Barabanki, April 16
Only two national parties have women at the helm of affairs. Both of them decided to address political rallies on the same day in the sweltering heat of dusty sun- baked Barabanki bordering Lucknow.

The similarity between the visit of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BSP president Mayawati perhaps ends here. The public rallies that they both addressed in the Nawabganj assembly constituency within a few hours difference brought out their contrasting styles of functioning and levels of organisational back up.

Incidentally, the latter is the most crucial variable that converts goodwill into votes by catching hold of a motivated voter and leading him all the way to the polling station.

Mayawati had not come asking for votes. She came with the polling day strategy to ensure early voting. She requested her voters to fast on that day and light the stove only after casting their vote.

She also prepared them against all eventualities. Spelling out various tactics that her political opponents may resort to in order to prevent her voters from casting their votes Mayawati gave them a mantra. The message was simple, “Don’t waste time, just cast your vote, come what may. Just note down the name of the person creating mischief. We will deal with him/her when the time arrives ”.

When Mayawati spoke it was more like a teacher talking to her students who heard in rapt attention in pin drop silence. When an ice-cream vendor at the far end of the sprawling Muneshwar Vihar colony grounds struck a cymbals to attract buyers, the sound came out so loud that Mayawati stopped mid sentence to rebuke the person.

Like a ‘made easy lesson’ Mayawati not only announced the name of each of the eight candidates from the Barabanki district, but also provided the gathered people some background details. For example, Siddhaur (reserved) candidate Dharmi Rawat is the wife of Barabanki MP BSP’s Kamla Prasad Rawat.

No such helpful information regarding the candidates at the Congress rally addressed by the party’s top leader. Half a dozen state and national level leaders crowded the stage. But when the time to announce the name of the candidate comes, a few names are announced followed by much shuffling of papers, murmurs and then an abrupt end of the meeting.

A large crowd had gathered to hear Sonia Gandhi at the Government Inter College grounds at Barabanki. But the spellbound quality of attention was missing. The mood was more of a mela than an election meeting.

To be fair Sonia Gandhi had done her homework. In her brief address she mentioned several local issues like the unemployed weavers, closed cotton mill, the yarn depot set up in the district by her government. She did not even miss out in paying homage to Dewa Sharif, the local shrine of the Sufi saint Waris Ali Shah.

The official times given to the media for Mayawati’s meeting was 1.30 p.m. She was present a minute ahead of her scheduled time. Contrast this with Sonia Gandhi who arrived an hour and 15 minutes behind schedule.

The BSP had erected a massive pandal to protect thousands of persons from the unfriendly afternoon sun who had collected to hear ‘behenji’. No such considerateness for the people who waited for hours to hear the Congress president.

Minor points indeed but they give away contrasting mindsets. They bring out the level of preparedness and style of functioning of these two women whose parties may have to do business in the days to come.

However much it is wished otherwise but the present political scenario does not promise a convincingly clear majority to any one political party. Political analysts believe that in case of a hung assembly there is a fair chance of these visibly contrasting parties coming together to give the state a new government.

Rampur, April 16
In an otherwise hostile atmosphere for the party, this city may ultimately emerge an island of Samajwadi Party’s presence in the region as its candidate Azam Khan is the likely choice of the electorate.

The fight is for the second place between Congress Afroz Ali Khan, BSP’s Musharrat Khan and BJP’s Anil Vashishth in this Muslim-dominated constituency, a veteran of many elections Amit Chaudhary observed.

Afroz Khan is contesting against Azam Khan for the seventh time. Afroz had contested the last Lok Sabha elections on the BSP ticket.

Barring 1996, Azam Khan has won the seat continuously since 1980 and has got his nominee filmstar-turned politician Jaya Prada win the Lok Sabha election in 2004 against high-profile Congress candidate Noor Bano, who is wife of nawab of Rampur, late Zulifqar Ali Khan.

But in Shahabad, one of the three constituencies of the Rampur Lok Sabha seat, the SP sitting candidate Kashiram Divakar has switched loyalties and is now contesting on the BJP ticket. He is being challenged by Guddi Begum of the Congress and SP’s Radheshyam Rahi.

In Svartanda, SP candidate Naved Mian, who is son of Noor Bano, is facing a stiff challenge from BJP candidate Shiv Bahadur Saxena, who has returned to the saffron fold after a brief stay in the BSP.

Naved’s campaign is being sabotaged by none other than the strongman of Rampur, Azam Khan, who is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the defeat of an emerging Muslim leader from the nawab of Rampur family. Incidentally, Naved had won this seat on a Congress ticket but had switched loyalties to the SP midstream.

In Milak-Bialspur, the fight is again between Azam Khan and Noor Bano. SP sitting candidate Beena Bharadwaj is being challenged by Congress candidate Sanjay Kapoor.

BJP candidate Jwala Prasad Gangwar, who is a former MLA and district panchayat head, is also in the reckoning.

The contests are tough as victory margins are going to be low and the balance can tilt in any party’s favour because Muslim voters normally decide their candidate only on the last day, a local leader Bhanu Pratap Singh observed.

Kancheepuram, April 16
Eleven persons, including nine village administrative officers (VAOs), were killed and 11 others injured when the van carrying them was hit by a passenger train at an unmanned level crossing between Kancheepuram and Thirumalpur stations near here this morning.

Police and railway sources said apart from nine VAOs from Vellore district, other deceased were identified as Ravi, son of Vallam VAO Ramamurthy, who escaped with injuries, and van driver Kumar.

The VAOs were on their way to Chennai to participate in a rally led by Vellore MLA C Gnanasekaran to thank the Chief Minister for solving the problems of the VAOs.

As the vehicle neared Govindavadi Agaram, the VAOs collectively decided to go to a nearby temple. When the driver tried to cross the level crossing to go to the temple, the speeding train hit the van and dragged the vehicle to a distance of 250 metres.

While nine of them died on the spot, two others died on way to Kancheepuram Government Hospital (GH). — UNI

New Delhi, April 16
Stating that the government is yet to take a final decision on the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma said not only economics but also geo-politics plays an important role in decision-making process on energy options.

India has three options before it to import gas from Iran -- through a joint Iran-India-Pakistan pipeline, shipping LNG through tankers and picking up gas from border of Pakistan, Sharma told a seminar on "India's Expanding Gas Markets", organised by the Centre for Resources Management of the Observer Research Foundation.

"The government is studying all options and take a final decision taking into all factors, including the geo-politics of the situation," he said.

“There have been hiccups in the initial stages about the IPI pipeline. But, the project is moving ahead,” he said.

The minister hinted that the contours of the tri-nation pipeline might be redefined with some suggestions doing the rounds about India buying Iranian gas at the India-Pakistan border.

Mumbai, April 16
A special TADA court today framed charges against underworld don Abu Salem and two others in builder Pradeep Jain’s murder case of 1995.

The TADA court Judge PV Bavkar read out and explained the charges to Abu Salem, Mohammed Hussain Sheikh and Virendra Jhab. However, the trio denied all the charges.

Thereafter, Judge Bavkar framed charges under Section 3(2)(II), 3(2), 3(3), 3(5) of TADA Act, 120(b), 302, 307 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Arms Act against them.

Judge Bavkar then adjourned the matter till April 24 with directive to prosecution to file the list of witnesses and documents in the court.

The court explained to the accused persons in Hindi that between November 4, 1994 and March 1995, they had threatened builders in the city to extort money from them. On March 7, 1995 they had killed Pradeep Jain in his office and also tried to eliminate his younger brother Sunil Jain.

In this case, the Supreme Court has already convicted two of the other accused in the case, Shekhar Namdeo Kadam and Subhash Bhind. — UNI

New Delhi, April 16
A day after Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi’s remarks crediting his family with splitting Pakistan kicked up a diplomatic row, an embarrassed Congress tried to deflect attention from this issue by attacking the opposition parties of being equally guilty of promoting dynasties in politics.

Rahul’s remarks at an election rally in Barielly yesterday have been criticised on two counts. On one hand, it has sparked off a diplomatic row with Islamabad stating that it was well aware of India’s role in destabilising Pakistan.

Back home, several political parties, led by the BJP, have come down heavily on Rahul Gandhi for promoting the Nehru-Gandhi family and giving it credit for the country’s achievements while ignoring the contribution of others.

The Congress, however, today came fully prepared with its response. In fact, party spokesperson Satyavarat Chaturvedi even released a list of family members in different political parties. He took care not to mention any of the UPA allies like the DMK, PDP and the RJD in this connection.

Pointing to the BJP, he listed the entire Scindia clan, former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, former minister Jaswant Singh, and vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekawat whose relatives are also in politics. Vajpayee’s niece Karuna Shukla is an MP, and his nephew Anup Mishra, a minister in the MP government. Similarly, he said, Vasundhara Raje’s son was an MP while her sister Yashodhra Raje Scindia, an MLA in Madhya Pradesh, has just been elected to the Lok Sabha. Former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s son is a legislator while Shekawat’s son-in-law is a minister in Rajasthan.

Continuing in the same vein, Chaturvedi also mentioned UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose son and brothers are either MPs or ministers in his government. Similarly, he said, the Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, the National Conference and Janata Dal (U) also have their share of political families.

“Congress is constantly being accused of promoting dynastic rule but everybody conveniently overlooks the other political parties,” Chaturvedi said.

As for Rahul Gandhi’s controversial remark on splitting Pakistan, Chaturvedi maintained that he had said nothing wrong but only stated facts. Justifying young Gandhi’s statement, Chaturvedi said he it was a historical fact that the creation of Bangladesh was the result of a war which was thrust upon India by Pakistan. He also ought to play down the political and international ramifications of this statement, saying that it was well understood that these things were said in the heat of electioneering and would not impact the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan.

While justifying Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Pakistan, the Congress spokesperson had to do some deft explaining when asked if the Nehru family alone was responsible for the country’s independence. While admitting that the entire Congress organisation had led the freedom struggle, Chaturvedi said it was equally true that the entire Nehru clan had contributed significantly to this effort.

Aonla (Bareilly), April 16
“I have come here and I will come again after the elections. I will work for Uttar Pradesh, which is lagging behind in development,” Congress MP Rahul Gandhi told a responsive crowd here yesterday.

The moment Rahul finished his sentence and was about to utter more words, an aged farmer murmured that “the time for the Congress has arrived if he means what he says”.

The old man's words possibly sum up the assessment that the electorate is making up Rahul’s road shows and public meetings.

In his brief yet focused speech of about five minutes to a curious crowd which was not only present at the rally, but hanging on rooftops and surrounding lanes, Rahul’s words that the tradition of the family has been that once “we decide to do something, we take it to the

logical conclusion” created an immediate rapport with the gathering.

Many in the gathering started nodding their head in affirmation when the Nehru-Gandhi scion said that “we decided to join the freedom movement and the country got freedom”.

“While his road shows bring in curious crowds and his few words during the show whet the people's appetite to have more of him, his public speech is a contrast to what other politicians do or say as his measured sentences reflect a sincerity of purpose,” an old man in his seventies Ram Dhan observed.

“The moribund and shaky Congress can only be

revived by a person who has the will and stamina to work and is not interested in quick results,” he said, adding that “he will reap a rich harvest if he remains in touch with the people of the entire state after the elections also and is not just accessible to the people of Amethi only”.

His focus on development or rather the lack of it during the past 15 years when non-Congress governments ruled the biggest state became a topic of heated debate between a mixed group of young and middle aged immediately after the

rally in this small town which has come to be identified with the IFFCO fertiliser plant.

“Yes, he means business and he combines the resolve of his dadi Indira Gandhi and the vision of his father Rajiv Gandhi,” a middle-aged man commented, which was countered by a youth who said that “it will only show if he translates his words into action”.

“Oh, I don't buy his words because no politician comes back after the elections,” a third youth said.

New Delhi, April 16
India is far behind Bangladesh, Pakistan and China in terms of its public health expenditure of 20.7 per cent against 25 per cent of Bangladesh, 34.9 per cent of Pakistan and 45 per cent of China, according to a study.

The study conducted jointly by Assocham and PriceWaterhouseCoopers on “Working towards wellness: An Indian perspective”, to be released by chamber president Venugopal N. Dhoot here tomorrow warns that India will have to increase its public expenditure on health to prevent it to become a centre for chronic diseases like cardiovascular.

It reveals that percentage of cardiovascular patients who succumbs to death in India currently estimated at 30 per cent within the age group of 35-64 as compared to 12 per cent in the USA, China (22 per cent), Russia (25 per cent), Brazil (34 per cent) and South Africa (40 per cent), recommending that the increased pressures of globalisation will have to be met through by India accelerating its health budget manifold.

The study also says that India’s per capita expenditure on health is estimated at $23 and its total health expenditure to GDP is at 6.1 per cent.

“Pakistan and Bangladesh’s respective per capita expenditure on health is $18 and $14 and their total health expenditure percentage of their GDP works out at 3.2 per cent and 3.1 per cent”, says the study.

It, however, highlights that as compared to the USA, Germany, Canada, the UK, Mexico and Brazil, not only China but India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are also still way behind as their per capita expenditure on health is pegged at $4,499, $2,422, $2,058, $1,747, $311 and $267, respectively.

The reason as to why the public expenditure on health in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh has risen much more than India is because of two specific reasons. One, the economies of Pakistan and Bangladesh are emerging for development and that is why their governments have been making higher health allocations for their people to partake in the global competition.

Secondly, on population front, Pakistan and Bangladesh are at competitive edge because of their size which is not the case with India as its state after 2000 onwards paid lesser attention towards health as its priorities were different to make India for global integration, says the study.

Patna, April 16
The Jharkhand Government seems to have finally woken up to the growing trend of Maoist activities in the state.

In a move which is expected to give extra teeth to the police and security forces, the Madhu Koda-led UPA government has reportedly decided to start a special school to train the police in jungle warfare to fight Maoist rebels who are presently active in 16 of Jharkhand 22 districts.

Nearly 550 persons, including 245 security personnel, have been killed in the past five years in Jharkhand alone.

Incidentally, when Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in November 2000, Maoist rebels were active only in eight districts.

Sources say the proposed jungle warfare school will be the first of its kind in the state. “The school has been mooted to provide training to cops to fight with Maoists in every situation, particularly in jungle areas where they are ambushed by the rebels,” sources added.

Barring any last-minute change in plan, the school is going to be set up in Hazaribag district during 2007-08 fiscal year. Sources inform that after completing initial training, cops will be inducted into the school. The products of the school will be deployed in Maoist-dominated districts and as security or VIPs.

The government is planning to take the help of the army and the Border Security Force (BSF) to train the cops in the school.

Jharkhand is covered with forests and hills and the Maoists use this cover to ambush security forces.

The police is reportedly unable to do night patrolling in fear of Maoist ambushes and landmine blasts. Nearly 1,200 of the 4,564 panchayats (village local body) in the state are stated to be under the influence of the Maoists where they now virtually run parallel governance.

Besides, to sustain their so-called armed struggle, an elaborate machinery for “levy and tax” collection from government contractors and industrialists has also reportedly been created by the Maoists.

The state’s rich forest cover has also helped the Maoists open training camps in several areas, including locations in the Jhumra Hills of Bokaro, the Saranda forest in West Singhbhum District, the border region of Hazaribagh and Chatra, the Baruhatu and Shilaghati Hills of Ranchi, the Madhuban hills of Giridih, and some places in the Latehar and Garhwa districts.

Jaipur, April 16
Tragedy struck a family when a man committed suicide by consuming poison after killing his son and daughter near here. Later his brother-in-law was crushed to death in a road mishap while he was rushing to the spot after hearing the news.

Shobhalal, a school teacher, pushed his children - Mukul (5) and Divya (7) - into a well at Choti Sadari, police said.

He left behind a suicide note which mentioned personal tension and failures in a competitive examination as the reasons behind taking the extreme step.

In the note, he also suggested his wife, who was at home when he took the kids to the well, to commit suicide also, police said. The bodies of both the kids were recovered from the well and were sent for a post-mortem. — PTI