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YEH HAI INDIA!

Thambidurai, Jethmalani stick to their guns, continue firing
Union Law Minister M Thambidurai has said if Union ministers, especially Ram Jethmalani, were for a stable government at the Centre, they should not let loose unwarranted remarks against a popular leader like AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha. In New Delhi, meanwhile, Jethmalani said, ''Who is Jayalalitha to make a statement about me? Who is she to attack my personal honour? Who has chargesheeted me?''

Jaya's letter on chargesheeted ministers yet to reach PM
Prime Minister A B Vajpayee has not received a letter from AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha on her reported demand for dropping chargesheeted ministers. ''I am awaiting a letter (from Jayalalitha) and I will not like to react on the basis of media reports,'' Vajpayee said when asked to spell out his stand on the AIADMK leader's demand.

The tainted MPs
The MPs in the 12th Lok Sabha who have had a brush with the law.

India will brief Chinese army chief of Pakistani adventurism
India will articulate its deep-seated fears about Pakistan benefiting from China's nuclear and missile capabilities and how it is becoming a security threat to the region, when a high-level Chinese defence delegation visits New Delhi next week.

India will defend itself against Pak threats, says PM
Prime Minister A B Vajpayee on Saturday cautioned Pakistan that India would not tolerate any threat to its national security and would take appropriate steps to preserve its national integrity.

No proof of Chinese helipad in Arunachal: PM
Prime Minister A B Vajpayee on Saturday said no proof of a Chinese-constructed helipad had been found in Arunachal Pradesh.

Jaya flays 'mission to Madras', Advani seconds her
AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha on Friday took exception to the clean chit given to the Tamil Nadu government on the law and order situation by a two-member Central team, and demanded the despatch of the Union home secretary himself to assess the 'real situation' in the state. Echoing her sentiments, in New Delhi, Union Home Minister L K Advani is learnt to have expressed his displeasure over the manner the home ministry team has expressed satisfaction at the situation in the southern state.

Advani says final report on TN is yet to come
Home Minister L K Advani on Saturday said he was still awaiting the full and final report of the Central team which visited Tamil Nadu recently to review the situation there. ''I will give my considered comment only after the special secretary (home) reports to me,'' he said.

In UP, you can have the moon if you know the BJP rulers's kin
In the BJP raj of Uttar Pradesh, nothing is more supreme to the rulers than their kith and kin. Whether it is awarding major contracts, purchases by government departments or transfer and posting of bureaucrats, police officials, doctors and engineers, it is the ministers's relatives who call the shots! What is worse, Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon's son chased a police sub inpector down the road till the poor man sought refuge in a nearby police station...

BJP retains Udhampur seat
In this Jammu and Kashmir constituency, Professor Chaman Lal Gupta of the Bharatiya Janata Party defeated National Conference's Rajinder Singh Chib by 81,364 votes.

Court asks CBI to re-examine V P Singh in HDW deal
The former prime minister will be re-examined within two weeks, senior government counsel Rakesh Tikku said.

Vajpayee government is on verge of collapse, says Mulayam
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government at the Centre was on the verge of collapse and can fall 'any time'.

And now, it's Ahmedabad's turn to get a brand new name!
The new name, if all goes well, will be Karnavati. The Ahmedabad municipal corporation has already passed the proposal for rechristening and sent it for the Gujarat government's approval.

Veerappan switches loyalties from Nakkeeran to Nettrikkan
The 'surrender drama' of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan is caught once again in a 'media war' in Tamil Nadu. If the earlier one involved Nakkeeran and India Today, Act Two involves Nakkeeran and another Tamil pulp-magazine Nettrikkan.

Police lockups, beatings and torture... that's life for Indian street children
In a sharp indictment of India's police force, the Human Rights Watch reports that street children are routinely detained illegally, beaten, tortured and sometimes killed by the police.

THE REDIFF SPECIALS

Only limited conscription can end army's manpower woes
Limited conscription will have a number of beneficial fallouts in India. To start with, India is blessed with an embarrassment of manpower and thus can afford to be selective. A three-year-tenure in the armed servics can be made a prerequisite not only for college entry but even for entry into the civil service,' says Admiral (retd) J G Nadkarni.

TODAY'S COLUMNS

An unhappy lot, this
Vajpayee is crying, Shatrughan Sinha is hopping, Mani Shankar Aiyar is not talking and Sonia Gandhi is... Buzz from the Delhi Durbar.


Maharashtra: Producer Vijay Sippy found dead
Maharashtra: Supreme Court dismisses state petition on rent control act


• Jesus 'bleeds' in Calcutta
Christian Ajanta Chatterjee says he found an 18-inch crucifix of Jesus Christ 'bleeding'.

TODAY'S WEATHER

Cold day in Meghalaya, Assam
Day temperatures were appreciably below normal in Assam and Meghalaya, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, and in parts of Gangetic West Bengal and Bihar.

APRIL 18

VHP will 'dump' BJP if it 'ditches' Ayodhya
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which is going ahead with its plans of building a Ram temple in Ayodhya, is upset with the BJP's oft-repeated statements that 'survival' is more important than the 'mandir'. Bajrang Dal national convener Surinder Kumar Jain warned that they would not hesitate in opposing the BJP if it diluted its stand on the issue.

Vajpayee in trouble as Jaya aides hit back
The A B Vajpayee government faced a major embarrassment when three All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Union ministers warned their Cabinet colleagues Ram Jethmalani and Ramakrishna Hegde to desist from making disparaging remarks against their party chief J Jayalalitha, failing which the coalition government at the Centre could be in danger.

SC seals Rao's fate in JMM bribery case
In a severe blow to former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and other accused bribe-givers in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs payoff case, the Supreme Court ruled that they could not claim immunity from prosecution under Article 105 (2) of the Constitution.

A Q Khan's utterances meant to provoke India, feel experts
The rattling of the nuclear sabre by Pakistani scientist A Q Khan on Thursday is designed more to provoke India into stating its actual intentions on the question of exploding an N-device, feel defence analysts.

India waiting for Pak response to resume secretary-level talks
India is still awaiting a response from Pakistan to various proposals mooted by New Delhi for the resumption of the official-level dialogue between the two countries, official sources said. ''The proposals are with Pakistan. We are waiting for their response,'' the sources said.

Task force set up to study giving more powers to states
The Union government on Friday appointed a three-member special task force with Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as chairman for devolution of powers to states. The task force will examine and recommend such measures as would enable the states to raise more resources, including by additional or alternative means, plus devolution of additional financial powers to them.

Top Congress bosses fear Sonia's axe
A task force headed by former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma, which submitted its interim report to Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, is learnt to have suggested downsizing of the All India Congress Committee, pradesh Congress committees in states as well as frontal organisations, in its blueprint for giving a facelift to the party.

Go back to the people, Sonia urges Congressmen at Motihari
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday launched a country-wide campaign to rejuvenate and revitalise the Congress.

Prabhu carries on the battle with Swraj Paul
In his continuing warfare with London-based industrialist Swraj Paul, former Union fertiliser minister R Prabhu has dismissed as canard, Paul's assertion that his licence for a multi-million fertiliser project at Shajahanpur was cancelled since he declined to oblige Italian firm Snamprogetti at the behest of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Kerala will not ban fundamentalist outfits: CM
The question of banning any fundamentalist or extremist organisation in Kerala is not under the government's consideration at present, Chief Minister E K Nayanar informed the state assembly.

CBI tells HC its difficulties in taking on Coimbatore blasts probe
The Central Bureau of Investigation has told the Madras high court that it would be difficult to probe the bomb blasts in Tamil Nadu including the February 14 serial blasts in Coimbatore, unless the state government provided it with adequate manpower and logistic support.

V P put his seal of approval on Bofors before Rajiv: CBI
V P Singh, in his capacity as finance minister, signed the letter of intent issued to the A B Bofors company for supplying 400 155 mm Howitzer guns on March 13, 1986, a day before then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi put his stamp on it.

Shekhar tells BJP's allies to wake up to RSS agenda
Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar on Friday cautioned the allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party to ''beware of the narrow nationalist agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh which would lead to the country's disintegration''.

14 killed as deadliest ever encounter rages on in south Kashmir
Friday is the third consecutive day that security forces and militants are shooting it out in Ahgam, a little village in southern Pulwama. The dead include 10 militants and four armymen.

Ambatti acquitted in dowry case
World's youngest doctor Balamuralikrishna Ambatti has been acquitted by the Karnataka high court in the dowry case that had caught world attention.

TODAY'S COLUMNS

Jaya and the art of laying landmines
''By demanding officials status for all the languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, Jayalalitha is preparing the ground for another language agitation,'' argues Saisuresh Sivaswamy. ''Knowing that she is playing a dangerous game, it is extremely odd that the BJP, a party one thinks of as savvy, is walking into a potential landmine.''


Maharashtra: Mayor-in-council bill passed in council
Orissa: Vajpayee inaugurates new airport terminal in Bhubaneswar
Punjab: Vajpayee to offer prayers at Akal Takht
Uttar Pradesh: Build temple at any cost, shankaracharya tells BJP
West Bengal: PIL filed against grant of land to wife of CM's aide

• Man monkeys with poisoned rotis, kills 46
The Uttar Pradesh police has arrested a person on the charge of feeding poisoned rotis to monkeys in the Rajpur Kalan village of Bareily district.

TODAY'S WEATHER

Hot spell in JK
Parts of Tamil Nadu and south Rajasthan, too, experienced high day temperatures.

APRIL 17

SC acquits 11 in the case that shook Bombay
The Supreme Court has acquitted 11 persons in the infamous Radhabai Chawl case, where six innocents perished when their house was locked and set on fire. The verdict brought joy to the families of the accused in the incident that sparked the 1993 communal riots.

Jaya turns the screws on Vajpayee
The BJP tries hard to find a compromise solution after the AIADMK general secretary demands the removal of all tainted ministers.

A Q Khan talks of long-range ballistic missiles from Pakistan
Pakistan's nuclear scientist A Q Khan on Wednesday hinted at the development of a long-range ballistic missile in the country. ''We have the capability to further increase the range of Ghauri missile,'' he told the media in Islamabad at a reception for him following the successful testing of the medium-range missile.

Defence circles doubt US's sincerity in preventing Chinese missile transfer
Even as South Block is preparing to take up with the PLA's General Fu Quanyou the issue of Chinese incursions into the Indian territory, defence circles in New Delhi have expressed their misgivings about the Clinton administration's sincerity in preventing Beijing from spreading missile technology.

Fernandes calls for greater dialogue with China Defence Minister George Fernandes on Thursday called for concerted efforts to raise the level of dialogue between India and China to resolve the issues that have been pending for a long time.

Quattrocchi got Bofors kickback, has links with Gandhis: CBI
The Central Bureau of Investigation has named Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, whom the agency has linked with late Rajiv Gandhi and his family, as the beneficiary of the Rs 640 million kickback in the Bofors gun deal.

CBI seeks nod to chargesheet Solanki, Bhatnagar, Arora
The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought sanction from the Union government to prosecute former external affairs minister Madhavsinh Solanki, former defence secretary S K Bhatnagar, and former special secretary in the prime minister's office Gopi Krishan Arora in connection with the Bofors gun deal.

Home ministry team gives clean chit to Karunanidhi
The visiting two-member high-level Union home ministry team on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the prevailing law and order situation in Tamil Nadu following the ongoing drive against fundamentalists in the state.

'Human bomb' targeting Advani arrested in Coimbatore
An alleged 'human bomb', who was loitering near the venue of a campaign meeting which was to have been addressed by Home Minister L K Advani on February 14 last in Coimbatore, has been arrested by the crime branch's criminal investigation department.

BJP not depleted by ministry-formation, says Thakre
The Bharatiya Janata Party will not suffer due to several of its front-ranking leaders having joined the A B Vajpayee government, its president-elect Kushabhau Thakre asserted in New Delhi on Thursday.

Kesri gets summons in RSS defamation case
Chief metropolitan magistrate Prem Kumar on Thursday summoned former Congress president Sitaram Kesri on May 4 in a defamation case filed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for alleging that the RSS was behind the Coimbatore serial blasts.

PM administers oath of secrecy to Mahajan, Jaswant Singh
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan on Thursday took the oath of office and secrecy as political advisor to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jaswant Singh also took the oath of secrecy at a simple ceremony held at the prime minister's residence. Vajpayee himself administered the oath to both the leaders who have Cabinet rank.

Buta calls Jaya's demand 'meaningless'
Communications Minister Buta Singh has termed as ''meaningless'', the demand from the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalitha about the removal of three Union ministers against whom cases of corruption are pending in various courts.

Prima facie case against Mayawati: CBI
The CBI has said that the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister did not apply her mind while ordering the fire-fighting pumps from a Madras-based firm. Mayawati has alleged political motive behind the CBI's move.

Jeelani Bano shares Urdu literary award with Pakistani writer
Eminent Indian Urdu writer eelani Bano is to receive the coveted Majlis-e-Farogh-e-Urdu award for 1998. Bano will share the Urdu world's highest literary award with renowned Pakistani litterateur Intizar Hussain.

THE REDIFF SPECIAL:

The second half
''Though the official position is that the sequel to The Insider will come next, Rao's personal staff say that he is much more obsessed with Ayodhya, and that until he has finished that manuscript, he won't go back to The Insider sequel,'' Vir Sanghvi Vir Sanghvi on former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao's novel The Insider.

TODAY'S COLUMNS

Good God! Thou ate beef?
''A ban on cow slaughter frightens me: What if Muslims ask for a ban on my bacon? What if Jains demand one on mutton, chicken and fish? What if Maneka wants to ban cheese (which requires cow rennet)?'' argues Varsha Bhosle. ''Someday, some loony-tunes may give in and I'll be stuck with, yuck, only bhindis and karelas!''

The UF's skewed appointment of governors
Indian democracy should examine the role of a governor. It can't afford autocratic whimsies or the patent lack of ethics in a caretaker ministry doling out jobs for cronies. T V R Shenoy attacks the unethical appointments made by the Gujral government.


Andhra Pradesh: Police atrocities rock assembly, 27 MLAs suspended
Andhra Pradesh: Two jail-break accused held in Virar
Kerala: Fire at defence factory kills 11
Jammu and Kashmir: Fernandes rejects moves to internationalise J&K problem
Jammu and Kashmir: Blast in Srinagar kills 6-year-old
Madhya Pradesh: Legislators demand speedy creation of Chhattisgarh
Maharashtra: Srikrishna report may be tabled on April 20
Tamil Nadu: Another Al Umma activist arrested in Madras
Tripura: Top militant arrested

APRIL 16

Advani's move sparks speculation
Home Minister L K Advani on Wednesday despatched a top-level team to Madras to review the prevailing law and order situation in Tamil Nadu. Ministry sources said Advani's move is a prelude to the dismissal of the Karunanidhi government.

Swraj Paul does not care if his charges sour ties with Sonia
The battle of words between former Union minister R Prabhu and London-based industrialist Swraj Paul has intensified, with the latter rebutting the Tamil Nadu politician's claim that he did not advocate Snamprogetti when the London-based businessman was planning to set up an industry in Uttar Pradesh in 1985. Asked if his statements would not ignite Congress president Sonia Gandhi's fury, the industrialist said, "If the relationship becomes bad, so be it. I cannot tell lies in anticipation of that."

US acknowledges Indian concerns over China-Pak nexus
Foreign Secretary K Raghunath on Wednesday sought to downplay India's security concern pertaining to Chinese assistance for Pakistani missiles, even as US Assistant Secretary of State for south Asia Karl Inderfurth acknowledged that Washington had taken cognisance of New Delhi's apprehensions on the Beijing-Islamabad nexus.

Centre willing to amend Constitution to solve insurgency in the north-east, says PM
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday announced that the Centre was ready to hold talks with insurgents, if necessary by even amending the Constitution, for lasting peace in the north-east.

PM has 'a lot of concern in his heart' for Assam Vajpayee said the Centre would give full financial assistance to combat militancy in the state.

Advani's clout will elude new BJP chief
Kushabhau Thakre, 76, has replaced L K Advani as president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. But considering the lack of enthusiastic support from the party leadership, as evident from their absence at his appointment, he is unlikely to wield the clout Advani did.

Jaya plans to ask PM to pack off ministers facing charges
All India Anna DMK general secretary J Jayalalitha proposes to write to Prime Minister A B Vajpayee demanding the resignation or dismissal of those Union ministers facing court charges, following the example set by Sedapatti R Muthiah.

Muslim fundamentalists in TN were planning a UP-style grand political alliance
Terrorist activities apart, Islamic fundamentalists were aiming at a socio-political coalition of the Uttar Pradesh or Bihar-type in Tamil Nadu, revealed intelligence sources in Madras. The idea was to forge a political coalition between the Muslims and the scheduled castes, particularly in the southern districts, and make it a formidable combine that political parties in the state could not ignore during election time.

Rival CPI-M factions in Kerala prepare for war Less than a month after the death of EMS Namboodiripad, the rival factions in the Communist party of India-Marxist in Kerala are gearing up for a showdown. The faction controlled by the Centre for Indian Trade Unions is ready for a major offensive against the rival faction headed by politburo member and Kerala Left Democratic Front convenor V S Achutanandan.

Shabir Shah has fleeced Rs 500 million, claims aide
An associate of Shabir Shah has alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader accumulated assets worth Rs 500 million. He claimed Shah's charity was only a pretense.

Shabir's heart bleeds for the needy
Shabir Shah has displayed a hitherto unseen benevolent side. Announcing a donation of Rs 10 million in cash and kind to set up a trust for the needy in the Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions, he nominated eight members as trustees.

Pondy lieutenant governor resigns
Pondicherry Lt Governor Rajendrakumari Bajpai has resigned. A top Raj Nivas source said Bajpai had submitted her resignation letter to the President in New Delhi.

TODAY'S COLUMNS

Independence Rock
No government has the right to bludgeon anyone into silence, under whatever pretext. If you silence a rocker today, you will silence a poet tomorrow. After all, is Gaddar less dangerous than Guns 'n Roses? Pritish Nandy defends rock and the freedom of expression.


Maharashtra: Thackeray breaks silence to trash mayor-in-council system Maharashtra: G V G Krishnamurthy may be sent to Maharashtra as governor
Maharashtra: Dudhat probe panel exonerates Sutar of corruption charges
Tripura: 'Acute food shortage' in tribal areas
West Bengal: BJP will join Trinamul's 'Bangla Bachao Front'

TODAY'S WEATHER

Gulbarga reels under severe heatwave
Day temperatures were appreciably above normal in Assam, Meghalaya, Kashmir, interior Tamil Nadu, coastal Karnataka and in some parts of Telangana, Rayalaseema.

APRIL 15

Five governors take cue from Advani, quit
The lieutenant governors of Andaman and Nicobar and Delhi as also the governors of Goa and Mizoram have resigned, following the Union home minister's hints about gubernatorial changes. The Gujarat governor too has stepped down after the Centre sought his resignation.

Thakre elected unopposed as BJP president
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kushabhau Thakre was on Tuesday declared elected unopposed as president of the party. The announcement to this effect was made by returning officer Jana Krishnamurthy. Thakre will assume charge from L K Advani on May 3 at the party's national council meeting at Gandhinagar.

India tells US team of Sino-Pak nexus
India has categorically conveyed to the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Bill Richardson, its apprehension on the China-Pakistan nexus which was reflected in Islamabad's recent test-firing of Ghauri missile with a range of 1500 km.
Sadhu says BJP will pay a price for turnaround
Mahant Ramdas at the Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya said if the BJP puts Advani's statement on forgetting the past into practice, it would be an indicator of the changed intentions of the party and it should pay dearly for that.

Fernandes deplores Kalyan, VHP statement on Ram temple
Defence Minister and Samata Party leader George Fernandes today expressed his displeasure over the statements by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh Yadav and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanding permission for the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya. He said this contentious issue was not on the national agenda of the Vajpayee government.

Millions bathe in Ganga as Mahakumbh ends
Around two million people had taken the purificatory dip in the Ganga till noon on Tuesday, the final day of the four-month-long Purna Kumbh, and there were no reports of any untoward incidents.

India's Vulnerability Index is not Ghauri-specific
The Ghauri may be seen as an alert to the Indian psyche and a challenge to be dealt with prudently. The latter entails the kind of holistic strategic defence review that the new government is engaged in with the setting up of a National Security Council et al, and India will have to acquire a strategic profile that will allow it to realise its larger politico-diplomatic objectives, argues C Uday Bhaskar.

Reservations will be extended beyond 2000: Vajpayee
The government has also decided to build a national monument at Chaityabhoomi in Bombay, on the lines of Raj Ghat, in honour of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Sangma's elevation reveals Sonia's gameplan
Appointing former Lok Sabha speaker Purno A Sangma as chairman of the task force that would revitalise the Congress, party president Sonia Gandhi has sidelined Jitendra Prasada and Pranab Mukherjee. She also seems to have decided to clip the wings of the overambitious party leaders.

BJP's Bihar unit is divided over Govindacharya
Following the Bharatiya Janata Party's Bihar unit chief Yashwant Sinha's ascendance as finance minister in the saffron coalition government at the Centre, the party's Bihar unit leadership is up for grabs. Naturally, with more than one aspirant for the post, ugly factionalism, which otherwise remains suppressed in this cadre-based party, has reared its head.

TDP will win again, but with slimmer majority: survey
Getting around 180 seats, the Telugu Desam Party will end up with a little more than a simple majority in the next Andhra Pradesh assembly poll, predicts eminent psephologist, Dr N Bhaskara Rao.

Defence allocation may increase in Budget, says Fernandes
Defence Minister George Fernandes said India's comments over the test-firing of Ghauri missile will not adversely affect the process of talks with China or Pakistan, but did not rule out a hike in the defence outlay when a regular Budget for the current financial year is presented to Parliament.

Spicy critique makes curry houses in Britain hot under the collar
Britain's curry houses have been left none too pleased after a leading restaurant pundit attacked waiters, branding them as 'miserable gits'. The former editor-in-chief of Tandoori magazine -- the self-proclaimed bible of the curry industry in Britain -- Iqbal Wahaab, made these controversial remarks in the February issue of the magazine. The spicy remarks, coming from a man who touts himself as the voice of the industry created a major commotion and left Indian restaurant bosses and waiters baying for his blood.

Pak human rights panel indicts Sharief govt
The report accuses the Nawaz Sharief government of playing to the fundamentalist gallery.

THE REDIFF INTERVIEW:
'If the people had been alert and vigilant... we could have arrested the extremists long back'
Madras Police Commissioner P Kalimuthu on the spate of bomb recoveries in the city and whether it points to a breakdown in law and order.

TODAY'S COLUMNS

The Great Indo-Pak Tango
If Pakistan gets itself some deadly new gizmo, we in India must respond by acquiring our own.... Offer the most astonishing aspect of Costa Rica's success story in India -- that it has no army -- and you'll get scorn, chuckles, excuses thick and fast to avoid learning its lessons, argues Dilip D'Souza.

Dump the phone, get a pager!
Manjula Padmanabhan says that she got out of the habit of receiving phone calls, thanks to her pager.


Andhra Pradesh: Nine constables suspended
Assam: Guwahati HC asks government to explain non-payment of salaries
Gujarat: Surat civic body taps Internet for global tenders
Maharashtra: 12 bureaucrats shunted out

TODAY'S WEATHER

Heatwave scorches Andhra Pradesh
Many parts of Andhra Pradesh are reeling under a hot spell with the day temperatures remaining above normal, particularly in Telangana and Rayalaseema regions of the state, for the last few days.

APRIL 14

Language issue could rock Vajpayee's boat
Officials in the department of official languages in the home ministry say the BJP government's move to appease Jayalalitha's linguistic appetite will lead to unimaginable bureaucratic nightmares. "If the government decides to make all languages official, it will result in administrative chaos in the country," an official in the department told Rediff On The NeT. "It will force the government to appoint thousands of additional employees in various departments." And the move will also multiply the government expense enormously.

Centre to replace Goa, Mizoram governors, more changes in offing
In its first major decision, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government at the Centre has decided to review the appointment of Goa and Mizoram governors by the I K Gujral government on the eve of general elections.

Congress seeks Mahajan's job description
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sharad Pawar, has said the Congress would write to Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee seeking to know the exact nature of work assigned to Pramod Mahajan, who has been appointed political advisor to the prime minister with a Cabinet rank.

Vajpayee to expand ministry before Budget session
Prime Minister A B Vajpayee said that the Union ministry would be expanded before the Budget session of Parliament. Vajpayee, however, refused to give details, including the possible size of his expanded ministry.

Vajpayee tells cadre to prepare for one-to-one fights
In his concluding remarks to the BJP national executive meet on Sunday, the prime minister said the country was passing through an era of coalitions, but it did not mean that this phenomenon would be perpetual. Regional parties have acquired a pivotal role but, at the same time, the strength of single parties at the national level will also increase in the future, he predicted.

US rules out action against Pak for Ghauri test-firing
The United States has ruled out unilateral action against Pakistan for test-firing of the surface-to-surface missile Ghauri, stating that it was entirely Pakistan's indigenous effort.

Pak told US about Ghauri missile, but not to stop programme at any cost
The Pakistan government had made it clear to the US that it would not go back on its missile development, 'whatever the cost of relations with Washington'.

Stop issuing threats, Pak tells India
Pakistan had no aggressive designs and did not threaten any one, said its Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan. But the country had the capability to defend its sacred soil and pay back aggression in the same coin.

Benazir claims credit as Ghauri test-firing site turns pilgrimage centre
The controversial missile has provoked a battle of words between the government and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto with both claiming credit for the test-fire.

Kalyan firm on building Ram temple
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister, however, said the issue would be solved through discussions.

Sonia will revive Congress parliamentary board Congress president Sonia Gandhi will revive the party's parliamentary board as part of the reorganisation programme, but only after the reconstitution of the Congress Working Committee. The high-level parliamentray board had been wound up by P V Narasimha Rao when he was party president.

Congress panel on UP, Bihar debacle to hand in revival package on April 15
The high-level committee set up by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to suggest ways to rejuvenate the party in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, will submit an action plan to her on April 15.

Bardhan opposes RJD's entry into United Front
Comunist Party of India general secretary A B Bardhan on Sunday said his party was opposed to the entry of the Rashtriya Janata Dal led by former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav into the United Front.

My novel is an expose: Rao
Former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao has said his novel The Insider is an expose of politics and politicians in India, meant to warn the common man of the 'impending crisis staring him in the face' and urge him to bring about a change in the nature of politics in India.

Connecticut's first Indian temple cheers Hindus Sitting atop a hill, the walls of Sri Satyanarayana temple are a citrus yellow. Odd-shaped rooms, such as an octagonal entrance hall, jut out from the sides. ''I think it's good for our children,'' says Prema Manohar, who moved to the US 21 years ago, preparing the cultural hall for a weekend event.

Breathtaking airshow halts Bombay
The breathtaking solo aerobatics by the Sukhoi-30s, matched equally in excellence by the formation-flying of the Suryakirans, MIGs, helicopters, Dorniers and Jaguars, left an indelible mark in the minds of thousands of Bombayites who laced the Queen's Necklace (Marine Drive).

Inauspicious day delays Nepal PM's swearing in
Nepal's new Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala refused to be sworn into office on Monday, the last day of the Nepalese calendar, considered inauspicious by astrologers. nepal

Singapore to fund slum rehabilitation scheme in metros, says Jethmalani
The Singapore government will finance the development of two million houses in the slums of Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and other cities in the country, Union Urban Development Minister Ram Jethmalani has said.

TODAY'S COLUMNS

Remember Jallianwallah Bagh!
'One Baisakhi day, 80 years ago it was. A day that will live in infamy... The pivotal moment in the Freedom Struggle; this barbaric act, as well as the lack of contrition that followed.' Rajeev Srinivasan salutes the 'Sikhs who bore the brunt of the struggle for freedom, fighting and dying in their hundreds and thousands to defend the motherland as they had done for centuries.'


Assam: Poisonous mushrooms claim 11
Maharashtra: 20 independent MLAs want to return to Congress, claims Pawar
Maharashtra: Khairnar to demolish reputations through autobiography now
New Delhi: Anti-nuke exhibition leaves behind a cloud
Tamil Nadu: 3 held for ABVP worker's murder

TODAY'S WEATHER

Severe heat wave in Saurashtra
Day temperatures were appreciably above normal in Kerala and in some parts of Vidarbha, Telangana and were above normal in sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, south-east Madhya Pradesh, north-central Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and in some parts of Orissa and coastal Andhra Pradesh.

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