RJD Lalu sticks to 11-seat offer to Congress

Sticking to his offer of 11 Lok Sabha seats to Congress and one to NCP, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Sunday appealed to Ms. Sonia Gandhi to agree to the seat-sharing formula asserting that he would deliver results in Bihar and Jharkhand in the general elections.

“Through you (media), I appeal to the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, to agree to 12 seats being offered to the Congress and NCP in Bihar, and leave it to me to deliver the results in Bihar and Jharkhand in the general elections,” he told reporters here.

Mr. Lalu was briefing media after nearly two-hour meeting of the RJD parliamentary board meeting at former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi’s official residence in Patna.

“I have no feeling of disrespect toward Sonia Gandhi,” he said, appealing to her to ink an alliance with his party.

“I promise to you I will stop the communal forces from coming to power at the Centre,” Mr. Lalu said.

Defending the 12-seat offer, the RJD supremo argued that he had to accommodate his party leaders and workers who too wanted to contest the elections.

Mr. Lalu, in a veiled threat to the Congress, in the eventuality of it not concurring to the proposals, said, “It is not my responsibility alone to stop the communal forces...others too should be accommodating.”

Mr. Lalu said that he went by winnability of the candidates before arriving at his formula for the seat sharing with the Congress and the NCP and this idea should be accepted by the allies too.

“Merely contesting the polls should not be the motto, but winnability should also be given due consideration,” the RJD supremo said, adding that the allies should also ensure transfer of votes to the winning candidates among them.

He lashed out at local Congress leaders for misguiding the party leadership, including Ms. Sonia Gandhi, against alliance with RJD in Bihar and appealed to Congress’ national leaders to read through the designs of local leaders and convince the party.

The RJD supremo recalled that the secular parties had lost badly in 2009 general elections due to split of votes.

On the status of alliance with Congress, Mr. Lalu admitted that as of the day he had not got any reply from Congress leadership, but the chapter was not closed as yet.

Mr. Lalu rued that the LJP had walked out of the alliance and joined communal forces.

The RJD supremo said that as far as he was concerned he was hopeful of an alliance with Congress and will continue to woo its leadership about firming up pre-poll tie in the days to come.

Modi asks Mulayam-"Why so many riots in UP"

"Congress, SP and BSP are misleading the people by wearing the veil of secularism to conceal their failures," the Gujarat Chief Minister told a massive rally in Lucknow on Sunday

Unleashing a scathing attack on the troika of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday accused them of covering up their failures by creating a hype over "threat to secularism" and said their "extermination" was certain in the upcoming general elections.

"SaBKa vinaash tay hai (their extermination is certain)" he said while accusing the three parties of "divide and rule" and relegating secularism to a mere "election slogan." Secularism for the BJP, he said, was an "article of faith" which placed "India First" and "united people" on the path of development.

Personally directing his attack on SP supremo Muyalam Singh, Mr. Modi said: "There have been 150 riots in the one year rule of your son (UP CM Akhilesh Yadav). In Gujarat, in the last 10 years there have been no riots. You try and compare with us? Our heads bow in shame due to your politics and goondagardi." To correct Mr. Modi, the SP came to power in 2012 making it two years of Mr. Yadav's rule.

"Netaji conceded defeat"

Addressing the last of his party's eight rallies in UP at the massive Ramabai grounds in the State capital, Mr. Modi took the SP chief head on, claiming that Mr. Singh had "conceded defeat" in his address in Allahabad. "Netaji says don't compete on the size of the crowds at the rallies. It means he has already admitted defeat. He is asking me to fight on development issues. I'm glad he has been forced by us to talk about development and leave his old ways. I am in favour of development politics and have been urging political parties to end their votebank politics.

From a stage that adorned a huge poster of Atal Bihari Vajpayee with "272 plus" imprinted on it, the Gujarat Chief Minister evoked the former PM's Lucknow connection.

Continuing his attack on the SP, Mr. Modi said the party was divided into two camps, the "Samajvirodhi Party" (anti-social) and the "Sukhvadi Party," which indulged in fun. "(Ram Manohar) Lohia's soul will not be at rest. He would have been pained by the SP's acts."

Poking fun at the power situation in UP, Mr. Modi said "you have reservation in electricity supply as well, only in Netaji's area."

Alleging that Mr. Singh was spreading lies (on Gujarat's development), he said: "Don't criticise Gujarat, first give an account of your work and progress in UP."

Mr. Modi hit out at the alleged Muslim appeasement policy of the SP and compared the number of applicants for the Hajj pilgrimage in UP and Gujarat saying the minority community was better off in his State.

"Despite only having a quota for 4800 persons, Gujarat receives Hajj 38,000 applications. In UP, which is ten times bigger, there are only 35000 applications. If Muslims were in good shape under you, even they would perform the Hajj."

Mr. Modi also targeted the SP's most prominent Muslim face, Urban Development Minister Azam Khan, mocking him on a recent incident when the State police machinery was set into action to retrieve the Rampur MLA's lost buffaloes. Though he attacked Union Ministers Salman Khurshid and Sri Prakash Jaiswal for corruption allegations against them, Mr. Modi avoided mention of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who flayed the Gujarat development model in his rally in Kanpur.

With the elections coming up, the BJP's chief strategy in UP is the consolidation of the non-Yadav OBC votes. Mr. Modi did not miss out on raking up his own background as an OBC while contending that the coming decade would belong to the "OBCs, Dalits and the suppressed classes."

Along with senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, and Party president Rajnath Singh, Mr. Modi shared the dias with Dalit leader Udit Raj, former Army chief V.K Singh and former RAW chief Satish Tripathi, all of whom joined the party recently.

Kalyan Singh back in BJP

The BJP also formally inducted the posterboy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Kalyan Singh, who, the BJP chief said would be given "some top responsibilities" and not be restricted to the post of a common worker. There are speculations that the BJP chief could be fielded from Lucknow and Mr. Modi could contest from Varanasi.

Botcha: We will win back Seemandhra people

“Efforts will be made to convey the message that package for the region is due to our leaders’ efforts”

Admitting that the Congress party was on the back-foot in Seemandhra after division of the State, Pradesh Congress Committee president Botcha Satyanarayana has said that senior leaders would now go all out to convince the aggrieved people about the special package for all round development of the residuary Andhra Pradesh.

The onus of taking the decisions of the Centre to the people now lies with the State Congress leaders, who will take the lead and work hard. “Although it will be a Herculean task, party seniors will make efforts to reach out to the people and highlight the package given to the region,” he noted. He said never in the history had the Union Government announced a massive package for a State that was being divided.

In an interview to The Hindu on Saturday, Mr. Satyanarayana spoke at length about the party’s position in Seemandhra after bifurcation, action plan to revive the party’s fortunes, impact of proposed new party by former Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Pointing out that bifurcation had angered people, the PCC chief said it was a tough decision for the Congress too. “The decision became inevitable,” Mr. Satyanarayana said adding that two days before the AP Reorganisation Bill 2014 was taken up in the Lok Sabha, a large delegation of Seemandhra leaders, including Union Ministers, had met the high command and tried to seek a fair deal for the region. “We raised six issues of which four were conceded and demand for making Hyderabad as Union Territory and merging Kurnool and Anantapur in Telangana were turned down,” he said.

Defectors

Asked about defections, he said only those leaders, who had vested interests were ditching the Congress. “On the eve of elections, it is a general phenomenon. We had already drawn a list of Ministers and MLAs, who were planning to quit the Congress. There could be few more leaders,” he said.

He refused to comment on proposed new party of Kiran Kumar Reddy but faulted him for defying the high command on the bifurcation issue. “We had insisted that all the Ministers and MLAs should have resigned to put pressure on the Centre. What is the use of resigning now after the entire process is completed,” he remarked.

To a question, he said it was the Congress party alone that gave due recognition to the weaker sections and the backward classes in term of position.

On President’s Rule

On President’s Rule, the PCC chief said had the State Congress leaders convinced the high command earlier about formation of a new Government, President’s Rule would not have been imposed. “We did have the numbers to form the Government. But we did not put the right efforts for installation of a popular Government,” the PCC chief said when asked why the Centre preferred to go for President’s Rule.

AP Governor says peace, order top on priority

With President’s rule being imposed in Andhra Pradesh, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan on Sunday asserted that maintenance of public peace and order would be top priority for him.

He said that normal life would go on as usual when President’s rule is in force and investor confidence will be held high.

“My topmost priority would be maintenance of public peace and order... everything else follows on if there is peace and order,” he told reporters in his maiden press conference here, a day after President’s rule was imposed.

He said all the development programmes would be carried on uninterrupted and the bureaucracy is expected to ensure that the fruits of development reach the last man.

He also plans to undertake visits to the districts.

The investor confidence would be maintained at a high level to ensure that Andhra Pradesh remains a favourite destination for investments, the Governor said.

“In the last four years, questions that have been raised by anybody who came to meet me was ‘Sir, how safe it is to invest in Andhra Pradesh?’ ‘Will the state be bifurcated or not?’ This one question has been raised again and again. Now that the event has happened, we know exactly what is in store for us.

“I think we will ensure that investor confidence is maintained high. Unless the investments come, our development is going to suffer. We would like to keep the investor confidence at a very, very high level. We will be talking to investors also and tell them that Andhra Pradesh is a very secure destination for investments. This is actually a ‘Swarnabhoomi’,” he said.

Replying to a query, he said 15 sub-committees have been formed to go into various aspects of state’s bifurcation and those panels would coordinate with the committees set up at the Central level.

There would be an apex committee and he would go into all aspects and try to satisfy the aspirations of the people, Mr. Narasimhan said.

Asked if he would conduct any ‘Janata Darbar’ to listen to the grievances of the people, he said he would consider the idea.

Replying to a question about the extension given to Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty, to which some senior bureaucrats reportedly took exception, he said various aspects have been taken into consideration in the decision to give extension of tenure to the CS.

Observing that education, particularly higher education, would be a focus area for him, he said steps would be taken to ensure that quality of education is maintained and quality manpower is turned out.

Health care, especially provision of medical care in rural areas by equipping government hospitals, would be another focus area, he said.

He stressed on making health care affordable to the people, saying if possible uniform charges would be maintained across the state so that people know how much to spend.

Agriculture, the mainstay of state’s economy, would get due attention, the Governor said.

Upcoming Lok Sabha polls likely to begin from April 2nd week

Polling in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is likely to commence in the second week of April and may be spread over seven phases, the longest so far, highly placed sources said on Sunday.

The probable dates for the commencement of polling are between April 7 and 10, the sources in the Election Commission told PTI while emphasising that the poll schedule was still being “fine tuned”.

As of now, the plan is to have voting, involving over 81 crore voters, in seven phases but efforts are on to reduce that to six phases. The 2009 polls were held in five phases from April 16 to May 13.

The much-expected announcement of the schedule is expected in the middle of this week. The Model Code of Conduct for governments and political parties will come into force from the date of announcement.

However, the Election Commission has ruled out advancing the schedule or compressing it to avoid the summer heat, a demand put forward at the all-party meeting convened by the Commission last month.

The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on June 1 and the new House has to be constituted by May 31.

Along with the Lok Sabha polls, Andhra Pradesh, including the regions comprising the newly-carved out Telangana, Odisha and Sikkim will go to polls to elect new assemblies.

Highly placed sources in the Commission said finishing touches were being given to the schedule. Consultations with the Union Home Ministry, state governments, para-military forces and Chief Electoral Officers of states have already been completed.

There was speculation that the announcement may be slightly delayed for the Centre to promulgate some of the ordinances it plans to bring out against corruption and on some other issues but there is no confirmation of it.

If a six or a seven-phased schedule is finalised, it would be the first time the country would witness elections over such a long period.

The sources said that the attempt is to “maximise” use of forces and the polling days. In the first phase, polling is expected to be held in some of the naxal-hit states and in some North-East states.

For the first time in parliamentary polls, a system of paper trail for electronic voting will be introduced in some constituencies on a trial basis.

There have been demands that a paper trail should be in place so that a fool-proof record is created and controversies avoided in case of a dispute or an election petition filed in courts.

In a bid to create a level—playing field, the Model Code of Conduct bars governments in the Centre and in the states from making any kind of announcements regarding new schemes or promises so as to lure voters.

The Commission has also issued guidelines to political parties asking them to explain the rationale of financing the promises they make in their election manifestos. The guidelines that followed Supreme Court directions in this regard have now been made part of the Model Code.

An estimated 81.4 crore voters will be eligible to vote in the coming elections after 9.71 new voters have been added to the rolls since the last elections.

From the coming elections, candidates in a Parliamentary constituency in bigger states can spend up to Rs 70 lakh on their campaign, up from Rs 40 lakh in 2011. In the 2009 elections it was Rs 25 lakh.

Another first in the Lok Sabha elections will be the introduction of “None of the Above” (NOTA) option in voting, which was put in vogue in the assembly elections a few months ago.

The electoral rolls are ready after being updated with January one this year as the cut-off date.

A total of 1.1 crore poll personnel, half of them being security forces will be deployed for the smooth conduct of polls and to ensure that they are free and fair.

Poll officials said the database of the civilian staff to be deployed for conducting polls has been prepared and at least 5.5 million civilian staff would be deployed.

The list of central government employees to be deployed for poll duty as micro observers in sensitive polling stations has also been prepared.

About 8 lakh polling stations have been set up across the country keeping in view the convenience of both the voters and the poll staff.

Preparations have been made for deployment of around 12 lakh electronic voting machines with the addition of another 2.5 lakh new EVMs which it had ordered with various public-sector companies.

During the 2009 polls, there were 714 million voters against 671 million voters in 2004 Lok Sabha polls.

The Commission favours a multi-phased election for a country of India’s size and electorate because it is better that there is “complete satisfaction” of voters.

Otherwise, it can lead to “discontentment” in case of any shortcomings, they said.

Some states will be accorded special treatment due to their being affected by extremism.

The EC sources said the Commission has not conducted any election in a single go in one phase after 1971 as the size of the electorate in the world’s largest democracy has grown considerably over the years.

The officials also said that the entire poll process takes around three months time. But there is a limit of six weeks time from the announcement of the schedule to the first date of poll in view of the Supreme Court direction that the Model Code of Conduct inhibiting government decisions cannot be an unduly long period.

They said the Commission has to give around two weeks’ time for government formation before the term of the Lok Sabha or a state assembly expires. In the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim, which will have assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha polls, the Commission will place two EVMs alongside for voters to vote in both the elections.

Andhra Pradesh has 42 Lok Sabha constituencies and a 294-member Assembly. Out of this, 25 Lok Sabha constituencies and 175 Assembly constituencies will remain with the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh, while Telangana will have 17 Lok Sabha seats and 117 Assembly seats.

Odisha will also elect its 147-member assembly while Sikkim has a 32-member state assembly.

The terms of Andhra Pradesh assembly is till June 2, that of Odisha is till June 7, and of Sikkim till May 21.

Russian actions in Ukraine threaten Europe: NATO chief

Russia’s military actions in Ukraine pose a threat to Europe, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Sunday ahead of special talks by the alliance’s ambassadors on the crisis.

“What Russia is doing now in Ukraine violates the principles of the United Nations charter. It threatens peace and security in Europe.

Russia must stop its military activities and these threats (against Ukraine),” he told journalists in Brussels.

“Ukraine is our neighbour and Ukraine is a valued partner for NATO,” he added. “We support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. We support the right of the people of Ukraine to determine their own future without outside interference.” The ambassadors are holding consultations at the request of Poland and Lithuania, which have invoked Article 4 of the NATO charter. It allows for consultations if a member state feels threatened.

Russian troops surround Crimea

Earlier, a convoy of hundreds of Russian troops headed towards the regional capital of Ukraine’s Crimea region on Sunday, a day after Russia’s forces took over the strategic Black Sea peninsula without firing a shot.

The new government in Kiev has been powerless to react. Ukraine’s Parliament was meeting Sunday in a closed session.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defied calls from the West to pull back his troops, insisting that Russia has a right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine.

There has been no sign of ethnic Russians facing attacks in Crimea, where they make up about 60 percent of the population, or elsewhere in Ukraine. Russia maintains an important naval base on Crimea.

President Barack Obama spoke with Putin by telephone for 90 minutes on Saturday and expressed his “deep concern” about “Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said. But the U.S. and other Western governments had few options to counter Russia’s military moves.

NATO’s North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s political decision-making body, and the NATO-Ukraine Commission were to meet on Sunday. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the allies will “coordinate closely” on the situation in Ukraine, which he termed “grave.”

Ukraine is not a NATO member, meaning the U.S. and Europe are not obligated to come to its defense. But Ukraine has taken part in some alliance military exercises and contributed troops to its response force.

On the road from Sevastopol, the Crimean port where Russia has its naval base, to Simferopol on Sunday morning, Associated Press journalists saw 12 military trucks carrying troops, a Tiger vehicle armed with a machine gun and also two ambulances.

Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, announced late Saturday that he had ordered Ukraine’s armed forces to be at full readiness because of the threat of “potential aggression.” He also said he had ordered stepped-up security at nuclear power plants, airports and other strategic infrastructure.

On Crimea, however, Ukrainian troops have offered no resistance.

The new government came to power last week following months of pro-democracy protests against the now-fugitive president, Viktor Yanukovych, and his decision to turn Ukraine toward Russia, its longtime patron, instead of the European Union.

Ukraine’s population of 46 million is divided in loyalties between Russia and Europe, with much of western Ukraine advocating closer ties with the EU, while eastern and southern regions look to Russia for support. Crimea, a semi-autonomous region that Russia gave to Ukraine in the 1950s, is mainly Russian-speaking.

Egypt’s new Premier urges end to protests

Egypt’s new Prime Minister on Sunday urged a halt to protests and strikes to give the nation a breather to rebuild after more than three years of deadly turmoil, a call made by his predecessors to no avail.

Ibrahim Mehlib made his appeal in an address televised live on his first full day on the job after he and members of his Cabinet were sworn in on the previous day by Interim President Adly Mansour.

Mr. Mehlib was named prime minister last week following the surprise resignation of his predecessor, Hazem el-Beblawi, after seven tumultuous months in office. Egypt experienced bloodshed and mass detentions as authorities staged a massive crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsy and, in recent weeks, an increasing number of strikes.

“Stop all kinds of sit-ins, protests and strikes. Let us start building the nation,” Mr. Mehlib said.

“No voice must be louder than the voice of construction and development,” said Mr. Mehlib. “Your demands will be taken very seriously, but I also know how much you love your country and your desire to build and elevate it,” he said.

The turmoil sweeping Egypt since the 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak has devastated the economy, particularly the vital tourism sector.

Egypt’s system gives most powers to the president, but the prime minister handles day-to-day economic affairs. Mr. Mehlib’s appeal echoed others made by his post-2011 predecessors that failed to check the seemingly endless wave of protests and strikes since. One prime minister, Kamal el-Ganzouri, famously broke down in tears as he discussed Egypt’s economic plight.

Protesters have usually brushed off the charge that they are destroying the economy. They blame government mismanagement for hardships that include unemployment, inflation and a surge in crime

In addition to its economic woes, Egypt is battling an insurgency in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula as well as a wave of bomb attacks in mainland cities, particularly Cairo.

Mr. Mehlib declared security to be his top priority. “The battle that Egypt is waging against the forces of evil and terror is not just in defence of Egypt’s interests and safety, but rather it is a battle we are fighting on behalf of the entire region and we will win it, God willing,” he said.

In recent weeks Egyptians have been complaining of frequent power outages, something which does not bode well for the summer since the consumption of electricity is normally much lower in winter than in the months of Egypt’s searing heat. Media reports are saying fuel shortages are beginning to impact on areas outside Cairo. Power outages last year fed discontent against Mr. Morsy.

The new Cabinet was sworn in as the nation waited for the country’s military chief and defense minister, Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, to make his widely anticipated announcement that he would run in presidential elections slated for April. El-Sissi, who ousted Mr. Morsy last July, is likely to be waiting for a new election law currently being vetted by senior judges to be passed and for the election commission to formally invite hopefuls to register.

El-Sissi, 59, is expected to win a landslide, with his only serious competition coming from leftist politician Hamdeen el-Sabahi, who finished a surprise third in presidential election in 2012.