal not to apologise to Dalit and Telangana activists [for earlier remarks against them]. “We too are Dalits. Just give us the permission and we will bring hundreds of our followers for your support,” they told him. From Telangana, however, Mr Rajagopal got the support of AP road transport corporation chairman Gone Prakash Rao and former legislator D. Nagender. All the rest were from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.

Some reports said supporters of Mr Rajagopal had left Vijayawada to stage a dharna outside Mr Sarve Satyanarayana’s residence. Meanwhile, TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao said “It is an internal affair of the Congress and TRS has nothing to do with the incident. If at all the TRS would protest it would do so with pink flags and kanduvas.” Party MLA A. Chandrasekhar too denied any TRS role in the attack on Mr Rajagopal. Trouble began when activists of the of Telangana Vidhyarthi Sangh, the student wing of the TRS, and Madiga Dandora stopped Mr Rajagopal from entering the the Press Club. He was expected to react to remarks against him by Mr Satyanarayana on Sunday.

Both are dissidents in the party for different reasons, and have been at loggerheads with each other over the issue of Statehood for Telangana. Mr Satyanarayana, the Telangana region MP, has been maintaining that the Congress returned to power because of its alliance with the TRS, Mr Rajagopal attributed the victory to the padayatras undertaken by Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

This has been going on for about a week, after TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao resigned from his Lok Sabha seat. On Sunday Mr Satyanarayana said he was being targeted by Mr Rajagopal because he was a Dalit. He challenged the Vijayawada MP to face his “SC-ST-BC-Muslim” supporters. Mr Rajagopal replied saying he would tour Telangana without security and dared anyone to stop him.

On Monday, he visited Ibrahimpatnam to felicitate a Congress worker who had participated in the Dr Rajasekhar Reddy’s pre-election padayatra and and headed to the Press Club. Telangana and Dalit activists, who were tipped off rushed to the venue. Mr Rajagopal got down from the car a few yards away from the main gate and rushed towards the premises when he was mobbed and beaten. Mr Rajagopal sat on the road for some time and pushed the protestors to try and enter the premises. He was pushed back, and he squatted under a tree.

Mr Satyanarayana’s supporters began raising caste-based slogans, and followers of Mr Rajagopal gathered in strength. Messages began going out to activists in Telangana and Andhra to hold agitations. As things were getting out of hand, APCC chief K. Keshava Rao went to the Press Club to hold calm down the protestors. They demanded that Mr Keshava Rao extract an apology from Mr Rajagopal, but the MP refused to apologise saying he had said nothing against anyone. “I will resign as MP if needed, but I will not apologise,” he said.

An hour of peace entreaties failed and Mr Keshava Rao left even as Congress leaders from coastal Andhra including minister Koneru Ranga Rao and legislators Chanumolu Venkat Rao, Mandali Buddha Prasad and Mudraboyina Venkateswara Rao rushed in to extend support to Mr Rajagopal. Mr Rajagopal then started addressing the media and the police finally arrested the protestors.

Traffic on the arterial Panjagutta-Kh-airatabad road came to a standstill for more than two hours. Even as the Congress leaders were holding discussions inside the club, the students continued their agitation out side. They shouted slogans not only against the Coastal Andhra leaders but also against the Congress, its leaders and Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

They hailed Congress MPs Madhu Yashki Goud (Nizamabad) and Mr Satyanarayana for their pro-Telangana statements. The agitators also held a half-naked dharna in front of the gate for some time. Additional police personnel were deployed to prevent any untoward incident and the agitating students were taken into custody at 6.15 pm.

Hyderabad, Sept. 18: The Congress high command has finally stepped in to douse the fire following the attack on Vijayawada MP L. Rajagopal, and divisions over Telangana Statehood taking a caste turn. The leadership has convened an emergency extended meeting of the AP Congress Committee executive and the Congress Legislature Party on September 20 in Hyderabad. AICC general secretary and AP incharge Digvijay Singh will attend the meeting.

State party leaders were looking for the high command to step in. “The party cannot afford to let emotions run higher,” a Congress legislator said. That seemed to be the plan of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, who seemed tongue-tied. Even on Monday, all that the Chief Minister could say
was that “the law will take its course” and, after the drama had ended, “the issue is closed.”

The Chief Minister also did not step in to defuse the situation building up at the Press Club after Mr Rajagopal was attacked. The Chief Minister’s camp was of the view that it was the penchant for individual recognition and the anti-YSR sentiment that were playing an important role in the on-going developments. They were sore with Guntur MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao who openly attacked the Chief Minister for ignoring his (Mr Rao’s) Kamma community and for adding fuel to the fire with his “unsavoury” comments against the region.

Party circles also consider the outbursts of Nizamabad MP Madhu Yashki Goud and Mr Rajagopal as an effort to hog the limelight. The reactions of Siddipet MP Sarve Satyanarayana came as a shock to the Chief Minister, according to sources. He felt that the MP must have been misquoted by the media. “We now realise that forces that oppose YSR were behind the MP,” a close aide of the Chief Minister said. They said that Mr Satyanarayana attributing the Congress victory to V. Hanumantha Rao’s rally of backward castes and rebel legislator P. Janardhan Reddy joining him on Monday indicated a bigger canvas.

According to sources, the Chief Minister’s camp decided to leave it to the high command to settle the infighting. It wanted to highlight the behaviour of party leaders starting from endowments minister M. Satyanarayana Rao’s challenge to TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao. It will highlight how party leaders are diluting the development mantra he is chanting with the approval of the high command.

The forces ranged against Dr Reddy’s blamed the Chief Minister for not being sensitive to the Telangana sentiment. They argued that the government going ahead with the Pothireddypadu head regulator expansion at this time reflected his indifference. His detractors, however, stepped in to utilise the opportunity to trouble him further.

New Delhi, Sept. 18: In a major relief to lakhs of Haj pilgrims, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Allahabad High Court order which had restrained the government from providing financial subsidies to them this year. The order clears the cloud of uncertainty for those pilgrims who had approached the authorities to avail of the subsidy scheme, which was stayed by the High Court.

Before giving the interim order, a bench comprising Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justices A.R. Lakshmanan and C.K. Thakker asked solicitor-general G.E. Vahanvati to explain why the largesse was being granted to the Haj pilgrims. “Here it is a question of granting largesse,” the bench observed, and added that the government could make arrangements for the security and healthcare of Haj pilgrims, but not give such type of largesse.

Referring to a Sikh jatha going for pilgrimage to Nanakana Sahib in Pakistan, the bench asked: “Do you (Centre) give any concessions for such a journey?” The judges went on to ask the law officer to State if the government offered a subsidy for any other yatra or pilgrimage. Was any concession given for the Mansarovar yatra, they asked.

The solicitor-general said the matter had to be viewed in a broader context, and the subsidy was being provided to the pilgrims since 1994 and all arrangements for the Haj scheduled for this November were in an advanced stage. Taking this submission into account, the bench said it was staying the high court order to the extent of grant of funds and financial assistance to the Haj pilgrims for this year.

The bench, however, made it clear that since the matter was pending consideration before the High Court, it would be for the High Court to decide on the validity and legality of the issue. The Centre had sought a stay of the High Court order, contending that it had a far-reaching effect as the entire arrangements done for this year’s Haj would be affected and that it would affect the country’s international image.

Further, arrangements had already been finalised with the Saudi national airline for the transportation of the pilgrims, and there would be a considerable loss to the national exchequer if this was cancelled. The government had also entered into an agreement with the Saudi government for the accommodation of 1.49 lakh pilgrims.

Left criticism ignored

New Delhi, Sept. 18: The Manmohan Singh government, ignoring the criticism of the Left parties, has dramatically expanded the scope of joint military exercises with the United States. For the first time, as many as 140 Indian soldiers are in Hawaii participating in the biggest joint drill between the two armies, “Yudh Abhyas” (Training for War) with the Americans.

The military cooperation with the US was agreed upon by the earlier NDA government, which for the first time allowed them to enter the mountain and jungle warfare schools of the Indian Army, after permission for this was refused by successive governments till 2001. The joint exercises between the two armies, which started with a handful of soldiers, and has increased now to 140 troops from the Gorkha Regiment who were flown to Hawaii for the 18-day joint exercise, which ends on September 23. Jammu and Kashmir had been used as a terrain for joint operations earlier, with Indian commandos based in the northern state training US forces in what was described as “high altitude, dry and rocky terrain... similar to that in which Osama bin Laden is reported to be hiding.”

This particular joint exercise was held three years ago, under the NDA government, at a time when the government was on record denying that such exercises allowing US troops access to sensitive military training schools were being held at all. The soldiers of the Indian Army’s 3rd Battalion, 9th Gorkha Rifles, are now participating in mock jungle warfare exercises that the Indians are known to excel in.

The Americans had been seeking entry into India’s prestigious mountain and jungle warfare counter-insurgency schools for a long time, and the doors were opened by the NDA government amid strong criticism from the strategic establishment in the country, including the Army. The Manmohan Singh government has now cemented these ties, with the Hawaii exercises at the Schofield Barracks being described by military planners as a major expansion.

The “training for war” operation was preceded in January with a joint exercise at Ranikhet in Uttaranchal. The Americans had been keen to draw on the Indian Army’s acknowledged expertise in operations in varied terrain, and the exercises over the past few years have been targeted at precisely these areas. The thickly forested mountains of Uttaranchal, the high altitude and the winter conditions provided the mountain warfare environment as against the jungle warfare experience of yet another joint exercise that had Indian and US troops participating in “Exercise Yudh Abhyas” in the Northeast in August last year.

The CPI(M) has been issuing periodic statements opposing the strategic military cooperation with the US and demanding a reversal. The three-day meeting of the party’s central committee in Hyderabad earlier this year resolved that the party would mobilise people to protest against the joint military exercises wherever these are held. The current exercise is of course going on in Hawaii, but will be followed with more joint exercises between the armies, navies and air forces of the two countries over the next few months.

In 2005 alone, the Indian and US Air Forces organised aerial wargames at Kalaikunda in West Bengal; while the two navies held the biggest-ever joint naval exercise that involved aircraft-carriers, spy planes, fighter aircraft and guided missile destroyers. This cooperation, which started officially in 2002, has been expanding regularly, with six major joint exercises held in the first year itself. In 2003 the two air forces held a combined force exercise in Alaska.

The navies participated in the complex Malabar ’04 exercises off the east coast and carried out naval search and rescue exercises till 2004. The two armies carried out a combined counter-insurgency exercise at the Jungle Warfare School at Vairangte, Mizoram. In the same year the Jammu and Kashmir commandos helped train the American soldiers in terrain they believed was similar to that in which Al-Qaeda chieftain Osama bin Laden was hiding.

Kolkata, Sept. 18: With a national recall increasingly unlikely and a demotion from Grade A in the BCCI players’ contract looming large, Sourav Ganguly has a new problem to deal with. His cricket academy here has run into trouble as major differences have cropped up with the title sponsor. According to Sourav’s older brother Snehashis, the title sponsor Videocon “has not been meeting financial commitments” made at the launch of the academy. The Videocon School of Cricket was launched with much fanfare last year.

“As per our understanding, they (Videocon) were to pay Rs 90 lakhs towards infrastructure cost, but till date we have got Rs 85 lakhs,” Snehashis, who is the vice-chairman of 22 Yards, the company floated to run the academy, said on Monday. “You can understand how costly the cricket gear and other support equipment like bowling machines are nowadays,” he added. He confirmed that the academy would soon add a bowling machine for its trainees.

The elder Ganguly refrained from commenting when asked whether a change in the sponsor’s attitude had anything to do with Sourav’s fading status as a cricketer. Videocon East India’s chief operating officer Goutam Sengupta, however, dismissed the idea of any differences or a change in attitude. “When we entered into the project Sourav was no longer skipper of the Indian team and we agreed to support the academy because he was very dear to us as a cricketer,” he said, adding: “We have already paid them the initial committed amount, and if there is any shortfall in that it will be met.”

About the escalation clause and the maintenance cost, he said: “When the academy had started last year, we had no idea about how it runs. But now we feel that there is a revenue-generating element which can meet the expenses of the academy. As per our estimates, the monthly income of the academy could be more than Rs 2 lakhs, taking into account the fees collected from the boys joining the academy. So we have proposed to the committee running the academy for an assessment of the revenue generated, and if still there is a shortfall we are ready to meet that.”

The committee comprises the Ganguly brothers, two members from Videocon, West Bengal urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya and a few state government officials. The minister is reportedly playing arbiter. “Everything will be sorted out. I shall ask the committee to sort the matter out soon,” Mr Bhattacharya was quoted as saying.

The academy currently has more than 900 trainees who are charged Rs 400 per month. A one-time entry fee is Rs 3,000. The running cost of the academy, according to Snehashis, is around Rs 2.5 lakhs per month. Another company, Pogo potato chip maker, has also been enrolled as a co-sponsor of the academy, Snehasis said. Incidentally, Pogo is the only company which continues to use Sourav as a brand ambassador while all the other big companies have already deserted him.

Advisers’ powers watered down

Hyderabad, Sept. 18: A recent memo issued by irrigation secretary Hiralal Samaria curtailing powers of the irrigation advisers has kicked up a lot of heat and dust in the department. The memo No. 26392/IW.OP.A1/2006-1 dated September 15, 2006, contains the job chart and reporting structure for the advisers — P. Seethapathi Rao, T.S. Prakash Rao and Lavakusa Reddy — who are supposed advise the State government on Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana projects respectively. hough it is a general circular issued to all the advisers, sources said, it was particularly targeted at curtailing the powers of Mr Seethapathi Rao, who has been allegedly behaving like an extra-constitutional authority in the department. According to the memo the advisers will have to report to the secretary and will have to look after only such work which was entrusted to them. They should not send any notes or make any correspondence directly to anyone in the department, except to the secretaries. Mr Samaria ordered that the advisers should not leave the heaquarters without the permission of the secretaries. They can tour any irrigation project and irrigation systems only with prior approval of the secretaries and can advise only on technical issues relating to the projects. The memo is a result of Mr Seethapathi Rao’s alleged interference in the department. He was the only adviser in the department till last year and every file used to be approved only after getting his clearance. Mr Rao himself claimed before the Lok Ayukta in an inquiry into Sripadasagar tender issue that he was “all-in-all” in the department. After a number of complaints, the government appointed two more advisers in the department. Yet, he allegedly interfered in the affairs of other advisers. Stung by the memo, the advisers are now planning to register their protest with Chief Minister Y.S. Raj-asekhar Reddy. “After all, advisers are ex-officio secretaries to the government. They are not subordinates to the secretaries. They should be given due respect and powers,” department sources said.

OU keeps Telangana flag flying high

Hyderabad, Sept. 18: Osmania University is becoming a hotbed for the separate Telangana movement with thousands of students coming out for the cause of Statehood. The university which has history of agitations from the Vande Mataram movement in the 1930’s, had kept the Statehood movement alive even before the inception of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. TRS Vidyarthi Vibhagam, a frontal organisation of TRS, Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika, Telangana Vidyarthi Sangh and Junior Lawyers Association of Telangana are at the forefront of the movement. The Telangana Vidyarthi Sangh comprises student unions like SC, ST and BC students associations of the university. The Telangana Vidyarthi Sangh held a rally on September 17 with around 10,000 students on the campus to celebrate the Hyderabad Liberation day with NDA convener George Fernandes, BJP national secretary Bandaru Dattatreya, balladeer Gaddar in attendance. This was the fourth visit in six years to the campus for Mr Fernandes. Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is also joining the chorus with pro-Telangana groups. The ABVP celebrated September 16, a day before Hyderabad Liberation Day, as Telangana Independence Day, which was attended by around 7,000 students from various colleges. ABVP slogans like “Yuvakullara lendira, Talli Telangana Sadhinchaga Randira” and “Neeti Kosam Aarthanadam, Telangana Rashtra Ninadam” greet visitors at the university. The TRS student wing Telangana Rashtra Samithi Vidyarthi Vibhagam is the strongest students union now. The TRS’ pink flag flies prominently everywhere. Thousands of students from the university held rallies on August 22 when TRS ministers quit the UPA government. Dozens of students sat on a hunger strike on August 22 and 23 to express solidarity with party president K. Chandrasekhara Rao. TRSV secretary Ramana Rao said that Telangana movement was reaching its peak with thousands of students joining the movement. “We will take it further and sacrifice our studies for the cause of Telangana,” he added. Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika leader Venkat Reddy claimed that it was Osmania students who encouraged the Congress leaders to float the Telangana Regional Congress Coordination Committee (TRCCC) which brought new life to the movement. The role of Osmania teachers is also crucial: They floated the Osmania University Forum for Telangana. The forum consists of professors, retired professors and former students. It highlighted the issues of GO 610, absence of adequate colleges in Telangana and lack of employment opportunities to Telangana youth. The forum is educating people on the injustices meted out to Telangana region.

TRS rebel MLAs go silent

Hyderabad, Sept. 18: With the Telangana Rashtra Samiti returning to limelight following the resignation of party president K. Chandrasekhar Rao and senior leader A. Narendra from the UPA Cabinet, the TRS rebel MLAs have gone into silent mode, worrying about their future political course. Except Hanamkonda MLA Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy, the six TRS rebels MLAs — T. Jayaprakash Reddy (Sangareddy), D. Srinivasa Rao (Chennur), B. Sara Rani (Parkal), G. Mukunda Reddy (Peddapalli), Narayana Rao Patel (Mudhole) and S. Santosh Reddy (Armoor) parted ways with the TRS president and inclined towards the Congress, after the party lost municipal elections in September 2005. In fact, they sent all their supporters and cadres into the Congress, thinking that the TRS was a sinking ship. Mr Jayaprakash Reddy, Mr Srinivasa Rao and Ms Sara Rani had even campaigned for the Congress in the panchayat raj elections. The TRS, however, regained its life after the resignation of Mr Chandrasekhar Rao and Mr Narendra. The Telangana sentiment has picked up and the TRS activists turned their ire at the TRS rebel MLAs. The latter, initially, strongly retorted at Mr Chandrasekhar Rao, but after realising that the TRS is growing strong, they remained silent. Reports from different parts of Telangana indicate that the TRS cadres who deserted the party in the last six months have started returning into the party.

Sarve talks of T respect

Hyderabad, Sept. 18: Congress MP Sarve Satyanarayana on Monday raised the issue of “Telangana self respect” and said life had turned into “slavery” for the people of the backward region. At a press conference, he said that the people of Telangana wanted protection of their self-respect more than development and welfare. He praised Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy for his development works but accused officials of misleading him on certain counts. “The chief ministership is not permanent. Today he is the Chief Minister. Tomorrow he may become the deputy prime minister or the President like Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy,” he said.

HC: Explain action on water units

Hyderabad, Sept. 18: The AP High Court on Monday directed the secretary, municipal administration, and secretary, medical and health to explain the measures taken against mineral water manufacturing units which do not possess statutory permission. A division bench was responding in a suo motu taken-up petition arising out of a letter written by Mr Shyam Bhaskar Rao, chairman of Machilipatnam Consumer Protection Council, Krishna district, complaining that mineral water available in the State was not to specified standards and that most of the manufacturing units do not comply with ISI standards. The bench was not satisfied with the report filed by the government in regard to the action taken against the units following an earlier direction of the court. Ayurvedic course A division bench of the AP High Court directed the Medical Council secretary, Medical and Health secretary, and registrar of NTR Health University to explain to the court on September 27 how they had issued a notification for conducting entrance exams into ayurvedic medical course for 2004-2005, and converting the same to be treated for the earlier year. The bench passed the order on a writ petition by one Jenna Prem Kumar complaining against the action of the government.

Longer MRTS to cost more

Hyderabad, Sept. 18: The project cost of the Mass Rapid Transit System is expected to escalate with the extension of the routes and change in the alignments to cover more areas. The project was earlier estimated to cost Rs 8,000 crores to cover 60 kilometres. It has now been extended by 6 km, and the cost is estimated to go up to Rs 8,798 crore. Officials say that each kilometre cost of MRTS would be about Rs 133 crore. The route between Miyapur and Chaitanyapuri has been extended up to L.B. Nagar, totalli-ng 30 km over 27 stations. The second route which was supposed to start at Secunderabad now will start from Jubilee Bus Station and end at Falaknuma. This will be 15 km long and have 16 stations. The Tarnaka-Hitec City route has been extended on both ends to begin from Habsiguda and end at Shilparamam, running 22 kms over 20 stations. Major changes have been made in the alignment near Begumpet on this route to reduce demolitions near Punjagutta and Rajiv Gandhi circle. According to officials, the metro rail needs nearly 200 metre radius at curves but only 120 metres is available near Punjagutta. A number of buildings in that area will have to be demolished to make space for the rail.To avoid this, the Habsiguda-Shilparamam track will turn near Begumpet flyover and cover Greenlands, Ameerpet, Maitrivanam, Madhuranagar,Yousufguda, Jubilee Hills Road No. 5, Jubilee Hills checkpost, HiTec City and Shilparamam. Now, only the Miyapur-L.B. Nagar route will touch Punjagutta. “The changes in alignment and extension of the third route will benefit people in Yousufguda,” MRTS project director N.V.S. Reddy said. The empowered committee headed by the chief secretary has agreed in principle to the changes in the alignment. The proposal will now be submitted to Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

Caste twist to ORR

Hyderabad, Sept. 18: The controversy over the Outer Ring Road project took a caste colour with allegations of victimisation of dalits, SCs and STs. Also State Human Rights Commission chairman Justice B. Subhashan Reddy issued notices to Ranga Re-ddy district collector, Hyderabad Urban development Authority (Huda) and Andh-ra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) seeking explanation from them on the ORR lands. He asked them to file their replies before October 11. Earlier, a BJP delegation led by former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya met Justice Reddy and sought protection of the rights of dalit evacuees. It is alleged that the lands of SCs, STs and other weaker sections are being taken over by Huda and APIIC. Around 50 Dalit families in Kokapet were deprived of their lands, which had been the only source of their livelihood with Huda auctioning the lands. It is also alleged that the ORR alignment was changed to benefit some influential persons at the cost of dalit families. Experts baffled by Indo-Pak deal New Delhi, Sept. 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf’s decision to put in place an India-Pakistan anti-terrorism institutional mechanism to identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations has outraged and baffled diplomats and security analysts alike.Naive and ill-advised is how they chose to describe the joint statement that has been thrust upon an unsuspecting nation barely a few weeks after the Mumbai serial blasts. “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seems to have been smitten with the Stockholm Syndrome ever since the Mumbai blasts of July 11, in which 184 suburban train commuters were killed by suspected members of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation and a member of Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front,” according to Mr B. Raman, a retired additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat. The expression Stockholm Syndrome, which came into vogue in 1973, refers to a psychological condition in which a victim of terrorism, finding himself powerless in the hands of a terrorist, starts empathising with the terrorist. “At a time when a growing number of Western analysts and policy-makers have begun doubting the sincerity of Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf and suspecting that he has been playing a double role — openly as a front-line ally in the war against terrorism and covertly as a supporter of Pakistan-based jihadi terrorists — our Prime Minister has sought to play down the extent of Gen Musharraf’s perfidy with regard to jihadi terrorism directed against India from Pakistani territory with the help of organisations such as Lashkar which operate under the control of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence,” Mr Raman has said. Mr G. Parthasarathy, a former high commissioner to Islamabad, wondered how anybody could equate a country like India, which faced the problem of terrorism, with a country like Pakistan, which sponsored terrorism. “[The move] is ill-advised,” he asserted, “Four days ago, in Brussels, Gen Musharraf said that violence by militants will continue till the Kashmir issue is resolved. To pretend that [a change will happen] is naive and misplaced.” India, he reminded, faced a threat from the terrorists trained by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and it was inconceivable how the ISI or Gen. Musharraf would “cooperate with us.” Asked whether the joint initiative has come about without help from the United States, Mr Parthasarathy said the Americans have been making such suggestions. He nevertheless felt no initiative can deliver positive results until there was “change in the political intention” to stop the use of terrorism. However, there were some like strategic analyst K. Subrahmanyam who supported the decision announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf in Havana. He was of the opinion that once a joint mechanism was in place, India can give Pakistan whatever evidence India has of terrorists operating from Pakistan. “They (Pakistan) have to now answer specific allegations and charges. It’s a step forward. Pakistan has accepted that terrorism is a problem between the two countries. It has accepted that terrorism exists on its soil,” Mr Subrahmanyam said. Hormusji elected INS Prez Bangalore, Sept 18: Hormusji Nusserwanji Cama of Bombay Samachar weekly was elected president of the Indian Newspaper Society for 2006-07 at its 67th annual general meeting held here. He succeeds Jacob Mathew of Malayala Manorama. Gujarat Samachar’s Bahubali Shah has been elected deputy president. He takes over from Mr Gulab Kothari, MD of Rajasthan Patrika. Delhi Press’ Paresh Nath replaces Mr I. Venkat as vice-president while The Day After’s Sunil Dang comes in as treasurer in place of Jagran’s M.M. Gupta. Mr Deepak S. Raja is the new secretary general of the society. The eight outgoing candidates include Mr N. Murali (The Hindu), Shanta Kumar (Deccan Herald), Mr Venkat of Eenadu, D.D. Purkayastha and Dr A.B. Sinha of ABP, Mr Gulab Kothari of Rajasthan Patrika, Mr Shakti Das Gupta of Vartamaan and Mr. M.S. Mani of Kerala Kaumudi. The new committee has also been elected with eight new members. The subsequent election process for the 35-member committee, where in the membership of every constituent is contested, has also culminated. The other members of the executive committee elected at the annual general meeting are: B.S. Adityan (Vaarantari Rani), Viveck Goenka (Indian Express, Mumbai), Vijay Darda (Lokmat), Mammen Mathew (Malayala Manorama), Vijay Kumar Chopra (Punjabi Kesari, Jalandhar), Pratap G. Pawar (Sakal), Abhay Chhajlani (Nai Dunia), M.P. Veerendrakumar (Mathrubhumi), Pradeep Guha (Divya Bhaskar), Jacob Mathew (Vanitha), Girish Agarwal (Dainik Bhaskar, Bhopal), M.J. Akbar (The Asian Age, Delhi), Tariq Ansari (Mid-Day), Ashish Bagga (India Today), Samahit Bal (Pragativadi), Priyavrat Bhartia (Hindustan Times, New Delhi), Devendra Darda (Lokmat Times, Nagpur), Mahendra Mohan Gupta (Dainik Jagran), Shekhar Gupta (Indian Express, New Delhi), Sanjay Hazari (The Tribune), Mohit Jain (Economic Times), Vineet Jain (Maharashtra Times), Sarvinder Kaur (Ajit), Ravindra Kumar (The Statesman), R. Lakshmipathy (Dinamalar), Atul Maaheshwari (Amar Ujala), T. Venkattram Reddy (Deccan Chronicle), Rajendra Sharma (Swadesh, Bhopal), Manoj Kumar Sonthalia (Dinamani), Kiran B. Vadodaria (Sambhaav Metro), Rajiv Verma (Hindustan Times, Patna), Kundan Vyas (Janmabhoomi), Vemuri Balaram (Swati Saparivara Patrika weekly, Vijayawada), V.K. Chopra (Dainik Asam, Guwahati), Farzana Behram Contractor (Afternoon Despatch and Courier, Mumbai), Bhaskar Das (Navbharat Times, Mumbai), Pradeep Gupta (Dataquest, Gurgaon), Shailesh Gupta (Dainik Jagran, Varanasi), Naresh Mohan (The Sunday Statesman, Kolkata), R.M.R. Ramesh (Dinakaran, Chennai) and Govindlal Vora (Amrit Sandesh, Raipur). Orissa boy gets IIT admission DC Impact New Delhi, Sept. 18: The intervention of Union human resources development minister Arjun Singh has helped a Scheduled Tribe student, Balram Tudu, join IIT Kha-ragpur preparatory course after he missed the counsel-ling session due to non-rec-eipt of the communication letter sent to him by post.The student, who had sec-ured a preparatory course rank of 83 in the IIT-JEE-2006, could not join the counselling held at IIT Kharagpur on July 4 due to the negligence of the postal department. Tudu joined the preparatory course on Monday after creation of an add-itional seat at the institute as a special case. This was co-nveyed by the IIT Kharagpur to HRD secretary Sud-eep Banerjee in a letter. In his capacity as the chairman of the Council of IITs, Mr Arjun Singh had asked the chairman of the joint admission board for IIT-JEE to sympathetically consider Tudu’s case. He has also asked for a detailed procedure to be put in place for the incorporation of the preparatory course along with deadlines for declaration of results and dates of counselling in the information brochure. He added that intimation about result and information about dates of counselling for All-India rank holders as well as Preparatory Course rank holders from SC, ST communities should also be sent to the district magistrate, collector or deputy commissioner.