Khurja, April 12
The Assembly election in the biggest state seems to be witnessing a big change as the Brahmins are likely to determine the final outcome of the ongoing electoral exercise.

"Brahmins are once again a sought-after caste as not only the BSP, BJP and the Congress are wooing us but even other parties are seeking our cooperation", a medical practitioner V N Tripathi said in Aligarh.

Brahmins, who had a dominant position in the state politics till 1990, became marginalised. The Mandal-Kamandal dialectics came to determine the caste arithmetic of the state in the 90s of the last century and in the first half of the new century. In that scenario numerically weak Brahmins were isolated from the mainstream of politics.

Disillusioned from the Sangh-sponsored Ramjanmabhoomi movement, Brahmins were looking for new pastures till BSP supremo Mayawati opened the doors of her party for them.

Even traditionally and historically, the Brahmin-Dalit equation has been harmonious. The equation took a negative turn when the previous Mayawati governments tried to harass Brahmins in the name of the Harijan Act.

Having realised our importance, Brahmins are not going to follow any single party with close eyes, a Lawyer in Mathura Ram Narayan Tiwari said and added that "votes would go for a party which is in a position to defeat the SP".

Admitting that in Mathura district, where Brahmins constitute almost 15 per cent of the total electorate "our choice is for the BSP", he said.

The BSP has fielded 10 Brahmin candidates in the second phase.

The Congress has also fielded seven Brahmin candidates in this phase.

There are two Brahmin candidates in the SP list also but they have been fielded for tactical reasons.

Lucknow, April 12
On the eve of the second phase of polling, the district magistrates (DMs) of Barabanki and Sant Kabir Nagar have been transferred with immediate effect on the order of the Election Commission reportedly due to mounting complaints regarding their style of functioning.

Jyot Singh has replaced Sant Kabir Nagar district magistrate U.C. Tiwari while R. Niteshwar Kumar will be the new DM of Barabanki in place of Ramashankar Sahu. Both these districts go to the polls in the fourth phase, scheduled for April 28.

Meanwhile, preparation for polling in the 58 constituencies spread over the relatively prosperous 10 districts of western UP is complete. A total of 1,64,45,551 voters will cast their votes at 8,479 polling centres divided into 15,931 polling stations.

While the number of constituencies has come down from 62 to 58 in this phase, the number of EVMs to be used is to go up from 18,300 to 18,400.

Some 650 companies of central paramilitary forces have already taken position while the remaining companies are now guarding the EVMs of the first phase of polling.

While traditionally these 10 districts are considered to be the stronghold of Jat leader Ajit Singh, it was, in fact, the BSP that had won the maximum number of 15 seats in this region during the 2002 poll.

New Delhi, April 12
The Election Commission (EC) today decided to first take a view on whether or not Election Commissioner Navin Chawla will participate in the hearing, before proceeding further on the petitions demanding BJP’s de-recognition in connection with the release of a controversial CD.

The Election Commission, which heard the arguments in favour and against Chawla’s participation in the hearing on the controversial CD issue, is likely to pronounce its order on April 19 and subsequently, take up the petitions on the demand for BJP’s de-recognition.

The EC’s decision comes after the BJP today reiterated that Chawla should recuse himself from hearing the case against the party since it apprehended bias on his part.

Countering BJP’s contention, the Congress, represented by senior leader and union minister Kapil Sibal, accused the saffron party of adopting diversionary tactics to delay the proceedings and demanded an administrative order from the Commission to seize and prevent the distribution of the controversial CD.

“The Commission has assured us that it would immediately issue an administrative order to seize and prevent the distribution of the controversial CD,” Sibal and CPM leader Nilotpal Basu told newspersons.

Sibal said the Commission would take up the case related to de-recognition on April 19.

“We told the Election Commission that the BJP’s petition is mala fide and a diversionary tactic,” Sibal said adding “we argued that BJP’s citing of the instance of former CEC T N Seshan being barred from the hearing on the Jayalalithaa case was not applicable in the present case and there was no likelihood of bias on Chawla’s part.”

Asked whether the Congress press for BJP’s de-recognition, Mr Sibal said not till the investigation is complete. “We have not made any demand that the BJP should be immediately de-recognised. Till the probe is complete, such a demand cannot be made and it is also not proper,” Sibal said.

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, who along with Arun Jaitley, Satyapal Jain and M A Naqvi, had been appearing on behalf of the party, claimed that the Commission would give its verdict on the Chawla issue on April 19 and the date for pronouncement of the order would be confirmed on April 17.

During the hearing, which was attended by Chawla, the BJP questioned his participation in hearing the petition by the Congress and other political parties seeking BJP’s de-recognition when its prayer for his removal as an Election Commissioner has been admitted by the Supreme Court for allegedly receiving funds from a political party for his trust a few weeks before his appointment as Election Commissioner by the Congress-led UPA Government.

Incidentally, the case is listed for hearing in the apex court tomorrow.

New Delhi, April 12
The UPA government could once again invite the ire of the Election Commission with the Cabinet today deciding to revive eight fertiliser plants, including one in Uttar Pradesh, where the election process is on and the model code of conduct is in force.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, briefing newspersons after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said the Cabinet had decided to reverse the decision of NDA government and would look afresh for the revival of these units.

Three plants of the Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Limited (HFCL) and four plants of the Fertiliser Corporation of India (FCI) will be reopened following the Cabinet decision. The HFCL plants are located at Barauni, Durgapur and Haldia, while the FCI plants are situated at Sindri, Ramagundam, Gorakhpur, Talcher and Korba. The revival would benefit nearly 8,000 employees. The Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry headed by Ram Vilas Paswan would explore the possibility of the revival. The units may be revived through joint venture partnership or restructuring, he added.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also approved the national policy for petrochemicals that envisages providing tax incentives to the industry.

“The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for the national petrochemicals policy document and setting up of an inter-ministerial expert committee to recommend the use of plastics in the thrust areas as mandatory,” Dasmunshi said.

The policy has also proposed allowing medium and large industries to manufacture certain plastic items, currently reserved for the small-scale sector. Under the policy, the government will also set up petrochemical technology fund and raise investment limit for SSI plastic manufacturing units from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore.

As per estimates, domestic demand and per capita consumption of plastics and synthetic fibres is likely to rise to about 12 kg and 4 kg, respectively, by 2011 from the present level of 4 kg and 1.6 kg, respectively.

The Cabinet also cleared the decks for a pact with France for extradition of Indians convicted there. The agreement will also provide for transfer of French nationals convicted here to their native country.

New Delhi, April 12
Adjudicating upon the issue concerning the entry of films for national awards, the Supreme Court has ruled that it is entirely in the domain of the Centre’s policy decision whether to permit participation of movies without censor certificate or make obtaining of it mandatory.

If the government makes obtaining of the censor certificate mandatory for entry in the national film awards, it is not an unreasonable restriction of any fundamental right of a film-maker, a bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and R.V. Raveendran ruled.

Regarding another question whether the Central government has power to grant exemption of obtaining the censor certificate for documentary films, both Indian and foreign, for entry in international film festivals in the non-commercial category, the court said there was nothing in the Cinematograph Act and the rules framed thereunder for entry of movies in the film festivals and for national film awards that “prevents the government from having different policies for the two purposes.”

“The object of the film festival and object of the national film awards are different. Film festivals are held to provide a platform for film-makers from all over the world to meet, exchange ideas, explore the possibility of co-production, market films and to broaden the vision of the film market; on the other hand the object of national film award is to encourage the production of films of aesthetic and technical excellence and social relevance, which will contribute to the understanding and appreciation of cultures of different regions of the country and promote national integration and unity,” it held.

On a third question pertaining to the exemption of censor certificate to films produced by the Indian Film Institute (IFI) and Doordarshan, the two entities essentially working under the government’s control, the court said such exemption “is illegal”.

Since such exemption was illegal on the face of the provisions of the law, no film-maker could be granted the same benefit as nobody had a right to claim illegal exemption in his favour, the court said.

Since the government’s policy was that only censored films be allowed entry in the national film awards, it could not be forced to allow entry of “uncensored” movies, the court said.

New Delhi, April 12
The Centre is hopeful of achieving the procurement target of 15 million tonnes of wheat this season as 94 per cent of market arrivals in Haryana and 85 per cent in Punjab have been procured by government agencies.

Union Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution, Akhilesh Prasad Singh today said latest figures of Haryana show that the government agencies have procured upto 94 per cent of the market arrivals whereas it is around 85 per cent for Punjab.

The total procurement till April 11 in Haryana stands at 4,26,538 MT against market arrival of 4,52,120 MT. In Punjab, the total procurement is 2,34,621 MT against the market arrival of 2,75,289 MT. The procurements have been almost 96 per cent in Haryana and about 90 per cent in Punjab in the past few days against a relatively sluggish rate in the first week of April.

Rameswaram, April 12
Three men from Punjab are deputed from the Navy to safeguard the interests of the nation in the Indian Ocean off the coast here which is the closest point in India to Sri Lanka, an island nation ravaged by 27 years of insurgency.

While Commander Subroto Mukherji, born and brought up in Nangal, is the in charge of the naval detachment here, Lt-Commander Ankur Mehta from Chandigarh is the commanding officer of warship INS Baratang and Lt-Commander Preetiksh Mahajan from Gurdaspur is the commanding officer of Navy’s Seaward Defence Boat T 56.

Despite the spurt of violence in Sri Lanka and unprecedented attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the island nation’s military establishments, these three men with the support of their teams have ensured that there were no militant activities within India’s International Maritime Boundary Line.

Said Commander Mukherji, a specialist in nuclear biological and chemical warfare, “Intensified patrolling by our ships has considerably lessened the cases of smuggling of explosives as well as other commodities over the last one month.

“The last case of smuggling of explosives was in February when we apprehended two boats carrying aluminium bars meant for making claymore mines at a rendezvous point near one the islands in the sea”. The consignment, he said, was for the LTTE to manufacture anti-personnel mines to retard the movement of the advancing Sri Lankan army.

While the two war ships constantly patrol the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar, which divides India from Sri Lanka, everyday sorties are conducted by Dornier aircraft and helicopters.

Each ship has two tanks, six LMGs, six MMGs and two HMGs, besides a powerful bridge master radar for marine surveillance. INS Baratang, which is 46 metres long, 7.5 metres wide and displacing about 320 tonnes is also equipped with a CRN 91 gun in tandem with IGLA missiles.

The IGLA missiles are Russian counterparts of the USA’s Stinger missiles and can be fired from the shoulder.

Mukherji said three ships, two of the Indian Navy and one belonging to the Coast Guard, two aircraft, helicopters of naval air base at Uchapuli and rubber inflated boats manned by a team of marine commandos were at present conducting marine surveillance in the sea.

He said the surveillance had been recently stepped up and four fibre glass boats had also been pressed into service.

Nagpur/Jalgaon, April 12
The Shiv Sena-BJP today scored impressive wins in two of the three Lok Sabha by-elections in Maharashtra after a series of losses in assembly by-elections.

The Shiv Sena retained the Ramtek Lok Sabha seat, where its candidate defeated Subodh Mohite, who quit the Sena and fought the by-elections as a Congress candidate, while the BJP held on to Jalgaon constituency. However, the NCP wrested the Erandol seat from the BJP.

The Jalgaon and Erandol seats, both in north Maharashtra, fell vacant when sitting BJP MPs, Y G Mahajan and M K Anna Patil, respectively, were expelled from the lower house of Parliament following their involvement in the cash-for-questions scam. — PTI

New Delhi, April 12
The Congress today accused the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of actively working against its candidate in the Ramtek Lok Sabha by election, a charge which is bound to put further strain on the relations between the two alliance partners.

“The NCP let us down in Ramtek ....there was clear internal sabotage,” remarked Margaret Alva, AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, after the Congress failed to win either of the two seats it contested in the Lok Sabha by election. Alva met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to explain the reasons for the party’s poor performance while a formal report from the state unit would follow shortly.

While the Ramtek seat was won by Shiv Sena candidate Prakash Jadhav, the Congress lost Jalgaon to the BJP’s Haribhau Mohan Jawale while the NCP won the Erandol seat.

Coming after its defeats in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Delhi elections, the Congress has reasons to be alarmed with today’s results as it is yet another pointer to the resurgence of the BJP-Shiv Sena combine.

The Ramtek result is doubly humiliating for the Congress. It had fielded defected Shiv Sena MP Subodh Mohite from this seat in the hope of further weakening the Sena in Maharashtra. In addition, it had to contend with the rebellion of its senior leader Ranjit Deshmukh, who contested as an Independent and polled 80,000 votes, thus ensuring the Congress candidate’s defeat.

Bangalore, April 12
All six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have sought permission from the union human resource development ministry to release the first selection list based on the number of admissions made last year after a directive from the ministry to put the process of dispatching of letters on hold.

The IIMs have also given an alternative date to the HRD ministry for admissions, disclosed IIM, Bangalore, director Prakash G Apte to newsmen here today. Apte asserted that the acceptance letters needed to be dispatched by April 21 in keeping with the admission process. “If this is not done, the entire process will go haywire,” he said.

The IIM director said since most management institutions followed a similar calendar, students applying for admission to the IIMs would also suffer financially in case the admission process was delayed. “Students stand to lose between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh they will have to pay to other management institutions they join elsewhere before opting for the IIMs”. He said these reservations had also been conveyed to the HRD ministry, but no reply had been received from the ministry in this regard.

Apte said the IIMs were hoping for a reply within a few days so that the entire admission process could be streamlined. Call letters to those who had been selected in the premier institutes were usually sent out by April 12, he added.

Questioned on the OBC quota, he said no discussion had taken place on the issue with the government.